IRPA13 – Refresher Course 8 : Training Workers in RP for a Safer Work Environment

1. IRPA13 – Refresher Course 8: Training Workers in RP for a Safer Work Environment Virva Nilsson Forsmark NPP Department for Safety and Environment - Radiological Safety 2012.05.15 Open (S1)

2. The Purpose of Training? Did I tellyouI´ve beenteaching Figo howtowhistle!? No youdidn´t. Are youreallysayingthat Figo canwhistle? No, ofcourse not. I onlysaidI´ve beenteachinghim!

3. Contents • Why training of Workers in RP? • A Brief Selection from the Framework • How to Help People Learn? • The Guiding Principle • How Do People Learn? • The Three Dimensions of the Participant´s Personality • The Three Phases of Training • The Three Steps of the Learning Helix • Planning for Competence • Application of 3D in Your Training Course • Miscellaneous Thoughts Regarding E&T and Conclusions

4. How About You? How many of you present today are trainers yourself? Could you, trainers, please raise your hand?

5. Why Training of Workers in Radiation Protection? HowwellRadiationProtection (RP) at a nuclearpower plant works is never just a questionabout RP personnel. It is alsoalways a questionabouthowwell the workersbehaveregarding RP. It is then just common sensetotrainthem prior entering a radiologicallycontrolled area, right? But… There is, ofcourse, a legal framworkof different directives, legislatione.g. we all areobligedtofollow. In thisframeworkofdocumentsdemandsaremadeon thatwetrain the personnel and even on howweareto do it.

6. A Brief Selection from the Framework Legislation and Directives on the national levelwhich all licencees must obey, are set by the national regulator/government. Thesedocuments do not oftenreallydemand the levelofcommitmentaccordingtoindustrygood or best practice. IAEA Safety Standards Series – status derived from the IAEA´sStatute. The Safety Fundamentals – The SafetyRequirements – The Safety Guides. The Series define the principles ofprotection and the requirementsthatwe must meet, as well as offer guidance on howwecancomplywiththeserequirements. Different Guidelines, WANO e.g. – the industrygood and/or best practice

7. How to Help People Learn – The Guiding Principle The key question with all training is: What, exactly, shall the participants be able to do after they´ve completed the training? Objectives (aims, goals and targets) must be formulated as measurable and observable – otherwise it is impossible to see if they are reached or not. When planning for and designing training courses the right question to ask is: What shall the participants be able to do after the training? = the desired outcome It is a common mistake to concentrate on ”what to tell about the subject”. Another common mistake is to not formulate the objectives in a way that make them observable, for example: ”the participants are informed about…”, ”understand…”, ”realize…” – in these cases – what is the objective and how can it be measured whether or not it is achieved?

8. How Do People Learn? According to a very old story… There were three men working as stone masons at a construction site chiseling stone. They were obviously doing exactly the same work, but when asked… they gave three totally different answers. physicallydemanding, hard work, the tools one has to be careful whenmeasuring, all the detailshaveto be exactly right Z I ambuilding a cathedral! X Y

9. How Do People Learn? Z Thesestonemasonswithcompletely different conceptionsof the same jobcorrespondto the three dimensions ofourownpersonalities. Havingreal competencemeansthateachoneof the dimensions has gained the correctqualifications in the correctmanner. Z: the skilltoperform the task – mental or physical, or both X: the knowledgethat is needed – theoretical, formal, factual Y: the understandingof the task and it´svalue – the attitudetowards it The 3D-way ofviewingcompetence is useful for a trainerwhoreallywants the participantstogain the desiredcompetence – and do it well. X Y

10. The Three Dimensions of the Participant´s Personality We all are 3-dimensional personalities. The visual dimension toreach the ”picture” brain (Y) • Show the wholepicture, the context. Let the participantssee the purpose and show examplesbeforeshowinghow the result is to be achieved. • Usegraphics, diagrams, write down, drawpictures. The auditory dimension toreach the ”word” brain(X) • Tell the participantswhatthe goals and aimsare, letthemdescribethesein theirownwords in each part of the training. Putwords on all activities. • Remember: therearelimitationsto the wordbrain. Start withsmall dosesof information followed by activity. The physical dimension toreach the ”activity” brain (Z) • Laughterlubricateslearning!  • Make the participantphysicallyactive, engage the musclememory– saying, handling, touching, pointing. • Seeto it that the participantactscorrectly. • The participantshould be moreactivethan the trainer.

11. Planning for Competence – 3D Competence viewed in a 3D-perspective: Y: understanding the context, attitude X: knowledge of the facts Z: performance of the skills Activities for each dimension can be: Y: describe an overall picture X: describe in detail, enumerate, match Z: demonstrate with growing complexity The training should be planned systematically: • What, exactly, must the participant learn? = the needed competence • Who is the participant? = background, current competence • How is he/she going to gain the desired compentence? = design effective learning situations

12. The Three Phases of Training Phase1 – Overview, visual (Y) Phase2 – The Parts, auditorial (X) Phase3 – The Whole, physical(Z) X Y Z

13. Planning for Competence – 3 Phases Phase 1 – Overview, visual, ”Y” • Critical for success • Motivation is a crucial factor • Motivation by causes • Motivation by clearly defined objective • Motivation by future gain Phase 2 – The Parts, auditorial, ”X” • Divide the whole into ”spoonfuls” of information that can be swallowed one by one • Let him/her practice each ”spoonful” before starting the next one Phase 3 – The Whole, physical, ”Z” • This is where the participant should reach the objective of the training • Phase 3 ought to be ~50% of the total time • Remember, only if the participant in the end demonstrates exactly what was the objective, he/she has reached it

14. The Three Steps of the Learning Helix Effective learning is a cyclic process. The participant climbs up the ”spiral stairs of learning” towards a higher level of competence, one loop at the time. Each loop consists of three steps: • Information to the participant • Activity by the participant • Feedback to the participant

15. Planning for Competence – 3 Steps Step 1 – information tothe participant • Makes the participant able to perform a desired activity • Meant to trigger the activity Step 2 – activity by the participant • The best way of learning is to be active • Step 2 must produce the correct behavior observed by the instructor Step 3 – feedback tothe participant • Final step of the loop • Applying the competence of the objective • Feedback about the result of the activity • Is the starting point for further learning

16. Application of 3D in Your Training Course I wonder…? What would be the aim and objective of your training course/element exactly? • Y • X • Z When executing the training course/ element what could you do, as trainer, to make the learning process even more effective in all 3 dimensions? (activities, media etc) • Y • X • Z Which dimension would you think is particularly important for a training course in RP? Why? How would you like to design Phase 1, Overview, for the training course in RP? (Phase 1 is critical for success, motivation!) In which ways could this phase of your training course be divided into the 3 steps of the learning helix? • Information to the participant • Activity by the participant • Feedback to the participant The key factor in designing effective training courses is to define the objective (aim, goal) clearly with the real training needs as a foundation. What would be, in your case, the desired competence, exactly, and how would you measure the result?

17. Miscellaneous Thoughts & Conclusions When planning for, designing and executing training courses, the most essential asset is the trainer. A trainer in his/her role? Solid and careful planning and design form the basis of training courses that produce the desired competence. Train the trainers. Networking. Laughter lubricates learning  Give positive learning experiences.

18. Thank You for Your Attention! Laughterlubricateslearning– give positive learningexperiences! I´d like tothankMr Jansson, UBAB, for all his support in makingthis presentation. I´dalso like tothankMr Bens, WANO, for the permission toquote WANO GL 2004-01.