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The following pages provide a useful reference guide for trainers, including advice, how-tos, hints and tips. We also run a comprehensive hands-on Train the Trainer training course, delivered by an award winning trainer.
If you have been training for some years, either in a dedicated training role within your organisation, or as a manager with a training brief, you will have developed many skills which have moved you on from the novice trainer you once were! If you remember your first training events, you were more than likely nervous, probably over-prepared and maybe inflexible and unable to respond to the real needs of your group. Now, with these nightmares behind you, you can reflect on your achievements and consider in what ways you can still improve your training work.
If you are new to the training role, you will soon realise both the challenge and the satisfaction being a trainer can bring. To be a tool for the motivation and empowerment of others is heady stuff!
Remember: Training is a two-way process: both the trainee and the trainer learn and both teach! Certainly when drawing up training plans, both need to be taken into consideration.
Trainees must:
- Be prepared and fully briefed for the learning experience
- Be given sufficient time, resources and support to complete and implement their learning
- Preferably have input into their own learning plan and what is important to them
- Be motivated
- Be willing to learn
- Be given feedback on their performance, during and after training
Trainers must:
- Be fully conversant with the requirements of the trainees and their managers
- Include input from trainees in their own learning plan, where possible
- Make available adequate resources for the training event
- Provide a safe space for trainees to participate with confidence
- Give feedback during and after the training event
- Ensure that the whole organisation is aware of possible repercussions of their training events
How we learn and how we teach
When you plan your training event, it must appeal to all trainees. For example, you must appeal to those who like visuals and those who like discourse; those who benefit from activity and those who profit from greater reflection. How others learn will influence the way you teach your topic.
Key points that assist adult learning
- The chance to review progress
- The opportunity to discuss similar experiences with others
- An atmosphere where learners can discuss openly
- Considering the application of their learning in the workplace
- Getting feedback on their development
To summarise three different theories of learning:
- the trainer sets the goals
- the learner sets his/her own goals
- the trainer stimulates learning by provoking curiosity, exploration and achievement
In most training situations, you will have a mix of all three. So sometimes:
- …you set the goals for your trainees
- …your trainees are expected to set (and reach) their own goals
- …you assist your trainees learning by stimulating their thinking through a mix of directed home study, tutorials, assignments, project work and so on
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on March 20th, 2007 | No Comments »
As training is all about learning and developing others, the trainer needs to enhance their ability to help trainees with their learning. But you cannot help others learn until you know HOW they learn.
Having an idea of the way people learn will give you valuable information when planning and delivering training. It is not always easy to analyse what helps us learn. Over the years you have probably developed learning habits that help you benefit more from some experiences than from others. Our Train the Trainer course gives you this valuable information to deliver more effective learning.
Learning styles
Dr Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed much work on this topic which you may already be aware of. If not, it is well-worth locating and completing their Learning Styles Questionnaire to increase your self-awareness. This questionnaire will help you pinpoint your learning preferences so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that suit your style.
Basically they found that there are four learning styles and that we each have a preferred learning style (but say that most of us have elements of more than one learning style).
Activists
Activists like to be involved in new experiences. They are open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with implementation. They enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider the implications afterwards.
Reflectors
Reflectors like to stand back and look at a situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data and think about things carefully before coming to any conclusions.
Theorists
Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through in a step by step way. They tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into a rational scheme.
Pragmatists
Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth.
Think again about the learning situation you considered in the above activity. Do you know understand better what helped you learn?
Before taking the Learning Styles questionnaire you might like to guess which is your preferred style!
VARK
You may also have heard of this system of understanding how we learn best developed in New Zealand by Fleming and Mills (1992).
VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinaesthetic; the sensory systems that are used when learning information.
Visual (V)
This preference is for visual information; charts, graphs, flow charts, images, photos and other visual ways used to represent what could have been presented in words. It does NOT include films, videos or PowerPoint displays.
Aural / Auditory (A)
This preference if for information that is “heard or spoken.” Learners learn best from lectures, tutorials, tapes, group discussion, email, speaking, web chat, talking things through.
Read/write (R)
This preference is for information displayed as words; books, reports, text – reading and writing in all its forms.
Kinesthetic (K)
This preference is for learning through the use of experience and practice, either simulated or real.
If this system appeals to you more, then again there is a questionnaire available to complete to gain more insight in to your own preferred way of learning.
The importance of learning styles to the trainer
Whatever your own personal learning style as a trainer you can be sure that in your training group you will have every style represented by your trainees!
When designing your event therefore you must make sure that you appeal to all the possible learning styles. For example, if you want to get a point across to a Visual person there is no point just lecturing at them; they needs pictures and diagrams! If you expect instant feedback from a Reflector, you will probably be disappointed as they need time to mull over what they have heard before they can comment; so you will need to build in some thinking time to your event for them.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on April 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
Planning training events normally forms part of the trainers brief. It is a cyclical process which begins with establishing the training need within the organisation and ends with monitoring and evaluating the learning event or events. Improve your training planning on our Train the Trainer training course.
