PIAF - no regrets

I don't often have cause to write about French singers on this blog. It is true that, at the time of writing, I am on my way to Lyon to run a workshop on blended learning, but otherwise the connection is tenuous to say the least, as you will see.

I have been refining my method for the design of blended solutions for close to ten years now, testing it against hundreds of different real-world problems. I feel comfortable with the processes I have settled on for gathering data about the requirements of a particular situation, and for the way in which decisions are made about methods and media.

But until recently I did not believe it was possible to follow a standard sequence within blended solutions, a series of phases that could be applied effectively in a wide variety of situations. However, what I found when I looked back over many different designs was that successful solutions seemed to follow a certain pattern of four phases. I struggled to find names for these phases that would apply to both formal and non-formal interventions using a wide range of different strategies, but I'm happy with what I've settled on. You can imagine I was amused when it also spelled out a name, PIAF.

Preparation: In this phase your aim is to prepare the learner for a productive learning experience. You may include measures to pinpoint areas of need, establish goals, address any shortcomings in prep-requisite knowledge, introduce learners to each other and provide an overview of what is to follow.

Input: This phase represents the primary formal element of your programme. This is when you do things like run workshops, provide on-job instruction, make available core learning material, and so on.

Application: In this phase, learners put what they have learned into action, whether directly on the job or through individual and group assignments. With larger programmes, Input and Application are likely to cycle as the learner progresses through a number of modules.

Follow-up: It is very unlikely that you will have achieved your objectives fully at the end of the Application phase. The follow-up phase allows your solution to become an on-going process rather than a one-off event. You will look to provide facilities such as coaching and materials that the learner can access on demand. As the balance shifts from �courses� to �resources�, the follow-up phase will become increasingly dominant. 

PIAF is not rocket science - I'm sure that, given the chance, you'd have come up with something similar - but that does not mean it is common sense. Most workplace learning interventions have just one phase - Input - typically a classroom course or a piece of e-learning. They are disconnected from the real world in which the employee operates. They struggle to make an impact, even when - at the time - they are engaging and enjoyable. What PIAF does is to put formal Input in its place - just one step in an on-going learner journey that will most likely also include non-formal, on-demand and experiential elements.

In subsequent posts this week I will explain more about PIAF and how it might be applied to different types of (mostly top-down) workplace learning interventions. I'm sceptical if it has application in any sort of educational setting but I'll let you be the judge of that. What I'm hoping is that, when it is applied rigorously, you will have less regrets about interventions that start promisingly then fizzle out. Like Edith Piaf, you'll be able to say 'Non, je ne regret rien'.

Next: Blending in

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