Running head: TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

Training Program Plan

Candice Rodgers
AET/570
April 4, 2016
Gale Cossette

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

Part I - Training Program Description

Moore University provides lifelong learning to students in the country. As technology
expands, more students are signing up for online courses than traditional courses. The college is
expanding to offer more online classes and also add more online programs. Before the online
courses can go active, it is required that all faculty complete the Blackboard training. Blackboard
is a web-based learning system used to facilitate the online courses at the University. This
management system provides the college with many types of features and tools to enrich the
learning experience for students. Blackboard is a way that students can stay connected at all
times, by accessing the system on any device. To make sure faculty can utilize the system to the
full capacity, the college provides training on Blackboard every semester and faculty will receive
a stipend. By requiring faculty to complete the online training, it ensures the college that they
are skills to facilitate their online course(s).
Target Audience
The target audience of this training program is faculty members hired at the University.
To qualifications to teach must have at least three years of work experience in the related field, a
minimum of two years of teaching, and a Bachelors degree in the related field. Since the
positions require faculty to have at least two years of teaching, it is assumed the facilitators are
skilled in communication, writing, verbal, and organizational skills (Palloff & Pratt, 2011).
Goal
The goal of the training will be to training faculty how to effectively use Blackboard.
Trainers need to acknowledge adults experience. Surveying the adult learners before the start of
the training may be useful. It will provide the trainers information on the level of skills in
Blackboard. By having this information, the trainers should be able to tailor the training to meet
the needs of the audience and meet the training objectives.

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

Objectives
The objectives of the training program are:

Participants will demonstrate how to navigate the system by completing tasks

with 100% accuracy.

Participants will demonstrate how to utilize communication tools with 100%

accuracy.

Participants will demonstrate how to create tests with accuracy.

Participants will demonstrate how to grade documents in the grade center.

Participants will demonstrate how to create rubrics.

Part II Needs Analysis Page

The purpose of the needs assessment is to close the gap of struggling instructors teaching
online courses. Some online instructors are struggling to keep kids from falling behind. It seems
that more students are having a hard time paying attention to the discussions in the online
courses. Since this generation is used to using technology in everyday life for socializing,
researching, shopping and paying bills, it is interesting that students are not focused on the
courses. Training the instructors to master Blackboard will allow the instructor to spend less time
figuring out Blackboard and more time thinking of creative ways to help the students retain the
content.
Questionnaires
One way to conduct a need analysis is by sending out a questionnaire. The questionnaire
was sent to all instructors currently using Blackboard to help identify what skills, abilities, and
knowledge they had currently using Blackboard. The questionnaire also helped identify who still
needs training on Blackboard to teach their class(s) successfully. A questionnaire where also
was sent out to students who previously had online courses to help identify their struggles with

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

the curriculum and overall usage of Blackboard. Using the questionnaires help Moore University
identify what needs to take place during training to help instructors effectively teach online.
Interviews
Interviews were conducted with online instructors to understand better what is needed in
training to help them effectively teach. Three instructors from each division were interviewed
and asked numerous questions about Blackboard want what they thought was needed in training
to assist them in their classrooms. Students were also interviewed to help understand the gap in
with students struggling in the classrooms. By listening to their interviews, the institution is able
to determine what the instructors need in training.
Group Sessions
The training committee conducted two group sessions with instructors and students who
were willing to participate. The committee asked both group questions about Blackboard,
curriculum, teaching, and learning. Once questions were asked, the group talked about issues and
brainstormed on what they feel they needed to teach effectively online classes. The discussions
were very knowledgeable and helped the committee understand what was needed for training.
Part III Budget
The training committee planners are responsible for creating and getting a budget
approved for the training (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). Any budget errors can make a difference
in the success of the training. Instructors will benefit greatly from this training program, and the
students will also reap the rewards. Our training program will take place for one week in a
computer lab. The trainees will receive assessments at the end of the training period. In the
budget, the planners will determine around how many will need training, how will the instructors
will get paid for the stipend when the training will take place, and the equipment needed. The
budget for the training program the will includes:

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

EQUIPMENT
Facility Rental

COST
N/A

NOTES
A computer lab will be reserved for the training.

