Measuring the effectiveness of circa operations training program

Abstract

The Center for Instructional and Research Computing Activities (CIRCA) at the University of Florida has a training program with the following design: philosophical approach, goals, training methodology, and evaluations. The philosophy is to train Technology Consultants (TCs) to maintain CIRCA as an institution and to empower them to offer the best service to students, faculties, and staff. The goals have been to improve the old training program, to evaluate the program to measure its effectiveness, and to encourage TCs to work professionally in four labs to maintain CIRCA as an institution. The program has eleven training sessions arranged in two phases, and it is offered every semester. Phase I covers policies and procedures and how to work with the hardware. Phase II deals with the most common software that users use in the labs. Lectures are offered with one of the following participatory methods: group discussion, role-play, and brainstorm. Evaluation is carried out by testing knowledge, skill, performance in the labs, and trainees. degree of satisfaction toward each session of the program. All questions received in our labs are recorded per week. Trainees must have 100% attendance, pass the knowledge and the skill tests, obtain at least a moderate score in the performance test, and submit all questions received per week to satisfactorily complete the program. The evaluations and the questions received in the labs help to modify the main topics covered in each phase, to change lesson plans, and to adjust participatory methods. We have successfully implemented this program since Fall 2000.