Merrill describes the four phases of instruction as activation, demonstration, application and integration. Instructional strategies that facilitate speed to integrating the learning task to the point in which a learner integrates it into the content of their life is one worthy of investigating and employing when it makes sense.
Authors Notes
I have elected to combine my sample lesson plan and facilitators guide into one single document as in my personal experience as a trainer, I have found it useful to work from one combined document so I can see the full lesson plan at one glance for clarity and it allows the session to run smoother if I can quickly ascertain where I am in the lesson.
This story is based on a situation from my personal working history. In Canadian auto insurance it is common to have your vehicle inspected (or looked at) by the insurance company representative as part of your auto insurance purchase. The insurer is looking for previous damage before they agree to take the risk of providing you insurance.
I have elected to combine my sample lesson plan and facilitators guide into one single document as in my personal experience as a trainer, I have found it useful to work from one combined document so I can see the full lesson plan at one glance for clarity and it allows the session to run smoother if I can quickly ascertain where I am in the lesson.
This story is based on a situation from my personal working history. In Canadian auto insurance it is common to have your vehicle inspected (or looked at) by the insurance company representative as part of your auto insurance purchase. The insurer is looking for previous damage before they agree to take the risk of providing you insurance.
Learning Goals
This lesson plan is part of many lessons in a sales associate new hire training program; its focus is on the vehicle inspection process. In this lesson the learning goals are:
This lesson plan is part of many lessons in a sales associate new hire training program; its focus is on the vehicle inspection process. In this lesson the learning goals are:
- To know how to complete the visual inspection
- Understand the value of these inspections
Activation Phase (30 min)
- Introduce the session topic and the learning goals for this session – use the PowerPoint presentation supplied to provide visual to compliment your audio (your voice). Time: 5 min
- Break the group into smaller groups of 3-5 people. Using a Think-Pair-Share activity ask the groups to share think about their experiences with auto insurance. As they discuss the value and the process that they have either experienced or could imagine ask them to take brief notes on the supplied flip charts. Time: 5 min
- When all groups are finished or time is up, ask each group to share what they have come up with. For more than two groups as the later presenters to share thoughts that haven’t yet been shared. Time: 10-15 min depending on number of groups to present
- Wrap up the activation phase by summarizing any key points and transition to the Demonstration phase. Time: 5 min
Demonstration Phase (40 min)
- Introduce the demonstration phase and set the expectations that this phase will be based around a story. Ensure the learners understand what is expected of them; this is especially important if this is the first time this group will experience a storytelling approach to learning. Time: 5 min
2. Tell your Story.
As you are all aware, prior to being in this training role I spent time as a sales associate – doing all the tasks you are here learning about – including visual inspections. There was this one particular new business policy I wrote that will always stand out for me. Let me tell you about it.
I was working with a new client who came in to the office to purchase auto insurance for his van. Everything was proceeding as normal, nothing out of the ordinary. As you are all becoming aware the new policy process is one of the longest transactions we do and it has many inter-related steps. We, the client and I, were engaged in conversation as we worked our way through gathering all the necessary information for a price quote, the client liked the price so we went ahead to write the policy. It was great – we were talking about other insurance products, the weather, local events etc. I had mentioned to the client that we would need to see his van to give it a quick look over – he had told me during the normal questions that there was no damage, no claims, and no accidents. Everything was great.
So we came to the point of the inspection. Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about doing inspections that day – you may be thinking to yourself – what’s so bad about a few minutes outside the office? Well, it wasn’t the dead cold of January, but it was early spring – I still needed to put on my boots and coat and I knew my fingers would be freezing well before we were ready to come back inside. The sun was shining (but that fact was more satisfying when you were sitting in a nice warm spot behind a large glass windowJ). But it’s part of the process and needed to be done; “suck it up, buttercup” I said to myself – “just get your boots on and get it over with– the guy already said there were no accidents or claims. Grab the sheet; do a quick walk around, check the VIN plate. It’ll take 5 minutes, tops”
So I put on my coat and boots, grabbed the clipboard with the inspection form <pick up the clipboard with the inspection form and show to the participants> and went with the client to take a ‘quick’ <use finger quotes> look at the van.
As I approached the van, I noticed that it was nice and clean – almost sparkling in the sunlight - I thought this guy really takes care of his vehicle. I started at the front driver’s door – the VIN plate is generally located at the base of the windshield at this side of the vehicle. Thankfully the VIN plate was legible (sometimes they aren’t so you need to find secondary sources – such as on the door frame - to confirm this number). The driver’s side of the van looked okay; it had the expected scratches but nothing that would prevent us from insuring this vehicle.
While at the driver’s door – I opened it to take a quick look at the interior – it too was good, there was no indication that the vehicle was being used for a purpose we wouldn’t insure – trust me one client told me he didn't race car but when I looked in the passenger seat of his car there was a five point harness, and roll cage, he told me just felt more secure driving this way, he was 20 years old!!
