Expert’s Guide to The Training Cycle
The training cycle is an ongoing learning process to ensure continuous improvement of training and the needs of learners. The training cycle is an important process as it gets you to outline all the needs of the learners. As well as how you’re going to prepare and deliver the training.
As an Assessor, tutor or trainer you need to be able to understand the theories of each stage and how assessment is a huge part of the process. However, it’s not the only part of the training cycle. So let’s discuss each stage below.
Identifying needs
The training cycle starts by identifying the training needs. This is the opportunity to conduct the first assessment. You can conduct an initial assessment of your learners. In this, you need to evaluate any prior knowledge that the learner already has. If they have any skill gaps or areas of weakness that the learner may have.
You also need to know if any of your learners have any additional needs or requirements. So you can tailor the training to fit their needs. For example, the learner may let you know that they have dyslexia.
Preparation
The next stage is preparation. In this part of the cycle, trainers and assessors get together and plan the resources and the lesson content. Any resources and activities will be adapted so that every learner is included in the lesson and doesn’t feel left out of the training. It’s important to have this part of the cycle, as you need to know what the lesson is going to be about, what you should be teaching and what materials you need to give to your learners so they can succeed in completing the criteria.
Delivery
After preparation, the next stage is actually delivering the lesson and training. The planned lesson content and resources are given to the learner and explained in a way that they are able to understand. This part is equally important, as you’re delivering the lesson, you’re teaching the learners and getting them to understand the content. Being able to see how well the learners take in the lesson and seeing them interact and if there are any areas for improvement.
Apply Learning
This is the applied learning stage of the training cycle. The learners need to evidence that they have understood the information which was delivered to them. A task or demonstration can be used to accomplish this. They need to show you that they understood the lesson and content.
Evaluation
The last stage of the training cycle is the evaluation stage. There could be multiple ways you do this. It could be a self-assessment, peer assessment, or formative or summative assessment. The learner will receive written or verbal feedback as part of the evaluation process. You could ask yourself these questions to help with giving feedback.
- What have they done well?
- Is there anything that needs amending?
- Have they demonstrated that they understood the content?
- Have they completed the full criteria?
If your learner has completed the full criteria then the cycle is over for them. However, if parts of the criteria are missing, then you need to start at the beginning again and identify any additional training. Then the whole cycle starts again.
If you have any questions or queries about the training cycle then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at 01205 805 155 and we would be happy to help.
Steve is a Chartered Manager and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
He provides Educational Consultancy to the 19+ sector as well as being an Assessor, IQA, EPA and Digital Marketing Professional. When not doing any of these he finds time, every now and then, to write blogs and articles.