Search Results for: help how do I

Topic 2.5: Why Are the Federal Child Outcomes Important?

Here’s the key to why these federal outcomes are important, as they guide the measurement of child progress in KY. First, the items in the 3 approved 5AAs were aligned with each of the KY Standards. You can find this alignment in the  “Assessment Guide, updated 2010,” on the Tools and Resources page of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood website

📥 Download Assessment Guide (Updated 2010)

Download the Assessment Guide for your reference, and examine the alignment between[GC1]  assessment items for each of the 5AA and KY’s Standards, beginning on page 53 of the PDF Assessment Guide (numbered as page 9 of Recommended Assessments section). You will see that the alignment begins with the first Cognitive Standard and the AEPS.

Subsequently, the KY Standards were aligned with the 3 federal outcomes so that child progress on the KY Standards could be linked to progress on the federal outcomes. In our example with Anna, her skills were assessed with a 5AA; those 5AA skills are aligned with the KY Standards in the Assessment Guide, which are also aligned with the federal child outcomes. As a result, analyses of Anna’s 5AA results are used to inform her progress on each of the 3 federal outcomes.

Here’s a diagram of this relationship:

3 adjoining circles, with text in each one as follows: first, assessment items from AEPS, CCITSN, HELP; second, assessment items aligned with KY Standards; and third, KY Standards aligned with federal child outcomes.

Topic 1.4: How are the KY Standards Organized?

Let’s look more specifically at how the KY Standards are organized.

The KY Standards were most recently updated in 2013. They set the standard for general expectations for children’s development in KY, for children from birth through four years. Thus, they set the expectations for development for all children in First Steps.

Example of how the birth to three standards feed into the 3 and 4 year old standards.

The KY Standards are organized into domains for children aged birth to three years, and into areas for children aged three and four years. Knowing the KY Standards or expectations for children, in First Steps and in preschool, helps your interventions be functional for children and their families.

Before proceeding, consider the following think spots

Let’s review each of these definitions. We’ve discussed what a standard is, as a general statement that represents the information or skills that we expect a child should know or be able to do.

Each standard is further defined by at least 2 benchmarks or statements that tell what the KY Standard looks like in terms of child behaviors. The skills in all benchmarks are necessary to fully define each Standard. The benchmarks may or may not be in developmental order. All are essential to the intent of the KY Standard.

Then, each benchmark is further defined by the developmental continuum. They are predictable but not rigid behaviors that give the general sequence of development for that benchmark. The developmental continua are in developmental order, and further define the behaviors that describe each benchmark.

Lastly, each developmental continuum is further defined by some example behaviors-the examples are not complete lists but are some examples of behaviors that illustrate each developmental continuum.

Here’s a visual representation of these components of each KY Standard.

diagram of the structure of the KY Standards, superimposed on an inverted triangle, with the word Standard on first line, the word benchmark on the second line, the words developmental continuum on the third line, and the words example behaviors on the fourth line. Each line represents a component of the line above it.

Additional Resources to Support Transfer S19

Another way we support you in your efforts as a trainer to establish and maintain strong Transfer Partnerships is through this resource list. 

Books: (contact your Training Coach to access these titles and many, many more through our lending library)

  • 50 Creative Training Closures  – Lynn Solem and Bob  Pike; “Action Planning” items
  • Games Trainers Play – John W. Newstrom and Edward E. Scannell; pgs. 293 – 303
  • Making Training Stick – Barbara Carnes and Dora Johnson; pgs. 57 – 90      
  • The Best of Creative Training Techniques – Dave Zielinski; pgs. 81 – 93
  • Trainer’s Bonanza – Eric Jensen; pgs. 105 – 108

Websites:

  • maketraningstick.com – website with the mission of helping trainers “make training stick”
    • offers a free e-newsletter called STICKY NOTES with actionable effective training tips
    • contains a free downloadable “white paper” – Training Transfer Technologies – featuring research and reviews of technology tools that can help the transfer of learning process.
  • http://www.thiagi.com/
  • https://www.td.org/

Webinars:

This is, by no means, a finite list of resources. However, it is a solid start of resources that offer a wide variety of transfer of learning strategies to implement with trainees.

  • Remember, transfer of training is a partnership between the Trainer, Trainee and the Director/Administrator.
  • Many of the strategies provided by the authors of these resources recognize this partnership and include all three parties in the processes they describe.

