Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup Course Implementation Briefing Laurie Lessing Instructor/Course Designer (CUR 516, August 11, 2014, Dr. C. Jennings)

Need for Course Air Force Instruction 36-2201 Non-Compliance Inspection Write ups Air Force instructions mandate every work center training program have a Master Training Plan developed by the work center supervisor to ensure all duty position requirements within the work center are completed (e-publishing.af.mil, 2013). This requirement continues to be written up during inspections for non-compliance which has forced leadership to search out the cause and implement immediate solutions. Through further analysis a determination has been made that due to the limited nature of when a Master Training Plan needs to be accomplished most work center supervisors have never had to develop one on their own and require guidance and practice. In order to provide that guidance and practice a Master Training Plan Setup course will be established to meet the needs of both leadership and work center supervisors. A drop in inspection write ups is expected after the initial phase of course completion and will continue to do so as all work center supervisors complete the course to include future work center supervisors as they are identified for the position.

Course Implementation Schedule Course Start Date Course Continuation Due to the constant rotation of work center supervisors the need to provide continuous guidance and practice necessitates that the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course be considered an ongoing class. This course will be provided on a monthly basis unless future need dictate otherwise in which case course schedule will be adjusted. The initial course start date will begin one month after course approval and will continue on a regular basis to support both current and future work center supervisors.

Phase I Course Description Target Audience The Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup Course will last eight hours broken down into 50 minute modules with one hour for lunch. Instruction will consist of lecture, discussion, demonstration and simulations with group interaction. Classroom design will allow for individual and group settings as well as computer presentations. All material will be provided with recommended class size no more than 20 students. The target audience consists of adults who are assigned as work center supervisors mandated to establish Master Training Plans for their work centers. This mixed population consists of officer and enlisted personnel with multiple rank and experience levels. While the group is considered a captive audience, having attended their first level leadership classes should provide initial motivation to successfully complete the course.

Phase I Course Goals The overall organization goal is to eliminate non-compliance write ups due to missing or incomplete work center Master Training Plans. By providing the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup Course work center supervisors should gain insight into the importance of having a Master Training Plan for their work center as well as having hands-on practice in completing said plan. The two course goals are broken down as follows: Goal 1: Work center supervisors, after taking this course will be able to recognize the elements of an effective Master Training Plan. Goal 2: Work center supervisors, after taking this course will be able to apply what they have learned in class to establish a current, working Master Training Plan for their work center.

Phase II Course Objectives Types of Objectives The course will have a total of six objectives to support both course goals. The objectives are identified below: Goal 1, Objective 1: Work center supervisors master training plan setup participants, given background course information through lecture and discussion should be able to identify and compile all required documents needed to ensure a current, working work center Master Training Plan for their work centers without error. Goal 1, Objective 2: Work center supervisors master training plan setup participants, given work center scenarios and group discussion should be able to predict the consequences of not having a current, working work center Master Training Plan without using any references. Goal 2, Objective 1: Work center supervisors master training plan setup participants, given a current, blank Air Force career field education and training plan, Air Force instructions, and pencil should be able to make a Master Task List by identifying and marking with a circle all duty position, core, additional duty, contingency, augmentee, and skill level tasks already listed on the career field education and training plan required within the work center without error. Goal 2, Objective 2: Work center supervisors master training plan setup participants, given an Air Force form 797 (Job qualification standard continuation sheet), career field education and training plan, Air Force instructions, and pencil should be able to document all required duty position, core, additional duty, contingency, augmentee and skill level tasks not already listed on the career field education and training plan, if applicable without error. Goal 2, Objective 3: Work center supervisors master training plan setup participants, given an Air Force form 1098 (Special task certification and recurring training), career field education and training plan, Air Force instructions and pencil should be able to identify and document all required recurring training without error. Goal 2, Objective 4: Work center supervisors master training plan setup participants, given a career field education and training plan, Air Force instructions, paper and pencil should be able to identify and document task completion timeframes to establish work center training milestones without error. The objectives used in the work center supervisors master training plan setup course will encourage critical thinking while some collaborative learning will take place through group discussion interaction. For the most part each objective calls upon the participant to use their thought processes to identify and differentiate between different types of training requirements needed for their work center. Then transferring that knowledge by documenting the correct forms and compiling together to make a useable work center training plan. Building upon these steps the participants will ultimately begin to recognize and predict what will happen to their work center training program when parts of the plan are missing or not identified properly. The group discussion aspects within some objectives will allow for collaborative learning in that each participant may gain some insight based on the inputs and perspectives of others. While this course does not allow for the full on collaborative learning process as provided by a problem-based scenario, participants should still have opportunities to gain better understanding of the material through group interaction.

