Running head: STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 1

Return on Investment of Student Training and Development

Claudia E. Ko

Montclair State University

STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 2

Table of Contents

Abstract 3

Literature Review 4

Theoretical Framework 6

Conclusion 8

References 9
STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 3

Abstract

Mediating the increasing need to re-train and cross-train staff with the demand for

learner-centered training programs is the focus of this work. As centers and offices expand their

offerings and services supervisors are challenged to train and develop staff to respond these

changing needs. This project provides a Supervisor Resource Guide that outlines best practices

and justification for funding for training and development in the next 5 years. Data to support the

guide came from interviewing and surveying student staff.

STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 4

Return on Investment of Student Staff Training and Development

Literature Review

The value of training and evaluating training programs is widely supported in the

literature. For example, human resource development efforts incorporate training as part of

interventions with more frequency than other solutions (Scaduto, Lindsay, & Chiaburu, 2008).

Sung & Choi (2014) address the need to acknowledge the effect training and development has on

the relationship between employee retention and innovative performance. They argue that

financial management and funding of the training process that leads to professional development

of employees plays a positive role in maintaining the long term innovative potential of an

organization. Staff trainings are not always evaluated but evaluations such as surveys are

considered necessary for organization growth and development (Rothwell, 2007). There are

many reasons to evaluate (Kirkpatrick, 2007). As a result, managers ought to consider first if

they are currently evaluating training and second how and why. In sum, justification for

evaluating training programs is abundant in the literature.

Second, motivating staff is another area of interest in research. Zhao, Ghiselli, Law & Ma

(2016) used a 7 point Likert scale rating job characteristics to assess the impact of job

characteristics on job and life satisfaction and stress level experienced by 401 Chinese frontline

hotel workers. Results showed skill variety decreases job satisfaction but decreases job stress,

high autonomy reduces job stress but also decreases job satisfaction, and feedback from

supervisors improves job satisfaction but increases job stress. Evidently employees need to be

intrinsically motivated to persist in these positions that do not guarantee increased job and life

satisfaction and decreased stress in all facets. To summarize, identifying sources of motivation is

helpful in making the job environment consistently satisfying and rewarding.

STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 5

Third, the literature identifies training and development as an under-supported task

supervisors are held accountable for delivering. Davis & Cooper (2017) aimed to better

understand the supervisor role in supervision in interviews with 13 student affairs supervisors.

Results identified strategies of supervision supervisors can strive to incorporate into praxis such

as conducting needs assessments and hosting one-on-one meetings with employees. In sum,

supervising staff is one of many competing job duties but because employees are responsible for

carrying out the goals and purposes of the organization this duty deserves investment (Davis &

Cooper, 2017; Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Hill & Lent 2006; Satterfield & Hughes 2007).

Finally, training is a form of pedagogical achievement but students are not always given

avenues to build both their academic and professional identity. This struggle is encompassed in

the study of Danish and Australian undergraduate students interviewed to gain insight on their

lived student experience (Jensen & Jetten, 2016). The impact of this lack of identity development

is experienced inside and outside the classroom resulting in lack of goal orientation and

motivation, increased uncertainty and stress, and elevated perception of poor academic

achievement. Results suggested all students will try to form both identities and this identity

formation is important to academic achievement and supporting learning overall. Bell,

Tannenbaum, Ford, Noe, & Kraiger (2017) recognize the 100 year history of training and

development research and the recent realization that with technology traditional methods for

teaching a skill set can now be taught remotely in online, often passive, modules. Conventional

methods should not be exchanged for technologically advanced equivalents without thoughtful

consideration of the pedagogical value added or lost in this transfer. Supervisors must know

when to use technology and when to adopt learner-centered approaches that conserve active
STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 6

learning. Hence, training is a learning experience that is part of and informed by the larger

context of student learning.

As aforementioned, deficiencies in the literature relate to recognizing the need to evaluate

training programs and motivating staff to continue to deliver quality work despite the lack of

resources allocated to training and persistent pedagogical challenges that arise when teaching a

group of diverse individuals. Thus, supervisors supporting staff in training will begin a journey

of assessment and evaluation to consider how a trainee moves from applicant to new hire and

then ultimately is trained and seasoned by experience to be a strong returner.

Theoretical Framework

Kolb’s holistic Theory of Experiential Learning frames this work. This theory can be

described in four learning styles which include diverging, assimilating, converging, and

accommodating (Kolb, 1976). These styles refer to the sequential process Kolb studied. The first

stage is concrete experience where the individual encounters a new situation or reframes a prior

experience. The second is reflective observation where the individual reflects on the experience.

The third is abstract conceptualization in which a new entity emerges from the reflection. The

fourth is active experimentation where the individual takes what was learned and applies it to

new situations. Experience, reflection, conceptualization, and testing occur in sequence and

represent stages (Appendix E).

Furthermore, a critical analysis of the theory demonstrates its relevance to training in

higher education and application to this project. Kolb (2015) emphasize the continued value of

this theory in present-day work celebrating that, “Since its first statement in 1971…there have

been many studies using experiential learning theory to advance the theory and practice.” As of

2015, 207 studies have been done in management and 430 in education. In addition, “27 percent
STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 7

of the top cited articles in management education journals were about experiential learning and

learning styles,” (Kolb, 2015, xxiii). Evidently, fields have adapted the theory to their unique

needs and setting. Problems with the theory are unique to each field. For the field of higher

education, personality type, social styles and motivation, and other areas of personal psychology

pose challenges to applying Kolb’s theory alone (Kolb, 2015, p. 120). The theory is strengthened

when paired with approaches that can link theory to practice through closer understanding of the

individual. Poore, Cullen, & Schaar (2014) bring attention to the potential the theory has for the

field of nursing specifically in guiding simulation-based interprofessional education. This

learning theory grounds education and offers “a process for knowledge acquisition based on the

needs of each individual learner” (Poore, Cullen, & Schaar, 2014, p. e241). Hence, the rich

foundation Kolb started in 1971 has been enhanced by more recent research into the theory.

