in|sure Academy: Technical training made easy

Training courses can be designed in many different ways and should be adapted in accordance with the complexity of the knowledge to be relayed. If you’re simply looking to convey knowledge that will be regurgitated, then “front-of-the-class” instruction (the good old slide show) is usually sufficient. However, if the goal is to impart complex know-how, then another form of training is needed. It requires an alternative to the “theory followed by practice” method, which is usually done digitally, with students sitting in front of their computers. One of our prerequisites when creating the new training course was to incorporate suggestopedic elements, i.e., playful learning methods and analog visual aids (e.g., posters). We used a learning cycle for the acquisition and consolidation of knowledge. This cycle served as a template for the conception of instructional units and consisted of the following phases: motivation, knowledge acquisition, repetition, broadening of knowledge, and application. Implementing the cycle without digital means (the previously mentioned slide show) but with the help of purely analog materials seemed impossible to us, at least at first. This article will offer some insight into the structure of our training course, shed light on the methods we used, and provide feedback from the participants.

The target groups

Before we dig in, let’s consider why a technical training course for in|sure Health Policy is necessary in the first place. This software is used to manage the insurance policies of private health insurance companies, and is usually integrated into the system landscapes of insurance companies during software implementation projects. Technicians representing adesso insurance solutions as well as the customer are involved in these projects. During the initial phase, these technicians are responsible for the basic installation of the software. Later, they customize the software in accordance with the customer’s individual processes. In order to optimize the customization process, all the developers involved must be familiar with the various modules (and their interactions), concepts, and mechanics of in|sure Health Policy, as well as the application thereof. The training is therefore offered to both adesso customers and employees.

The common thread

The content of the training course more or less reflects the technical elements of the software: the domain model, the persistence layer, the batch module, etc. The structure of the course, as well as its organization, is based on these technical elements. Example: the technical dependencies of the elements dictate the chronological order of the content and the basic conditions of the individual training sections. This exact sequence of technical elements must be respected when implementing a feature (for example), and is also essential when releasing software upgrades at the site of the customer. During the 9 days of training (each consisting of 3 blocks with a pair of trainers), the technical elements and their dependencies are explained and applied during technical exercises. These technical exercises are thorough and serve as a common thread throughout the training, as well as across the individual elements of the system. During the exercises, a feature (customized for the customer) is developed by the participants themselves, in order to cover all the areas of in|sure Health Policy and prepare the technicians for the software implementation project and the subsequent ongoing maintenance.

Somewhat “different” learning methods

Legacy systems for private health insurance companies are based on a complex data model that basically consists of nine levels. Each level contains various technical information and is linked to the other levels. The goal of the training course is not for participants to learn the data model by heart, but to understand the tasks and purpose of each level.
After an initial pep talk and a short lecture by the trainers on the basic dependencies between the individual levels, the participants are introduced to half of the levels during a “speed dating” style exercise. To start with, each participant receives a worksheet with information on one of the levels, and works on this sheet alone. The participants then pair up to “get to know one other” by explaining their respective level to each other. Once this is done, the participants rotate until each has discussed his or her level with all the other participants, and thereby heard themselves explain their own level several times.
Participants not only acquire the required knowledge, but also apply it several times by way of their explanations. Their subsequent know-how is therefore much more solid than if they had simply watched a PowerPoint presentation.

Next, the same exercise is converted into a game of dominoes. The participants are given dominoes with a level on one side and an attribute of a (different) level on the other. Then they simply have to line up the dominoes so the levels and attributes match. This game is helpful for learning the content of the levels, as well as the connections between them. When complete, it might look something like this:

To make the game more fun, a digital element (the only one in the entire course!) is used: a digital chess clock! By incorporating a sophisticated set of rules, you can turn these exercises into games that participants want to win by quickly learning and repeating the content.

For the next block of topics covering data historization, participants are given cards containing various database columns with descriptions. Some of the cards contain technical data, some contain columns with the actual historical data, and some contain columns with different historical data. The participants read the descriptions, discuss them, and classify them accordingly. As a result, the content is immediately scrutinized, analyzed, and related to previously learned content.

Finally, the knowledge acquired in this way is broadened during another exercise in which historical database entries must be put in the correct order. The participants are given the entries as scraps of paper, which they move back and forth while discussing the various data and internalizing the content even further.

Feedback for improvement

We collected feedback from the participants with the aim of continuously improving our methods. The “speed dating” exercise was extremely well-received (as we had hoped), although the participants expressed doubts on their ability to pass on the information correctly. We therefore added a block to the next training course between the individual learning and the sharing of knowledge, in which the participants explained the content to us trainers to get our direct feedback and the answers to any questions, and thus increase their familiarity and confidence with the material. In general, the participants were extremely receptive to these unusual (for a technical training course) teaching methods, which overall were a success.

At the beginning of the planning phase, we trainers were somewhat lost as to how to prepare technical learning content in a “suggestopedic” manner. However, after lots of brainstorming and revisions, we were able to come up with a holistic approach that was not only successful, but also fun to carry out. After the positive feedback we received from our previous courses, we’re excited for future courses and look forward to meeting the high demand for the coming year.

Want to learn more about in|sure Academy? Our specialist Anke Haberland will be happy to assist you.