Staff

N/A

Advertising

$0

University Employees (training committee are already paid

salary)
Human Resources informs instructors on the required training
upon hire.

Training
Manuals and
Evaluation
Forms
Refreshments

$50

Print shop price to print papers.

$500.00

Drinks and snacks

Set up and clean $0

up
$250 each
Stipends
instructor

University janitors
Each division will pay from programs budget

Part IV Staffing Plan

The goal of the training is to ensure that instructors are fully prepared to teach online
classes. To make sure this happens, it is vital for the university to make sure the staffing needs
are met for the training. When designing instructional training, it is important for the trainers to
choose important techniques that will match the focus of the training outcomes and take into
account the experiences and backgrounds of the trainees (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013).
Required Qualifications: Job Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
To train the instructors, the trainers will need the essential skills in Blackboard. They will
need to develop understandably and d clear learning objectives for each training session and
make the learning outcomes of the training. The trainers will need to know the basic skills in
Blackboard, how to create a course, how to create course assessments, grading, conduct
discussions, and plagiarism prevention (Blackboard, 2016). Trainers also will need to be skilled

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

at teaching others. The trainers must know their content, care about the learners, assessment
techniques skillfully and appropriately, are competent learning facilitators, and are well prepared
for each training session (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). It is vital that the trainers make a clear
plan that helps the learners stay focused as they move through the training. At the end of each
training session, each learner will be given an evaluation form to fill out on the trainers
performance and training.
Time Required/Staff Positions
The training session will consist of six training session of the course of two weeks. The
sessions will be held on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each training session will last for
three hours with two breaks (a break after each hour). To effectively conduct the training, there
will need to be two trainees for each session. One trainer who will conduct the training. This
person will stand in the front of the computer lab and facilitate the training. The other trainer will
be the person who walks around the room to assist any learner who is having trouble keeping up
with the training. Having a floater in the room will help the training session run smoothly, keep
the session from running over and help the learners stay focused as they move through the
training. The floater also can actually observe the instructors to make sure they are keeping up
with the training.
Part V - Stakeholders and Goals
Stakeholders (minimum of
Partnership goal

Ways to build support

Effectively facilitate
classrooms.
Improve grades and dropout
rates in online courses.
Determine new qualifications
needed to hire educational
employees.

Help determine ways to

improve online teaching.
Help figure out ways to
support in online learning.
Review positions and
evaluate current instructors
qualifications.

five)
Instructors
Students
School Board

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

Administrators
Trainees

Help make decisions with

finances and helps with the
teaching curriculum.
Successfully conduct training
for Blackboard.

Implement and create new

policies regarding online
teaching.
Create new ways to evaluate
classrooms. Find new ways
to cut cost on the budget.
Figure out new ways to help
support the training.

Part VI Communication Plan

Communication is vital in any organization. The training committee will communicate
face-to-face and through email to build a successful planning and training relationship. If the
communication is conducted face-to-face, there will need to be a person who records the minutes
of every meeting. Once the minutes are typed, it can be distributed to all of the members of the
training committee. Documenting the meetings will help the committee keep track of the
progress and topics that still needs to be addressed. The committee can also go back and look at
the minutes to reference something. With email, the conversation will already be documented.
Within the communication, the team will discuss expectations of the training, the old training
verse new training, the advertisement of the training, and the designing the training. Without
effective communication, the training session will not be designed to its best ability.
The university has been observing the online courses for two years and noticed that the more
students were dropping out or failing the online classes than traditional classrooms. It is vital for
the training committee to talk and figure out why this is happening. Within the communication,
the training committee must also communicate on:

Understand what needs to be changed in the old training sessions.

Have a clear understanding of the goals, objects, and outcomes.

How the budget was be maintained throughout the years.

Observation and evaluation methods during training and online classrooms

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

Track progress by observing classroom statistics over the next five years.

Marketing
The training will be required for every new online instructor each semester. The Human
Resources department will be in charge of relaying this information to the new instructors
internally. Since there the training will take place within the facility, there is no need to market
externally. Although the training is for the new hire, the committee will also like to market to
instructors who is still struggling with teaching online. This will help them contact the
Blackboard help department to provide resources they may need to facilitate an online class
effectively.
To internally market the Blackboard training, the training committee need to (Caffarella
& Daffron, 2013):

Respond and listen to the needed of the target stakeholders and audience

Ensure the internal message fit the goals, values and mission of the university

Make sure all new hires know about the training and specific requirements

Relay the message in a way that the readers can understand the objectives, goals
and outcomes of the training.