Phase II Instructional Strategies Instructional Activities The instructional strategies used in the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course will be an introduction phase, the use of scaffolding to expand learning, and a demonstration and practice phase to support the transfer of learned material. Due to the mixed rank structure and experience levels of the participants it will be imperative to provide an introduction period so that the participants can become familiar and comfortable with each other before learning begins. This will allow participants to feel like they are on equal footing in class even though they may not be outside the classroom. Since these participants are also considered a captive audience due to Air Force mandated requirements, showing how this course information directly affects how smoothly their training programs can be and how easier their jobs will become can provide extra motivation to complete the course successfully. The use of a condensed version of scaffolding whereby general information is presented first followed by more detailed and specific information will give participants time to assimilate what was learned and ease confusion (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 2010). By demonstrating how to document and combine the forms to make the whole plan will provide an example they can use in making future training decisions for their work center while practicing will give them support to reinforce their mental picture. Some of the activities used in this course will be matching or Jeopardy style games and work center simulations to reinforce learned material as well as provide variety.

Phase II Instructional Technologies The instructional technology that will be used in the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course will be considered a technology-enhanced course using computer projected presentation (Hodell, 2011). This will allow for a more fluid presentation of background material as well as accommodate a visual working model of each form for easy demonstration.

Phase III Stakeholder Involvement Although the majority of monitoring and scheduling the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course will be done through the squadron training office it will take Commander, Flight Chiefs, Training Office, Supervisors and Learner involvement to ensure a successful course. The Commander and Flight Chiefs must set the tone within the squadron by fully supporting the implementation of this new course. Training office personnel along with Supervisors will provide learners the resources, support, guidance and practice to ensure successful course completion. While mandatory to attend, learners must take an active role in the learning process in order to take the information learned and transfer it to the work center.

Phase III Resources & Materials To ensure the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course meets the needs of the squadron a designated classroom and design that can support individual and group settings as well as provide computer presentation will need to be established. Computer support will be provided from the Information Technology (IT) section as needed to resolve any computer issues that may arise during training. A slide presentation file with background course information and examples will be used to present the course with a backup copy in CD/DVD format should there be a need to move locations while a printed copy of the slide presentation will be on hand should there be a loss of computer capability. To support learning activities, work center scenarios will be established that can be used on a recurring basis during each class with enough to support five or six groups at one time while questions/answers and a game board will be established to support the “Jeopardy” game. The questions used for the game can also be used by the instructor as prompts to test for learner understanding during discussions. Other material needed on a continuing basis will be copies of applicable Air Force Instructions (AFIs), current, blank Air Force career field education and training plans (CFETPs) for each specific career field, Air Force Form 797 (Job qualification standard continuation sheet), Air Force Form 1098 (Special task certification and recurring training), paper and pencils. Extra costs for materials should be kept to a minimum as most of the material (AFIs, CFETPs, and training forms) is already supported by the squadron training office library.

