SECTION 4: Human Performance Technology

Non-Instructional Solutions

Finding non-instructional solutions for instruction is an interesting proposal. One problem that I have in my English class is vocabulary study. Currently, students are asked to write words, look them up in a dictionary, define them, understand the part of speech, spell them correctly, and use them in a sentence. Performance has been low on assessments. The students are writing the definitions and burying them in their folders never to be seen again. Then on test day each week a large percentage is failing.

Authentic methods for learning derived from constructivist theories seem to have great advantages when managed correctly.  The students need to see the real world advantages of having a good vocabulary. One non-instructional solution would be to have students work in teams. The teams would select positions such as someone to define the words, another would concentrate on the part of speech, one would work with both to come up with properly punctuated sentences, and another would be in charge of posting the sentences on a Blog. Each team in a class would then go to the blog and write comments in the form of approval or disapproval on the other team’s Blogs. Team members would be asked to participate in the critiquing of the other team’s Blogs. Assessment for this might come in the form of a discussion where students are graded on participation and accuracy in orally using the vocabulary words and discussing the parts of speech.

Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS)

There are many types of EPSS available for use. I have worked with several over the years. There are a variety of customer support sites where you can receive real time information. As a small business owner, I am always impressed with the United Parcel Service (UPS) system. I receive regular e-mail updates automatically when a package shipped, if there are any known difficulties and can even track packages to find out where they are at a particular time. I know that their internal system is fantastic as well from talking to representatives on the phone when I had issues. The amount of information available to them is incredible.

When I worked in the printing industry, we had a network program that gave employees real time updates. We could manage our client’s inventory in one section, check shipments in another, and schedule jobs to be printed in another. The same system was used by estimators to create client quotes, by customer service to track projects, and functions for management to see how much time and money was being spent on each project. The business managers could print real time reports about the fiscal operation of the company and information in manager’s meetings had meaningful statistics.

More automated systems are being put into place every day. The main issue that companies have with EPSS is the expense. Especially in a down economy, however, the evolution of these systems should increase because of increased productivity. I am familiar with many graphic arts programs. Illustrator and other programs traditionally have not had a built in tutorial. It was very possible for programmers and designers to build in fail safes that might ask the user if they really want to perform a certain action, or a window might pop up warning the user that there might be an overlapping design flaw that would prevent printing properly. The tutorials were not built into the original software because of the expense. Now there are other companies who have created “Preflight” programs that check the work after the fact to make sure it is compatible with the printing process. It makes sense to me that eventually the two programs would be combined into one. I believe there are many redundancies in the business world that could be corrected with electronic performance support systems.

Knowledge Management (KM)

As a high school English teacher, I see KM in place in a variety of areas from the school management, to the library, to our curriculum C-Scope. The schools management uses a program for keeping attendance and real time student grades and behavior issues. The library keeps a database of books, articles and media available for students and faculty. C-Scope contains a growing database of lesson plans and gives a solid outline for each core curriculum class.

One problem that might be solved with a blended approach would be to have a student database. This would be a searchable on-line repository for the specific subjects offered in the school. If a student was having trouble in grammar, they could go to the English tab, select their grade level, and the topic covered. Once on the correct topic they might receive tutorials in the form of audio or video instruction. Students and teachers could upload their individual examples and trade ideas that worked for them. An incentive could be used to create an environment for students to use the KM solution.

Informal Learning

Some people are natural leaders. I call them teachers. The best boss I have ever had gave freely of his knowledge. He loved his work and it was infectious. He treated everyone as if they already knew everything that he might say. He built people up to new heights. He was an exceptional leader.

The methods he used to teach were natural. Because he loved his work, he would find examples of great work, and it did not matter whether it was from his company or a competitor. Once he had the example in hand he would show it to anyone who would listen; explaining the minutia of why it was such a great example. All the while he would keep saying things like “isn’t this great?”, “I think it is terrific that you have the ability to see this fine specimen for what it is.” He would always put people on his level, and through discussion he would break down complex ideas into the most basic terms, where when you walked away from a discussion, you actually did understand the concepts as well as he did.

I always wanted to be like this mentor. Many people are afraid of letting go of their knowledge for fear they might be replaced or lose their relevance. Sometimes it takes a person at the top of the pyramid to give so freely of information. It takes fearlessness to give someone else all that you have.