Effective Strategies to Support Transfer of Learning S19

Here are some ways for members of the Transfer Partnership to systematically and intentionally work on the transfer of learning before the training occurs, during the training and after the training is over.

Write down any of these strategies that you would like to remember for future use in the appropriate boxes on page 4 of the Transfer of Learning 📝handout.

BEFORE

Trainer  

  • Complete a detailed needs assessment with the Director to ensure alignment of the training content with the organization’s goals and staff Professional Development (PD) needs.
  • Develop SMART training and workplace outcomes to inform training plan and design.
  • Create a customized Implementation Plan form (using input from the Director) for participants to complete.

Trainee

  • Explore possible training options with Director based on both your individual professional goals and your program’s overall goals. 
  • Complete all pre-training activities (needs assessment, content-based assignments, etc.).

Director  

  • Involve staff in program-wide goal setting and long-term planning.
  • Inform staff of the importance of the implementation of new skills and knowledge learned in training and explain that you will support each person in their implementation efforts.
  • Provide time for staff to complete pre-training activities if applicable. This could be a reading assignment, a brief survey or even taking photos for pre training data collection.

DURING

Trainer

  • Clearly spell out what trainees will gain from the investment of time and energy in their implementation efforts.
  • Include practice of new skills in realistic work-related tasks.
  • Provide opportunities to note new ideas and make specific plans for implementation of new knowledge and skills.

Trainee  

  • Arrive at the training on time, if not early, and in a “ready to learn” mindset.
  • Participate actively in all training activities and learning experiences.
  • Make authentic connections with fellow trainees.

Director  

  • Provide classroom coverage for staff to attend during work hours.
  • Attend the training; model active participation and professional behavior.
  • Monitor training attendance.

AFTER

Trainer

  • Use technology to provide follow-up support during implementation.
  • Share evaluation results with director.
  • Offer ideas for future trainings based on implementation results.

Trainee  

  • Follow through on implementation plan.
  • Seek help with implementation from Director/Trainer.
  • Maintain contact with other trainees.

Director  

  • Review and monitor implementation plans.
  • Notice and acknowledge staff efforts to change behavior.
  • Provide job aid support to staff for implementation.

Potential Barriers to Successful Transfer of Learning S19

Understanding what the potential barriers are to achieving successful transfer of learning can help you as you select appropriate strategies to use when planning, implementing, and following up with training participants after training sessions.

Check your Knowledge

Consider each statement. Which is the best answer to fill-in-the-blank for each statement describing the possible barriers to the ‘transfer of learning’:

Appropriate advance planning along with use of the needs assessment, tapping into the Transfer Partnership, and using a variety of effective transfer of learning strategies will reduce the impact of these barriers. This way, you can get everyone on the same page and greatly increase the likelihood of the successful transfer of learning.

Analyzing Training Data S19

In this section we will look at helpful questions that will assist you in analyzing your training and determining the refinement that is needed to make it more effective for future participants.

Necessary Step: Post-Training Reflection

  • If you are new to training, consistently engage in the post-training reflection exercise of analyzing information from participant evaluation forms and self-reflection.
  • If you are an experienced trainer, but not taking the time or effort to do this post-training reflection exercise, it is time to implement this step in your workshop process.

The questions asked on participant evaluations are very important. They are the premise for getting the answers needed for reflection, analysis and ultimately, refinement of that training. Likewise, the trainer should answer these same questions as part of his/her self-evaluation. This process of analysis; reflecting back, documenting observations and analyzing the level of effectiveness in implementing the training process, content, activities and of their own skills and knowledge as a trainer, should be a consistent part of a trainer’s workshop process.

Here are some important reflection questions a trainer should use to guide the development of their evaluation forms and for self-evaluation, post-training.

Each of these questions can be answered from two perspectives:

  1. From information summarized off participant evaluations.
  2. From the trainer’s own observations and experiences while conducting the training.

 One very important message to get from this section on Refinement of Training is that not only do you need to get and pay attention to feedback from participants, you need to also self-analyze. Your own observations of participant’s actions, interactions and reactions during the workshop, as well as your observations of your own actions, interactions and content delivery throughout the training session provides much information on what went well and what needs to be refined to make the next workshop experience more effective.