To help push for training, the training committee team has designed a slogan, logo and fact sheet.
Slogan To teach others, we must teach ourselves.
Logo -

To teach others, we must teach ourselves.

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

(Teacher Certification Degrees, 2016)

Fact Sheet the fact sheets provides answers to common questions
Blackboard Training
To teach others, we must teach ourselves
Fact Sheet
What is Blackboard?

Who needs Blackboard

training?
When does the training
take place?

Blackboard is a web-based learning system used to facilitate the

online courses at the university. This management system provides
the college with many types of features and tools to enrich the
learning experience for students. Blackboard is a way that students
can stay connected at all times, by accessing the system on any
device.
Any hired online instructor will need to take the required
Blackboard two-week training session.
The two-week training session will take place a week after hire.
Instructors who do not complete the two-week training session
will NOT be eligible to teach online.

Where will the training

take place?

The training will take place at Moore University. The human

resource representative will give you the computer lab information
on where the training session will be held. Each new instructor
will need to complete the required training session and provide the
program dean with a copy of the training certificate. Instructors
who do not complete the two-week training session will NOT be
eligible to teach online.

Why is the training

needed?

The Blackboard training is needed to ensure that all online

instructors knows how to use Blackboard. Without fully
understanding how to use Blackboard, an instructor cannot
effectively teach a course.
To find out more information on Blackboard or training call
(555)555-5555 ext. 5555 or www.email
blackboardtraining@yahoo.com

How can I get more

information about the
training?

Part VII Program Evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if the delivery and design of the training
were effective and if the outcomes were met (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). There will be two
types of evaluations. One evaluation will focus on what is needed to improve the training

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

10

session, and the other evaluation will be for the outcomes of the online classes. The
developmental evaluation will be given to each instructor during each training session. This will
help the training committee help develop, improve and innovate the training session. The trainers
would be thinking and learn new ways to revise the delivery, content or administrative tasks
(Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). The second evaluation will be done in the classrooms over a five
year period. The evaluation will be conducted in each classroom after each semester to determine
if the training is helping improve the learning in online classes. If the learning is not improving,
the training committee will need to gather their information and thoughts and determine what is
still needed to help improve adult learning online.
Overseeing Program Evaluation
The administrators and training committee will oversee the program evaluations. The
division administrators always conduct evaluations in each classroom at the end of the semester.
The training committee will obtain the results of the evaluation and statics for the first five years
after the training to see the outcomes of the training. The classroom statistics will include passing
grades, dropouts, and failed grades. The training committee will compare the last five years to
the five years of the new training to figure out if the training is improving online classrooms.
Decisions Made Using Evaluation
After the five years of evaluations, the committee will gather the information to determine if
(Caffarella & Daffron, 2013):

The training should be revised

The training is successfully helping instructors effectively teach online and adult learners
statics are improving

Online classrooms need to be revised

Determine if the training was cost-effective

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

The objectives and goals were successfully achieved

The delivery, management, design and evaluation process needs to change.

11

Conclusion
The goal of the training is to make sure faculty can to utilize Blackboard to the full
capacity, and improve adult learning in online classrooms. By requiring faculty to complete the
online training, it ensures the college that they are skills to facilitate their online course(s). By
ensuring that teachers are skilled in Blackboard to facilitate a course, the college is able to
provide quality learning to students. Our number one priority in the college is the adult learners.
As the slogan states, To be able to teach others, we must teach ourselves.

TRAINING PROGRAM PLAN

12

References
Blackboard. (2016). Learning core solution. Retrieved from Blackboard:
http://www.blackboard.com/Images/LearningSolutions_LearningCore_SaaS_tcm217381.pdf
Caffarella, R. S., & Daffron, S. R. (2013). Planning Programs for Adult Learners. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The Excellent Online Instructor: Strategies for Professional
Development. San Fransisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Image Reference
Teacher Certification Degrees. (2016). Better teachers brighter futures. Retrieved from Teacher
Certification Degrees: http://www.teachercertificationdegrees.com/