trainerscafe

Reading = Training? Not!

Let me set the stage. I applied to do my civic duty and become an election official-you know, one of those folks who checks your name when you go to vote... In order to fulfill this responsibility I needed to be trained, and so I dutifully reported to the one site that would have a voting machine so that I could get a little hands on experience...

I arrive at 2 pm, paperwork complete, and ready to learn. At 2:05 the trainer asks us to turn to page 1 in the manual we have been given and she starts to read to us. As she is reading a letter of thanks-for our attending the session-I assume that once she is done with the letter the training will begin... I couldn’t have been more wrong. She continued to read to us for two and a half hours, breaking only for each chapter test and a brief video. While a voting machine sat in the front of the room we were not permitted to get up close and personal with it. For the first time in my life I had an experience in which the trainer thought that reading to us was training us! I had heard about such events and had been horrified. No lie, she/we read every single page. We were told there would be a final test, and so knowing that I do not learn best through listening, I started to take notes. I have to admit that my attention wandered, waned, and - I cannot tell a lie - eventually I was overtaken by sleep... I know exactly when I dozed off because I got that question wrong on the final test! While we took a test, the results didn’t matter-our certificates were printed in advance of our test-taking, and we just handed in our papers, received our certificates, and were sworn in... I have content knowledge but have had no practice. Happily, I have my “training manual” and will be able to review information before my big day as an election official. And, I will be with others who have experience with the tasks...but there is no doubt, reading isn’t training!

to be continued...

Planning for vacation and preparing for a presentation-they’re similar, really!

Based on a recent experience packing for a trip... I started believing that designing and developing a presentation is like planning a vacation. Here’s my thinking...

First you need to know:
where you (and your companions) want to go
What are your areas of interest and expertise?

what you/your companions are interested in doing (a week of sun and fun at the beach or a hiking adventure in the Himalayas)
Who will attend and what are their interests, knowledge, skills, attitudes?

the budget-how much have you allocated to spend and how you will do it
What resources do you need or can you access for a well prepared and delivered presentation (time, materials, etc.) ?

how many will be traveling and how everyone gets along-will you always do activities together or will there be separate group activities?
What is the optimal audience size and how will you maximize interaction?

how long you will stay-what’s the best length of time for the place and the people involved?
How much do you have to offer and what is the appropriate amount of time for the presentation?

what you know and what more you need to learn about the vacation spot and travel arrangements
How well-versed are you about your topic and the participants’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes-will you need to discover more?

Second you need to think about:
indicators of a great trip-what will make the trip a fantastic experience for all?
How will you meet participants needs and interests, and tap into their strengths and what they love to do; what are the objectives for the presentation/what will learners gain from the experience?

what to pack (bathing suit, mask, snorkel, hiking boots?) and packing only the essentials
What new information, procedures, processes, and/or skills are “need to know” and what are “nice to know” items?

what circumstances or events might arise unexpectedly and methods for attending to these distractions (bandaids, headache medicine, etc.)
What might go wrong and how can you plan ahead to minimize the difficulties-what thorny questions might arise, could there be logistical difficulties or disputes among participants?

Planning for a trip and for a presentation are both fun and exciting for me. Making it a stellar experience for all requires preparation and thoughtful implementation.

If you’re interested in a more serious and complete rendering of the course design and development process, check out my complimentary ecourse on the welcome page at www.takeastep.us

Making Training "Stick"

I was recently interviewed by a trade magazine- the question/topic was one of my favorites - “What makes training stick?” Of course, I have a gazillion answers and only a few came to life in the 300 word limit of the article... So here’s the unabridged version:

My premise is
~ training is the right solution for the identified problem (needs, problem, and task analyses have been completed)
~ the training program utilizes a strong instructional design, with a focus on the task and not the content
~ the Training Transfer Cycle is the foundation for every lesson (Opening -> Learn & Do- > Closing)
~ the training environment is conducive to learning (fun, interesting, appropriately challenging, collaborative, supportive)
~ each aspect of the training program is tied to Kirkpatrick’s Levels of Evaluation
~ the quality of attendance at training programs and performance back at the job are a part of the existing performance appraisal system

With all these pieces in place, let’s talk about my vision of what makes training stick; it’s easy as PIE!

