| EHS Training - Methodology |
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ETC Instructional Mission Statement
To accomplish the educational
goals of our clients by selecting exceptional
instructors who present professionally developed
course materials. Superior learning retention
is our goal and our metric.
Instructional Philosophy
Private employers spend $210 billion a year for training, while the government spends an additional $5 billion. Such an investment demands results. At ETC, we employ adult learning techniques that provide our clients a greater return for each training dollar. How?
First, ETC believes and practices the following principles of adult learning theory and practice as described by Speck (1996):
- Adults will commit to learning when the goals and objectives are considered realistic and important to them. Application in the “real world” is important and relevant to the adult learner’s personal and professional needs.
- Adults want to be the origin of their own learning and will resist learning activities they believe are an attack on their competence. Thus, professional development needs to give participants some control over the what, who, how, why, when and where of their learning.
- Adult learners need to see that the professional development learning and their day-to-day activities are related and relevant.
- Adult learners need direct, concrete experiences in which they apply the learning in real work.
To accomplish this, ETC creates a learning process that emphasizes the following:
- An environment where a participant’s needs and uniqueness are honored, where abilities and life achievements are acknowledged and respected.
- An environment that fosters intellectual freedom and encourages experimentation and creativity.
- An environment where facilitators treat participants as peers-accepted and respected as intelligent experienced adults whose opinions are listened to, considered, appreciated.
- An environment where active involvement in the learning process is encouraged, as opposed to passively listening to lectures. Participants and instructors interact, participants are encouraged to try new ideas, and exercises and experiences and used to bolster facts and theory.
- Curriculum that is relevant to the students’ needs in the workplace.
ETC course materials are constantly reviewed and revised to meet this standard through the use of staff educational development professionals. All new course development for clients or ETC meets this standard.
ETC has evolved a defined process to choose professionals who are qualified to be on our approved instructor’s list. We look for requisite credentials and solid experience in the field and in the classroom. We believe it our responsibility to work with our instructors to further develop their skills and knowledge. (see Figure 1, Instructor Approval Process)
Because we subscribe to Roger’s experiential learning theories, we explain to our instructors that experiential learning is equivalent to personal change and growth. Rogers feels that all human beings have a natural propensity to learn and the role of the teacher is to facilitate such learning. This includes: (1) setting a positive climate for learning, (2) clarifying the purposes of the learner(s), (3) organizing and making available learning resources, (4) balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning, and (5) sharing the feeling and thought with learners but not dominating.
According to Rogers, learning is facilitated when: (1) the student participates completely in the learning process and has control over its nature and direction, (2) it is primarily based upon direct confrontation with practical, social, personal or research problems, and (3) self-evaluation is the principle method of assessing progress of success. Rogers also emphasizes the importance of learning to learn and openness to change.
Simply put, we utilize adult learning methods to effect employee behaviors. Your principal expense for the training is likely to be that for your employees’ time, why not derive some real benefit from the class instead of just a check mark on your training records. Contact Us to discuss your needs or request a training services quote.
ETC approaches each training project by utilizing our proven processes. Examples of our processes follow:
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