How many times have you sat through a training, walked away feeling inspired, but unsure how to translate what you learned into action?
I got a question yesterday that prompted me to think about the process for creating training workshops, programs, and keynotes.
Creating a training that sticks isn't just about sharing information- it's about crafting an experience that challenges and transforms. This starts with powerful learning objectives.
For me, powerful learning objectives starts with Bloom's Taxonomy. This is a framework that guides learners through six levels of learning: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. The higher in the taxonomy, the more thinking involved.
For the person creating or facilitating the training, it's an opportunity to be intentional about what content and activities are included. Bloom's Taxonomy is often used in educational institutions. When used by trainers and learning professionals, the results can rival what we see in educational institutions.
How does Decide Diversity use Bloom's Taxonomy?
Our goal when developing training is to incorporate all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. This ensures that everyone walks away with information or action steps that take them to the next level in their journey. If learners are in the beginning of their journey, we start with the first two levels in the framework- remember and understand. If learners have been doing the work for a while, we incorporate information using the next two levels- Apply and Analyze. For learners who are more advanced, we incorporate activities that utilize the last two levels- Evaluate and Create.
One of the great things about this method is that everyone walks away with something in the moment, but there's also an opportunity to keep learning in the months to come. That's why we offer a workbook to deep the learning even after the training is over!
How can I elevate my trainings?
I recommend starting with your learning objectives. For every training you develop, create six learning objectives for each of the levels. Start each learning objective with the name of that level. For example, here's what it might look like if you were teaching the alphabet.
Objective 1: Remember and recall the letters of the alphabet.
Objective 2: Understand the concept of each letter and its sound.
Objective 3: Apply your knowledge of the ABCs when identifying words.
Objective 4: Analyze the alphabet by organizing them into groups: vowels, consonants, uppercase, lowercase, etc.
Objective 5: Evaluate words to determine what letter is missing.
Objective 6: Create simple words using magnetic letters.
What might this look like for your trainings?
How can I evaluate trainings that I'm considering?
Determine which level of learning the trainings are achieving. Look at the learning objective verb and see where it falls on this list: https://www.utica.edu/academic/Assessment/new/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20-%20Best.pdf
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