UNIT 5: Transfer of Training

Figure 4.1 A Model of Learning and

Transfer of Training

Trainee Characteristics

Transfer of Training
Training Design Learning • Generalization
• Maintenance

Work Environment

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Lecture will discuss
— Defining learning and transfer of learning and
— identifying the capabilities that can be learned and explore
several theories that explain learning
— To understand how to ensure that what is learned is applied
to the job
— Finally, we want to bring all this together investigated the
learning process and its implications for how people learn.

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Introduction
—Learning and transfer of learning must
occur for training to be effective.

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Defining Learning and Transfer of
Learning
Capabilities that can be learned

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Defining Learning and Transfer of
Learning
— Learning refers to as a relatively permanent change in
human capabilities that can include knowledge, skills,
attitudes, behaviors, and competencies that are not the result
of growth processes.

— Transfer of learning: refers to trainees effectively and

continually applying what they have learned in training to
their jobs.

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— What does transfer of training need?

— Generalization: Trainee’s ability to apply what they

learned to on-the job work problems
— Maintenance: Process of trainees continuing to use
what they learned over time

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Capabilities that can be learned
Learning Outcomes = change in
— Verbal information,
— Intellectual skills,
— Motor skills,
— Attitudes, and
— Cognitive strategies.

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Certain conditions must be present
for learning to occur:
1. Provide opportunities for trainees to practice and receive
feedback
2. Offer meaningful training content
3. Identify any prerequisites that trainees need to complete the
program successfully
4. Allow trainees to learn through observation and experience and
ensure that the work environment supports use of skills

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Learning Theories

Reinforcement Social Learning

Theory Theory Goal Theories

Expectancy Adult Learning

Need Theories Theory Theory

Information
Processing
Theory

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Reinforcement Theory
— Emphasizes that people are motivated to perform or avoid
certain behaviors because of past outcomes that have
resulted from those behaviors
— The trainer needs to identify what outcomes the learner
finds most positive and negative

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Reinforcement Theory
— Trainers then need to link these outcomes to learners
acquiring knowledge, skills, or changing behaviours
— Trainers can withhold or provide job-related, personal, and
career-related benefits to learners who master program
content
— Behavior modification is a training method that is primarily
based on reinforcement theory
— Employees were encouraged to increase the number of safe
behaviors they demonstrated on the job

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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
— The process of observing others and seeing the consequences
of their behavior

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Social Learning Theory
— Person’s self-efficacy can be increased using several methods
— Verbal persuasion
— Logical verification
— Observation of others (modeling)
— Past accomplishments

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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

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Goal Theories
— Goal setting theory
— It is used in training program design
— It suggests that learning can be facilitated by providing trainees
with specific challenging goals and objectives
— The influence of goal setting theory can be seen in the
development of training lesson plans

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Goal Theories
— Goal orientation: Goals held by a trainee in a learning
situation
— Includes learning and performance orientation
— 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

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Goal Theories
— Goal orientation
— 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

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Need Theories
— The major difference between Alderfer’s and Maslow’s
hierarchies of needs is that Alderfer allows the possibility
that if higher-level needs are not satisfied, employees will
refocus on lower-level needs
— McClelland’s need theory focused primarily on needs for
achievement, affiliation, and power

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Need Theories
— 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
— Implication of need theory relates to providing employees
with a choice of training programs to attend

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Expectancy Theory
— It suggests that a person’s behavior is based on three factors:
— Expectancies: Link between trying to perform a behavior
and actually performing well
— Instrumentality: Belief that performing a given behavior is
associated with a particular outcome
— Valence: Value that a person places on an outcome

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Figure 4.3 - Expectancy Theory of
Motivation

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Adult Learning Theory
— Was developed out of a need for a specific theory of how
adults learn
— Andragogy: Theory of adult learning

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Adult Learning Theory
— Assumptions of the theory
— 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 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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Information Processing Theory
— It gives more emphasis to the internal processes that occur
when training content is learned and retained
— Highlights external events influencing learning
— Changes in the intensity of the stimulus that affect attention
— Informing the learner of the objectives to establish an
expectation
— Enhancing perceptual features of the material

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Information Processing Theory
— 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

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Transfer of Training Theory

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Transfer of Training Theory
— Transfer of training is more difficult when tasks during
training are different from the work environment
— Closed skills: Training objectives that are linked to learning
specific skills that are to be identically produced by the trainee
on their job
— Open skills: Linked to more general learning principles

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Table 4.3 - Transfer of Training Theories
Theory Emphasis Appropriate Type of Transfer
Conditions
Identical elements Training environment is Training focuses on Near
identical to work closed skills
environment. Work environment features
are predictable and stable.
Example: Training to use
equipment.

