The problem with pre-work

Time and again, trainers tell me that they have trouble getting trainees to complete their 'pre-work'. For some this failure has become such an obstacle that it threatens the whole basis of blended learning, which will typically mix asynchronous activities (which these trainers would categorise as 'pre-work' and 'post-work') alongside the synchronous (whether bricks-and-mortar classroom or its virtual equivalent). It seems that, if there's a time and date attached to an activity, then trainees will turn up and get involved, but if any sort of personal time management is required, then you can forget it.

So is the concept of pre-work doomed? Well, yes and no.

Yes, because the biggest problem is calling it 'pre-work' in the first place. The 'pre' prefix implies an activity that takes place before the real thing; it's some form of preparation. The implication is that the only substantive element of any intervention is the synchronous element. Proper training takes place in the classroom. Other activities are optional extras.

So the first change that has to be made is to stop calling the synchronous element the course and the activities that take place before and after 'pre' and 'post'. They are all elements in a blended solution. And who says that a blend has to consist of the same old classroom sandwich (the meat - the tasty classroom bit - surrounded on both sides by the bread - the boring stuff)? It is not necessary for a blend to include any synchronous elements. It's also quite possible to start and finish a blend with live events and fill the sandwich with self-paced activities. Don't start with the idea that asynchronous activities are boring or you'll end up with a self-fulfilling prophesy.

And 'no', the concept of pre-work is not doomed as long as you regard this as necessary and useful self-paced activity and not a pre-cursor to the main event.

Want to make sure this self-paced activity gets done, then here are some tips. Note that I'm assuming we are talking a formal intervention here and one that really matters to an organisation. Self-directed learning is another thing entirely.

• As I've said already, don't call it pre-work or post-work.
• Make clear that this is necessary learning activity and why this is the case.
• Make sure that there is some formal output to this activity that you can clearly see, perhaps a document uploaded or an online task recorded in a database.
• If necessary, issue reminders. Be clear that the work is not optional.
• Do not, under any circumstances, use classroom time to cover material or revisit activities that should have been undertaken beforehand. If you do this, no-one will ever spend time on the self-paced activities again.
• If necessary, deny access to the synchronous elements until the asynchronous are completed.

Getting this right is part of the transformation from classroom-centric interventions to ones that really make a difference. If you believe in this transformation, you've got no choice but to re-think your policies to pre-work.