| I like to share knowledge with people. Whether it is how to use your phone or document a code in the shock trauma suite, I want you to have the skills to do your job. I just don’t have to see you face-to-face to accomplish this. I rarely teach in a classroom; my job is to create online learning modules. Once you finish one my courses you will not be an expert in the software, but you will have taken a step towards proficiency. I want everyone around me to have the tools to do the job. I am a registered nurse and while I no longer provide direct patient care, I always remember the mantra that it’s about the kid in the bed. I train clinicians on the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). I sometimes train computer analysts on other software, but all software is just a tool to accomplish a task. My focus is how to make you a proficient user of that tool. I mostly align with cognitivism. I think people chunk information together and learn by linking new concepts to something they know (Kelly, 2012). In my online modules, I give users a scenario and show them how to chart the elements of that example. I am taking something they know (a clinical situation) and linking it to something new (how to use the software). My role as a software trainer is to guide the learner through the learning process. I am more of a facilitator to the learner. Some software programs are easy to learn. You basically are memorizing where to click. Others are more complicated, and the user will struggle to put all the concepts together to be able to demonstrate proficiency. My goal is to teach both how to run the software, trouble-shoot basic issues and know where to go if you need help. Learning is messy and non-linear. Some students get very frustrated when they don’t understand what they are doing or why. Others, such as ICU and Emergency nurses are comfortable with many unknowns. They will figure it out when the time comes. When you are going live with a new software package there are many questions you won’t be able to answer, and as a trainer you must be comfortable with that. The workflows have often not been identified yet. The users will normally be the ones to discover how their job fits into the software. It is a process that they are very much a part of. If I am in a classroom, I facilitate that by asking a lot of questions about their role and how they think it will fit into the flow of the software. I am part cheerleader and part mentor. With more established software, I start with an overview of the product and then move down to the specifics by role. I encourage the learner to practice their pathway with real-life examples to work through. I work with adults. Their learning styles are already ingrained. They bring a lifetime of learning experience with them and it has not always been a positive journey. Learning disorders follow you into adulthood, so I must be aware that I am working with a very heterogeneous group of people. Work roles also play a part in how they want to gather information. Busy clinicians have little patience for slow progress or long courses. They want to know very clearly what you are asking of them and how to accomplish it. They like examples but the information must be correct. They are easily distracted by a lab value that is off or orders that are wrong for a specific diagnosis. Computer analysts want to know how this all works together. What will the workflow be? What’s the solution to any kind of issue that may come up? They want lessons to be planned and orderly. You must know your audience to be effective. Assessing a student’s learning can be difficult in this situation. I add testing throughout an online module or at the end of a course. I provide practice exercises for the user to complete in the training environment of the software if the course is long. The general measure of success though is usually measured in the number of calls to the help desk that are associated with training and not errors in the software. As a learner my goal is to increase my knowledge of the topic at hand and understand how it fits into the greater picture. I want to be familiar with resources that will help me become proficient. As a trainer, I use technology to reach my users. Hospitals are staffed around-the-clock and online courses fit into the learner’s schedule. Other software applications can be used on phones or tablets to facilitate communication or education when needed and not on a specific schedule. I use both my experience as a clinician and a trainer to teach concepts important to the end users so they can focus on the job of taking care of the patient. I use online courses as my teaching modality. This is the way I share knowledge. References Kelly, J. (2012, September). Learning Theories. Retrieved from http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/theories/ Originally posted on my CMU blog on September 14, 2019. |
Creating engaging learning.
