Program Design

I commented on Group 5 Experiential Learning Program Design

Social Cognitive Learning

Desiree M. Soptelean

Ball State University

Program Design

EDAC 634

Professor Bo Chang

Introduction

            Social cognitive learning theory may be applied in many areas of adult learning, including both classroom and workplace settings. My program was designed for implementation in a workplace setting, specifically using aspects of organizational socialization practices to create a newcomer orientation and training schedule. The learners in my program will be newly hired behavioral therapists at an ABA Clinic. The week-long training schedule I have developed will address multiple needs including the need for task-related training, organizational training, provide a space to discuss expectations held by both management and the employee, and will introduce opportunities for organizational socialization. A typical training plan for an ABA Clinic would last longer than one week, but to avoid repetitiveness I have included all essential parts of my plan in Week One. The intention of the program is to increase therapist job satisfaction, which will in turn create organizational loyalty and reduce negative effects and costs associated with high employee turnover rates.

Rationale

            One point I borrowed from the literature includes not fitting as much information as possible in a general orientation from the very beginning, as the newcomer has no context to apply the knowledge, as stated by Korte, Brunhaver, and Sheppard in their 2015 article. The desire for a more formal learning experience, where an employee knows exactly what will be taking place is another aspect from the literature I incorporated into my program design.

            I have tried to keep in mind the idea from Bandura’s (2001b) article, that behavior may be equally controlled by environmental influences or by internal dispositions, and have allowed for multiple types of learning and interactions to take place. In doing this, the newcomers will have the ability to try different ways of learning, and if one works better than another they may provide feedback on that. They may also use this information to self-regulate and encourage their own learning in the future, as spoken about by Bandura in his 2001, article Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective.

            The company I have based a lot of my training program on is a retail company called Anthropologie where I used to be a part of a management team responsible for training newly hired associates. The location I worked out of was Indianapolis and the headquarters of the company was located in Philadelphia, PA. Because we hired new hires on an irregular, rotating basis, there was not a set schedule that was followed rigidly, but we did have an orientation and training process that every employee went through. At the beginning of the process, documents were filed, company history and values covered, and then the employee was gradually introduced to the store. We began with the back of house area, familiarizing the employee with processes and procedures. The first shifts were always shorter, allowing time to digest the information. As the employee came back for subsequent shifts, more training responsibilities were added, until they became self-sufficient and confident to be on their own.

            In my program design I borrowed the idea of starting slowly and warming up, adding more information each day. I did not have the behavioral therapist to begin right away observing clients, because without a base foundation of knowledge, their time would be wasted and no knowledge would be able to be retained.

Program

My program is a detailed schedule for the first week of on the job training for newly hired behavioral therapists at an ABA Clinic. I have included notations in italicized parentheses as appropriate to note which part of the social cognitive learning process of organizational socialization I have connected the related activities. The schedule will be given to the newcomers at the beginning of Day 1, so they will know what to expect each day of the upcoming week, contributing to active communication and creating a formalized training process in the early days of the training process.

WEEK 1 NEW HIRE SCHEDULE
DAY 1 8:30-11:00 -Onboarding paperwork -Organizational introduction -Tour 11-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:30 Observe/train on lunchroom procedures (Observation) 12:30-3:30 Skills/operant training	DAY 2 8:30-9:30 Observe AM Client (Observation) 9:30-11:00 Skills/Operant training 11-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:30 Observe/train on lunchroom procedures (Observation) 12:30-1:30 Observe PM client (Observation) 1:30-3:30 -Discussion (allow time for sense-making, retrospective) -Skills/operant training -Personality assessment	DAY 3 8:30-11:30 CPR/First Aid training 11:30-12:30 Lunch with other New hires (Networking) 12:30-1:30 Observe PM Client (Observation) 1:30-3:30 -Discussion (allow time for sense-making, retrospective) -Skills/operant training	DAY 4 8:30-11:00 Observe AM Client (Observation) 11-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:30 Observe/train on Lunchroom procedures (Observation) 12:30-3:30 Observe PM Client (Observation) 3:30-4:45 Partner with seasoned staff to complete end of day tasks (Observation, Networking, Inquiry)	DAY 5 8:30-11:30 Discussion with Program Coordinator (supervisor) -Expectations of employee and supervisor -Initial thoughts (Networking, Inquiry) 11:30-12:30 Lunch with staff 12:30-3:30 Program training with Program Coordinator (Observation, Networking, Inquiry)

Reflection

            I think the most unique part of my program design is that I was able to build on my own experiences to not only critique what has been done, but to create my own program. I have been able to both train and be trained for a multitude of jobs, and feel that this will assist in the future if this is an area that I choose to work in.

            This was a process that happened pretty organically for me. Once I began reading the literature it reminded me of a lot of my past experiences, and I was able to draw a lot on those, especially the ones I thought could have been improved upon. 

Tables

Table 1. Summary of the literature review

Main Themes in Literature	Application of Main Themes in Literature
THEME 1: First experiences for newcomers in an organization quickly set expectations and perceptions of the job and organization.	·             General orientations have been reported to be unhelpful because newcomers to an organization have no context of the information they are given. ·             Newcomers report a desire for more formal training in the early days ·             Organizations need to pay attention to newcomers first experiences, especially in regards to active communication
THEME 2: Organizational socialization is a process by which overall work load may be improved.	·             Socialization is not only about newcomers, but involves seasoned employees also ·             It may not be possible to reduce load, but social capital may help ease abnormal cognitive load
THEME 3: Individual differences of newcomers in an organization effect likelihood of engaging in organizationally committed behaviors.	·             Three self initiated employee socialization tactics: observation, inquiry, networking. Each employee will be oriented differently toward each area. ·             Four tasks to be mastered by newcomers: mastering job tasks, clarifying role, integrating into work group, assimilate into organizational culture. ·             Informal learning is the most pervasive type of learning in organizations – important to be aware of learning type.

Table 2. Summary of the literature review

Learners	Newcomer Behavioral Therapists
Purposes	Equip newcomer behavioral therapists to perform their responsibilities to the best of their ability while creating positive organizational social relationships
Objectives	·             Equip therapists to do their jobs correctly and confidently ·             Introduce the organizational structure ·             Discuss expectations of management and employee ·             Introduce opportunities for organizational socialization
Rationales – Ideas from Literature	·             No general orientation ·             More formal training
Rationales – Features from practical cases	·             Slow build to self-sufficiency
Highlights and the major components of the program you designed	·             Applying personal experiences and opinions to the literature and my

References

Bandura, A. (2001a). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1.

Bandura, A. (2001b). Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication. Media Psychology, 3, 3 (265-299).

Korte, R., Brunhaver, S., & Sheppard, S. (2015). (Mis)Interpretations of organizational socialization: The expectations and experiences of newcomers and managers. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 26, 185-208.