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How to Design E-Learning for Multiple Generations
February 19, 2008
By Sarah Boehle
How do you design training to appeal to learners on a generational basis? Aetna Inc. may have the answer.
Earlier this month, the Hartford, Conn., insurance company took home a Training magazine Top 125 Best Practice Award for its generational diversity e-learning.
After evaluating the results of training, Aetna realized that longer-tenured employees reacted differently to some of its new learning approaches than did shorter-tenured employees. In response, the company conducted a more detailed analysis based on age, identifying five groups (Silent Generation, ages 62-77; Baby Boomers, ages 52-61; Late Baby Boomers, ages 43-51; Generation X, ages 31-42; and Generation Y, ages 18-30).
Based on its own studies and those of other organizations, Aetna found each of these groups to have unique cultural and learning preferences based on experiences encountered during formative learning periods. Then, the company began developing training more closely aligned to the learning styles of each group.
Training recently spoke with David Blair, Aetna's learning head of curriculum design, about the program and his tips for success.
Training: What did your research reveal?
Blair: Baby Boomers and Late Baby Boomers like linear courses in which information is covered in a very logical, progressive manner. They struggle with simulations. They also accept objectives. If you tell them upfront what the course objectives are and what the training will cover, they are apt to accept what you say.
Generation X learners appreciate new technology and expect a certain amount of interactivity. Like Boomers, they prefer linear content, but they also want to be able to "test out" of courses when they reach a point where their level of knowledge is sufficient. Those in this generation also want choices, such as being able to turn audio and closed-captioned text in a course on or off. They want you to teach them what they need to know and apply all the time. If there is something that they won’t likely apply for another six months, they prefer not to receive training on it. They'd rather receive a performance support tool or job aid to which they can refer later.
Those in Generation Y like to freeform it. The first thing they like to do in a course is take a test and figure out what they don't know. Then, they want to be able to go back in and learn what they don't. They also want to navigate through parts of a presentation in the order they prefer. Then, they want to have the option of researching references at their discretion.
Training: How do you design your e-learning to align with these preferences?
Blair: When we began looking at this issue in earnest, our analysis revealed that at Aetna, most training designers are Baby Boomers. As a result, much of the training that was being developed at that time was created with Boomers' preferences in mind.
For Generations X and Y, more of our e-learning now incorporates games and simulations. Content search and research capabilities were also added to a number of courses.
To meet Generation X's preference for learning takeaways, we began building more performance support tools for those tasks that learners don't perform often. Because this group likes choice, we also added an audio on/off and closed-captioning option to many of our courses.
For Generation X and Y learners, we changed the way in which we write course objectives. If you put objectives at the beginning of an e-learning program, Baby Boomers will read and accept them. Generation Xers and Yers won't. So we began telling a story instead. The story usually explains why the training is necessary (e.g., Here's a situation and here is the outcome that will occur if the situation is not handled properly.).
For Generation Y learners, we adopted The Thiagi Group's Four-Door approach to e-learning, in which learners choose their best learning style and can shift from one to another to meet their needs. This approach, which consists of the Library (performance support and reference materials for self-study), the Playground (learning through gaming), the Café (learning through social interaction) and the Torture Chamber (the opportunity to test one's skills or knowledge through simulation) is having a tremendous impact on our Generation Y learners.
Training: What results has the program delivered?
Blair: Early on, we did a study that compared an old course and an updated version of the same course, which was completely redesigned based on generational differences.
The first thing we measured was satisfaction, which we define as the ability to take information learned in training and apply it on the job, as measured by learners after they leave training. With Generation X and Y learning styles designed into our learning programs, overall learner satisfaction increased by 21 percent.
We also measured achievement—in other words, how well learners perform within the actual training program. For those who took the "generational" training, this metric increased by 12 percent compared to the control group.
Finally, we took a look at retention, which we test three months after training concludes to determine how much learners retained. This metric increased by 9 percent compared to the control group.
Training: What tips can you offer to others interested in designing their courses with multiple generations in mind?
Blair:
• There are exceptions to the rules. You can lump people together by generation, but there are always going to be exceptions. We have seen people in the Silent Generation, for example, who are extremely competent with computers, prefer to learn by searching, and like new technologies—just like Generation Y learners. It's difficult, if not impossible, to design training around all of these exceptions, but one thing you can do is keep all of the e-learning you design as open as possible. Design it so that learners, themselves, can choose how to learn and interact with the content.
• Learning styles are upwardly compatible by one generation. If you build a course targeted at Generation Y learners, Generation X learners will look at the course and say, "I'm progressive enough to accept this," even if it's not targeted specifically at them. If you have a learner population comprising 50 percent Generation Y learners and 50 percent Baby Boomers, however, and you design the program to appeal to Generation Y learners, Boomers will resist the course. It's simply too big a jump for them to make. In that situation, it's best to design two different programs—one for each group.
• Learning styles are not downwardly compatible. If you have a group of learners consisting of both Generation X and Generation Y, always design for Generation Y. If you design for Generation X, Generation Y will view the course as antiquated and won’t accept it.
• Weigh the costs and benefits. We don't have many learner groups that comprise one generation, and there are very few that are even 50-50. With most courses, we look at the majority population and design with their proclivities in mind. When the split is somewhat even, however, we weigh the costs and benefits to determine whether taking the time to develop two different programs makes sense. We are lucky in that we design all of our e-learning within a content management system, so it’s relatively easy for us to reformat the same content in different ways to make it to appeal to each generation. It's not like building two courses; it's more like building a course and a half.
Aetna, with headquarters in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified healthcare benefits company. In 2008, it placed 13th on Training magazine's Top 125 list, an annual ranking of organizations that excel at human capital development.
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