As stated above, the more explicit you can be about the outcomes of the session, the better.  In considering the outcomes, ideally you would base it on a needs assessment but often a formal one is not available.  Rather, a workshop is based on perceived needs of the participants or knowledge of an educational / performance gap based on experience.   When designing the educational objectives, we recommend that you think along two main dimensions:

 

One is the type of outcome you want to achieve.  Is it an increase in knowledge? Is it development or enhancement of a skill? Is it a change in attitude towards a subject?  Is it a combination of them all?   For the latter one (a combination), it is best to try and focus on primary and secondary outcomes so you know where to focus your attention.

 

The second dimension is the level of the outcome to be achieved.    It starts with the simplest level of being able to describe facts and define a concept.   The next level is the ability to discuss a concept. Higher levels include analyzing the pros and cons of a concept and eventually leading to the ability to apply the concept to a situation.   The key here is the choice of action verb used in the objective. This classification is called “Bloom’s taxonomy”. 

 

A good reference for developing goals and objectives can be found here

 

One final note is to link the activities to the objectives whenever possible.  For example, once you have created the objectives and set the draft agenda, try to match each activity one of the objectives. If at the end, you have an objective with no activities or major activities without a corresponding objective, you may wish to revisit both the objectives and the agenda to try and align them better.

 

 

As children in school and even as students at university, we can all remember how lectures were one of the most common methods of education.  For people new to a topic, this is an effective educational method since lectures are good at delivering a large volume of information in a short period of time.  The problem with lectures is that, for continuing professional development, they have been shown to be relatively ineffective.   Lectures  are also called being the “sage on the stage” and it stresses the role of the presenter to be the expert.

 

For adult learners, particularly those with some experience in the field, the most effective methods of education involve engaging the learner/participant in the educational process.  Examples of these types of teaching include: scenarios, problem-based learning or case discussions, provocative questions to stimulate discussion, and observation with immediate feedback. In each of these situations, the participant actively engages in the learning process and incorporates the new knowledge and skills with their existing ones.   Relevance to the person’s work situation and presence of immediate feedback are important so the learner can internalize the change.   In short hand format, these learning formats encourage the presenter to be a “guide from the side”.  Using these teaching formats, the presenter relies on his/her skills as a facilitator as well as having some content expertise.  

 

The bottom line is that there is a role for both approaches.  Reliance on only one method can be problematic.  One recommendation is to mix them up so the workshop contains a didactic and substantial interactive portion. Ideally, one should aim for 50% of the time being interactive discussion or group work.   

 

Secondly, a workshop should address the “predisposing”, “enabling” and “re-enforcing” elements of behaviour change.  By predisposing elements, we mean providing basic knowledge and background information required for the change in practice to occur.  Enabling elements are those that allow the participant to use this new information in their job.  An example would be the application of the knowledge in a case study, provision of a treatment algorithm, or other such tool.   Finally, re-enforcing elements are those that help the participant retain the knowledge.  Helping the participant develop a checklist for use in the first month after the workshop is an example of trying to maintain effective change.

 

 

As stated above, making things relevant is key to running a successful workshop. If the learner/participant does not see the value of the new knowledge or skills to his/her work, there is a very low chance of change occurring or for you to get a really high score on the workshop evaluation.   So one option is to make sure you engage representatives of the target audience in developing workshop.

Another important consideration is the level of expertise among the participants. Many of them may well have considerable experience in the topic or come from another discipline, thereby adding a valuable new perspective to the discussion.   This respect and inclusion of the expertise from the participants can make the workshop a tremendous success, particularly when there is a synergy between the presenters and the audience. 

 

 

As an example of a mixed methods session, here is a draft 90 minute objective.

 

 

Time from the start  ​	Activity​	​Educational Objective
0 - 5 minutes​	Introduction, description of the educational objectives, and setting the agenda for the workshop ​	None – orientation only ​
5 - 10 minutes​	Introduction of participants, this can include an “ice breaker” activity ​	None – but leads to better group dynamics later in the session ​
10-30 minutes​	Lecture: key information needed for the participants to do the interactive exercise.​	Pre-disposing activity.  Link to educational objectives related to gain in knowledge. ​
30 - 50 minutes​	Interactive component such as case scenarios, small group discussion of challenging questions, problem sets, etc. ​	Enabling activity - aimed at increasing the ability of the participant to apply the information to their work situation. Link to educational objectives related to gain in knowledge, skills and attitudes.​
50 - 70 minutes​	Discussion and review as a large group. If case scenarios were used, you can try to bring out common themes and discuss important differences.   ​	Mainly enabling but some re-enforcing.  Link to educational objectives related to gain in knowledge, skills and attitudes.​
70 - 80 minutes​	Wrap up and review of the key points. ​	Re-enforcement of the main learning points. ​
80 - 90 minutes​	Evaluation and thanking audience for participation. Provision of key tools and references for further study.  ​	​

 

Other references and guides will be posted under guidelines on the TOPHC website, so please watch this space.

 

If you have comments or questions, please send an email to ian.johnson@oahpp.ca