Customized Coursework

In many cases, the traditional course architecture remains the right choice: select and enumerate the course objectives, linearly build on the objectives, then test mastery. When you have a group of students that all start with approximately the same background, and need to know approximately the same information, this method, is thorough, efficient, and pedagogically sound.

However, in today's corporate environments, "Just-In-Time" learning can be as big a competitive advantage as "Just-In-Time" supply arrangements. Waiting to hold a course until a critical mass of participants is collected can result in lost opportunities for your undertrained staffers. Your employees may not know they need a course until just before they need the information - and each one will bring a different base of skills at the start, and have a different objective upon completion.

The use of Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) facilitates the development of customized courses, designed to bring exactly the knowledge the student needs - no more and no less. A student who has recently completed prerequisite coursework need not waste time paging through unnecessary review material. Students who only need information on Limited Liability Companies should not spend time discussing the pros and cons of Partnerships. Students who have not been working in the area may need a full review and units on related topics, so that they understand exactly where their new knowledge fits in.

Unit selection can be done by:

1. Pretest. An adversarial test administered before the course allows students to test out of units containing previously mastered material.
2. Questionnaire. Students are allowed to directly select topics of interest, like picking out books at a bookstore.
3. Learner Profile. New hires, fresh out of school, may get a full course, while 4th-year managers may get a refresher version. Staff based in California may see different units than staff based in Canada.

Customized, just-in-time learning is key to developing your staff to excel and confidently carry out the tasks before them. The ability to personalize a curriculum allows for skill gap analysis, competency mapping, and ultimately more effective job development and placement. In personalizing the learning experience, employees learn the information most important to their advancement.