Training needs analysis
To ensure your training is as cost-effective as possible, you must firstly be clear about the training needs of each member of staff.
This will involve you assessing their current (or potential, if they are new) performance and your department’s or team’s future needs. You must also make the distinction between issues that require training and those needing management solutions. For example, customer care staff may need to learn the skills of managing stress. But perhaps they are expected to answer too many calls, too speedily without adequate back up and this is contributing significantly to their stress at work! So there is also an organisational issue here.
Training needs analysis can be carried out by:
- Questionnaire
- Focus group with target population
- Individual interviews
- Discussions with managers
or a combination of all these methods.
Training plan
Once you know what the training needs of each of your staff are, you are ready to draw up a training plan. This should be undertaken for every new member of staff and annually for existing staff as part of the appraisal procedure. This plan will include:
- Learning objectives
- Learning methods
- Projected cost
- Method of evaluation
Learning objectives
Your training programs should be designed to achieve certain overall goals for the individual concerned as well as various learning objectives that when attained will see the staff member achieving the overall goals of the training program.
Your learning objectives should be as SMART as possible. Unless you have clearly defined objectives you will stand no chance of carrying out any effective evaluation at all!
Evaluation
Plan beforehand, how you will evaluate the training experience.
This will include your perception and measurement of new skills learnt, new methods adopted and so on but should also involve input from the learner too. This often takes the form of an evaluation questionnaire at the end of the event and should ideally also involve the manager’s impression as to improvement when the person is back in the workplace.
By far the best way is to also include a follow-up with the trainee after three months back at work to see what they have retained of the training provided.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on April 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
You cannot be an effective trainer if you don’t have an understanding and working knowledge of the processes groups go through. You can develop this understanding on our Train the Trainer course.
Probably the best known work on group process remains that of Bruce Tuckman who described groups as moving through five stages:
FORMING – the bringing together of the group at the start of the team or the project
STORMING – the stage when people are trying to test the boundaries of the group and discover what is acceptable; interpersonal conflicts arise and can be expected
NORMING – the process by which everyone in the group establishes what are and what are not the norms of the group; they contribute more and are prepared to take more risks; norms may be explicit or implicit
PERFORMING – the stage when a group effectively achieves its objectives; many groups do not get to this stage!
ENDING – the point at which the group terminates its project or disbands or changes group membership; all of these bring about an ending of the group as it was.
Tuckman points out that groups do not have to follow this order chronologically and that several of the processes can be taking place at one time. For example whilst a group is storming it will also be norming and whilst it is forming, it will also be norming.
Think of a group of which you are a member. What stage do you think this group is at? What are the norms of the groups? How do you know this? Is there much storming going on? How much actual performing goes on in this group and why?
Your skill as trainer will develop as you become more and more aware of group process so start with the groups you already know and observe what is happening.
Training courses are examples of group development
Tuckman maintains that the group process applies to any group which mean it also applies to your next training group! If you want your group to get the performing stage, you should give some time to thinking about the preceding stages first.
Forming when the group physically comes together for this first time. This is pretty straightforward if we assume that everyone turns up on the first day at the designated time!
Storming this stage can take the form of questions posed on the way the group will work together, the time you break for lunch and other reasonable requests. In the early stages of an event, you can be sure that the trainer will be the focus of the storming as group members test out their boundaries within the group. It can progress to more heated exchanges between group members (which can provide very useful material for feedback!). As the trainer you can always be the target of any latent discontent within the group; for example, if you give your group a participative exercise, make sure you give them the correct instructions and the wherewithal to achieve the task. If you don’t, and they fail in their task, be sure you will be in for some anger from group members!
Norming you set the norms for you group from the moment they walk in your room. The way you greet people and your general behaviour at this stage, will send the message about your event – it will be informal or formal, participative or tutor-led etc. the way you set out the room will also say a lot about how you work; if you have large tables in rows with each trainee behind a desk, this conveys the message that this will be like school and that you are the school teacher (and all that goes with that!).
The rules that you establish with the group (or that you impose on them) is a way of detailing explicit norms you are expected to be back from breaks on time, respect the confidentiality of the group, participate actively in the process of the training and so on. Implicit norms will arise from the type of organisation you are in but depend largely on our norms as adult human beings although you may disagree with each other, it isn’t expected that you will get up and bunch someone on the nose!
In training groups it is common that the norming and storming phases move backwards and forwards as the event unfolds.
Be aware of these stages when planning your next training course and remember that the early stages of a group are very important if you want trainees to achieve their learning objectives. And don’t forget the ending phase when you must give time to review of the event, review of learning points and evaluation.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on April 4th, 2007 | No Comments »
People often wonder what is the best method of teaching, which is debatable and many prefer different strategies, one commonly accepted point is that you have to have the right teaching and learning environment to start with. Creating the right learning evironment is part of our Train the Trainer training course.
