i have started a group board for trainers helping trainers

I think that many companies are doing themselves a disservice in this area. They teach a minimalist type class that is geared to teach you the rules of the company for liability purposes. To train people to do something, you have to first understand how people learn, and second have an understanding of the tasks that must be trained.

The first part, learning how people learn, is one of the most important aspects. If you cannot speak the trainees language, the information will not stick.

The second part, the tasks, must be broken down into understandable bits and pieces, and arranged in a manner necessary to successfully teach the subject. EX: you cannot start teaching a student how to run the qualcomm before they learn how to drive the truck. You have to understand each individual task and where it fits into the grand scheme of things.

I would start by making a list of tasks that a student must learn first. A good foundation of knowledge will help the student understand the higher, more complex tasks if they know how the basics work.

Now you have to decide how long each task should take to learn. Repetition is one of the foundations of learning, and people catch on at different rates. Most of truck driving tasks, such as the pre-trip, are habits that once developed, will become second nature. If you determine what tasks are habits and what tasks are knowledge, you will make your job much easier as a trainer.

I guess my first request from users would be to post their list of essential tasks in an order of importance. Maybe explain why it is important to learn that task before others.