Post-Training Reflection

…a series of questions to ask yourself:

  • In what ways did the training process do what it was designed to do in regard to the Workplace Outcome and Training Outcomes?
  • At what level of success did the content do what it was designed to do in regard to the Workplace Outcome and Training Outcomes?
  • In what ways should the process be revised?
  • In what ways should the content be revised?
  • In what ways (if any) does the training content need to be revised due to:
    • a need to align with revised Training Outcomes developed to meet federal, state, local regulations?
    • a need to meet changes in recommended practices?
  • If the training needs to be expanded, what are the reasons;
    • need for additional content, time issues, etc.?
  • If the training needs to be eliminated, what are the reasons;
    • lack of need, cost effectiveness, duplication of content, etc.?

‘Series of Questions’ Tool

Using the ‘Series of Questions’ tool, you will

  • Gain useful information
  • Better analyze and determine future steps
  • Better prepare for subsequent training
  • Better meet your own goals as a trainer

You can customize this tool by adding questions you deem useful!

You have completed Levels of Evaluation and the Training Improvement Process!

Next up is the Transfer of Learning.

Participant Reaction (Level One) S19

This information is collected immediately following the training.

Questions asked at Level 1 are targeting how a learner feels about the training. This may include questions about the meeting location or how well the content and activities were received. These are all opinion related questions based on their feelings of being at the training.

Sample questions:

  • What did you like best about your training experience today?
  • On a scale of 1-5, how well organized was this training?
  • On a scale of 1-5, how helpful were the handouts?
  • On a scale of 1-5, how effective was your trainer?
  • Would you recommend this training to a colleague?

Methods:

The best methods for this level could be a rating scale, yes/no questions or even some open-ended questions. You get more usable information asking a simple open-ended question than a yes/no question.

For example, Are you satisfied with the support materials vs. What did you like about the support materials? Did you enjoy the training session vs. What did you most enjoy about this training session?

Introducing the Training Plan Form S19

By now, you have been introduced to the Needs Assessment and the Training Plan Worksheet. These two documents are essential to creating a Training Plan.

Creating the Training Plan is step #7 (How?) of the 7 steps in developing a Training Plan. The ‘how’ is all about the Training Plan.

The Training Plan is the roadmap that guides how the trainer will….

  • Cover the content
  • Use appropriate methods and interesting materials
  • Provide practice opportunities
  • Meet learning styles
  • Remain focused
  • Stay within the timeframe agreed upon
  • Meet the training outcomes.

The Training Plan also helps to ensure that participants can be more successful in meeting the Workplace Outcome. The Training Plan is critical for successfully addressing the ‘how’.

All the work you have done up to now will provide the content and information that is needed when creating your Training Plan.

A blank copy of the Training Plan Form can be found in your FET 📝handout on pg 43-45. Please pull and refer to as needed.  To download an electronic copy, please click the button below.

Training PlanDownload

The video below will walk you through the blank Training Plan form.  Feel free to pause and watch the video as many times as needed.

Timing of Components S19

Adhering to the Training Session Time Frame

  • The trainer is responsible for keeping the training on track by staying within the requested time frame.
  • Knowing and following specific percent ranges will insure that you consistently work to meet this responsibility.
  • Use these equations to figure percent (%) and total minutes; 
    • 30 minutes is what % of 120 minutes? [30 divided by 120 = 25%]
    • 25% of 120 minutes = how many minutes? [.25 X 120 = 30 minutes]

You have heard it before and you will hear again, the trainer has many responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is keeping the training on track by staying within the requested time frame. There are some percentage guidelines for each component of the training plan to assist you through this process.

Components of the Training Plan

  • OPENING
    • Introductions and tap participant’s interest
    • 10 – 15% of total workshop time
  • CONTENT DELIVERY
    • Participant’s acquisition of knowledge and skills
    • 60 – 70% of total workshop time
  • CLOSING
    • Summarize content and plan beyond the training
    • 20 – 25% of total workshop time
Shows some examples of timing for the various components in your training plan

Above is a chart that shows some examples of timing for the various components in your training plan. When you create your training plan the timing may or may not look like this based on your training style and the amount of content. It is important to remember, however, to stick as closely as possible to the recommended percentages. Doing so will help you organize your training session and allow ample time for all components.

Application Exercise: Please look at page 42 of your 📝handout and practice timing your trainings.