EXT 505 – Capacity Development · Block 1, Unit 3, Topic 9 · M.Sc. Extension Education
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Introduction
This topic gives the master sequence your syllabus specifies — eight steps from selecting participants through to follow-up. Rather than being a new, abstract theory, this is the conceptual overview of a process you have very likely already practised in detail: each of the eight steps below corresponds directly to one or more of your practical exercises, and to the ADDIE instructional-design framework. This topic is best used as the map that shows how everything else in this course fits together.
ЁЯУМ A Note on Sourcing This Topic
This exact eight-step sequence most likely traces to Lynton & Pareek's Training for Development, whose table of contents includes a chapter titled "Overview of the Training Process" — precisely this topic's subject. I could not verify the step-by-step wording directly from the book's pages, but the sequence is fully consistent with, and cross-checked against, the standard Instructional Systems Design (ISD)/ADDIE model used throughout training literature and already introduced in this course.
Learning Outcomes
- List and explain all eight steps in sequence.
- Map each step to its corresponding practical exercise from this course.
- Explain why skipping or reordering steps weakens the resulting programme.
The Eight-Step Sequence
| Step | Purpose | Extension Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Select Participants | Define who the programme targets, using sound selection criteria | Choosing 40 small vegetable growers based on relevance and motivation |
| 2. Determine Participants' Needs | Diagnose the actual gap to be addressed | Participatory needs assessment identifying an IPM knowledge gap |
| 3. Formulate Goal and Objectives | State what the programme will achieve, measurably | SMART, Bloom-classified objectives for the training |
| 4. Outline the Content | Structure the subject matter into a logical sequence | A scope-and-sequence curriculum matrix |
| 5. Develop Instructional Activities | Choose methods matched to objectives and domains | Lecture, demonstration, role play selected per session |
| 6. Prepare the Design | Assemble the full operational plan — schedule, resources, budget | A complete training plan document ready for approval |
| 7. Prepare Evaluation Form | Build the tool that will measure whether objectives were met | A pre-test/post-test instrument matched to the objectives |
| 8. Determine Follow-up Activities | Plan what happens after the programme to sustain and check impact | Scheduled field visits three months after training |
How This Maps to Your Practicals and ADDIE
| Step | Corresponding Practical | ADDIE Phase |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2. Select Participants; Determine Needs | Practical 1 (Needs Assessment) & Practical 3 (Participant Selection) | Analyze |
| 3. Formulate Goal & Objectives | Practical 5 (Writing Learning Objectives) | Design |
| 4. Outline the Content | Practical 6 (Objectives into Curriculum) | Design |
| 5. Develop Instructional Activities | Practical 4 (Designing the Programme) & Practical 10 (Training Methods) | Design |
| 6. Prepare the Design | Practical 7 (Training Plan Preparation) | Develop |
| 7. Prepare Evaluation Form | Practical 9 (Pre-test/Post-test) | Evaluate |
| 8. Determine Follow-up Activities | Practical 3 (Operational Arrangements — Follow-up) | Implement/Evaluate |
ЁЯМ╛ Why This Matters
If you can already do each practical well, you already understand this topic in practice — the exam-relevant task now is being able to name and sequence the eight steps correctly and explain the logic connecting them, not learn new content from scratch.
⚠️ Common Error
Jumping straight from Step 1 (Select Participants) to Step 5 (Develop Instructional Activities) — deciding on methods before objectives are even set. This produces a programme built around "what we like to teach" rather than "what participants actually need to learn," a version of the mistake flagged throughout Practical 1 and Practical 5.
Indian Institutional Context
ЁЯЗоЁЯЗ│ The Sequence in ATMA/KVK Practice
ATMA's SREP process and a KVK's annual training calendar both implicitly follow this eight-step logic — from participatory need identification and target-group selection through to the follow-up visits documented in KVK annual reports.
Beyond Agriculture
ЁЯФД Transferable Sequence
A corporate onboarding programme, a hospital's continuing-education curriculum, and this KVK farmer-training model all follow the identical eight-step logic — select the audience, diagnose the gap, set objectives, structure content, choose methods, assemble the plan, build the evaluation tool, and plan follow-up.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Click any question to reveal the answer.
No — this would violate the entire logic of the sequence. An evaluation tool measures whether objectives were achieved, so objectives must exist first. In practice, though, it's good design to draft the evaluation approach conceptually right after objectives (Step 3) even if the actual form is finalised later at Step 7, ensuring the objective is genuinely measurable from the start.
Necessary if the goal is genuine capacity development rather than one-off training (Topic 1) — without follow-up, there's no way to check Kirkpatrick's Level 3 (behaviour change) or whether the capacity actually sustained itself, which is the entire point of the "development" versus "building" distinction covered in Topic 1.
No — in practice, Steps 2 and 3 (needs and objectives) often take disproportionately more time relative to their apparent simplicity, because getting them wrong invalidates everything that follows. Steps 4–6 can move faster once objectives are solid.
References (click to expand)
Likely Primary Source
- Lynton, R. P., & Pareek, U. (2011). Training for Development (3rd ed.). Sage Publications India. (Chapter: "Overview of the Training Process.")
Instructional Design Framework
- Branson, R. K., et al. (1975). Interservice Procedures for Instructional Systems Development. Florida State University. (Origin of the ADDIE model.)
- Gagn├й, R. M., Wager, W. W., Golas, K. C., & Keller, J. M. (2005). Principles of Instructional Design (5th ed.). Wadsworth.