Training Design

Check Your Progress

From The Field:
Training Ethiopian Nurses

Developing learning outcomes or objectives is a key step in the training design process. Two tools that helped curriculum developers to create learning objectives for HIV-related training provided to nurses in Ethiopia were Creating Learning Objectives and Verbs for Learning Objectives.

The first tool outlines how to write a learning objective statement that is directly linked to a learning outcome, and the second tool provides suggestions for strong verbs to use that can more clearly specify what participants will be able to do at the end of a training. For example, one learning outcome for the nurse's HIV training in Ethiopia was to understand what HIV looks like clinically. Using this vague learning outcome and the guidelines provided in these two tools, the following learning objective statement was developed: By the end of this training, participants will be able to explain the disease progression and clinical manifestations of HIV/AIDS. This process of writing learning objectives that connect directly to learning outcomes of training was repeated for each session in the training.

toggle expansion of vignette

Designing a training course is like mapping out a road trip or creating a blueprint for building a house. A training design is basically an outline of all the "what, where, who, when and how" details of the training for use by coordinators, curriculum developers, and trainers. There are five primary components of a training design:

  • Learning Outcomes: What will participants be able to do as a result of completing the training?
  • Training Materials: What materials need to be developed and what will the materials include?
  • Trainers and Content Experts: Who will facilitate the training and act as content experts to review materials?
  • Training Methods: What methods will be used so that participants meet the learning objectives and learn the content most effectively?
  • Logistics: Where and when will the training take place? Who will be invited and how will they be notified? Will a per diem be paid to participants? Etc.

Using Your Needs Assessment to Design Training

Optimally, the results of a needs assessment inform these five training design components. For example, if you know the gap between what a target audience knows and what it needs to know, you can write learning outcome statements that precisely meet their job-related needs as healthcare providers. A needs assessment will also help you determine who you will need as content experts for the training, and whether a course should be one, three, or five days long.

The resources in this section of the Toolkit can help you design a blueprint for a training course. Principles and Strategies and Learning Outcomes are two of the primary areas of training design. Also check out the Online Resources available on training design.

Also included in this section on training design is a From the Field example of how to use a few of the tools to design a training course or program. Don't forget to monitor your ongoing progress by clicking on Chart your Progress.

NOTE: Conducting an evaluation after completing each step of the training process will help you provide your target audience with the best training possible. See the Process Evaluation forms available in the Evaluation section of the Toolkit to help you evaluate the design phase of your training.