Levels of Learning

If you looked at your current training program with a critical eye what level of learning do you think your students are experiencing?

• First Level – Passive learning comes from listening to a lecturer. There’s not much interaction or much to measure your student’s comprehension. You said it, and now hoping it sticks.
• Second Level – At this level, an instructor may throw in a pop quiz or knowledge check to see if you remembered what they said. However, this accesses our short-term memory and is not necessarily long-lasting. You may want to test again at a later date.
• Third Level – At this level, they get it. It’s not just a list of arbitrary tasks anymore. It’s actually meaningful. When they understand the why, they are more likely to comply.

• Fourth Level – At this level, they’ve practiced a set of instructions a few times and can do it with acceptable results. They heard, memorized, understood, and can do it.
• Fifth Level – This is the level of deep understanding. Not only can they do the task, but they are also able to make the right decisions, rather than act as robots following orders that actually end up annoying customers. To get to this level, they may need to be exposed to hypothetical situations, and be allowed to make their own choices to see the consequence or rewards of each choice.

“Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That’s why we train…right.” -anonymous

Unlike the approach of regular schools, corporations have a vested interest in their associate’s success. They cannot fail, and they must succeed when a real-life scenario occurs. A high score does not matter if the associate was lucky in guessing the answers and still can’t do the task. So it’s important to assess the level of training that was actually provided and make the necessary improvements.

I help companies make better online training. Contact me for assistance.