Evaluation of Training Session Applying Gagne’s Events of Instructions

: Background: This study explores the effectiveness of educator's training programs regarding the presentation, materials, facilities, relevance and usefulness of the training to the current employment and facilitator’s knowledge using Gagne’s event of instructions. Method: A half day long training was conducted on September 2017 at reach of the two health care teaching institutes. At the end of training, evaluation was done and rated in 5 point Likert scale with 5 as the highest score. Participants agreed that the training was useful and relevant to their work. Result: This study showed a positive perception of the learners which will help their job performance as well as the outcome of their dental teaching school and Gagne’s Events of Instructions can be used when conducting this type of training sessions. Conclusion : Regular training program for staff development need to be carried out following a system approach with right mix of input and contents which process with right sequences of instructions to fill the gap between desired performance and actual staff performance.


Introduction:
Training is an activity carried out mainly to increase the productivity. It bridges the gap between the current performance and the standard desired performance. An effective training program helps to develop the expected knowledge, skills and attitudes of people to perform well on the job. At the same time, training also motivates and inspires people, changes peoples' behavior and their commitment 1 .Thus effective training is accountable for improvement of their work performance. Therefore, ongoing training of the employees is an integral part of an organization to fulfill their goals. Training and its regular evaluation helps the organization to achieve the objectives 2 . Teacher training is the basis or the back bone of any education system 3 . It has been mentioned that trained teachers have contributed to improve positive public image of schools. Training contributes in building the confidence among teachers through learning additional knowledge and skills 4 . New teachers are unprepared because what they learned was out of touch with the real world of teaching encountered in schools. Therefore, it is difficult for the novice teachers to balance classroom management and workloads with survival and performance. Inadequate training makes them frustrated for the vast demands of teaching 5 . Teachers are one of the basic and essential elements in the whole process of education. Therefore, effective teacher education ensures the quality of education 3,6 . In Bangladesh, Dental Education Curriculum is a five year course and producing significant number of dental practitioners every year. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), and Sapporo Dental College (SDC) are two renowned health care institutes carried out regular training sessions in order to upgrade and promote tomorrow's professionals who are responsive, experienced, and competent. On September 2017, training sessions on review and development of dental curriculum were held in BSMMU and SDC as a part of continuous professional development activities. The sessions were conducted by a dental faculty expert from a Malaysian University who shared knowledge and experiences on Malaysian dental curriculum using Gagne's events of instructions. Robert Gagné, a remounted educational psychologist, proposed a series of nine events which follow a systematic instructional design process with a focus on the outcomes or the behaviorist approach to learning following the instructions or training 7 . Instructional events are the activities of both teacher and learners during the teaching /training session. The nine events of instructions are (1) gaining attention (2) informing the learner of the objective (3) stimulating recall of prerequisite learning (4) presenting the stimulus material (5) providing learning guidance (6) eliciting the performance (7) providing feedback (8) assessing the performance (9) enhancing retention and transfer. Choosing proper events and planning them in the right setup and the right sequence is vital in a successful lesson or training design.The objective of this study was to evaluate the training session conducted at BSMMU and SDC, Dhaka applying Gagne's events of instructions.

Materials and Methods:
It was a descriptive study conducted on two half day long trainers' training sessions held in BSMMU and SDC, Dhaka Bangladesh on late September 2017. Participants were 74 faculty members from the two institutions who attended the sessions. A questionnaire was prepared to evaluate the training sessions which contained materials related to nine events of instructions as proposed by Gagne 7 . Besides the nine instructional events, the questionnaire also included the items on satisfactions and dissatisfactions of the participants regarding the usefulness of the training, acquiring new knowledge by participants and on speakers' knowledge, understanding, and enthusiasm, use of relevant examples and technique, responses to audience questions, organization and preparedness of the topic. Before application, the questionnaire was pretested and finalized accordingly. The instructional events and other items used in the questionnaire were measured by using a 5-point Likert scale as: 5 = Fully agree/satisfy, 4 = Agree/satisfy, 3 = Unsure, 2 = Disagree/dissatisfy, 1 = Fully disagree/dissatisfy. At the end of training sessions, the participants were asked to complete the evaluation form. Data were collected and analyzed with agreeabilitydisagreeability and with satisfaction-dissatisfaction. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all the items and data were presented as number and percentage distribution. Ethical clearance: The study was approved by ethics Committee of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.   Eliciting performance is an event of learner, where they required practicing the new skill or behavior. Ninety seven percent participants agreed that they were involved in this event. Providing feedback is an important event of instruction. While observing learners' performance, immediate feedback and guidance is important and any questions can be answered. Seventy percent of the participants in this study felt that feedback was provided. To enhance retention, the session can be closed by reviewing the key points, answering the questions and asking for learners' feedback. Ninety two percent participants agreed that presenter summarized the topic before ending and recommended further readings.

Results:
Ongoing training is essential to keep updated the participants' knowledge, understanding and practices. Effective training has immediate and long-term impacts on the trainees. The immediate outcomes include learning, skill development, and positive behavior change while the positive long-term impacts are on job performance and organizational outcomes such as increased profitability and reduced turnover 9 . In this study, 97% of the participants showed satisfaction on the usefulness of the training to them. Total 82% participants were satisfied with the training and felt that they had acquired new knowledge, attitude and skills (Table-3). This positive perception of the learners will help their job performance as well as the outcome of their dental school.As it is mentioned earlier, training programs are the stimulant for the workers to improve their performance and capabilities, which subsequently increase organizational productivity. Therefore, training should be designed on the basis of firm specific needs and objectives. Effective training is the thoughtful intervention designed at attaining the learning necessary for upgraded employee performance 1 . In this study, the training session found that the facilitator was efficient and able to maintain audiences' attention during the entire presentation. More than 90% participants satisfied and agreed that the facilitator was well organized and well-prepared, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and exhibited a good understanding of topic and related issues and responded effectively to audience questions and comments. Participants were highly satisfied on the presentation and perceived that the training contained the practical examples and useful techniques that applied to participants' current work and was very useful (Table-3).
Effective training is one of the important factors for the competency of the employees to fill the gap between desired performance and actual staff performance. The deficit in performance can be relieved by appropriate training. Trainers' personal and professional interaction represents first impression on trainees 10 . Inputs, processes and outputs are system approaches in education and training, and for an effective training they must be relevant and there must have the right mix of objectives, contents, methods and assessment aimed to produce competent and confident health care providers 11 . Objectives are statements of desire which we expect to be achieved by our learners at the end of any educational programme. Well written learning objectives are the heart of any curriculum. Objectives should be SMART, an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. If the objectives are constructed clearly then the outcomes, which are the products or end results of any programme can be pre-specified 12 .This study confirmed that training has a positive impact on the participants. Regular staff development training program should be conducted following a system approach with right mix of input and contents whichalso need to be processed with right sequences of instructions and assessed based on objectivesin order to ensure optimum performance of the staff.

Conclusion:
This study confirmed that training applying Gagne's instructional events provide a great deal of valuable information to teachers and trainers and has a positive impact on the participants. Medical and health care institutions in particular and other educational institutions in general, should conduct regular staff development training program applying Gagne's nine events of instructions as a guidance to ensure optimum development and performance of the staff and thereby ensure a sustainable educational and organizational development.