1) Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in human capabilities that is not due to growth processes. These capabilities relate to specific learning outcomes like verbal information, intellectual skills, motor skills, attitudes, and cognitive strategies. 2) Several learning theories are discussed that can inform training program design, including reinforcement theory, social learning theory, goal theories, need theories, expectancy theory, and information processing theory. 3) When designing effective training programs, considerations include selecting an appropriate training site and trainers, preparing the training environment, and structuring the program design based on principles from learning theories.

1. 4-1
LEARNING:
THEORIES AND
PROGRAM DESIGN

2. What is Learning? What is
Learned?
Learning - a relatively permanent change in
human capabilities that is not a result of
growth processes.
These capabilities are related to specific
learning outcomes.

3. 4-3
Verbal information
 Includes names or labels, facts, and bodies of
knowledge
 Includes specialized knowledge employees need in
their jobs
Intellectual skills
 Include concepts and rules
 These are critical to solve problems, serve customers,
and create products
Learning Outcomes

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Motor skills
Include coordination of physical movements
Attitudes
 Combination of beliefs and feeling that pre-dispose a
person to behave a certain way
 Important work-related attitudes include job
satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and job
involvement
Cognitive strategies
 Regulate the process of learning
 They relate to the learner’s decision regarding:
 what information to attend to (i.e., pay attention to)
 how to remember
 how to solve problems

5. Reinforcement Theory Social Learning Theory
Goal Theories
Need Theories
Expectancy Theory
Adult Learning TheoryInformation Processing
Theory
Learning Theories

6. Reinforcement theory
Emphasizes that people are motivated to perform or avoid
certain behaviors because of past outcomes that have
resulted from those behaviors.
 positive reinforcement
 negative reinforcement
 extinction
 Punishment
The trainer needs to identify what outcomes the learner
finds most positive and negative.
Trainers then need to link these outcomes to learners
acquiring knowledge, skills, or changing behaviors.

7. Social learning theory
Emphasizes that people learn by observing other persons
(models) whom they believe are credible and
knowledgeable.
The theory recognizes that behavior that is reinforced or
rewarded tends to be repeated.
Learning new skills or behavior comes from:
 directly experiencing the consequences of using a
behavior or skill, or
 the process of observing others and seeing the
consequences of their behavior.

8. Learning is also influenced by a person’s self-
efficacy, which is a person’s judgment about
whether he or she can successfully learn knowledge
and skills.
A person’s self-efficacy can be increased using
several methods:
 verbal persuasion
 logical verification
 observation of others (modeling)
 past accomplishments

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Processes of Social Learning Theory

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Goal theories
Goal setting theory
Assumes that behavior results from a person’s conscious goals
and intentions.
Goals influence a person’s behavior by:
 directing energy and attention.
 sustaining effort over time.
 motivating the person to develop strategies for goal
attainment.
It is used in training program design.
It suggests that learning can be facilitated by providing
trainees with specific challenging goals and objectives.

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Goal orientation
The goals held by a trainee in a learning situation.
 Learning orientation - trying to increase ability or
competence in a task.
 Performance orientation - learners who focus on task
performance and how they compare to others.
It affects the amount of effort a trainee will expend in learning
(motivation to learn).
Learners with a high learning orientation will direct greater
attention to the task and learn for the sake of learning in
comparison to learners with a performance orientation.
Learners with a performance orientation will direct more
attention to performing well and less effort to learning.

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Need theories
 Helps to explain the value that a person places on certain
outcomes.
 Need - a deficiency that a person is experiencing at any point in
time.
 Maslow’s and Alderfer’s need theories focused on physiological
needs, relatedness needs, and growth needs.
 McClelland’s need theory focused primarily on needs for
achievement, affiliation, and power.
 Suggest that to motivate learning, trainers should identify
trainees’ needs and communicate how training program content
relates to fulfilling these needs.
 If certain basic needs of trainees are not met, they are unlikely
to be motivated to learn.

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Expectancy theory
It suggests that a person’s behavior is based on three factors:
 Expectancies - the link between trying to perform a
behavior and actually performing well.
 Instrumentality - a belief that performing a given
behavior is associated with a particular outcome.
 Valence - the value that a person places on an outcome.

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Expectancy Theory of Motivation

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Adult Learning Theory
It was developed out of a need for a specific theory of how adults
learn.
It is based on several assumptions (Malcolm Knowles’s model)
 Adults have the need to know why they are learning something
 Adults have a need to be self-directed
 Adults bring more work-related experiences into the learning
situation
 Adults enter into a learning experience with a problem-centered
approach to learning
 Adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic
motivators

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Implications of adult learning theory for training
Design Issue Implications
Self – concept Mutual planning and collaboration in instruction
Experience Use learner experience as basis for examples
and applications
Readiness Develop instruction based on learner’s interests
and competencies
Time
perspective
Immediate application of content
Orientation to
learning
Problem – centered instead of subject –
centered

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Information processing theory
It gives more emphasis to the internal processes that occur when
training content is learned and retained.
It highlights how external events influence learning. It includes
 Changes in the intensity or frequency of the stimulus that affect
attention.
 Informing the learner of the objectives to establish an
expectation.
 Enhancing perceptual features of the material (stimulus),
drawing the attention of the learner to certain features.
 Verbal instructions, pictures, diagrams, and maps suggesting
ways to code the training content so that it can be stored in
memory.
 Meaningful learning context (examples, problems) creating
cues that facilitate coding.
 Demonstration or verbal instructions helping to organize the
learner’s response as well as facilitating the selection of the
correct response.

18. 4-18
A Model of Human Information Processing
Stimulus
or
Message
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Nose
Skin
Sensory
Register
Short-
Term
Memory
Long-Term
Memory
Response
GeneratorEffectors
Environmen
t
Feedback
Reinforcement

19. 4-19
The Learning Process:
Mental and Physical Processes
LEARNING
Expectancy
Perception
Working
Storage
Semantic
Encoding
Long –Term
Storage
Retrieval
Generalizing
Gratifying

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The Learning Process:
Learning Styles
Diverger
 Concrete experience
 Reflective observation
Assimilator
 Abstract
conceptualization
 Reflective observation
Converger
 Abstract
conceptualization
 Active experimentation
Accommodator
 Concrete experience
 Active experimentation

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Implications of the Learning Process for Instruction
 Employees need to know why they should learn
 Employees need meaningful training content
 Employees need opportunities to practice
 Employees need to commit training content to memory
 Employees need feedback
 Employees learn through:
 Observation
 Experience
 Interacting with others
 Employees need the training program to be properly
coordinated and arranged

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Considerations in Designing Effective Training
Programs
 Selecting and preparing the training site
 Selecting trainers
 Making the training site and instruction
conducive to learning
 Program design

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Selecting and preparing the training site
 Training site refers to the room where training will be
conducted
 Good training site offers the following features
 It is comfortable and accessible
 It is quiet, private, and free from interruptions .
 It has sufficient space for trainers to move easily around
in, offers enough room for trainees to have adequate
work space and has good visibility

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Examples of Seating Arrangements

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How Trainers Can Make the Training Site and
Instruction Conducive to Learning:
Creating A Learning
Setting
Preparation
Classroom
Management
Engaging Trainees
Managing Group
Dynamics

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Program Design

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