Prepare
Send Prework
Welcome letter: naming and describing the training program, listing of program objectives, setting expectations, and introducing yourself (and your expertise in the topic)
Develop Fieldwork
An inventory or an interesting article-something brief, relevant, and very interesting
Create a conducive training environment
Arange tables and chairs for collaorative activities, use wall charts with key concepts, have lot sof learning toys

Implement
Develop a partnership with the participants
Support their work, yet make them do the work (you already know it!)
Use Accelerated Learning techniques to engage learners
Provide an overview of the session, some high-level details about the content, provide opportunities to learn new content and to practice with the new knowledge, and practices
Encourage collaboration
Set the tone and use the knowledge and experiences of the group members

Evaluate
Provide “kudos and constructive feedback”
Give participants feedback about their work during the practice activities
Ask for reflective comments and evaluative remarks from participants
Inquire about their experiences with the content and activities (at the end of every day and at the end of the training program)
Send additional information and/or materials to participants
Keep in contact after the training program (or create a section of a website or intranet) to share resources, based on their feedback
Assess level of implementation of new k,s,a’s (knowledge, skills and attitudes)
Check in with learners and managers three to six weeks after the program; provide (or arrange for) coaching as necessary
Determine return on investment of training program initiative
Share information/impact of the training program with participants

Wow! Looks rather simple and straightforward on “paper”-what do you think?

Designer's Dilemma

Plain and simple - too many great ideas - too little time! How often is that the case -> almost always!

I sat down this morning to think about my upcoming session with college students with learning disabilities. My focus for the annual retreat is always about helping students recognize their strengths. In the past I relied heavily on Howard Gardner’s work on multiple Intelligences and Martin Seligman’s work on happiness. It’s so hard to think of leaving the work on happiness behind, so I continuously find ways to reinvent the content and the activities.

Once I sat down to work, literally 12 minutes later I had written the objectives for the hour and mindmapped my way through the content and activities. It was an avalanche of ideas and my concern was - can we really get through all these activities and have the time to speak comfortably about the content, the answers generated from the activities, and tie it all together?... I guess I will find out the night of the event - it’s going to be an exciting challenge!

Now that's great training!

Have you closed a session recently and said to yourself, “WOW! That was great training!”

I had that experience about six weeks ago, and it really inspired me to start writing a blog. Well, that and the fact that I’d just done an interview for a magazine and felt like I had more to say than the 330 word allotted to the article... Could be that I always have more to say than the allotment!

Moving on! I love to design and deliver training programs, I have some really strong opinions on the state of the art, I find writing to be a wonderful outlet-so here it is... a foray into creating a space to share ideas and have a bit of provocative conversation about current practices...

I have to say that I was reluctant to evaluate the glow I have been feeling about that experience... And yet in my work, folks are always-heck, I am always-asking learners, "Who is a stellar trainer, and what makes her or him so? What is superior training, what are the characteristics of the experience?" So, I guess I need to take a close look at what I was thinking and feeling...

I believe it was a combination of the content, the amount of time afforded the program, and the folks involved. The content was the combination of two courses, one about instructional design and the other a “train the trainer” course; the program was five days long; and, the folks were all from one company, though not all from the same site, and me, a passionate trainer.

These were people who were dedicated to the task, were willing to try new and different strategies and methods, and they all had good attitudes about being there. I was excited to be doing the work because it brought together my two areas of expertise-and I was asked to add some new material to the mix-so that brought an edge to the experience, a sense of anticipation... a question as to whether my new content and activities would “fit the bill.”

I believe it was a fantastic experience because folks knew what to expect when they arrived: we co-created a collaborative environment, participants had open minds-even when asked to dive into “out of the box” learning activities-folks were serious yet fun about getting the work done-really applying what they had learned-and they responded well to a challenging environment. I felt that I had the time to develop relationships with the learners and really support their learning. The training program was comprised of so many of the qualities that I think of as “superior”: well-designed/fitting the needs, knowledge, skills and abilities of the group, given the right timeframe, a partnership in pursuit of learning, a balance between learning and doing, engaging, playful and demanding. And, I played my part, as a knowledgeable, focused, comfortable, passionate, and opinionated (about training design, development and delivery) trainer-using my academic and real world experience about how humans learn and the environments participants need to ensure that learning happens and training “sticks.”

Don’t’cha just live for those experiences?!