Product Training for the Technical Expert

10Pixels or Paper?: How to Build the Content and Deliverables

When you get to the last step of the 4 × 8 Proficiency Design Model, you are ready to create the content for your training class. The reason for putting content at the end of your curriculum design process is to ensure that you construct it correctly. Effective training must have accurate content. If this is the first time you’ve used the 4 × 8 Proficiency Design Model, it is best to create your content from scratch. Any materials you created or used before may be useful, but starting the process from the beginning will guarantee that your new deliverables match the goals, audience, objectives, and exercises you chose for this course.

Ask the Questions Again

When I refer to building the content, I’m referring to the gathering of all the steps together into one cohesive curriculum. Start with your objectives, and then look at the outline you determined would help you meet those objectives. The outline is your guide, but perhaps not in the way you are used to. Don’t just fill in each point with a new PowerPoint slide. Instead, start by asking a few questions. If you’ve followed the process properly, you will find that many of them have already been answered.

1. How can a student demonstrate that they have met my learning objective? This should be easy, since your objective is already a measurable and observable action verb.
2. How can they learn by doing?
   1. How can they practice it in the classroom or eLearning module? Hopefully ...