How do you match your teaching methods to your company's values?

1 Identify your company's values

The first step is to clearly define and understand what your company's values are. These are the core beliefs and principles that guide your organization's vision, mission, culture, and goals. You can find them in your company's website, handbook, or statement of purpose, or you can ask your leaders and stakeholders to articulate them. Once you have a list of your company's values, prioritize them and select the ones that are most relevant and important for your training objectives.

2 Align your learning outcomes with your values

The next step is to align your learning outcomes with your company's values. Learning outcomes are the specific and measurable skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors that you want your staff to achieve or demonstrate after the training. You can use the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) to write your learning outcomes. To align them with your values, you can ask yourself how each outcome supports or reflects one or more of your company's values. For example, if one of your values is innovation, you can write a learning outcome that involves creating or applying a new idea or solution to a problem.

3 Choose your teaching methods based on your values and outcomes

The third step is to choose teaching methods that reflect your values and outcomes. Teaching methods are strategies, techniques, and activities used to deliver content and facilitate learning. Lectures, discussions, demonstrations, simulations, games, case studies are just some of the many options available. When selecting a teaching method, consider the complexity and difficulty of your content and outcomes. For instance, simple and factual content can be taught through a lecture or demonstration, while complex and analytical content can be taught through a discussion or case study. Additionally, consider the level of interaction and engagement required by your staff. For example, if you value collaboration, you can use a group activity or simulation; if you value autonomy, you can use a self-paced or project-based method. Finally, think about the level of feedback and assessment necessary for your staff. If excellence is valued, you can use a quiz or rubric; if growth is valued, you can use a peer review or reflection.

4 Adapt your teaching methods to different learning styles and preferences

The fourth step is to adapt your teaching methods to different learning styles and preferences, which can vary depending on personality, background, motivation, and context. Common learning styles and preferences include visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal, logical, social, and solitary. To accommodate these varying preferences, you can use a variety of media and formats for presenting content, such as text, images, audio, video, graphs, and charts. Additionally, you can use a variety of activities and exercises to practice and apply your content. Examples include reading, writing, listening, speaking, drawing, and moving. Lastly, you can provide training in a variety of modes and settings like online or offline instruction in synchronous or asynchronous formats for individuals or groups.

5 Evaluate and improve your teaching methods based on your values and outcomes

The final step is to evaluate and improve your teaching methods based on your values and outcomes. Evaluation is the process of collecting and analyzing data and feedback to measure the effectiveness and impact of your training, while improvement is the process of making changes and adjustments based on the results. To evaluate and improve your teaching methods, you can define criteria and indicators based on your values and outcomes, such as using a survey for customer satisfaction or a performance task for problem-solving. Additionally, you should collect and analyze data using appropriate methods, interpret and report findings with clear language and visuals, and implement improvement actions with a plan-do-check-act cycle. This will ensure that your teaching methods are effective in achieving your desired outcomes.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?