Keeping It Real: Staying Out of the Knowledge Dump and Getting to Performance

This year(2016) has been a year of reflection for me. It marks 10 (yes, 10!) years sinceI graduated with my master’s degree. Graduate school was intense, and I lovedevery minute of it. Of course, I learned about theories and instructionalstrategies, and I studied the works of some of the greats in our industry. Thatserved as a solid foundation; however, I learned the most from the practicalassignments—and they were the crux of the program.

We designedinstruction—a lot of instruction. We then had opportunities to present ourdesigns to the class and the professor. This is where we received richfeedback; this is what shaped me as an instructional designer.

There is oneday that stands out, and it has influenced the way I approach instructionaldesign and how I teach it to others when I’m mentoring. Allow me to share thatday with you.

Understand this! A true story

It was theday that learning objectives had new meaning. It was the day that I realizedthe importance of learning objectives as they translate to performance outcomes.Of course, we spent a great deal of time learning the theories and bestpractices of learning objectives—i.e., they should be measurable andobservable; the verbs are important; the methods for writing them, and so on.

Thisparticular day marked the very last time I wrote a learning objective using theverb “understand.” I had used it many times before, and each time my professorpatiently asked me to select a different verb. He would explain why, but it neversank in.

On this day,his patience ran out. When he saw that my objectives contained the verb“understand,” he stopped me. Then he slammed a big book on the table and calmlysaid, “Understand this.” The sound of the book slamming on the table reverberatedaround the classroom for what felt like an eternity, and then he calmly beganto explain (again).

He knew Icould do better. He knew I could be abetter instructional designer. He was continually pushing all of us to do more,to be better, and—most importantly—to produce sound instructional strategiesand learning solutions. Then, he explained how objectives play a role in gettingfrom learning to performance-based outcomes, how to make objectives measurable,and why this is an integral part of making instructional design actually workin the real world. It finally made sense.

The dump

Often, as instructionaldesigners and developers, we get hung up in the content and forget about whatthe content is supposed to do for the learners—prepare them for something onthe job. Too often, I see solutions that are only surface-level knowledgetransfer, also known as knowledge dump.

We can be sofocused on content that we forget the importance of solid performance outcomes as a foundation for a solidinstructional strategy. In theory, we are to begin with the end in mind. Often,we default to thinking that the end is the assessment within the solution; weforget that the end—the ultimate assessment—is performance. In practice, if webegin with the end in mind, it is with knowing what the learner is expected tobe able to do as a result of thetraining. This means objectives align with assessments; and assessments alignwith expected performance.

It’s truethat the content is at the heart of learning. Acquisition of knowledge is apart of the formula that leads to the performance outcomes, but knowledge istoo often the only outcome. This, my friends, is one of many reasons whytraining gets a bad rap. Learners too often walk away bored, or sometimes overwhelmed,by the knowledge dump that they will soon forget, saying, “Well, that was awaste of my time,” or, “OK, now what?”

For example,I once had a client with a common problem: Learners were frustrated withtraining in general because it never applied to their day-to-day activities.There was no guidance on what to apply or how to apply the concepts. It wasout-of-the-box, shallow, and turning off the learners even to the concept oftraining; it was doing everything we should be preventing as L&Dpractitioners. My goals with this client were to destigmatize training,redefine it, and to have people learning without realizing it. To achieve this,my team and I created a customized learning solution that taught concepts througha scenario-based approach that was relevant to the learners’ day-to-dayactivities.

In anotherexample, I had a client whose existing learning objectives all started with“identify” and “understand.” They couldn’t figure out why the training was notdelivering results, even though the expected outcome was performance-based.

Theexpectation for performance, in the client’s view, was captured in theobjective that read, “Apply concepts to day-to-day activities.” Can you guesswhether the training had any application-based activities within it? If youguessed not, then you’d be correct! Now, many things can influence a lack ofbehavior change after training, including motivation and environment, but inthis case the training was not designed in such a way that performance would bethe intended outcome. The objectives and overall course design—theinstructional strategy—were missing the mark, and correcting that was the firststep on the way to get the client’s learners to a performance-based outcome. Thenew solution, once again, was a scenario-driven program.

Getting to performance-based objectives

Here is an important caution tokeep in mind. Beforefollowing these steps, you must determine that there is a deficient performanceoutcome, the reason(s) for the deficiency, and the actual steps and actionsrequired to correct it. Those steps and actions may or may not includetraining. There can be many factors that contribute to the deficiency,including hiring or assigning the wrong people; bad supervision; poor or noprocesses, standards, or procedures; no tools or the wrong tools; lack ofmotivation; and lack of available guidance or references for employees toconsult. Lack of skills and knowledge is far down the list of causes. As RobertMager famously asked, “Could they do it if their lives depended on it?” If theanswer to that is “no,” then you mighthave a skill or knowledge deficiency. If you do have a skill or knowledge deficiencyas part of the reason for the inadequate performance, here are the steps tocorrect it:

• Study the content. When and if there is existingmaterial—instructional material, reference material, or job aids—study it. Thisis when I put on my learner hat and attempt to learn the knowledge or the skillthe same way the learner might be expected to learn it. Along the way, I’massessing whether it’s learnable at all and whether the instructional strategy (or,sometimes, lack thereof) may be affecting desired results.

• Ask a lot of questions. The goal here is to determinewhat the learners are expected to do as a result of the training. In otherwords, what is the desired performance on the job? Listen and determine whetherwhat’s expected is realistic, and whether the current training in its currentstate facilitates learners in reaching those expectations; and, if not, whynot.

• Define the current state ofperformance and the desired state, then identify the gaps—both perceived and actual. Whenyou’re asking questions and learning from your SMEs and stakeholders, take noteof how they describe the current performance state and the desired performancestate. Then, you’ll be able to determine what the gaps are and how to bridgethem. You know the expression “perception is reality”? Ask SMEs andstakeholders what they perceive to be the performance gaps, and then assesswhether their perceptions are, in fact, reality.

• Listen for action verbs when you’re talking to the SMEsand stakeholders. If their expectations are performance-based, then take thatinto consideration when you’re writing your objectives and, ultimately, whenyou’re designing the learning solution. The goal is to use those verbs (andexpectations) and incorporate them into your performance-based objectives.

So what?

Actionable,measurable, outcome-based objectives (or performance-based objectives) resultin actionable content, which results in performance outcomes. When framing up theobjectives, ask yourself and your SMEs, “Upon completion of this course,learners will be able to…” DO what? Then think about what that looks like. From there, you should have an idea ofwhether the objective is performance-based.

It’s truethat theory and practice are sometimes contradictory or misaligned. In schoolyou learn many things, but it’s in the real job world that practice forges theory,and you discover which things really matter as you master the craft ofinstructional design. Without a doubt, a focus on performance objectives hasshown itself to be a key to success in defining and delivering work that iseffective.

My professorslammed a book on a table and told me to understand it, and in that moment Igot it. That verb was not descriptive enough; it was not (is not) measurable—itis observable only when you know what understanding looks like. Today, if hewere to tell me to understand that book, I might ask a few questions, such as:What would my understanding of the book look like? What would I do todemonstrate understanding? What do I need to do with or to the book tounderstand it—do I even have to open it to understand it?

In that moment, theory became practice. It was ingrainedin me. And, while it might be true that my eye twitches when someone asks me tounderstand something after the book-slamming experience, I’ll always remember—andbe thankful for—my professor slamming that book on the table. For me, it drovehome the necessity of performance-based objectives and their related outcomesas the ultimate end for the means of training. Here’s to beginning withperformance in mind.