Abstract:

BUAD 247 Training and Development course (TDC) is an elective course for business students who are majoring in human resource management specialty. The course provides an in-depth study of training need analysis and development of program blueprints to meet the training objectives of the industry. During pre-covid the TDC was a theoretical based curriculum that emphasized more on transfer of learning through lectures, class participation and group work activities. There was minimum evidence of active learning designed in TDC and therefore required changes in the curriculum to meet the demands beyond the acquisition of knowledge. In 2018 mini training sessions also known as micro-training was introduced to in-corporate active learning in the curriculum to develop students’ in-depth planning abilities and presentation skills in training small groups of participants. External examiners were brought in to assess the micro-training sessions. The findings from the instructor’s evaluation, observation and feedback showed the micro-training sessions were successful. However, beginning of 2020, the College only offered online instructions because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and TDC was taught synchronously using ZOOM and Collaborate. During this time students worked in isolation and did not have small groups of participants to train, and furthermore the industry placed greater emphasis in using technology in training. Therefore, further changes such as producing and developing asynchronous micro-training videos were made to the curriculum to promote students’ motivation in learning and develop digital skills in training. The usage of various digital technology such as screencast-o-matic, canva, H5P, miro and microsoft sway were emphasized in the videos. Education Technology experts were invited over ZOOM to demonstrate and showcase interesting elements in the production of asynchronous training videos. At the end of the course students produced creative asynchronous training videos and posted the link in Moodle as summative assessment. The links were shared in the discussion forum in Moodle which allowed formative evaluation from other students in the class that promoted student engagement and motivation. The process of giving and receiving feedback is an important part of TDC. During post covid-19, in spite of the college returning to in person face-too-face learning, the production of asynchronous micro-training videos continued and newer version of digital technology such as loom and kaltura capture were introduced to the students. The systematic changes in the curriculum during pre and post covid-19 was part of a pedagogical strategy to prepare students of a myriad of opportunities for asynchronous training in the industry. This article will showcase some of the changes in the curriculum in detail, the rubrics used in assessment of the micro-training videos, peer evaluation and extracts from Moodle during pre and post covid-19 that cultivate students’ key competencies which are transferable to the industry.

Keywords:

Asynchronous, micro-training, curriculum, digital technology, training videos.