Learning and development do not directly coincide but are two processes that are in a complex relationship. Learning is only effective when it goes ahead of development. Then it awakens and brings to life a number of functions that are in the stage of maturation, lying in the zone of proximal development. This represents the main role of learning in development. Training is most fruitful only when it takes place within the period determined by the period of earliest development. Designing these approaches requires substantial knowledge and organisational abilities in order to effectively propagate through the transfer of information. All the given measures are crucial for creating an effective L&D activity, which sets up clear objective and systematic methodology to deliver information.
There are essential legislative measures that need to be considered when designing learning and development activities. Among them, the health and safety of the surrounding environment are crucial in order to enable learners to flourish. The lack of given requirements will significantly hinder and diminish the learning process. In addition, equality legislation must be present, because it ensures that discriminatory actions are prohibited (Ravindra, Foresti, Rajadurai & Zubaran 2018, p. 492). This measure will allow people to possess equal access for necessary resources and knowledge. Moreover, there are two major organisational factors, which greatly influence the process of L&D activities designing (Nguyen & Aoyama 2014, p. 637). First, the corporate culture must value and uphold development as a virtue without condemning as a distraction from other responsibilities. Second, a firm as a whole must be involved and interested in creating an appropriately suitable environment for the overall growth of its people. These managerial adjustments are vital for setting up and outlining a highly effective L&D activity.
A distinctive feature of adult learning principles is the principle of reliance on previous life experience. It is primarily relevant about the professional experience: the skills, knowledge and skills acquired at a previous job. In the case of adults, their experience becomes a kind of basis for the formation of new skills and the assimilation of new knowledge. However, the principle of adjusting outdated exposure also directly follows from the previous idea. Often, the professional and personal information accumulated by adults, who come to study, contradicts more modern requirements and social attitudes (Cherrstrom, Robbins & Bixby 2016, p. 4). Teachers dealing with adults should be able to convince their students of the irrelevance of the ideas which they hold and be able to replace outdated knowledge with modern ones. In the context of designing L&D activity, this means that the educator should pay attention to the student’s life experience, his professional skills, beliefs, and the relationships that the given adult builds in the team.
In order to design an outstanding L&D activity, which results in effective knowledge and information acquiring, it is critically important to analyse the learner’s background. Personality is formed during practical life with actions and deeds, just as the mind is created by theoretical growth of mental activity. It directly determines the motivating factors behind a person’s work. Work on the personality begins in the daily practice and it includes the internal work that takes place around actions and deeds, the experience of managing their forces and using them to achieve their goals (Lin, Chang & Liang 2015, p. 350). A strong, active personality is formed in a busy life, which will only increase the efficiency of the L&D process. Knowing a learner’s personality and character background will enable to properly adjust the activity to match for his/her key motivating drivers.
The learning process requires a set of clearly defined objectives, which enable effortless and natural transfer of desired information. The given procedure consists of three main steps: aim, objective and learning outcome. First, an educator sets up a clear goal for a session or class, where he/she strives to deliver essential knowledge. Second, the teacher is required to create precise objectives, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-specific (Wesolowski 2015, p. 40). These properties of a target can be understood as the SMART acronym guide. For example, if an aim-knowledge is to develop an insight into current trends in the oil industry, it is important to lay out certain objectives. Among them are reviewing major oil corporations and how they influence the market of interest. Another objective would be to analyse the range of products and services oil industry values. In addition, it would be helpful to research historical shifts of oil prices and related causes.
There are four main types of learning styles: activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists. The pragmatists must learn practical things through active experimentation, which can be applied in the real world. Courses related to the essence of professional activity completely solve this problem. In order to consolidate the knowledge gained, practice and hands-on experience are necessary. The purpose of the theorists’ training is simply to systematize abstract conceptualization qualities in accordance with the results of specific activities. For example, brainstorming courses that teach how to stimulate creativity and use it systematically (Hamdaoui, Idrissi & Bennani 2018, p. 687). In order to develop reflectors, people need to set a task, the solution of which requires the use of past experiences through reflective observation. Since they are associated with the need for comparing and contrasting their previous knowledge. For the development of a reflector, he/she needs to be assigned work in which both success and failure depend on him. Activists require concrete experience learning cycle, which will enable them to indulge in an unfamiliar environment.
In conclusion, it is highly important to understand that the designing of L&D activity is an intricate one. Numerous influencing factors must be taken into account in order to create an effective learning process. It involves various legislative and organisational measures, adapting for the learner, setting clear objectives, adjusting teaching methods and studying the learner’s motivation. All these crucial elements allow designing the L&D activity precisely for delivering essential knowledge, which will enable the learners to develop and flourish.
Reference List
Cherrstrom, C A, Robbins, S E & Bixby, J 2016, ‘10 years of adult learning: Content analysis of an academic journal’, Adult Learning, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 3-11.
Hamdaoui, N, Idrissi, M K & Bennani, S 2018, ‘Modeling learners in educational games: Relationship between playing and learning styles’, Simulation & Gaming, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 675-699.
Lin, J S, Chang, W S & Liang, C 2015, ‘The imagination constructs with science students: Interplay among social climate, intrinsic motivation, and personality traits’, Imagination, Cognition and Personality, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 340-359.
Nguyen, N T D & Aoyama, A 2014, ‘Impact of corporate culture on the relationship between efficient technology transfer and business performance’, Global Business Review, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 637-661.
Ravindra, A, Foresti, K, Rajadurai, J & Zubaran, C 2018, ‘Assessing workplace discrimination among medical practitioners in Western Sydney’, Australasian Psychiatry, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 491-495.
Wesolowski, B C 2015, ‘Tracking student achievement in music performance: Developing student learning objectives for growth model assessments’, Music Educators Journal, vol. 102, no. 1, pp. 39-47.