Phase III Formative Assessments Prior to the implementation of the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course, evaluations to assess the instruction will be used by conducting design reviews and expert reviews. These reviews will be conducted by the Flight Chiefs, subject matter experts (SMEs), and other training managers to ensure the content is clear and understandable while correcting any deficiencies within the material that could cause problems later in the course (Hodell, 2011). One-on-one learner evaluations will also be conducted using two work center supervisors, one experienced and one new to provide learner reaction to the instruction for additional change input. These reviews and evaluations will ensure the course design has addressed the overall need for correcting the initial problem of non-compliance during inspections. The Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course itself is divided into two sections. The first section is the knowledge based section whereby all the materials needed are identified and the background information is provided. Two assessments will be conducted in this section. A short answer pre-test will be given before instruction begins to determine how much of the information the participants already know about Master Training Plans. This will help focus the instruction on areas most needed (Brown & Green, 2011). A multiple-choice post-test will be given at the end of the knowledge section to determine if any areas need to be readdressed prior to moving on to the second section (Brown & Green, 2011). The second section is the performance based section where the participants will participate in discussion while watching demonstrations of the correct way to document and assemble all required forms needed to establish a work center Master Training Plan prior to moving on to the actual performance phase where each participant will create their own work center Master Training Plan. There will only be one assessment conducted in the second section although observation will be used during the demonstration phase to assist participants as necessary. Since the ultimate goal of the class is to establish a work center Master Training Plan, direct testing will be used to assess whether or not the participants did actually create a Master Training Plan for their work center (Brown & Green, 2011). Upon completion of the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course usability testing will be conducted by the training manager during regularly scheduled work center visits. These visits occur monthly and will provide an opportunity to observe how work center personnel are using the Master Training Plan established by the work center supervisor (Brown & Green, 2011). Information gained during these observation periods will be used to update course information as well as determine whether the information learned through the course transferred to the work center.

Phase IV Criteria for Course Success To consider the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course a success the work center supervisor must be able to establish a current, working Master Training Plan for their work center. The criteria needed to support that outcome will have the participants master both the knowledge and performance sections of the course. To meet the knowledge section goal of recognizing the elements of an effective Master Training Plan the participant must identify the different parts of a Master Training Plan and how they work together as well as understanding the negative impact of not having the right set up or overall plan. This section will be evaluated through the completion of a multiple-choice post-test. To meet the performance section goal of establishing a current, working Master Training Plan the participant must identify and document all needed forms with all required tasks and milestones for the work center using applicable Air Force Instructions. Parts of this section will be evaluated using a sample Master Task List and AF Forms with general identified milestones to make up a generic sample work center Master Training Plan.

Phase IV Evaluation Instruments Evaluation Overview The following assessment and evaluation instruments must be created. The short-answer pre-test and work center scenarios will help determine when and how to adjust the instruction to meet the needs of the participants. The multiple-choice post-test and master score sheet along with the generic sample work center Master Training Plan consisting of the sample Master Task List for each career field and AF Forms with milestones will determine if the participants met the objectives and goals of the course. A final course critique will also be created to gather participant input about the course and instructor. The data gathered from the assessments and evaluations will provide needed input to ensure the design meets the needs of the participants and to ensure successful course completion. Input from the assessments will be used to determine if changes need to be made to the design of the course based on the participants’ level of knowledge and experience ensuring the structure of instruction flows well (Brown & Green, 2011). Input from the evaluations will be used to determine if there was a change in the participants’ knowledge, skill and behavior at course completion and during future observation periods (Brown & Green, 2011). Information gathered through the end of course critique will be used to determine whether or not adjustments need to be made in presentation of the course or the need for additional instructors or facilitators. By providing the information gathered through the evaluation phase a determination can be made as to whether the Work Center Supervisors Master Training Plan Setup course is capable of providing the needed guidance and practice work center supervisors need to establish a current, working Master Training Plan for their work center.

Questions

References Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2011). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Hodell, C. (2011). ISD from the ground up: A no-nonsense approach to instructional design (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. Wlodkowski, R. J., & Ginsberg, M. B. (2010). Teaching intensive and accelerated courses: Instruction that motivates learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. e-publishing.af.mil. (2013, August 7). Air Force training program. Retrieved from http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi36-2201/afi36- 2201.pdf