Back to my van inspection story, as I moved along the driver’s side and around the back of the van and back up the other side everything looked great –I made notes of few minor scratches on the bumpers – nothing major – the passenger window was down – which seemed odd considering it was still cold outside; so I asked the client to put up the window, What do you think he did? Of course, he put the window up and it was fine…… everything was looking good and I would soon be back inside where it was warm. <blow on hands as if you are trying to warm them up from being outside>.
I was at the front of the van now and it had one of those ‘bra’ covers to protect the front of the van – I wasn’t surprised everything I had seen so far told me I had a conscious client who took pride in ownership. So what should I do? I was cold, my hands were numb… Something told me to ask him to let me see under the bra. What do you think he did when I asked? <pause> This time he told me it would be difficult and timely to take off the bra, it was cold out did I really want to wait for him to do that - the van was good he assured me. So now the balls back in my court <pause> - something in my gut said ‘wait – you need to do this’ so I insisted that I needed to check and even if it could be partially removed I would wait for this to happen to finish my visual inspection.
The client reluctantly agreed to partially remove the bra and started on one side – as I waited I questioned myself – have I wasted everyone’s time? I’ve just pissed off a potential new client, one who seems interested in purchasing other products in addition to this auto policy! <sigh.>
Too late now, I've already made my request and insisted it needed to be done. The bra was off now so I looked under the bra…. Had I wasted the client’s time? No, I had not wasted time – sure enough there was damage. This damage we later found out was due to an accident earlier in the day. The client was driving without insurance and he was seeking insurance to provide proof of coverage to the police as well as fix the damage to his vehicle.
Whew! Was I ever grateful that I had taken the extra time to fully complete this visual inspection…
Facilitator Notes: Remember to practice in advance – not to memorize but to sync your gestures and voice intonations with your story.
As you tell your story keep an eye on your listeners, are they still engaged in your story?
3. Transition to the Application phase. Time: 5 min
As you are all aware, prior to being in this training role I spent time as a sales associate – doing all the tasks you are here learning about – including visual inspections. There was this one particular new business policy I wrote that will always stand out for me. Let me tell you about it.
I was working with a new client who came in to the office to purchase auto insurance for his van. Everything was proceeding as normal, nothing out of the ordinary. As you are all becoming aware the new policy process is one of the longest transactions we do and it has many inter-related steps. We, the client and I, were engaged in conversation as we worked our way through gathering all the necessary information for a price quote, the client liked the price so we went ahead to write the policy. It was great – we were talking about other insurance products, the weather, local events etc. I had mentioned to the client that we would need to see his van to give it a quick look over – he had told me during the normal questions that there was no damage, no claims, and no accidents. Everything was great.
So we came to the point of the inspection. Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about doing inspections that day – you may be thinking to yourself – what’s so bad about a few minutes outside the office? Well, it wasn’t the dead cold of January, but it was early spring – I still needed to put on my boots and coat and I knew my fingers would be freezing well before we were ready to come back inside. The sun was shining (but that fact was more satisfying when you were sitting in a nice warm spot behind a large glass windowJ). But it’s part of the process and needed to be done; “suck it up, buttercup” I said to myself – “just get your boots on and get it over with– the guy already said there were no accidents or claims. Grab the sheet; do a quick walk around, check the VIN plate. It’ll take 5 minutes, tops”
So I put on my coat and boots, grabbed the clipboard with the inspection form <pick up the clipboard with the inspection form and show to the participants> and went with the client to take a ‘quick’ <use finger quotes> look at the van.
As I approached the van, I noticed that it was nice and clean – almost sparkling in the sunlight - I thought this guy really takes care of his vehicle. I started at the front driver’s door – the VIN plate is generally located at the base of the windshield at this side of the vehicle. Thankfully the VIN plate was legible (sometimes they aren’t so you need to find secondary sources – such as on the door frame - to confirm this number). The driver’s side of the van looked okay; it had the expected scratches but nothing that would prevent us from insuring this vehicle.
While at the driver’s door – I opened it to take a quick look at the interior – it too was good, there was no indication that the vehicle was being used for a purpose we wouldn’t insure – trust me one client told me he didn't race car but when I looked in the passenger seat of his car there was a five point harness, and roll cage, he told me just felt more secure driving this way, he was 20 years old!!
Back to my van inspection story, as I moved along the driver’s side and around the back of the van and back up the other side everything looked great –I made notes of few minor scratches on the bumpers – nothing major – the passenger window was down – which seemed odd considering it was still cold outside; so I asked the client to put up the window, What do you think he did? Of course, he put the window up and it was fine…… everything was looking good and I would soon be back inside where it was warm. <blow on hands as if you are trying to warm them up from being outside>.
