How To Do

Performance-Based Training
Training Application Notes
MOITAN003

Purpose Of course, when teaching a PBT course, we approach the mate-

rial in the reverse order. We start with Theory to build a foun-
This document explains the jTask approach to developing and dation of knowledge and work our way up through the
teaching Performance-Based Training courses. Demonstrations and Practices to build performance skill, as
demonstrated through the Skills Tests and certification.

In the following sections of this Application Note, we will take a

Overview closer look at what is involved with determining Job Tasks and
The objective of Performance-Based Training (PBT) is to teach Key Results, developing all the components of a training course,
students how to do the tasks required by their jobs and to con- and delivering the course material to students.
firm that they can do those tasks, in an effective and time-effi-
cient manner, when the training finishes.
Guidelines
The content development process for a PBT course begins with
Job Task Analysis — the determination of the Job Tasks to be How Do You Develop Performance-Based
mastered and their Key Results, which are the standards to
which the tasks must be performed. This establishes the evalua-
Training?
tion criteria for the Skills Tests. After the completion of the Job Job Task Analysis is the heart of Performance-Based Training. It
Task Analysis, the course components are planned out — the sets out what a person needs to be able to do by the end of
Skills Tests, the Practices, the Job Task Demonstrations, and the training. Or in other words, what a person needs to be able to
Theory to support the Job Tasks. Then, and only then, do we set do on the job.
about producing the actual material of the course components.
You should note that this development order is important. By So the first step in developing PBT classes is determining the Job
establishing our testing and teaching goals first, we establish the Tasks our target student audience is expected to master. As
constraints and boundaries for the course material. This ensures
that we develop the material we need and no more, which in
turn keeps development cycle times to a minimum.

Example: Command Verbs

Clean the floor

Install the battery in the radio
Align the laser to the system’s optical axis
Test the personal computer’s “motherboard”
Replace the spark plugs in the engine

Tip 1: Use command verbs for better comprehension.

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How To Do Performance-Based Training jTask.com

a part of this activity, we work not only to identify individual but this would not ensure that our couriers would train to cycle
tasks, but also to organize them into logical Task Groups and on the kind of terrain that exists between Union Square and the
develop Objectives for those Task Groups. This allows us to Mission District, or that they could carry 20 lbs and complete
work out how the tasks are used together on the job to achieve the run, or that they could reach their destination in less than 16
larger aims. Additionally, we consider how the Job Tasks should minutes.
be certified. If they are important tasks or involve critical safety
issues, we want to make sure it is understood up front that stu- Step three is to plan the course components needed to teach
dents must individually perform the tasks to be certified, as the students to perform the Job Tasks and achieve the Key
opposed to being certified through oral, written, or team test- Results. That is, step three is to determine how many Skills
ing. Tests, Practices, Demonstrations, and Theory elements are
needed and what they each should cover.
The second step is to determine how well the students should
do the Job Tasks — that is, what the Job Tasks must accomplish, Our work from step one to organize the Job Tasks into Task
the Key Results. Groups often proves very valuable at this point. Task Groups fre-
quently represent a natural structure for a course, and their
For example, say we wanted to define the job of a web designer. Objectives suggest the context within which the Job Tasks must
An example Job Task and its Key Results might be: be practiced and what background knowledge (i.e., Theory) is
needed.
• Task: Create a default home page
When planning the course components, we do so in a specific
• Key Result (Standard): The home page file is named order, considering first the Skills Tests and then the Practices,
“index.htm” Demonstrations, and Theory. This is because it is, as with the
overall development process, important to understand our ulti-
• Key Result (Standard): The home page file is saved in the mate goal. Knowing what we want our students to be able to
correct directory handle in terms of the Skills Tests, we can then figure out what
kind of Practices, Demonstrations, and supporting Theory are
• Key Result (Standard): The web server start up page is needed.
set to “index.htm”
Next comes step four, the actual creation of the course compo-
• Key Result (Standard): Browser detection javascript is nents. Many experts in instructional systems design suggest writ-
added into the header tags ing the course components in the same order that they are
planned. However, this is not necessary. The writing process for
• Key Result (Standard): The META content and name each course developer is always unique, and many developers
parameters are defined within the header section find it more workable to develop the material in the order it will
be taught. Regardless, though, it is almost certain that the pro-
Or for example, say we wanted to define the job of a bicycle cess will be iterative and that “completed” components will be
courier. An example Job Task and its Key Results might be: tweaked here and there throughout the development process.

