The Significance of Comprehension Your Learners' Needs - Case Study Example

The Importance of Understanding Your Learners Needs Overview The importance of providing effective training to the managers within an organization has achieved high grounds of interests based on the fact that the level of organizational competition is also increasing. A manager in general terms can be described as a person who is responsible for effectively managing the workforce working under him and leading them to succeed. However, multiple such cases arise when the managers show some sort of lacking in terms of effective employee handling. Thus, it becomes an utmost necessity for the organization to subsequently train the managers and thus prepare them for handling any sort of unfavorable situation which might hamper the interests of the organization. The main objective of this report will be to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the five provided managers and based on the accumulated data, design a training module using the different principles of learning. 2. Evaluation of the Learning Types Projected By the Five Provided Managers. Jane (Director of Web Development) As described in the provided information, Jane has been a part of the organization for over 16 years and has been quite apprehensive towards change. Due to her long periodic stay within the organization, she has learnt the technique of adapting herself in accordance with that of the organizational policies. Thus, she can be said to be following the technique of observational learning. The provided data about her also states that she has observed multiple other managers and thus has subsequently identified the points which need to be followed and which need to be ignored. As far as her drawback is concerned regarding her incapability of remembering her employee names, she can stick to her technique of observational learning and follow other managers regarding the techniques they imply for handling such issues (Loob, 2005). John (Director of Organizational Development and Management Revitalization) With regard to the provided facts about John, this individual projects high level of competencies but is often considered as ignorant towards the work. John is also considered to be highly casual towards other employees and work ethics. Therefore, it can be stated that Jon follows the technique of classical conditioning for learning in which he only gets into completing his job roles when subjected to a specific stimulus. The necessary stimulus through which John can be taunted includes following of a continuous rate of workflow within the group in which he gets appointed. Thus, as a consideration for his learning technique, it can be stated that John will have to follow both the other two techniques of ‘Operant Conditioning’ and ‘Observational Learning’ (Loob, 2005). Jody (Director of Communications and Public Relations) As per the data projections made regarding Jody, it can be stated that, this young single mother appears to be pretty well comfortable with her job roles as well as interactions skills. Adding to that, her management skills in terms of both family and work are highly appreciable. However, she lacks the timing for coming up with some private reading which might be beneficial for her personal development. Based on her qualities, a combination of observational learning and classical conditioning can be seen within her. However, she can implicate the technique of observational learning on herself by following other managers regarding their effectiveness in the areas of time management (Loob, 2005). Jimmy (Director of Safety Management) Based on the provided information about Jimmy, a suggestion regarding the implication of the observational learning technique within his training module can be made. This experienced individual has been facing incompatibility in terms of verbalizing his thoughts to the staff working under him. Thus, it can be stated to have been following the technique of classical conditioning i.e. he reacts to the stimulus of logic and factual reinforcements which often irritates other employees (Loob, 2005). Jaqez (Director of International Sales & Marketing) Based on the provided info about Jaqez, none of the three learning techniques can be suggested to her. This lady seems to be acquainted with the self-learning techniques and also possesses the capability of adapting to any kind of learning technique. Moreover, the high expertise background within her work field provides her with the added edge. Thus, it can be stated that Jaqez follows the technique of observational learning (Loob, 2005). 3. Determination of the five psychological principles that will be required for the training module and rationale for selection of learning principles based on the learner group. Application of Behaviourism in Training Module The applicability of behaviourism depends on the control over the environment in which the training process is being conducted. It also depends on the implication of direct instruction within the training area. It should be like a simulative response to the trainee (Brown, 2008). For instance, taking the case of John, he requires a constant applicability of simulative reaction for remaining motivated, thus it can be stated as the rationale for selection of the learning principle. Besides, the entire learning of the training module will have to be alienated into small tasks in order to keep managers such as John in a constant focused state (Brown, 2008). Drilled and repeated techniques of memorization also seem applicable in the behaviourism concept and thus can be applicable to managers such as Jane who faces issues regarding remembering the employee names. Along with these, behavioral