HomeInstitute of IT Training
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.
Institute of IT Training
The IITT is a governing body, which above all, promotes good practice within the IT training sector. Another of the Institute's objectives is to continuously strive to raise the standards in IT training and, through this, the effectiveness of investment in IT itself. At all stages, measurement, validation and evaluation are vital links in achieving this aim. This model of excellence becomes the yardstick against which all members are thereby benchmarked.
Therefore, if you choose an IITT accredited training provider, you can rest assured they have successfully passed a stringent assessment programme which confirms their ability to deliver quality training and commitment to ongoing improvement. IITT accredited training providers are audited annually.
What is TAP? (Trainer Activity Profile) – The Global Industry Standard for Trainers
More than 90% of the effectiveness of any classroom-learning experience results from the trainer's delivery abilities - that is, his/her interpersonal and communications skill, as opposed to the content being trained.
While most IT trainers will have received some form of train-the-trainer instruction, such courses are usually based on presentation skills - as opposed to training-delivery skills. 'Presenting' implies imparting information in a one-way direction. Real learning, however, takes place best when the environment is interactive - and the learner is actively involved in the process.
Extensive research has been undertaken to identify which classroom training activities make for optimum learning and to analyze what the most effective trainers were doing differently from their peers. The Institute's TAP training methodology provides a structured framework for training and development programmes, ensuring high-quality training delivery by all trainers.
TAP Comprises Three Inter-linked Profiles
- Trainer activity profile
- Structure profile
- Delivery style profile
Together, these form the basis of both a qualitative and a quantitative assessment of trainer performance and effectiveness.
Trainer Activity Profile
This provides an objective way of measuring the activities performed in a training session to ensure that learners gain maximum benefit, both during the course and on returning to work. The trainer activity profile measures the frequency of seven critical tasks performed by the trainer, whatever the subject and irrespective of the session length. It brings together the components that most trainers have identified as being useful in a learning environment and assesses their usage against best practice.
The objective is to transfer a common sense approach from the unconscious mind into consciousness, helping trainers to apply activities and tasks that they had identified as beneficial. Above all, this approach is flexible and allows the trainer's personality to shine through. This profile is essentially quantitative, based on the principle that for effective learning, balance is key. The premise is that, if all seven trainer activities are used in balance, they will supplement and reinforce each other, providing a proven, effective learning approach.
The seven activities are:
- Statement of process
- Giving instruction
- Giving information
- Seeking new information
- Checking knowledge and understanding
- Giving verbal encouragement
- Physical demonstration
Structure Profile
Long-standing educational research has established that a valid learning structure has a beginning, middle and end - 'tell them what you will be teaching, teach them, tell them what you have taught them'. The structure profile embraces a three-tier learning method and additionally assesses the quality of the content in each of these sections, focusing on the participation during learning. The structure profile provides best practice for the structure and content of any training session and is the quality support for the quantitative measures in TAP.
Delivery Style Profile
The delivery style profile confirms that the trainer's classroom delivery skills meet measurable best practice criteria. It provides useful quality measures which support the TAP methodology, enabling an objective method of assessing overall delivery skills. The important point to appreciate is that, for a successful TAP assessment, the trainer needs to achieve a pass against each of the three profiles. The structure and style profiles provide the quality support for the quantitative measures in the trainer activity profile.