• Task: Cycle 5 miles (16.09 km) Useful things to keep in mind when creating the course compo-
nents include:
• Key Result (Standard): 20 Ibs (9.07 kg) are carried
• Skills Tests
• Key Result (Standard): Distance is cycled in less than 16
minutes It is true that our primary concern is the ability of students.
And it is also true that we define the method of certification
• Key Result (Standard): The course cycled is the route (oral, written, team performance, or individual testing) dur-
between Union Square and the Mission District ing the Job Task Analysis stage of development. However, it’s
important to remember that we always have the leeway to
You should note the specificity of the Key Results and that they do additional testing. At times, we may want to verify that
answer the question, “How do I know I’m really done?” In the students have mentally grasped certain aspects of a task,
first example, we could have simply said “The home page is cre- which are best confirmed through oral or written testing.
ated” — but this would not ensure that our file naming rules Examples of such things include interpreting system soft-
were followed or that critical code was always included. In the ware messages or choosing values for system parameters.
second example, we could have said simply "5 miles cycled" —

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• Practices mation on what it involves. But note, it’s important to limit

your Theory content to what students really need to know.
To be effective, your Practice sessions must allow students If you let it run away with you, Theory will take over the
to experience, not just the activity of doing the Job Tasks, entire the course. Developing the right amount of Theory is
but the impact of doing those tasks under different condi- often one of the biggest challenges when putting together a
tions as well. Practice is when your students should get the course, especially in highly technical environments. Fre-
chance to explore the limits of the Job Tasks — like the dif- quently, the temptation is to “leave no stone unturned,” but
ference between adjusting a part one way and then another. this leads to unending development cycles and a dearth of
hands-on practice due to excessive amounts of Theory. If
• Demonstrations your material is extensive, however — or even if it is not —
you may want to consider packaging this part of your train-
This is where the students get their first glimpse of how a ing as "home study," to be covered prior to the arrival of the
Job Task is done and start formulating how they, themselves, students on site for their training. In this way, students can
would do it. This is also a place where you have an opportu- come prepared and you can maximize the hands-on practice
nity to reduce training cycle times by pre-preparing demon- time during class.
stration stages of performing the Job Task. A classic example
of pre-preparation is on cooking shows, where a recipe is Last but not least, the final step in the development process is to
prepared several times in advance, to different points in the test your course materials once they have been completed. Test-
process, so that the cook doesn’t have to do all the chop- ing your course materials is very different from reading and
ping, marinating, etc. on the spot. In an instant, they can reviewing the material, and should be done by actually running a
throw the ingredients in a pan, put a pan in the oven, and pilot class. A pilot class may be thought of as a kind of dress
pull out a finished product to demonstrate the desired rehearsal. It allows an instructor to work through details and
results at each stage. “iron out the kinks” in moving students through the courseware.
As you would never open a Broadway musical without rehears-
• Theory ing your cast, so should you not put students into a never-tested
class. The next section, “How Do You Teach Performance-Based
Not to be forgotten as a part of the Theory is information Training?” discusses the teaching process that pilot classes
on why and when a Job Task must be done, as well as infor- should examine.

Start Performance-Based Training

Development
Quick Key
Job Tasks
And
Key Results

Skills Test Practice Demonstration Theory (what, when, and why)

Hands-On Classroom

Figure 1: When developing PBT courses, you develop the Job Tasks and Key Results to be taught first (your goals), and then the Skills
Tests, Practices, Demos, and, finally, the Theory.

