Preparing Session Plans

The session plan is a guide for the trainer not a script. Most trainers use session plans. They provide a focus for the training, they remind the trainer of the key points and they provide a record of the training if it's to be used again.

The standard format for planning a training session is:

Introduction
Body
Conclusion

Using this format is an excellent way to start preparing your session plan.

Session Introduction

Here is the opportunity to capture the participants’ attention right from the start. The introduction of a session:

Describes what is going to be covered
Checks what they already know
Describes what they will do in the session
Identifies how the training will assist the participants in their job

To assist in your introduction some key points have been provided as examples only:

Interest/Motivation	Why the topic might be of interest to participants
Need	Why the participants need to know
Topic	What the session is about
Range	What topics will be covered
Outcomes	What the participants will learn by the end of session
Assessment	How will the participants be assessed

Session Body

Training is usually a practical session, a theory session or combination of both.

Practical sessions focus on learning to operate, or actually use, something, for example a POS terminal
Theory sessions tend to focus on learning about something, or understanding something, like learning about delegation or a store policy.

In planning it is important to take into account:

The needs of the trainees
The resources you have available
How both can be used to achieve the learning

The session body provides the opportunity to:

Give new information, demonstrate skills
Apply and practice new skills and information
Question participants and trainer to confirm understanding
Summarise the main points

The majority of information in a training session is in the body. The information in the body should be:

Presented
Applied
Summarised
Checked for understanding

This will help you determine exactly what needs to be covered in the body of the session.

The next step is to sort the information into:

Must Know - can't do the task without it
Should Know - will assist in completing the task more effectively
Could Know - would be nice if they know this

This will also help you determine exactly what needs to be included in the body of the session and the number of sessions required.

The next step is to take the MUST KNOW information and group it so the information that seems to belong together, goes together.

Once you have listed the must know information put it into the correct or best sequence – is there a “right” order or a “logical” order? When determining the right order there are several ways that this can be done:

Familiar to unfamiliar
Simple to complex
Actual performance sequence

Session Conclusion

The purpose of the conclusion is to:

Reinforce the key points (outcomes) of the training
Provide feedback
Link the training to work or to the next session(s)

Putting it all together

Now that you have identified the presentation methods to use, the most suitable activities to incorporate and the resources you will need, the next step is to add this to the training session outline.

Your outline already includes:

Topic
Learning points
Introduction
Body
Conclusion

This additional information adds "substance" to the framework of your training session.