ETEC 512/712 Human Performance Technology

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Welcome from the Instructor

I look forward to meeting you Tuesday, September 2, the first day of class. This should be an exciting year for all of us. For you, the year guides you through the fundamental concepts and skills in your chosen field through a vareity of formal and informal experiences. For me and Ann-Louise Davidson, the instructor for the other section of this course, this year provides an opportunity to collaborate for the first time and re-designing this course and provide you with the most valuable learning experience possible.

In case you're wondering what Human Performance Technology (HPT) is, it refers to a set of theories, processes, and practices that guide practicing instructional designers in their work. These theories, processes, and practices are based on the assumption that the core work of instructional designers is not merely to teach but, rather, to work with the sponsors who hire us to help learners become more measurably effective in a designated activity.

Human performance technology emerges from a realization by instructional designers that courses, alone, often do not produce the desired changes in performance. That's because, on further investigation of a situation, the intended learners do have the skills and knowledge needed to perform, but some other factors that affect learners' ability to perform the intended tasks in the desired way need to be addressed. One can teach ad infinitum but until those other factors are addressed, performance will not change. In response, instructional designers have taken a broader view of the work and often feel compelled to recommend interventions (as the solutions to performance issues are called) other than learning interventions when the intended learners already have mastered the basic sklls and knowledge.

To reflect this broader focus, many senior instructional designers refer to themselves as performance technologists or performance improvement specialists. (Generally, instructional designers need several years' of increasingly complex work experience before they are fully ready to assume the roles of performance technologists.) Although performance technologists still primarily design training programs, they sometimes recommend and develop other types of interventions to help build the desired performance.

Extremely experienced performance technologists become performance consultants. In this role, performance consultants continue to address the performance problems of individuals, but also address performance issues at the organizational level, and become involved in interventions such as organizational development and restructuring.

This course introduces you to HPT in stages:

• In the fall term, it introduces you to instructional systems design, the basic skill in the practice of both educational technology and human performance technology. Instructional systems design is systematic process for designing learning programs. It begins by clarifying the problem driving the need for instruction, continues with the process of establishing the objectives for the learning program--as well as the means of assessing whether those objectives have been met. The process continues with the process of designing the learning program--that is, choosing the approach to presenting the content, purposely planning that presentation, and developing materials that follow the plan . The process concludes with evaluating whether the materials have, indeed, met their goals.

To develop your instructional design skills, you experience this entire process by assessing the needs for a learning program, describing the requirements, preparing the designs, and preparing an initial draft of the program as well as a plan for assessing whether it met its objectives. You also prepare a process portfolio, in which you not only place the completed parts of the project, but also reflect on the what you learned when developing them.

• In the winter term, the course builds on this knowledge and broadens your focus from instruction to performance. It includes several units, each of which addresses a different issue. Building on the instructional systems design process, the first unit introduces the key concepts of human performance technolgy, linking it to the content presented in the first term. The second unit explores how to build performance by introducing the concept of a performance improvement campaign, which coherently integrates a series of interventions, some instructional, some not, to help people reach a desired level of proficiency. The third unit explores specific issues in developing performance materials, including written and visual communication skills. The last unit explores practical issues in implementing performance improvement campaigns, including issues arising in administering the campaigns and the use of human performance technology in schools and nonprofits.

  To develop these skills, you revise your needs assessment to address broader performance issues, develop the plan for a performance improvement campaign as well as a second intervention--one that does not involve instruction. You also contribute additional content to your portfolio.

• An additional assignment introduces you to the professional literature on the field so you can develop life-long learning skills, provides you with an opportunity to learn about a topic of interest, and share what you learned with your classmates.

In addition, because this is a required, year-long course, it also strives to do two other things:

• Demonstrate links to the theories and techniques learned in other courses, especially the other required courses. Guest speakers scheduled throughout the year and at times that we hope will be convenient for most students provide you with an opportunity to hear how practicing professionals apply the course content in the real world and, in the process, learn about the day-to-day work in the field.
• Build your pratical skills, through lab sessions that address advanced tips and technqiues with the more basic tools used to create materials, introduce you to some advanced tools (for which other courses in the program provide in-depth training), and develop design and research skills.
• Build your passion for the field. According to performance consultant Dana Gaines Robinson, understanding HPT is a process-a series of “a-has” and “oh my’s, rather than an epiphany.” With each a-ha comes a deeper understanding of the field, and a renewed sense of purpose in this work. This course is designed to provide you with a number of “a-ha” moments-and a number of other moments that prove learning can be fun.

To learn more about human performance technology, read What Is Human Performance Technology?

To help me best meet your learning needs, would you please complete the Student Information Form and return it to me by e-mail by Tuesday, September 9, the beginning of the second week of classes.

If you have questions before class begins, please contact me.

Saul Carliner
saulcarliner@gmail.com
http://education.concordia.ca/~scarliner

Last updated: 30 August 2008

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