Stimulus General principles are Work environment is Far

generalization applicable to many different unpredictable and highly
work situations. variable.
Example: Training
In interpersonal skills.
Cognitive theory Meaningful material All types of training and Near and far
and coding schemes environments.
enhance storage and recall
of training content.

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The Learning Process

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The Learning Process
— Mental and physical processes
— Expectancy: Mental state that the learner brings to the
instructional process
— Perception: Ability to organize the message from the
environment so that it can be processed and acted upon
— Working storage: Rehearsal and repetition of information
occurs
— Semantic encoding: Actual coding process of incoming
messages

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The Learning Process
— Learning strategies
— Rehearsal: Focuses on learning through repetition
— Organizing: Requires the learner to find similarities and
themes in the training material
— Elaboration: Requires the trainee to relate the training
material to other, more familiar knowledge

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The Learning Process
— The learning cycle involves four stages:
— Concrete experience
— Reflective observation
— Abstract conceptualization
— Active experimentation

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Table 4.6 - Features of Instruction and the Work Environment
that Facilitate Learning and Transfer of Training

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Table 4.8 - Characteristics of Good Training
Objectives

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The Learning Process
— Practice: Physical or mental rehearsal of a task, knowledge,
or skill to achieve proficiency in performing the task or skill
or demonstrating the knowledge.
— Pre-practice conditions
— Provide information about the process or strategy
— Encourage trainees to develop a strategy (metacognition) to
reflect on their own learning process
— Provide advance organizers-outline, text, diagrams
— Help trainees set challenging learning goals
— Create realistic expectations
— Communicate performance expectations
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The Learning Process
— Overlearning: Trainees need to continue to practice even
if they have been able to perform the objective several times
— Error management training: Giving trainees
opportunities to make errors during training and to learn
from them

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The Learning Process
— Frequency of practice – mass vs. spaced practice
— Massed practice: Individuals practice a task continuously,
without resting
— Spaced practice: Individuals are given rest intervals
within practice sessions
— Spaced practice is superior to massed practice
— Whole practice: All tasks or objectives should be
practiced at the same time
— Part practice: An objective or task should be practiced
individually as soon as each is introduced in the training
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The Learning Process
— To create long-term memory, training programs must be
explicit on content and elaborate on details
— If a lengthy process or procedure is to be taught, instruction
needs to be delivered in short sessions in order to not
exceed memory limits
— Automatization: Making performance of a task, recall of
knowledge, or demonstration of a skill so automatic that it
requires little thought or attention
— Feedback: Information about how well people are meeting
the training objectives
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The Learning Process
— Employees learn through observation, experience, and
interacting with others
— Communities of practice: Groups of employees who
work together, learn from each other, and develop a
common understanding of how to get work accomplished

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Table 4.12 - Three Types of Instructional
Interaction

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The Learning Process
— Training administration: Coordinating activities before,
during, and after the program
— Communicating courses and programs to employees
— Enrolling employees in courses and programs
— Preparing and processing any pretraining materials
— Preparing materials that will be used in instruction
— Arranging for the training facility and room
— Testing equipment that will be used in instruction
— Having backup equipment

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The Learning Process
— Providing support during instruction
— Distributing evaluation materials
— Facilitating communications between trainer and trainees
during and after training
— Recording course completion in the trainees’ training records

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Ensure that the Work Environment Supports
Learning and Transfer
— Lapses: Take place when the trainee uses previously
learned, less effective capabilities instead of trying to
apply the capability emphasized in the training program
— Climate for transfer: Trainees’ perceptions about a
wide variety of characteristics of the work environment
that facilitate or inhibit the use of trained skills or
behavior

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Table 4.13 - Examples of Obstacles in the Work
Environment That Inhibit Transfer of Training
Obstacle Work Conditions Description of Influence Description of Influence
Time pressures Trainee has difficulty using new knowledge, skills, or behavior.
Inadequate equipment
Few opportunities to use skills
Inadequate budget

Lack of Peer Support Peers do not support use of new knowledge, skills, or behavior.
Peers discourage use of new knowledge and skills on the job.
Peers are unwilling to provide feedback.
Peers see training as waste of time.

Lack of Management Support Managers do not reinforce training or provide opportunities to

Management does not accept ideas or suggestions that are use new knowledge, skills, or behavior
learned in training.
Management does not discuss training opportunities.
Management opposes use of skills learned in training.
Management communicates that training is a waste of time.
Management is unwilling to provide reinforcement, feedback,
and encouragement needed for trainees
to use training content.
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