As you prepare your safety training program for the rest of 2015, check out the information in today’s Advisor from a new white paper put out by the American Red Cross that details the benefits of blended learning in safety training.
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The most effective safety training method has long been a subject of debate. Is classroom training best? On-the-job learning? Computer-based training? A new white paper from the American Red Cross makes the case for a blended approach that combines online scenario-based simulation learning with in-person classroom training.
This blended approach is represented in a new training offering from the Red Cross. The organization is launching an interactive, scenario-based online simulation training tool designed to complement traditional classroom instruction on subjects such as CPR and first aid.
According to the white paper, titled Virtual Simulation Learning and Real-World Benefits, in addition to practical advantages such as consistency of content, cost savings, and ease of tracking learner progress, adding online simulation learning to classroom training offers four important benefits:
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1. A safe environment in which to engage with course material. Simulations offer trainees the chance to practice skills without the potential for negative consequences for mistakes. By practicing decision making and reinforcing knowledge in this safe environment, trainees gain the confidence to apply the skills and knowledge in the real world.
2. The opportunity to explore realistic emergency scenarios. According to the white paper, studies indicate that trainees feel better prepared to respond to real-life emergencies when training simulations offer high “psychological fidelity” or “the match between the trainee’s performance in the simulator and the real world.” In other words, exploring realistic interactive scenarios gives trainees greater confidence that the training will prepare them for real-world situations.
3. An interactive digital platform that can be more engaging and effective than classroom training alone. Digital tools can reach a wider variety of learning styles than classroom training by itself. In addition, the use of game-based elements can keep the content interesting and increase trainees’ emotional connection to the subject matter, which has been shown to help learners retain knowledge more effectively.
4. A tool that helps learners practice, develop knowledge, and build confidence to act appropriately in real-world situations. Well-designed simulations can help learners develop the critical-thinking skills to respond correctly in real-world emergency situations. By allowing for more individual practice than classroom training alone, simulation learning allows trainees to reinforce their knowledge and can help create the kind of “automatic memory” that allows training concepts to be applied in the real world.
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The Red Cross emphasizes that the online training tools are not intended to replace classroom instruction. For many subjects, such as first aid and CPR, hands-on practice is essential to acquiring the skills to provide assistance during an emergency. However, the online tools allow trainees to reinforce the classroom content at their own pace and develop the critical thinking and decision-making skills required to respond during an emergency situation.
To learn more about training offerings from the Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org.
Why It Matters
- Blended learning is the best method to teach across a variety of topics to a wide variety of learners.
- To make blended learning work, you need to know both the best approach for a specific topic and the best approach for your specific audience.
- For example, hands-on training may be the best method for learning how to use new equipment. And oral instructions may be the best method for learners who are tuned it to aural input.
Excellent comments. United Rentals is also a firm believer in the blended learning approach to safety training. Over the past year United Academy, powered by United Rentals, has invested significant resources to develop certified operator blended learning courses for our Core 4 lift products.
Through industry research and meetings with customers we reached the same conclusion as the Red Cross in that combining online and face to face learning makes sense because each has strengths the other cannot offer individually. Other benefits of online training is it can be taken anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace. Further, online training can typically be streamlined so that an hour of online training is equivalent to two or so hours in a classroom. The result is a substaintial efficiency gain in effectively transferring ideas and knowledge. This helps increase jobsite productivity by allowing workers to be on the jobsite versus in a classroom.
The use of serious games, engaging scenarios, and simulation is also attractive to new millennial employees who are not engaged or motivated by traditional classroom training. The in-person evaluation on the equipment following the online theory and final exam in our blended courses now becomes a one-on-one event that enables the student and trainer to focus on the important hands on training element.
Great article Red Cross!