I was at the front of the van now and it had one of those ‘bra’ covers to protect the front of the van – I wasn’t surprised everything I had seen so far told me I had a conscious client who took pride in ownership. So what should I do? I was cold, my hands were numb… Something told me to ask him to let me see under the bra. What do you think he did when I asked? <pause> This time he told me it would be difficult and timely to take off the bra, it was cold out did I really want to wait for him to do that - the van was good he assured me. So now the balls back in my court <pause> - something in my gut said ‘wait – you need to do this’ so I insisted that I needed to check and even if it could be partially removed I would wait for this to happen to finish my visual inspection.
The client reluctantly agreed to partially remove the bra and started on one side – as I waited I questioned myself – have I wasted everyone’s time? I’ve just pissed off a potential new client, one who seems interested in purchasing other products in addition to this auto policy! <sigh.>
Too late now, I've already made my request and insisted it needed to be done. The bra was off now so I looked under the bra…. Had I wasted the client’s time? No, I had not wasted time – sure enough there was damage. This damage we later found out was due to an accident earlier in the day. The client was driving without insurance and he was seeking insurance to provide proof of coverage to the police as well as fix the damage to his vehicle.
Whew! Was I ever grateful that I had taken the extra time to fully complete this visual inspection…
Facilitator Notes: Remember to practice in advance – not to memorize but to sync your gestures and voice intonations with your story.
As you tell your story keep an eye on your listeners, are they still engaged in your story?
3. Transition to the Application phase. Time: 5 min
Application Phase (40 min)
4. Wrap-up the inspection activity by showing the visual inspection checklist (located in the supplied PowerPoint) to review the key points of the inspection process and reasons they are completed. Time: 5 min
- Introduce and set the expectations for this phase. Time: 5 min
- Participants will work in pairs to complete a visual inspection. Pre-arrange several vehicles to be located in the parking lot for visual inspections – ideally have some with coverings over some portions of the vehicle, some with a window down etc. If possible, have the vehicle owners available so participants can request additional information as needed. Have all the necessary forms, clipboards, pens etc., available to participants to complete actual visual inspections. Working in pairs, have the participants complete a visual inspection. During the vehicle inspection the facilitator will travel between inspections listening to the pairs, offer coaching as needed. Time: 10-15min
- At the end of the inspections gather the participants back in the session room. Using the photos of each car (provided in the supplied PowerPoint) ask each pair to share their process for completing the inspection, what they learned in their visual, how it went, if they found anything interesting, did they notice that they were doing something that another pair may or may not have done etc? encourage other groups to ask questions and prompt discussion aimed at highlighting the key features of each vehicle inspection (e.g. if the window was down – did they request that it be put up to check for previous damage, or if the car had a ‘bra’ did they request it was removed for the same reason)?
4. Wrap-up the inspection activity by showing the visual inspection checklist (located in the supplied PowerPoint) to review the key points of the inspection process and reasons they are completed. Time: 5 min
Integration Phase (25 min)
- Introduce the integration phase and set the expectations for this phase. Time: 5 min
- Reflection – using their personal learning journals, participants will reflect on the visual inspection process, what they have learned and how it fits with the previous lessons. Encourage them to make note of any questions they may have. Time: 10 min
- Wrap-Up the personal reflection exercise by offering time to for questions. Use the group knowledge to offer answers and as the facilitator provide clarification as needed; but ideally facilitate the group in determining peer answers. Use this discussion to entertain ideas on how learners can use this new knowledge or skill. Time: 10 min
- Pair each participant (as new sales associates) with existing sales associates to complete 3-5 visual inspections where they are paired with a coach. This activity will be completed on the job and allow the participants opportunity to integrate the visual inspection process with the complete auto insurance new policy process in an end-to-end activity. Time: outside of formal learning
Facilitative Roles Design Framework
Storytelling is a rich and variable strategy; its power comes from the fact that it can be easily modified to fit many situations and many vocations.
The classroom shifts from leader focused to learner-centered when the leader is the storyteller. While the learner is actively engaged in creating vivid images while listening to the story; it is important that the post-story learning activities continue to engage learners. Students learn collaboratively in the groups and integrate the new learning content with that of previous content modules and preexisting knowledge. As the session progresses through the Activation, Demonstration, Application and Integration phases the role of the leader moves from being the central point (during the storytelling) to more of a guide or mentor. The facilitator needs to ensure the key learning points are covered and that participants have successfully covered the learning outcomes in a way that encourages peer to peer learning and guidance.
Storytelling is a rich and variable strategy; its power comes from the fact that it can be easily modified to fit many situations and many vocations.
The classroom shifts from leader focused to learner-centered when the leader is the storyteller. While the learner is actively engaged in creating vivid images while listening to the story; it is important that the post-story learning activities continue to engage learners. Students learn collaboratively in the groups and integrate the new learning content with that of previous content modules and preexisting knowledge. As the session progresses through the Activation, Demonstration, Application and Integration phases the role of the leader moves from being the central point (during the storytelling) to more of a guide or mentor. The facilitator needs to ensure the key learning points are covered and that participants have successfully covered the learning outcomes in a way that encourages peer to peer learning and guidance.