To create a good learning environment is all about attaining the correct balance between respect/obedience and a creative and thought provoking atmosphere. The students must be allowed to express their opinion and feel comfortable doing so whilst still abiding by the instructions you give and the rules you set out.
There should be a friendly atmosphere within the class and people shouldn’t have to worry about having there head bitten off if they answer a question wrongly or don’t understand. You want to be understanding and put the students at ease so they in turn can reach their full potential. There should never be a situation where someone doesn’t ask for help even though they dearly need it because they are too embarrassed or scared.
Without the correct environment to teach and to learn in you efforts at teaching or training will be pointless, it is sometimes hard to find the correct balance and it is true that every class is different but its benefits are well worth the effort.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on May 6th, 2009 | No Comments »
Don’t think of yourself as a trainer… since that puts the focus on what YOU do.
Remember:
It’s not about what YOU do… it’s about how your learners feel about what THEY can do as a result of the learning experience you created and helped to deliver.
Rather than think of yourself as a teacher or trainer, try getting used to thinking of yourself as “a person who creates learning experiences… a person who helps others learn.” In other words, put a lot more emphasis on the learning and a lot less emphasis on the teaching.
Learn to create the learning experience on our comprehensive Train the Trainer course.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on February 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
What are the necessary skills to be a good trainer?
train the trainer
At Silicon Beach Training we provide a train the trainer course to teach you the skills you need to become a great trainer. However if you think you already have what it takes – Try this 10-point self-assessment!
Can you?
- Actively listen without interrupting
- Be flexible and responsive
- Sense the mood of the group and work with it
- Challenge underlying tensions or hidden feelings and bring them to the surface
- Provide an atmosphere conducive to learning
- Maintain control and direction and steer the group in a positive way
- Involve all members of the group both outgoing and shy
- Validate what group members say, support and encourage them
- Deal constructively with difficult or disruptive group members
- Use questioning and probing techniques effectively
These are just some of the more subtle aspects in which an effective trainer needs to be proficient. These skills can be learnt on our Train the Trainer training course.
REMEMBER- training is a skilled process. It can look easy but it isn’t! Trying to facilitate a group in the same way as chairing a meeting will not have the desired result and can cause many more problems than it solves!
Listening
Active listening is the key skill for a trainer.
You probably already know this (but sometimes it helps to be reminded!): Listening is very different from hearing. When we hear, the information may flow through our ears without really registering in the brain.
Listening has at least three different stages: hearing, interpreting, and recalling.
- Hearing: the physical action of the sound on our ear
- Interpreting: interpreting the message from the words that we hear, the tone and inflection of the voice, as well as the person’s facial expressions and body movements. We also make interpretations dependent upon our own experiences in life.
- Recalling: registering the message and recalling it later in the conversation.
Active listening involves all three of these processes and means you need to:
- Give your complete attention to the other person or people for a specific period of time
- Forget any preoccupations you may have
- Suspend your judgement about what they are saying
- Listen to the feeling behind the words and reflect it to the group using phrases like ‘it sounds as if you are very angry about that…is that right?
- Listen to the silence and what it means is it a comfortable or an angry silence?
- Watch for any non-verbal clues from group members ; they will help let you know when someone is disinterested, shy, anxious, domineering, bored, angry, or open etc
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on April 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
Training or teaching someone is the ability to coherently and concisely define and explain a technique, theory or concept in such a way that whomever you are talking to fully understands. However, the trainer or teacher must be in a situation and at a level of efficiency high enough which allows them to be able to do this. The teacher or trainer must learn to recognise and utilise the tools available to them. Here is just a quick summary of some of the tools and attributes available to you as a trainer:
Your Voice/Tone.
This is one of the most powerful tools that a trainer or teacher posses, this dictates not only what is being said but also how you communicate with your class. With your voice you should be able to control and teach a class. If done correctly there should never be any reason for you to use any other form of action in order to be able to maintain order in a classroom. The tone of your voice is almost as important as what you are saying and will be a massive factor in how you are interpreted.
Humour.
It is important to realize that a in order to teach or train effectively there must be a good working environment, this means that everyone must feel at ease and not in anyway embarrassed or frightened to offer an opinion. A few jokes here and there are not only great ice breakers but also help to make people feel comfortable. What you must not do however is to make fun of someone and making them the butt of the joke. This will only make them feel bad and affect your ability to teach them.
Communication.
This is a vital part of any teaching or training program. You should make it clear that if anyone does not understand what you are saying or what is happening that they are welcome to ask for your assistance. Some find it harder than others and you should never take it for granted that everyone understands. What it is often a good idea to do is to ask the class whether or not they understand directly, so as to hopefully prompt a response if anyone does not.
Learn in greater detail the right attributes for training on our Train the Trainer course.
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Posted by Heather Buckley in Train the Trainer Training on April 17th, 2009 | No Comments »
