Designing Powerful Training: The Sequential-Iterative Model (Sim)

By Michael Milano and Diane Ullius

Book Overview

"An excellent, comprehensive, and very practical guide fortraining design.
--Beverly Popek, director of human resources, professional &consulting services, MCI Telecommunications

The answer is here. The heart of this book is theSequential-Iterative Model (SIM) for training design. A fancy termfor a simple, elegant concept: training should be a step-by-stepprocess with a feedback loop that enables you to continuallyrefine your training based on experience.

"You will not find another book that so thoroughly examinesthe process of creating training events. For anyone who wants to doquality design work, this book is highly recommAnded."
--Mel Silberman, author of Active Training and 101 Ways to MakeTraining Active

This book is a tool to help you design training that is:
* Effective: Accomplishing specific objectives that aim towardsuccess
* Efficient: Meeting training objectives without wasting time orenergy
* Engaging: Involvin g learners and incorporating theirexperience into the training

You get checklists and evaluations to guide your developmentprocess. Out of their many years of experience, Milano and Ulliushave created a practical guidebook that enables you to structuretraining so it is fluid and adaptable. Many guides to instructionaldesign are stuffy, academic, and difficult to apply to the realworld. Not so with Designing Powerful Training. This book iseasy to approach and visually refreshing, with over 70 figures andillustrations!

You'll receive an overview of training basics, including:
* Identifying the central characteristics of adult learners
* Recognizing the essential skills for instructional design
* Conducting a simple and quick needs assessment . . . and muchmore!

Next, the authors introduce you to the revolutionary SIM design.This design guides you through:
* defining training goals and objectives
* designing a big-picture outline for your training program
* refining your outline to create a detailed trainingprocess
* selecting media for your training events
* evaluating the success of your designs.

"I like this book! The [SIM] gives me the connection betweentraining design and organizational performance needs I have beenlooking for in other books."-- Joseph A. Greenberg, professorof higher education administration, The George WashingtonUniversity

An essential piece of the puzzle is the running example that theauthors follow throughout the book. This is where the rubbermeets the road. You see the SIM in action and you recognize howyou'll make it work for you.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787909661
• ISBN13: 9780787909666
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Pfeiffer
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.5" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Transformational!

I discovered Designing Powerful Training in 1999 in a graduate program on instructional design. I was a good designer before I began using this book...and it totally transformed my design ability for the better. In fact, it gave me the confidence to become a full-time instructional designer, which I have been doing ever since, and an instructional design coach. The book focuses, in great detail, on HOW to think about design. It gives a step-by-step process for doing this. Instructional design requires discipline and this book hands it to you on a silver platter. It does NOT address in any detail how to conduct a needs assessment, how to evaluate training, how to work with graphic design, or how to create learning materials. What it focuses on, though, is superb and it has been one of the primary influences on my career today.

Designing Powerful Training Has Impact

This book is exactly what I was looking for to design a more impactful training. I reccomend it if you are looking for a step-by-step approach to get you started.

A tremendous resource for any training professional.

I have been in the training profession for about 15 years and have looked for a resource like this for a long time. As a training professional I have been asked to develop training materials for numerous learning styles and levels and have struggled to interpret what my customers are needing. This book details very simply what it takes to develop training materials and how to be an effective consultant in a timely manner. I found the concepts to be extremely effective and realistic and usable. I manage a training department of 8 trainers who have tremendous training responsibilities. Because this book is such an excellent resource I purchased it for each of my training consultants and they have used it many times over. I really appreciate the creative methods detailed by the authors in creating that "powerful" training program that our customers expect.

"Designing Powerful Training" will help you do exactly that

I have been designing and presenting workshops for many years but "Designing Powerful Training: The Sequential-Iterative Model" by Michael Milano and Diane Ullius is the most crisp, clear, and concise "how to" and "why" book that I've read on the subject. Theory and practice are consistently presented hand-in-hand. I particularly like the way Milano and Ullius honor all varieties of learning styles. They do this in the design process as well as in their explanations. The result is that I felt included as a colleague and as a co-learner. The book has actually motivated me to redouble my own commitment to design training events with the same sensitivity. But what I like most is the presentation of a process that is both sequential and iterative. To me that means a process that is both disciplined and flexible, invariant yet creative. The five point model helped me recommit to the importance of paying attention up-front to writing ! out complete goals and objectives. The authors do a great job of demonstrating why this is so essential. For me, the book functions like a disciplined and experienced teacher. The method demands discipline but within that discipline there is space for spontaneity and fun.