Chapter 4

Learning Theories
and Program Design

Prepared by the faculty from Employee Training

& Development, by Remond Noe, 7th ed.,
McGraw Hill 4-1
What is Learning? What is
Learned?

 Learning - a relatively lasting change in

human capabilities that is not a result of
growth processes.

 These capabilities are related to specific

learning outcomes.

4-2
Learning Theories

Reinforcement Theory Social Learning Theory

Goal Theories

Need Theories

Expectancy Theory
Information Processing Adult Learning Theory
Theory

4-3
Learning Theories (cont.)

1. Reinforcement theory - emphasizes that

people are motivated to perform or avoid
certain behaviors because of past outcomes
that have resulted from those behaviors.
– Several processes in reinforcement theory are
positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement,
extinction, and punishment.

4-4
Learning Theories (cont.)

• Reinforcement theory
– 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.
– Trainers can withhold or provide job-related,
personal, and career-related benefits to learners
who master program content.
4-5
Learning Theories (cont.)

2. 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.

4-6
Learning Theories (cont.)

• Social learning theory

– 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.

4-7
Learning Theories (cont.)

• Social learning theory

– 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),
and past accomplishments.
4-8
Figure 4.1 - Processes of Social
Learning Theory

4-9
 Learning Theories (cont.)
3. 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.

4-10
Learning Theories (cont.)

• 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.

4-11
 Learning Theories (cont.)
• Goal theories
– Goal orientation - the goals held by a trainee in a
learning situation.
• It 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.

4-12
 Learning Theories (cont.)
• 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.

4-13
 Learning Theories (cont.)
4. 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.

4-14
 Learning Theories (cont.)
• 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.

4-15
 Learning Theories (cont.)
• 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.

4-16
 The Learning Process (cont.)
• Practice can be massed, spaced, in whole, or
in part.
• It must be related to the training objectives.
• Feedback is information about how well
people are meeting the training objectives,
and should be provided as soon as possible
after the trainees’ behavior.

4-17
 Training Design
Where ever the training course will take
place, trainers/designers should
coordinate with the organization to
prepare and design the training
material or plan..
A first requirement in the program
design is the result of the training
needs assessment. The most important
thing is that the designed program
should reflect the training needs that 4-18
 Steps in the Training
Design

1. Identify
Develop .4
the
formal
nature of
structure
the T. needs

Instructional
Design
2. Derive
Define the .3 Behavioral
learning tasks objectives
4-19
 Step 1: Identify the nature and
extent of the training needs

using information from the

organizational, task and person’s
analysis. To identify in details to what
extent employees need training.
They may be weak in some skills or
lack some skills.

4-20
 Step 2: Derive behavioral
objective
Information for this step is also drawn
from needs assessment, specifically
from the task and person analysis.
Behavioral objectives are explicit
statements which specify the
knowledge and skills that should be
developed in training.

Ex. Improving research skills

(Example in the next slide is given by
the instructor) 4-21
 Step 3: Define the learning tasks
for the behavioral objectives:

In this step the learning tasks are defined for each

behavioral objective.
These are the learning experiences through which
knowledge and skill are to be developed and they
provide direction for the trainer who conduct the
instruction.

Ex. Lesson about research, data sources,

collecting and analyzing data, practical session in
the computer lab to analyze the collected data,
etc.
4-22
 Step 4: Developing a formal
structure and schedules

select appropriate training techniques

and to plan how training sessions will
cover the learning content within a
specified time period.
Developing a formal structure and
schedules for each training session is
a way of making sure that each
element of the training content gets
the appropriate attention 4-23
 Example of Training
Schedule
Objectiv Topic/ Time Day(s) & Place Resources
es Learning [Hrs] date ( Required
activities
Keep room
Developin 1. Lesson 10- 25/12/201 Room 102 102 ready on
g about Sources 12AM 7 scheduled
Research of data and 26/12/201 dates and
Skills Data, data 7 time
collection 27/12/201 Computer
methods & 7 and projector
data analysis are needed
Project/ data 9-2 PM 3./12/201 Transport
Field visit (Visiting
gathering 7 with
companies to collect
Data analysis 2- 5 PM data) supervisor
using Computer . Lab15 2 computer
computer SPSS
software Program
installed in
comps 4-24
In developing the structure for training, a number
of issues and decision points have to be addressed
including the following:

Is there a necessary order among the

learning tasks?
How much time is required for each
learning task?
Are there important knowledge or
motivational differences among trainees
that need to be taken into account?
.Are all the learning tasks be
accomplished in the classroom or will
some be done else where, e.g. on the
job?
4-25
 Learner Attention

To gain learner attention:

Trainers must demonstrate how the
content of the program relates to the
trainees’ jobs and how their attention will
benefit them
Trainees must realize the relevance of the
training .
Training program should be planned to be
presented in short segments.

4-26
 Relating the training material
to practice
Trainees learn better when given the
opportunity to practice. It had been found that:
•People remember 26% of what they hear
•45% of what they hear and see.
•70% of what they hear see and do.
Trainers should address two practice-related
issues when designing an instructional
program:
•Distributed practice.
•Massed practice. 4-27
Distributed Vs Massive
practice

Distributed Practice: a training

procedure in which trainees practice
a skill over several sessions.

Massed Practice: a training

procedure in which trainees practice
a skill in one session. 4-28