Adult Education

M.S. in Talent Development – Things have changed and so have we!

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The University of St. Francis recently launched a new program in the area of talent development and training. The M.S. in Talent Development is an online program – 10 courses – to earn a Master’s degree.

Contact Dr. Bonnie J. Covelli for more information. bcovelli@stfrancis.edu or 815-740-5071

M.S. in Talent Development – Things Have Changed and So Have We

Embrace the future with a M.S. in Talent Development from University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois. The new curriculum aligns with the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Talent Development Capability Model™. If you have earned the distinguished Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®) or Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP®), then you only need nine courses to earn the degree because you can earn credit for prior learning. #ATDmember

The Talent Development program offers employment possibilities such as a talent development manager or director, human resources manager or director, learning and development manager or director, training or education manager or director, manager of organizational learning, employee relations manager, HR administration director, human resources operations manager, development manager, education director, learning manager, staff training and development manager, training and development coordinator, training and development director, training director, training manager, director or dean of continuing education, higher education administration, director of adult or community education, human performance consultant, trainer, consultant, instructional designer.

Students will find both personal and professional growth in the study of talent development. In this program, students have the opportunity to complete assignments they can apply to their organization, institution, or place of employment. They will gain hands-on experience with effective ways of building organizational capability practices including the design, delivery, management, assessment of talent development initiatives uniquely suited to adults. The Talent Development program supports students if they want to move up in their current organization, secure a position in another organization, or make a career change.

The talent development program provides employers with professionals who have expertise in the areas of human resources and learning and development. Students will understand how developing a learning organization leads to improved performance in the workplace, and they will have an awareness of internal and external environments that will enable them to position talent effectively within their organizations.

Program Mission

The Master of Science in Talent Development program provides quality educational experiences in an applied curriculum for professionals in the fields of talent development, human resources, and the delivery of programs for adults.  

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

  1. Increase knowledge of organizational capability practices including the design, delivery, management, assessment of talent development initiatives uniquely suited to adults
  2. Develop professional capability and awareness of ethical practices in the field of talent development
  3. Consult with various talent development stakeholders while building personal capability in the area of lifelong learning

Learn more at:

Talent Development (M.S.)

Empower Your Workplace: E-Learning Enhances Training and Development

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Erica LoBurgio, graduate student University of St. Francis, MS Training and Development Program.

In this article “The use of e-learning Course Management Systems to support learning strategies and to improve self-regulated learning,” authored by Y. Vovides, S. Sanchez-Alonso, V. Mitropoulou, and G. Nickmans, published in 2007 in the “Educational Journal Review,” studies how e-learning platforms are capable of improving educational capabilities by supporting numerous learning strategies as well as adopting self-determined and well-prepared learning. The effectiveness of course management systems (CMS) is studied in facilitating custom-made and personal to one’s self-learning paths, encouraging student engagement, and redefining academic outcomes by empowering learners to harness their own educational goals in self-monitoring, self-assessment, as well as goal setting.

The many approaches and insights that are used in this article can improve many areas of need in a company training and development programs. These improvements can be made by the information provided on performance tracking, increased engagement, personalized learning, enhanced employee training, and cost effectiveness – all discussed in depth in the article. All the approaches considered would lead a company into a more trained, capable, competent, and effective workplace environment.

Reference: Vovides, Y., Sanchez-Alonso, S., Mitropoulou, V., & Nickmans, G. (2007). The use of e-learning Course Management Systems to support learning strategies and to improve self-regulated learning. Educational Research Review, 2(1), 64-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2007.02.004

(L)earning (M)ade (S)upportive Through LMS Data 

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Sejdije Fejza, graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

In this article, researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia analyzed whether LMS data is useful in understanding learners and their needs. Video based learning management systems were assessed by monitoring how many times a student clicked on a video and the amount of time that video played. Exam results were also reviewed to determine whether LMS data can assist student learning. First, it revealed students’ preferences for learning. Additionally, students can reference back information or work on their own time. They also revealed that shorter videos and content receive the best results when instructing through this LMS. 

This source is helpful for organizations who are deciding what factors to assess in their LMS to support student learning. If individuals adopt this form of analysis to support learning, it is important that they carefully choose the best LMS features to assess. This will avoid limitations in data. For instance, it’s important to consider how engaged students are when watching a video. Therefore, the number of times clicked on a video may not necessarily correlate to whether the viewer is actively paying attention to the video to assist in their learning. 