Finally, Kolb’s experiential learning theory is the basis of training efforts in various fields

including nursing, a field that is also customer-service based like that of the Center. Therefore,

this theory has informed the foundational best practices of training and development and will

inform how this project advises quality improvement initiatives for the Center. The application

of the four learning styles to training and development initiatives is the most direct contribution.

The diverging style calls for watching tasks be done and group work with feedback, the

assimilating style calls for conceptual clarity in training through reading and lectures, the

converging style calls for challenging staff to solve problems on their own to stimulate new

ideas, and the accommodating style calls for hands-on training experiences. Furthermore, the

indirect application of Kolb’s experiential learning theory is the resulting frame of mind of

supervisors implementing these initiatives. Kolb’s theory is the best way to understand this

project and training in general because it approaches training from an individual learner
STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 8

perspective. As a result, supervisors implementing these initiatives will be coming from a place

of teaching and instruction appropriate for a setting where staff are students engaged in learning.

The focus is not on a transactional exchange of knowledge rather it is on a developmental

transformation in the students. Hence, the focus shifts from merely delivering changes in

protocol as a manager to developing students into stronger learners in their roles as employees as

a supervisor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this project took place at the ADP Center for Learning Technologies at

Montclair State University and involved creating a resource guide for supervisors training and

developing staff based on surveying and interviewing student staff. Literature on innovative

performance, intrinsic motivation and the supervisor role in supervision informed the actions

taken. Kolb’s Theory of Experiential Learning based on a 4-stage learning cycle of feeling,

watching, thinking and doing was used to create tools for student staff that aligned with their

preferred learning styles. After identifying an area for improvement, researching possible

solutions, and realigning the scope of those solutions data was collected to support

recommendations and a final deliverable was prepared for future staff to implement in the next 5

years.
STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 9

References

Aguinis, H. & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and

teams, organizations, and society. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 451-474.

Ball State University, Online Training Modules. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://cms.bsu.edu/about/administrativeoffices/humanresources/learning-and-

development/online-training-modules

Bell, B.S., Tannenbaum, S.I., Ford, J.K., Noe, R.A., & Kraiger, K. (2017). 100 years of training

and development research: What we know and where we should go. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 102(3), 305-323.

Bowling Green State University, Services and Events. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://www.bgsu.edu/student-employment-services/services-events.html

Davis, T. J., & Cooper, D. L. (2017). People are messy: Complex narratives of supervising new

professionals in student affairs. Journal of Student Affairs Research & Practice, 54(1),

55.

Hill, C.E. & Lent, R.W. (2006). A narrative and meta-analytic review of helping skills training:

time to revive a dormant area of inquiry. Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice,

43, 154-72.

Jensen, D. & Jetten, J. (2016). The importance of developing students’ academic and

professional identities in higher education. Journal of College Student Development,

57(8), 1027-1042.

Kirkpatrick, J. (2007). The hidden power of Kirkpatrick’s four levels. Training and
STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 10

Development, 61(8), 34-37.

Kolb, D. A. (1976). The Learning Style Inventory: Technical Manual. McBer & Co, Boston,

MA.

Kolb, D. A. (2015). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and

development. Pearson Education.

Montclair State University, Workshops and Events. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://www.montclair.edu/cehs/academics/centers-and-institutes/adp-center/workshops-

and-events/

Montclair State University, Strategic Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

http://www.montclair.edu/president/strategic-plan/

Poore, J.A., Cullen, D.L., & Schaar, G.L. (2014). Simulation-based Interprofessional education

guided by Kolb’s experiential learning theory. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 10(5),

e241-e247.

Rothwell, W.J. (2007). Beyond training and development: the groundbreaking classic on human

performance enhancement. New York: AMACOM.

Satterfield, J.M., & Hughes, E. (2007). Emotion skills training for medical students: a systematic

review. Med. Educ., 41, 935-41.

Scaduto, A., Lindsay, D. & Chiaburu, D.S. (2008). Leader influences on training effectiveness:

motivation and outcome expectation processes. International Journal of Training and

Development, 12 (3), 158-170..

STUDENT STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 11

Shenge, N. A. (2014). Training evaluation: Process, benefits, and issues. IFE Psychologia, 22(1),

50-58.

Sung, S.Y. & Choi, J.N. (2014). Do organizations spend wisely on employees? Effects of

training and development investments on learning and innovation in organizations.

Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(3), 393-412.

Towson University, Professional Development. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://www.towson.edu/hr/supervisors/development.html

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Libraries, Student Assistant Supervisor Handbook.

(n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from http://library.unc.edu/hr/sasupervisorhandbook

University of North Carolina Greensboro, Workshops Schedule. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31,

2018, from https://workshops.uncg.edu/Workshop-Details/443

Zhao, X.R., Ghiselli, R., Law, R., & Ma, J. (2016). Motivating frontline employees: Role of job

characteristics in work and life satisfaction. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism

Management, 27, 27-38.