Conducting OJT cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1206-98

The instructor should motivate or arouse the trainee's interest in the training session. An adult

likes to see a direct link between his/her job and the skills and knowledge presented during the

training. To help to establish this link, the trainee needs answers to the following questions:

What's in it for me (WIIFM)?

Why do I need to learn this?

When will I use this information?

How will I use this information?

The trainee should understand the terminal and enabling learning objectives. The instructor

should state and discuss the objectives with the trainee to ensure that the trainee understands

the required performance, how well it should be performed, and under what conditions.

The instructor should provide the trainee with the first "T" of effective training--"tell them what

you are going to tell them." The instructor should present an overview of the task that includes

not only what will be learned, but how it will be presented. The overview should be brief and

stress safety measures and compliance to procedures. This process may also help to relate

this training to previous or future training. The instructor should make sure the trainee

understands that he/she can ask questions anytime during the training.

The instructor should continue to stress safety while establishing the "ground rules" regarding

how he/she intends to conduct the training. Explain under what circumstances the evolution

will be interrupted (e.g., to demonstrate if needed) and under what circumstances the evolution

will be stopped (e.g., if personnel or equipment safety concerns arise). The instructor should

stress that facility procedures (administrative, operations, maintenance, lockout and tagout,

radiological, etc.) must be adhered to at all times.

The instructor should determine what the trainee already knows about the particular job or

task. The instructor should then tailor the training based on a combination of the trainee's

experience, knowledge, and training completed to date. By briefly reviewing what the trainee

knows and then progressing to new material, the risk of losing the trainee's attention will be

minimized.

The instructor should minimize interruptions during the training process. The presence of

co-workers at the training site may be a problem because the trainee needs to be able to

practice, make errors, and receive corrective instruction without personal embarrassment.

Although elimination of all co-workers from the vicinity of the training is difficult or impossible,

some degree of privacy is needed.

The last step in the introduction is to express confidence that the trainee will learn to perform

the task quickly and well. The goal is for the trainee to begin the training with a feeling of

confidence and a desire to meet the challenge.