How to structure the training paths

Trainers always put the student at the center: this is the basis for the design of every aspect of a company's training strategy, from the learning objectives to the trainees' paths, to the training tools.

How to structure the student's training paths?

In the "construction of training" phase, the first step is the structuring of learning paths. This can be done by identifying target students and clear learning objectives.

What is a learning path?

The learning path is a "journey" that the learner undertakes when he realizes that it is necessary to fill his gaps. This journey does not begin and end with the training course, but includes an initial assessment phase and a post-training phase of sedimentation.

In fact, we can identify 3 phases in a training path:

1. Pre-training: the person becomes aware of the need to train and begins the training course. For example, the student receives an invitation email to an online training course, accesses the link and finds the online course ready to be followed on the dashboard of the e-Learning platform (LMS).
2. Training: the learner begins to complete the training course and completes it. For example, the participant completes the e-Learning course in 25 minutes consisting of an introductory screen, 4 text content screens, a video screen and 2 quiz screens.
3. Post-training: the employee completes the course and applies what he has learned in the work. For example, the student ends the course and obtains the certificate. Moreover, for the following 5 days, he receives via e-mail pills drawn from the contents learned to make them internalize the concepts. After that, complete a post-assessment questionnaire by e-mail and apply field knowledge in the next 10 days.

How to keep track of the training paths?

To get an overview of the training courses (past and current) of the student, it is useful to identify each activated course (and the phase in which it is) through a flow chart or dedicated area in the e-Learning platform. In large companies, in fact, more trainers can be responsible for different paths of the same student. In smaller companies, however, a trainer is often responsible for all learning: in this case the situation should be much clearer.

Let's not forget that, in the approach centered on the student, employees are seen first of all as individuals, with their own needs. Therefore, those who work in the office will be able to complete the training from the desktop, while salespeople can train on-the-go, directly on the smartphone.

How to structure new learning paths?

Once the trajectories' paths have been mapped, the gaps of each path will quickly be noticed. There may be parts of the training course with unclear requests or that do not define well what to do next (for example an email notification without links to the training resource), or there may be gaps in the training that depend on the teacher. It is possible to discover the existence of training modules that are all completed in one go and others that are abandoned most of the time.

To structure the new paths, it is sufficient to examine each of the learner's paths and evaluate how each phase can be improved or if additional steps need to be added. This will be easier if the learning objectives are defined. The key questions here are:

• Does the learner know exactly what the requests are made of and is able to reach the next steps of the route?
• Are the steps suitable for that particular trainee (do they adapt to their learning habits, timing and the most suitable method of use)?
• I know what my student is doing at each stage of the journey (the path is traceable)?
• Does the learner have the opportunity to share the certificate of completion of learning (social learning)?
• Does the chronology of online learning make sense?

Article taken from eLearningIndustry