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How Do You Teach Performance-Based our example, a Demonstration of replacing the computer screen
might include best practice methods for detaching the screen
Training? and how to take important safety precautions.
Teaching Performance-Based Training is done in the reverse
order of the development process. Once “armed” with the Job Task Theory and the knowledge of
what to expect, as shown by the Demonstrations, students then
As we noted before, we lay an initial foundation of knowledge by proceed to the Practice phase of the course. The students prac-
starting with the Theory behind the Job Tasks. The Theory can tice until they have mastered the Job Tasks. Then, all that is left
be delivered as lectures or as pre-reading material, and the goal to do is to confirm that the students can do the tasks. Written
of this part of a PBT course is to cover the “what, when, and tests can be useful, but observing individual students perform
why” information for the Job Tasks. For example, if we were the tasks is the preferred method of confirmation (certification).
conducting a course on replacing laptop computer LED screens,
our Theory information might include such things as an explana- It is important to note that you do not have to make a student
tion of how a screen is connected to the main portion of the go through all steps when doing PBT. If he or she knows that
computer, problems that require a screen to be replaced, and an they just need to practice and then take the test, then that is
overview of the replacement process. permissible. Also, if it is recognized that a student can already
perform the required Job Tasks, they also should not be made to
Following the presentation of the Theory, the instructor might go through the outlined training courses. PBT says, training is fin-
demonstrate how the Job Task is done. Demonstrations are not ished when a person has mastered the Job Tasks, not when a course
always required, but can be useful, as they allow students to pre- ends.
pare themselves by mapping out complex task steps mentally. In

Classroom Hands-On

Start Theory (what, when, and why) Demonstration Practice Skills Test

Certification

Performance-Based Training Job Tasks

And
Teaching Key Results
Quick Key
Figure 2: When teaching a PBT course, you present the Theory first and follow it with Demonstrations and Practice opportunities. When the stu-
dents have mastered the Job Tasks in their Practice sessions, they take the Skills Tests to prove their ability and become certified.

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How To Do Performance-Based Training jTask.com

A Caution A Final Note

Much training goes wrong before it is even started by defining This methodology for developing and delivering Performance-
the length of a class before doing anything else. And as a matter Based Training has a number of advantages.
of fact, reducing the length of whole training programs is a very
common way companies try to reduce training cycle times. But 1. It provides a clear organizational structure for your courses,
starting course development with limiting class length as your which allows you to prepare training time requirements
primary goal presents two fundamental problems: with greater ease, as well as show the impact of adding
more students on equipment requirements and course
1. The training content will be defined by what can be taught in length.
the time available, not by what your students need to be able to
do. 2. It protects your company’s investment in training. With
clearly documented course components, new instructors
2. Practice time will also be defined by the available time, as can assume responsibility for courses more quickly and with
opposed to the time needed to really learn the required skills. greater ease.

This means that, at the end of a training course, it will be highly 3. It is simple to understand and crystallizes the instructional
unlikely that the students will be able to do the target job when design process for non-practitioners.
they complete the course.
4. It improves student satisfaction, since it enables you to pro-
Of course, time is a factor that must be weighed against other vide a clear description of the service provided by your
business constraints. If all else fails, make sure your training cov- training department. Through the Job Task Analyses you can
ers the critical tasks and focuses on hands-on practice by send- create meaningful course descriptions and set reasonable
ing the Theory in advance. expectations.

5. It allows you to use pre and post self-assessment to mea-

sure actual performance results — as opposed to the tradi-
tional “smiley sheet surveys,” which only reflect whether or
not students enjoyed the time they spent in class.

Table 1: Training Cycle Time for N Students

Skills Test
No. of Students Theory Demonstration Practice Total Time
(Certification)

1 Student 2 hrs 0.5 hrs 4 hrs 2 hrs 8.5 hours

3 Students 2 hrs 0.5 hrs 12 hrs 6 hrs 20.5 hours

Figure 3: The above tables show how time requirements can be better estimated with a clear course structure. Row 1 shows the Training Cycle time (Total – 8.5
hours) for one student with one set of equipment. Row 2 shows how the training is impacted with three students but still only one set of equipment (Total Training
Cycle time 20.5 hours).

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PERFORMANCE-BASED TRAINING
Quick Key
DO
Develop

Job Tasks
Job Task
Analysis
Key Results

Skills Test
(Certification)

Hands-On Practice Session

HANDS-ON

Demonstration by Expert

CLASSROOM / SELF-PACED Theory

What / When / Why Tools Required Procedures / How
(Knowledge-Base) (Knowledge-Base) Teach

Note: ONLY that amount of Theory, which supports what a person needs to be able to DO, should be provided.

Figure 4: This figure gives an overview of how Performance-Based Training is built and taught.

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jTask, Inc.is a leader in the development and mathematical measurement of

Performance-Based Training and Certification.

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