Step 1: Review the entire webpage so you are familiar with the suggested education / training plan, informational links and the courses.
Step 2: Customize this plan by modifying suggested learning modules based on your specific situation. Customized training can best meet the needs of your organization, learners and the people you support.
Step 3: Consider how completion of each module will be rewarded and how these rewards will fit into your performance review and/or career ladder programs.
Step 4: Decide on a timeline for completion of modules. Learners must complete the lessons and pass the post test for lessons to be marked as completed. The test can be used to show knowledge gain and understanding of the content to meet a competency measure.
Step 5: Assign modules to frontline supervisors and managers first so they are familiar with the content, can reinforce learning and can discuss the information with the direct support professionals/staff they supervise.
Step 6: We suggest supervisors hold a facilitated group discussion with all learners they supervise after they complete modules to discuss content and how it can be incorporated into daily practice. This can easily be incorporated into staff meetings.
Suggested discussion questions
- What are your general impressions of the information in the module you recently completed? What did you like or dislike about the information presented in the module? What are some of the specific ways you may already be using what you have learned and how might you build on this?
- What concepts in the module were new to you? What concepts do you feel you understood before completing the module? In what ways did the module force you to look at the topic differently? (Identify key concepts from the lessons and ask participants to discuss their understanding.)
- The module touched on many different topics. What areas were most applicable to your work? What areas were most important to you? (You may want to highlight a few important topics from different lessons in the module, if learners don’t identify them.)
- What types of things will you try to change about your work style? What do you currently do that is in line with what you’ve learned? (This should be where the most time is concentrated.)
- How can our organization support you to apply your learning in the areas we just discussed?
- What questions do you have about the content from the lessons you recently completed?
Step 7: Provide mentors to help learners develop and demonstrate skill competency and to assure full understanding of module content and how it applies to the people you support.
Step 8: Kick off and roll out learning modules to direct support professionals by assigning modules, setting timelines for completion and monitoring progress.
