Introduction
Old people in the society have always found it difficult to cope with technological developments, which affect their social life. According to Keller (2005, p. 81), the aging population has been neglected by other members of the society as people try to adapt to the emerging technologies. They are considered archaic and slow to change. Most of these elderly people develop withdrawal symptoms when they realise that they are unable to match the speed at which various factors are changing within their immediate environment.
According to Kirwan and Ainsworth (2004, p. 48), it is a fact that the elderly may not be able to cope with the changes which take place in various settings. However, this should not be the reason why they are ignored. This programme is specifically focused on training a group of elderly people how to operate a microwave. According to Holosko and Feit (2004, p. 27), several cases of accidents involving the elderly people trying to use microwaves have been reported in the recent times.
Some get serious burns because of wrong application of microwave. Others have completely avoided this appliance as a way of staying safe. Abstaining from using the microwave comes at a cost. It means that they may not be able to warm their meals using this appliance. They may be forced to use other alternatives, which are more strenuous.
A group of six students from the college who have experience in using this appliance will undertake this training programme. The training programme will take place in a selected centre and in the homes of the targeted group. The elders who will be involved in the training must be above 55 years of age. Both men and women with varying degree of knowledge on how to use microwave will be trained. However, they will be classified into three groups. The first group will include people who have never used microwave before. The second group will have those with some knowledge on how to use this appliance, while the third group will be people who need some refreshing knowledge to improve their capacity to use this appliance.
Task Analysis
The ultimate objective of this training program is to show a group of the elderly members of the society how to operate a microwave. In order to achieve this overall objective, some specific activities must be done. Breaking down the overall task into small assignments and sub-assignments is the way forward. The assignments can be broken down into tasks that should be accomplished within a specific period. Hierarchical task analysis for training the elder people should be designed to help in developing a clear understanding of the specific issues that need to be addressed. The task level diagram below shows how the major task has been divided into assignments and sub assignments that can be easily assigned to different project members.
Hierarchical Task Analysis Diagram
As shown in the diagram above, the hierarchical task analysis for this project will be limited to the third level because of the simplicity of the assignment. Training the elderly people how to operate a microwave does not involve many activities. This explains why the analysis has gone only up to the third level. The table below helps in analysing the activities mentioned in the diagram above.
Hierarchical Task Analysis
Identification of Training Issues
Training Program Design
According to Holosko and Feit (2004, p. 47), achieving success in any form of training starts with choosing the appropriate training program design. This program will be run as a community-based organisation, and the training program design must fit into this context. The training program can be split into the overall task and specific duties that would lead to accomplishing the overall task.
It is important to define the individual tasks that will be carried out during the training using the most appropriate methods. The training activities will be split into three stages and different methods will be used to address each stage. The first stage will involve learning some theoretical work about the use of microwave. This will take a class work approach where the learners will be expected to get some basic information about this appliance.
In this stage, two methods will be used based on the level of knowledge of the learners, accessibility of internet, and their own personal interests. Those who are interested in using the internet and have the knowledge to do so will be expected to take the classes from home. Relevant lecture notes will be sent to them on a regular basis, and a test shall be administered to determine if they have been able to grasp the basics. This method is more appropriate for the trainers because of their limited availability.
The second group will be individuals with limited knowledge, lack internet, or prefer a face-to-face class setting. This group will be taught using a face-to-face method at a given centre that is close to their homes. The reason to choose a centre is to enable the trainers address a number of learners at a time instead of having to teach individual learners differently in their homes. It reduces the time and resources used in the training. Just like their online counterparts, the classes will continue for some time, and then they will be expected to sit for a simple exam.
Keller (2005, p. 72) warns that care should always be taken when administering exams to the elderly. They may develop a feeling that such an exam is meant to test their level of intelligence. This may make them refrain from taking part in the training process. For this reason, it is important to explain to them that the aim of the test is to determine if they can proceed to the next stage of handling the microwave in order to avoid any accidents. This class will basically involve learning about safety measures when handling a microwave and should take three or four days.
