Section 4 Human Performance Technology

Chapter 14 discusses the concept of the evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non instructional solutions to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and provide a non instructional solution to solve the problem.

In 2005-2006, I worked as a Reading Intervention Aide with grades K-2.  I was working with small groups of children in a closet (literally, with storage stacked all around our little table) .  We were provided with very little instructional materials.  Many of the students did not want to be there, and did not want to behave during the reading remediation exercises.  I came up with two low-cost solutions, which helped as an incentive for the students to do their work and to behave properly in our tiny little workspace.  One could be considered partially an instructional and partially a non-instructional solution.  I purchased some inexpensive reading games and colorful letter sound flash cards from a teacher supply store (The games were a word bingo game and one that matched letter sounds with brightly colored game pieces).  If the students completed their "boring" work (worksheets, etc.), they could work with the games.  They were learning the same content as with the other materials, but these materials were colorful manipulatives and were presented as a "game" instead of "work".  The second non-instructional solution was just plain bribery (or, ahem, "incentives").  I created a prize bucket with colorful pencils, stickers, and other low-cost toys.  The students could earn marks for good behavior, but could also lose marks for misbehaving or not finishing their work.  I gave them a small margin of error so that they would not be discouraged by failure early in the week.  On Friday, if they had the appropriate number of good marks, each student could pick something from the prize bucket to take home.  It cost me less than $5 a week, dramatically improved student behavior, and I had other students asking if they could be in my "class" so they too could play games and earn prizes.

Chapter 15 presents several definitions of electronic performance support systems. In addition to these definitions, locate a few more and indicate your preference explaining why you prefer it. Additionally, describe why you believe EPSS have not been widely used and if they are more likely be become more prevalent in the future.

I found several definitions online:

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=EPSS&i=42707,00.asp

(Electronic Performance Support System) A computer system that provides quick assistance and information without requiring prior training to use it. It may incorporate all forms of multimedia delivery as well as AI techniques such as expert systems and natural language recognition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_performance_support_systems

In Electronic Performance Support Systems, published in 1991, Gloria Gery defined EPSS as:
an integrated electronic environment that is available to and easily accessible by each employee and is structured to provide immediate, individualized on-line access to the full range of information, software, guidance, advice and assistance, data, images, tools, and assessment and monitoring systems to permit job performance with minimal support and intervention by others.

Also in 1991, Barry Raybould gave a shorter definition:
a computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice, and learning experiences.

From a business perspective, a former Nortel Networks executive, William Bezanson (2002) provides a definition linked to application usability and organizational results:
A performance support system provides just-in-time, just enough training, information, tools, and help for users of a product or work environment, to enable optimum performance by those users when and where needed, thereby also enhancing the performance of the overall business.

I think one of the reasons that EPSS systems have not been widely adopted yet is because it takes a great deal of time to collect, organize and synthesize the information that will be included.  It also takes time to design the interface of how the information will be accessed.  I have been working as a computer tech for my district for five years.  However, we have absolutely NO written record of procedures or information.  I used to jot down notes as I learned things by word of mouth and trial and error.  I am currently working those notes into Google Documents, which I am now sharing with the other techs.  This is a very rudimentary form of EPSS, but I hope that this will be the basis for an EPSS system that would aid computer technical support and assure that we are all following the same procedures (in many cases, we are not).

Knowledge management is the way we manage information, share that information, and use it.
Organizations, such as schools, are full of information/data and we must organize that data in a way that we can make sense of it. We use data to make decisions and good data=good decision making. Identify a real or hypothetical problem in your line of work. How might a blended learning approach, including the use of a knowledge management system, be use to solve the problem?

I believe that our Instructional Technologists (with whom I work closely) are developing a blended solution to knowledge management when it comes to training our teachers to use the various programs and technologies the district implements.  They offer in-person one-on-one and small group training, but they are also creating Sites through our Google Apps which link to the training materials which were used in the in-person training, as well as to supplemental materials for further exploration.  This is a real help to our training issues, because many times there is a gap between when the training occurs and when the programs are implemented, and so there is a loss of knowledge.  Of course, teachers tend to misplace hard copy handouts as well.  Having this information readily accessible in an electronic format supplements and enhances the training.

Describe the types of informal learning you have been exposed to in your adult life. What was the purpose? What was the experience like? Was it engaging? Social? What role did you play? What role did the instructor play?

As I was reading the chapter about informal learning, I was repeatedly reminded of the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  My mother and I homeschooled my two older boys for a couple of years, and we made many, many trips to the museum.  We continued to visit the museum when we lived in Indianapolis, even when my boys went back to public school, and brought their cousins and younger sister.  My kids loved the Children's Museum so much that they still ask to visit every time we go back to Indianapolis (both my boys are college-age now).  So, at first I thought maybe this is not a great example of informal learning in MY adult life…but then on second thought, I think it is.  At the Children's Museum, not only my children, but also my mother and I (as the homeschool "teachers") could consult with experts and direct my boys to presentations in science, history, art, etc.  The information available was colorful, engaging, hands-on and interesting for both children and adults.  Each exhibit could be enjoyed on a surface level, but could also be explored in detail.  The museum had in-depth resources available for almost everything, including working science labs and an on-site branch of the Marion County Public Library.  There were also other homeschool parents, public and private school teachers on field trips with their classes, and museum interpreters to interact with informally during our visits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklMLu91RPA
ScienceWorks at the Indianapolis Children's Museum in the 90s





Here's a link to the current TCM exhibit about Modern Egypt: http://www.childrensmuseum.org/takemethere/

The Indianapolis Children's Museum is one of the best examples of informal learning I know!