Creating your Scenario-based Learning for corporate training in five simple steps

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Storytelling is an art that has been passed down from mother to child during bedtime stories. Stories of this kind always stay with us as they depict hardship, solution, strength bonds in times of need, and much more, thereby applying them in situations where hands-on training would be best.

In the case of corporate training, Scenario-based learning (SBL) intertwines the relevance of stories and hands-on experience that lets learners hone skills in various facets such as decision making, soft skills, strategic thinking, and more. By employing the active learning approach, SBL uses real-life situations to establish a highly immersive and relevant learning experience for employees. They can relate the situations in real-life, running in a problem-solving environment that provides an understanding of the aftereffects of their decisions and choices. With the realism of training, employees can learn through the trial-and-error process that would eventually lead to improving their skills on the job.

Steps to building an effective scenario-based course for the training

Step 1: Identify your target audience’s needs.

Understanding the needs of your target audience is the first step in creating an eLearning course. By getting to know the employees’ expectations, it is easier to create relevant, engaging, and compelling scenarios. It allows your employee also to meet their professional goals and get to know more about the responsibilities their job holds. These scenarios not only train new ones but also can refresh memories for experienced employees.

Step 2: Identify the outcomes of the learning course after completion.

The course should contain goals wherein the employees can achieve them as the course progresses. As an organization, you should look into the following things,

• What do you expect your employees to learn after completing a course?
• What business goals are fulfilled after the course completion?
• In which situation will the employees be expected to apply their acquired knowledge?

Step 3: Choosing the right scenario for the set situation

Your SBL can support and allow you to recreate an ample number of scenarios that exclusively allow the corporate training for employees to take decisive action at the scenarios. So how do you choose the right scenario for the situation?

• Critical or challenging situations take priority
• Non-routine tasks
• Decisions are taken by the employee suited for their level in the organization.
• Inherent conflicts that arise in a situation and their tendency to solve it.

Step 4: Choose the apt scenario-based learning for the course needed.

Not to be confused with the point mentioned above, Scenarios can be created like wet clay. Each type of scenario will facilitate and result in immersive corporate training with the highest level of retention.

Problem-based scenario, where employees can implement their knowledge to find a solution to the problem presented.

The skill-based scenario is ideal for employees to showcase their skills and knowledge acquired.

Speculative scenario, where employees can predict the outcome of a situation based on their deduction skills.

The gaming scenario allows them to involve games and strategy as practical learning tools in any situation present.

Implementing a feedback option for any redesigns or calibration

An SBL without the room to be flexible and open to any growth would deter the existence of the learning course in due time. After the completion of the course, employees can reflect on the course improvement, thereby demonstrating the positive impact of the course and the employees’ acquisition of new skills or an increase in productivity. This will ultimately increase the ROI of the employees within your organization.

Advantages of implementing a Scenario-based learning

Flexibility with other eLearning courses or as a stand-alone course

Create SBL as a partial scenario course within the traditional eLearning course or a complete standalone strategy with a narrative depicting relatable characters and multiple scenarios.

Incorporate various formats for a multi-generational workforce

Scenario-based learning should not be confined to a single format, albeit rather a wide range of options from images, animations, interactive videos, virtual reality, and gamification to appease the needs of multiple generations working within your organizations.

Basic SBL or branching SBL for knowledge retention

Scenario-based learning can be crafted into two levels based on the complexity of the scenario.

Basic SBL: Used to recall or remind basic problem-solving techniques.

Branching SBL: Used to implement learner’s decision-making skills.

These two types of SBL have their way of retaining knowledge for employees and recalling them when required during the exercise of learning.

Active learning on the job and behavioral training

One of the pros of integrating an SBL is to improve the efficiency of learning on the job using performance support and a league of other tools in place. With behavioral training in the SBL, the employee can emulate and relate to the characters in the learning course.

Scenario-based learning is a proven and effective instructional strategy for employees to get on board with the training program. Novac Learning’s competence and hold in the industry can help organizations in creating the right Scenario-based learning with the steps mentioned earlier in place. It is a mutually beneficial situation for your organization and employees during the on boarding and the interim evaluation.

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