Developing a Training Course

This is one of those rare, fully professional, posts.

In my last post I said that I was designing a training course and would not post until Wednesday because I had to complete it. It is Wednesday, and I have still to do so.

I have spoken often about the difference between education and training.

In education there is a field of knowledge, but the aim is to teach people to think, to understand and extend that field. In training there is also a field of knowledge, but the focus is on teaching people to do.

These are two very different things. One of my complaints about current education is that it is too training focused, losing sight of broader issues.

The training course that I am designing at the moment is intended to teach people to do certain simple mathematical calculations. There are broader issues, but if people do not understand the maths, if they cannot do, then they will not understand the broader issues.

I have not run this type of concrete and very narrowly defined courses before. While the subject area is not complex, it has been mystified as complex. To overcome this, I have to get to people whose maths, if any, is a long way behind them. So I have been experimenting with ways to simplify my presentation.

In skills training, people learn by doing. This means that I have to design simple structures that will facilitate doing. I have therefore being preparing examples plus worksheets for use in class. I have more to do tonight.

All this means that it will be Friday before I can again focus on this blog.