Our definition of learning makes it clear that people acquire and develop skills and knowledge, and change behavior, as a result of an interaction between forces within the learner and in the environment. A learner or trainee’s personal characteristics will influence how they learn new tasks and new information. Training design involves adapting the learning environment to maximize learning. Training design issues include the conditions of practice that influence learning and the factors that impact retention of what is learned.

Active practice suggests that learners should be given an opportunity to repeatedly perform the task or use the knowledge being learned. Overlearning is defined as practice beyond the point at which the material or task is mastered. Feedback provides objective information regarding the adequacy of one’s performance, and it can come from observers, the performer, or the task itself. A sizable body of research suggests that feedback enhances learning and retention. Finally, task sequencing suggests that tasks and knowledge can be learned more effectively if what is to be learned is divided into subtasks that are arranged and taught in an appropriate sequence.

The goal of training goes beyond ensuring that the trainee learns the task or material being presented. It is equally important that newly learned material is retained. The meaningfulness of material is the extent to which it is rich in associations for the individual learner. The more effectively information is initially learned, the more likely it will be retained. The extent to which trainees perceive support for using newly learned behavior on the job affects transfer of training.