Reference 

Maloney, S., Axelsen, M., Galligan, L., Turner, J., Redmond, P., Brown, A., Basson, M., & Lawrence, J. (2022). Using LMS log data to explore student engagement with coursework videos. Online Learning, 26(4), 399–423.

Assessing Micro-Learning in a Healthcare Education Environment

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Theresa Anderson, graduate student University of St. Francis, MS Training and Development program.

This article on the healthcare education micro-learning environment measure (HEMLEM) is a research article aimed at creating an evidence-based measurement tool for assessing clinical micro-learning environments across several healthcare professional student groups. The authors suggest there may be gaps between what healthcare professional students should be learning and what they learn. The authors took a mixed methods approach to create a micro-learning environment measure. They acknowledge that teaching quality, staff attitudes, and behaviors are critical for a good micro-learning environment. 

The article is helpful for anyone attempting to measure how micro-learning within the education of a healthcare professional environment affects students’ learning. The authors created a measurement tool through a step-wise approach: literature analyzing existing tools, generating new items through thematic analysis of student experiences, the Delphi process involving healthcare educators, piloting the prototype, and item reduction. The item reduction tool was a twelve-question survey of the students with differing healthcare professions. HEMLEM seems to be an efficient way to measure success or what needs to be improved in a micro-learning environment. 

References

Isba, R., Rousseva, C., Wolf, K., & Byrne-Davis, L. (2020). Development of a brief learning environment measure for use in healthcare professions education: The healthcare education micro learning environment measure (HEMLEM). BMC Medical Education, 20(110). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-01996-8

Exploring Continuous Assessments

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Breanna Winters, graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

This article provides insight into the transition from traditional assessment methods in higher education to continuous assessments with a focus on integrating multiple choice assessments multiple times throughout a semester. Additionally, there are four studies reviewed in the article that question continuous assessment and alternative learner needs. The results of these studies support that having continuous assessments can help recognize when learners are becoming disengaged or experiencing a major life event. The results also confirm that the use of continuous assessments does not create a significant negative learning struggle for those with alternative learning needs (Playfoot et al., 2022).

This article can be useful for anyone whether in higher education, the corporate world, or the non-profit sector. It explores continuous assessments and brings to light the importance of considering if your learners have alternative learning needs and how assessments can impact the learner and feedback provided.

Reference

Playfoot, D., Wilkinson, L. L., & Mead, J. (2022). Is continuous assessment inclusive? An analysis of factors influencing student grades. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2022.2150834

Incorporating the Latest Assessment Trends for E-Learning

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Debra Eungard, a graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

eLearning Assessment Trends and Strategies by Sumit Satardekar (2021) is a thought-provoking read. Satadekar (2021) begins the article by explaining eLearning trends and strategies. He moves on to define qualitative testing to his audience. In his discussion, he brings up some pros and cons of implementation for assessment purposes.  From there he moves on to explain 3 major strategies for implementation:   continuous assessment, decision-making scenarios, and open-ended questions. In each section, the author gives tips on making implementation meaningful. He wraps the article up by offering some final thoughts on this topic such as why it is important to make the switch to these latest trends for assessment for the evolving eLearning community.

The article is beneficial for both the facilitator and the learner in that it gives some valuable tips in the area of assessment. Gaining information in regards to understanding the latest trends and sharing a couple of those trends, the reader is handed tools to implement. From the facilitator’s perspective, these trends can be useful when implementing engaging assessments into the online curriculum. By engaging the learner, the facilitator is creating a valid tool for assessment. As a learner, you can gain insight into assessments and see their value for online learning.

Reference

Satardekar, S. (2021, December 22). Elearning Assessment Trends and Strategies. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-assessment-trends-and-strategies

To Survey or Not to Survey?

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Kelly Andrzejczak, graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

Author, Tim Slade (2021), helps answer that question. While well-intended, post-course surveys can often miss the mark, Slade (2021) discusses the important of reflecting on three considerations when determining if an evaluation survey is appropriate: what will I do with the data? Are learners qualified to evaluate the thing you’re asking? Is it too early for learners to evaluate their reactions? Reflecting on these questions helps with designing strategy and determining what you hope to accomplish through the evaluation process.