modification techniques such as ignorance of the negative behavioral factors for improvising the positive factors also needs to be implicated on managers such as John and Jimmy who faces behavioral issues within the organization (Brown, 2008). Implication of Cognitivism in the Training Module The concept of cognitivism will have to be included in the training module for this five provided managerial profiles. The main rationale for using the concept of cognitivism as a learning principle within the training module is that all the five managers have their own way of perceivance (Dolmans et al., 2005). Thus, through this concept, the trainers will be able to get a deep understanding regarding how these five managers perceive things and understand their problems. For instance, the concept of cognitivism might help managers such as John, Jody and Jimmy in terms of identifying their lacking factor which might be with regard to following organizational behavior and ethics, time management and effective explanation of the industrial facts to the employees (Dolmans et al., 2005). Workshop: Constructivism as a Paradigm for the Training Module Constructivism within the training workshops generally refers to the steps through which individuals understand and build their understanding base regarding the external world as well as the environment surrounding them. For instance, in the provided case of the managers, the understanding base will depend on the techniques and the ways in which the organizational based concepts will be explained to them (Savery & Duffy, 2001). Effective questioning and management tasks should be given to the managers based on which the trainers will come to know about the understanding techniques implicated by the managers and the level of its effectiveness. As far as the rationale for choosing the constructivism as the learning principle for this training module is concerned, the case of Jimmy can be explained who prefers data which are factually reinforced along with logical. Therefore, constructivism paradigm within the training workshops will gradually help other managers in terms of understanding the pattern and technique in which Jimmy intakes and structures the data and thus attain a better understanding (Savery & Duffy, 2001). Humanism in Training Humanism within training refers to the humanistic factors and the value which will be permitting the managers in terms of selecting the training concepts which they wish to learn. Another important factor which should be kept in mind is that the training process should not have any sort of consequences associated with it. For instance, the level of focus which will be provided by the mangers in the consequence free training module will be much more in comparison to that of the consequence related training environment (Goldberg, 2008). 4. Evaluation Of The Learning Principle And Their Implication In Five Identified Areas Within The Provided Data The four learning principle which have been effectively evaluated within this case and which finds significant applicability based on the provided case events includes Behaviourism Cognitivism Constructivism Humanism The implication of these four learning principle can be done on multiple dimensions depending on the provided case. For instance, the first area where the behaviourism principle finds applicability is regarding maintenance of constant focus. Provided example is regarding the uneven focus and casual nature of John. As a corrective measure, the training tasks for him should be broken down into small steps so that he provides a continuous stream of attention towards each provided assignment and develop further. The second area in which the concept of behaviourism finds applicability is reading the memorization problem. This issue has been seen in Jane who finds difficulty in terms of remembering the employee names. In such cases, the drilled and repetitive techniques which form a part of the behavioural principle can be applicable. The third area where the principle of constructivism finds applicability is regarding the ineffective time management issue as faced by Jody in terms of developing herself through effective reading. Here the systematic management and learning techniques which forms a part of the constructivism finds significant level of applicability. The fourth identified area is regarding the issue faced by Jimmy in terms of effectively verbalizing his thoughts to the employees. In this regard, the constructivism principle finds applicability for Jimmy whereas the cognitivism principle is applicable for the other managers and employees who face difficulty in terms of understanding the facts as described by Jimmy. The fifth identified area is regarding the likeness of the managers regarding the improvisation concepts which will be taught in the training module. Correspondingly, the principle of humanism finds high applicability since, the managers should have the scope of choosing any concept which they wish to learn and thus attain subsequent development within their field. References Brown, A. L. (2008). The Advancement of Learning. American Educational Research Association, 23(8), 1-12. Dolmans, D. H. J. M., Grave, W. D., Wolfhagen, I. H. A. P. & Vleuten, C. P. M. V. D. (2005). Problem-Based Learning: Future Challenges for Educational Practice and Research. Medical Education, 732-741. Goldberg, J. L. (2008). Humanism or Professionalism? The White Coat Ceremony and Medical Education. Academic Medicine, 83(8), 715-722. Loob, M. (2005). Types of learning? A Pedagogic Hypothesis Put To the Test, 1-19. Savery, J. R. & Duffy, T. M. (2001). Problem Based Learning: An Instructional Model and Its Constructivist Framework. CRLT Technical Report, 1-17. Read More