The next stage will involve practical handling of the appliances. All the learners will be expected to converge at a selected centre in order to learn how to use this appliance. At first, they will be expected to apply what they learnt in class without heating up the microwave. They will start by identifying parts of the microwave, and stating how they should be used. This process should take a maximum of three days. On the last day, each of the learners will be expected to demonstrate his or her ability to use a microwave. The third and last stage will be a home-based activity. The trainers will make individual visits to the home of the learners and oversee how they use the microwave. Any mistakes shall be corrected at this stage of learning. This should take about four days. The following are the objectives that this training program seeks to achieve from the three training activities.
- Recruit more elderly people into this program of learning how to operate a microwave
- To be able to attract more volunteer trainers to join the group in order to have a higher capacity of training more people.
- To enhance the ability of the elderly population to use microwaves effectively.
- To make successful graduates of this program become trainers who can teach fellow old men and women how to use a microwave.
The overall task will be to make these elderly people be able to use a microwave. As stated above in the individual processes, this will involve training of the learners for a period of about one and a half weeks. The overall aim is to enable these people take to manage their lives. The following are some of the specific long-term objectives that should be achieved out of the overall project.
- To boost self-esteem of the elderly people and make them believe that they still have the capacity to learn new things, which can make them, take care of themselves.
- To motivate the elderly people who had refrained from using various modern appliances to try learning how to use them in order to be self-reliant.
- To fight the negative stereotype in the society that the elderly cannot learn anything new that involves emerging technologies.
- To engage the elderly people in physical activities by turning them into trainers when they become efficient in the use of this appliance
- To create a perfect environment for positive interaction among the elderly by bringing them together in the centres of learning
Training Evolution
According to Kirwan and Ainsworth (2004, p. 56), Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Training Evaluation Model is one of the most appropriate models that can be used when assessing the learners’ progress and the overall impact of the training on the learners. This model is a four-level training model that looks at a series of issues about the training process. The project considered this an appropriate training evaluation model because of its holistic nature. Developed in 1959, this model has been effectively applied in many organisations around the world. The evaluation will be taken from four levels as identified below.
Reaction
The first level of evaluation would be to determine the reaction of the elderly population towards the training. It would be important to determine what they think about the training because it was meant to benefit them. If they think that the program has helped them become better people in the society, then the first level will be considered a success. If they have contrary or conflicting reactions, then this is an indication that something was not done in the right manner during the training process.
Learning
At this second level, the evaluation will involve determining how well the trainees are able to use the microwave based on what they have learnt. As Buckley and Caple (2007, p. 113) say, a training program can only be a success if the trainees have grasped the knowledge that was meant for them within the specified time. To determine if the learning took place, the trainers will make regular visits to the homes of the trainees to find out how well they can use the microwaves after the training process.
Behaviour
At the third level, the trainers will try to determine any behavioural change of the trainees that could be directly attributed to the training process. At this stage, it may be necessary to interview some family members of the trainees who have known their behaviour for some time. It would be interesting if they have changed their attitude towards themselves and towards various modern appliances at home.
Results
The last level involves determining the results of the training based on the set goals. It will involve analysing the outcome of the training, its overall benefit to the organisation, to the trainees, and all other stakeholders who were involved in the process either directly or indirectly.
List of References
Buckley, R & Caple, J 2007, The theory & practice of training, Kogan Page, London.
Holosko, M & Feit, M 2004, Social work practice with the elderly, Canadian Scholars’ Press, Toronto.
Keller, M 2005, Caregiving leisure and aging, Haworth Press, New York.
Kirwan, B & Ainsworth, L 2004, A Guide To Task Analysis: The Task Analysis Working Group, CRC Press, New York.
Zheng, R, Hill, D & Gardner, M 2013, Engaging older adults with modern technology: Internet use and information access needs, Information Science Reference, Hershey.