Instructional designers would benefit from reading through this blog. The content reiterates the importance of ensuring that the evaluation asks the right questions of the appropriate audience to better understand the impact and effectiveness of the course. This blog was found through “Ask a Trainer” on ATD, the world’s largest association for talent development and written by speaker, author, and award-winning e-learning designer, Tim Slade.

References

Slade, T. (2021, October 22). Ask a trainer: Post-course evaluations | ATD. Main. https://td.org/atd-blog/ask-a-trainer-post-course-evaluations

One, Two, Three, Where’s the Four?

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This post is brought to you by your padawan blogger, Daniel Liestman, a graduate student in the University of St. Francis’ (Joliet, IL) MS in Training and Development program.

Assessing the training of health care professionals to become proficient with TEDEI (Training in Early Detection for Early Intervention), a screening instrument for cerebral palsy in infants, involved the first three Kirkpatrick levels. Participants in the video-based e-learning course reacted to a 6 question Likert scale and free text responses. Most responses were at the highest level of satisfaction. However, questions about improved personal knowledge and anticipated improved clinical practice only scored at the second highest level of satisfaction. A pre- and post-test of learning showed an improvement of 23.1%. Twenty-three interviewees reported improvement in their behavior in working with parents, improvement in confidence, and success with other telehealth assessments. 

Understandably, Officer, et. al.  (2023) did not attempt a Level 4 assessment.  Kirkpatrick’s model comes from an era of internal in-house training where organizational impact was considered the capstone to a logical progression. In an era of distributed, asynchronous training where not all members of an organization participate assessing Level 4 is challenging. This then begs the question why would an organization support one person taking an online course? The assumption is that the learner will pass the information along to colleagues.  The idea that if you want to master a topic; teach it applies. If the online learners passed along their newfound knowledge, the measures of the 3 Levels could become their Level 4 assessment.

Officer, Johnson, M., Blickwedel, J., Reynolds, A., Pearse, R., Pearse, J., & Basu, A. P. (2023). Evaluation of the Training in Early Detection for Early Intervention (TEDEI) e-learning course using Kirkpatrick’s method. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 129–129. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04113-7

Wholistic e-Learning Through e-Portfolios

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Sejdije Fejza, graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

Researcher Patience Kelebogile Mudau identifies perceptions of e-portfolios as a form of assessment. E-portfolios are digital spaces for a user to compile projects that highlight qualities about themselves. This assessment enables users to be actively involved in their learning. Students can also engage in the process of reflecting on feedback before they submit activities to their e-portfolio. Despite the possible need for technical training, Professors at University of South Africa agree that e-portfolios are effective in promoting student-centered learning and growth in digital literacy. 

This article’s data were gathered qualitatively through interviewing lecturers that have participated in administering e-portfolios as a requirement for their online students. This firsthand account of information will assist other instructors who are weighing the benefits and limitations of digital student-centered assessments. This entry also serves as an asset because it is published in the International Journal of Educational Methodology which provides readers with pedagogical techniques that succeed around the world. In a world where digital workplaces are on a rapid rise, it is beneficial to consider different techniques, needs, and outlooks in our ever-growing communities. 

Reference: 

Mudau, P. K. (2021). Lecturers’ Views on the Functionality of e-Portfolio as Alternative Assessment in an Open Distance e-Learning. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 8(1), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.12973/ijem.8.1.81

eLearning and Knowledge Management

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This post is provided by guest blogger, Breanna Winters, graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

In this article, a review of eLearning is established. The article identifies some specific challenges of eLearning and provides a review of technology-enhanced learning, also referred to as TEL. In further detail the article reviews Knowledge Management (KM) and how they are all intertwined. The main focus is how eLearning, TEL and KM have a similar goal: employee skill building that will ultimately increase organizational performance. The article continues to explore some additional components of eLearning such as through mobile apps and how these apps can create life-long learning (LLL).

This article reinforces some of the benefits of eLearning and the importance of quality of content. It could be important for a training team to review when discussing eLearning options for a company and how they want to relay their content to their employees.

Reference

Alsharhan, A., Salloum, S., & Shaalan, K. (2021). The impact of eLearning as a knowledge management tool in organizational performance. Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal, 6(1), 928-936.