The Treasure of Creative Instruction and Artful Training
by Stephen Yelon
For greater personal satisfaction and enhanced training outcomes, performance technologists can produce creative instruction and artful training. What is creative instruction and artful training? How is it generated? The author defines artful training and presents an explicit procedural model integrating what is known about creative thinking as it might apply to instruction and training.
How to Connect Diversity to Performance
by Tyrone A. Holmes, EdD
Diversity programs are common in the American workplace. Most organizations, either formally or informally, have facilitated diversity interventions designed to educate employees about cultural differences, to recruit a diverse workforce, to enhance career opportunities or to improve cross-cultural interactions. Unfortunately, many of these programs have failed to deliver the desired results. One reason for this lack of success is the failure to connect diversity programs to organizational performance systems. This article offers a five-step process that can be used to systematically develop diversity interventions that have a direct impact on individual and organizational performance.
Workload Reduction in Online Courses: Getting Some Shuteye
by Joanna C. Dunlap, CPT, PhD
"Aren’t you online constantly?" is a question online instructors are frequently asked. Although the answer is often
"yes" if the instructors are facilitating successful online courses, it does not have to be. This article provides strategies for course orientation and management, assessment of online learner activity, and discussion facilitation and management that serve to reduce instructors’ workload in facilitated, asynchronous online courses in higher education and training settings. The strategies shared not only help instructors manage their time without overly increasing learners’ workload, but also enhance the learning and overall online course experience for everyone involved.
The Benefits of Evaluating Performance Subjectively
by Michael J. Gibbs, Kenneth A. Merchant, Wim A. Van der Stede, and Mark E. Vargus
Subjective performance evaluations play important roles in almost all jobs, from the lowest levels of the organization to the CEO. In this article, we describe findings from our research into the determinants and effects of subjectivity in incentive systems based on extensive survey data of compensation practices in U.S. car dealerships. We find evidence that subjective bonuses are an effective intervention tool that is used to mitigate perceived weaknesses in formula bonus awards and to reduce performer risk by recalibrating incentives. We also find that the advantages of using evaluation subjectivity, such as increases in performer productivity and pay satisfaction, depend on characteristics of the situations in which it is implemented. Particularly important is the level of trust between the performer and evaluator.
Production and Data Management Issues for Digital Questionnaire Administration
by Patricia L. Hardré, PhD, Kui Xie, MEd, and Calvin Ly, MEd
Translation of questionnaire instruments to digital administration systems, both self-contained and web-based, is widespread and increasing daily. A large body of literature is available on computer-administered and computer-adaptive knowledge and skill assessments. However, less attention has been given to psychometric instruments, those that assess such characteristics as motivation, attitudes, values and perceptions. These types of instruments are important tools in the performance technologist’s assessment toolbox, and are often delivered online. Because important decisions are often based on data gathered by questionnaires, the issues surrounding production and data management in computer-based and web-based administration systems should be of concern to both internal and external performance consultants. Our purpose in this paper is to compare questionnaire production and data management considerations across three different administrative methods. We believe that this comparison will promote performance consultants’ understanding of issues and tradeoffs regarding these different administrative methods and provide information needed to support decision-making.
The Performance Technologist’s Toolbox: Process Mapping
by Anne F. Marrelli, CPT, PhD
This article on process mapping is the fourth in The Performance Technologist’s Toolbox series on data collection methods. Process mapping is described and several applications in performance technology are explained, including: performance analysis, cause analysis, job analysis, competency modeling, instruction and communication, organizational development, and evaluation. The advantages and disadvantages of process mapping are also reviewed. Guidelines for planning and conducting process mapping are summarized and followed by a case study that illustrates the use of process mapping for business process improvement.
|
