Laura

Anything would be completely 'irrelevant' unless there is a purpose. So thats okay.

But if the trainer is to 'focus' on helping people enjoy learning or spend a great deal of time in making them feel comfortable, prepared and 'leave their baggage' shouldnt that be measured? otherwise how would the trainer know that s/he succeeded in the effort. thats what I meant by feel good.

P.S: BTW isn't the feeling of enjoyment an emotion and a reaction to the stimulus provided by the trainer?

quote:

BTW isn't the feeling of enjoyment an emotion and a reaction to the stimulus provided by the trainer?

We hope that it is, but, particularly with adults, we cannot be sure that even our best efforts result in a trainee who "feels good". I would rather that a fellow trainer or someone who knows about training come to my workshops and observe that I have done all the things that any facilitator should do to create a positive learning environment. What I'm trying to say is that there are some things that should be evaluated by someone who knows what to look for and knows how to provide constructive feedback on those points.

In any case, when it comes down to it - although it makes sense to create a positive learning environment, it is up to the learner to make the concious decision to focus and learn what he/she needs to learn. Assuming the facilitator provides the opportunities, it is up to the learner to take advantage of them. Whether or not my trainee likes being there, despite my best efforts to provide a WIIFM and a positive environment, learning is ultimately the learner's responsibility. A trainer might provide the best environment ever, and there will still be trainees who shut down. That's not the trainer's fault or responsibility.

Here's a hint, trying answering the following question: "increase knowledge of Collections in order to do what?" The answer you get to that question tells you what you want to measure.

Here are some possible answers to that question:
--in order to be able to design training for Collections quicker.
--so that Collections personnel are more comfortable and trusting of our trainers.
--so that we have a clearer idea of how Collections work is done.
--so that trainers are able to fill in for Collections staff when we need temporary help.
--provide more Collection-specific examples when we do training.
--to keep the VP of the Collection Dept. happy.
--to let Collection managers think we know more about what they do, so when they ask us for training they are more likely to tolerate push-back from trainers.

Any of those answers could be accurate. But until you know which one is most accurate, you don't know how to measure "become more knowledgable about Collections." After all, there is supposed to be a purpose to this knowledge--if you got smarter about Collections and nothing else changed, would management be okay with that? I doubt it--I think they expect that if you get more knowledgable about Collections it will result in something else happening (faster training, whatever).

And there's a general application lesson that applies beyond Collection-specific training. Whenever a client asks you do provide something (time management training, team building, technical writing course, leadership skills), ask them "in order to do what?". They'll either answer with the intended result (travel reports complete by COB, less team turnover, 20% fewer errors on proposals, faster project completion) or a general answer "manage time better" or "a better team" that you can follow-up a similar question with ("and if they manage time better that would specifically mean what?" or "if the team is better that would lead to what exactly?"). In either case, asking that question ("in order to do what?" or a variation on it) helps clients to spell out the output or accomplishment that they are seeking.

As others have indicated, these look like a list of activities. Why not determine what you need to know and what you will be doing with the knowledge. Set measurable objectives for each of these activities with a learning outcome in minde.