Book review
Training and Retraining
Authors: Tobias and Fletcher
Review by Donald Clark
Whenever I'm asked a question about computer-based learning, and
I don't know the answer, my first port of call is invariably Training
and Retraining by Tobias and Fletcher - the book's scope is absolutely
encyclopaedic. Commissioned by the American Psychological Association,
it took 9 years to complete and covers an enormous range of topics
from the leaders in their respective fields.
There are 21 chapters on topic such as the psychology of
learning, motivation, theories of instructional design, media
selection, simulations, training in industry, training in
the military, work-based learning, basic skills training,
evaluation and future directions. At over 600 pages of densely
packed text it is not a light read, but as a source of solid
research and general summaries it is unrivalled.
What you won't find in this book are references to the more
faddish and non-empirical topics in training such as Neuro-linguistic
Programming or Learning Styles. What you will find are solidly
written, fully referenced chapters on almost all of the major
topics in the industry. It is unashamedly academic and fair
in covering competing theories and pointing out that the research
is non-conclusive.
I was lucky enough to see the authors give a talk at the Techlearn
conference two years ago. It was by far the best session of the
conference. They were unassuming, knowledgeable and came out with
findings that still stick in my memory years later. For example,
that the research points towards over 60% of current training as
being ineffective due to a failure to adapt the training to the
culture in which it is delivered. I bought the book within minutes
of leaving the room and if I were to retain only one book on learning
in my library, this would be my choice.
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