Better Training with the ADDIE Model

If you want a more comprehensive approach to building effective learning experiences, the ADDIE model can help. ADDIE stands for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. While the acronym makes it appear the process is linear, learning experience design is anything but. The process is highly iterative, involving evaluation at every phase.?

Keep reading to learn how the ADDIE model can make your next training better.?

Analyze?

In this phase, you will determine what you want to achieve through training, learn about your target audience, and determine if training is the best approach to achieve your desired result.??

Start by determining what you want to achieve through the training. Then ask yourself why your targeted learners are not currently performing as required to achieve those results. If the problem is a lack of skills and knowledge, then training may be the solution. If it’s a lack of resources, process, or clarity, then training won’t solve the problem.?

If you determine training is the solution, then consider what your target audience needs to learn to perform the required skills on the job. In parallel, learn about your target audience. Who are they? Where do they work? What prior knowledge and skills do they have on the subject? What attitudes, biases, or beliefs do they hold? What restrictions do they have around attending training? What will motivate them to apply their learning???

Once you’ve decided training is the answer, clarified your objectives, and established the key characteristics of your target audience, you can begin designing your training.?

Design?

This phase involves finalizing the learning outcomes and sequencing them logically. The types of activities you choose should reflect what is done in the real world and be focused on providing your learners with opportunities to practice what they've learned. By the end of a session or activity, you always want to be able to assess what your learners can DO, not simply what they know.?

Develop?

In this phase, you build the training materials. This could include interactive e-learning modules, lesson plans for in-person training, games, posters, handouts, slides, etc. You should also create job aids to facilitate your learners’ ability to remember and apply what they’ve learned once they leave the training.?

Implement??

Training design involves a lot of assumptions. When you do an analysis upfront, you’ll get closer to the target, but it isn’t until you deliver the training that you really see if your design is effective. The implementation phase is your opportunity to test your theories. But remember, the learning doesn’t stop here. Much, if not most, of the learning will take place on the job, so make sure you consider how you’ll provide follow-up support after the training.??

Evaluate?

Evaluation takes place at every stage of the ADDIE model, as we consider questions like: Do you understand your learners’ needs? Does the design apply evidence-based practices? Do the activities reflect realistic scenarios? Did your learners transfer their learning to the workplace? What change did you observe because of the training? Collecting learners’ feedback and analyzing your results will help you refine and improve the training for future delivery.??

So that’s the ADDIE Model and GWC’s take on training design.?

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How does your approach compare with ours???

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