Training Methods and Continuing Education for Health Workers

Course Descriptions

As a final project, participants will prepare a training plan that includes needs assessment instruments, procedures for involving the trainees in their own learning, instructional objectives, appropriate learning methods and delivery modes, resource and budget needs, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and follow-up supervision. Participants may wish to use the training guide they develop for this course as a foundation for an MPH CAPSTONE project. Please contact the instructor for details.

Course Objectives

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to do the following:

• Describe the role that training and continuing education play in personnel development and management.
• Outline the contributions and limits of training in organizational management.
• Explain the process of recruiting appropriate participants for a training program.
• Identify and analyze tasks needed by trainees to perform their jobs.
• Conduct training needs diagnosis.
• Utilize training diagnosis results to choose appropriate content for training programs.
• Formulate observable and measurable instructional objectives.
• Link training content with appropriate training methods.
• Plan training logistics that are convenient for trainees and match available resources.
• Budget for training activities.
• Develop a sample training guide.
• List approaches and resources for distance education.
• Describe methods for monitoring the process of training implementation.
• Define the different levels of evaluation for a training program.
• Describe various tools for evaluating outcomes.

Readings

Recommended textbook: Lawson, Karen. The Trainer's Handbook (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer) 0-7879-3991-9. Order from Amazon.com, or Matthews Johns Hopkins Medical Book Center (type in 221-606-81 as course number; alternatively, visit the book centre at 1830 East Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; phone: 410.955.3931 and 800.266.5725; fax: 410.955.0576).

Course Requirements

Overview: The course assignments are a series of six related activities focused on the process of planning and developing a short, one-day training experience for real health and related staff. To successfully complete the assignments, you should select a real, identifiable group of agency staff or community volunteers that need training, and then complete each assignment based on the training needs of that group. You do not have to focus on your work situation specifically, but you may, for example, include community associations or NGOs where you do volunteer work. If in the final analysis, you do not feel that you can identify an appropriate set of trainees in any of the suggested settings, you are welcome to use the DOTS reference materials in the Online Library as an example for carrying out the assignments. Assignment topics:

1. Description of potential trainees
2. Plan for diagnosing training needs
3. Sample training objectives and tasks
4. Training methods and resources
5. Evaluation plan
6. Full training guide