SOPs and Competency Assessments What does it take to make key messages stick in worker safety training?
Another thought about training - a slight side track, but still relevant..... I have just made this realisation in organising learning content for an online induction process and reference library. It might mitigate some of the challenges of getting key messages across in training.
Neuroscience, instructional design and various learning methodologies recommend following a structured learning process. In my training, we were taught to plan training using thus sequence: WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHAT IF / WHAT ELSE, which would then naturally segue into the next step, following the same sequence. (Which means we really need to be a lot clearer about the intended outcomes and plan accordingly, for maximum effectiveness - but that's a whole other topic!).
This model suggests that learners are typically naturally attuned to one or more of these questions, with the majority of learners falling into the WHAT quadrant. But if a learner (like me!) is a WHY learner, they need to understand the purpose and context of the content before they can attend to information. If you don't give them the WHY at the start, they will be distracted as they try to figure it out - and it is even more disastrous if you haven't figured out the WHY and articulated it clearly in the training! So the sequence has been developed to most naturally meet the needs of all learners.
By way of a side note, I have also found that most engineers seem to live in the WHAT IF / WHAT ELSE quadrant - they tend to clean up any ambiguity as they seek clarity and certainty by querying specific examples. If there is any 'exception to the rule', they will find it and put the rule to the test! Trainers can sometimes see this type of learner as being confrontational or difficult because they challenge and question everything, but they actually do all of us a great service by helping to clarify concepts.
What I have started doing when putting online content together is to start with some questions for the learner that relate to the key messages we want them to get from the learning module. So rather than following that old formula of "this is what I am going to tell you, here it is, and now I am going to tell you what I have told you" (although it must be said that repetition has its place!), we can "prime" the learner to seek those messages during the module. Questions are like little 'hooks' or 'magnets' - the unconscious mind will naturally and effortlessly look for those answers and feel a sense of satisfaction when they discover them. And then they are much more likely to have the answers when it comes to the assessment, without requiring oversimplification of the assessment.
Having said that, to be effective, questions need to be clearly articulated, simple (avoid long sentences and dependent clauses), direct (avoid passive voice!), and focused on one key message for each question.
What might be possible if we made safety training more meaningful and effective?