For anyone with teaching responsibilities

OVERVIEW

This is our most popular workshop. By applying proven principles of adult learning, it is possible to make any topic interactive, engaging and retentive. We have distilled many years of research into a practical, easy-to-use, learner-focused model that can be applied by anyone with training responsibilities: from experienced instructors wishing to hone their skills to subject matter experts who may have recently had training added to their list of job duties. After taking this workshop, you will not approach training the same way again.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the research-based principles of adult learning that can make all training programs more efficient and effective
• Select and use the most appropriate instructional strategies within each of the 3 phases of adult instruction
• Demonstrate the proper use of open-ended, close-ended, group and individual feedback questions
• Create questions that confirm the recall, understanding, and application capabilities of students
• Where possible, use Socratic questioning to pull key learning points from knowledgeable students
• Use teaching aids like whiteboards, flip charts, and PowerPoint® slides in accordance with accepted principles of learning
• Develop “attention grabbers” that capture and focus the attention and interest of students at the beginning of each topic of instruction
• Use “icebreakers” to start a training session in a positive, motivational way
• Deal effectively with the occasional problem behavior or disruptive situation in the classroom
• Physically configure a classroom to cause maximum interaction and participation
• Create analogies to help students understand unfamiliar or highly technical concepts
• Create mnemonics to help students retain specific facts, concepts, processes and procedures
• Design interactive student handouts to supplement or supplant large binders and manuals
• Use “presentation skills” like voice, gestures, body movement, and eye contact effectively
• Discuss guidelines for teaching international audiences
• Alter teaching methods, where appropriate, in response to varying student learning styles and preferences

COURSE TOPICS

• Adult Learning Principles: What the research says about learning and retention; The introduction of a 3-phase teaching model.
• Questioning: Different types and targets of questions; how to create questions for recall, comprehension, and application.
• Socratic Method: Do all of the important learning points have to come from the instructor? How to tap into the knowledge and experience within your audience.
• Analogies: The 3 components of a good analogy, their uses and some cautions.
• Platform Skills: Reminders of how gestures, body movement, voice and eye contact can be used to enhance a presentation.
• Interactive Handouts: How and when to create interactive written materials to supplement or supplant large manuals and to serve as future job aids for students.
• Audiovisual Aids: A detailed discussion and demonstration of common presentation tools like whiteboards, flipcharts and Power Point®.
• Icebreaking: How to start a technical training program in a positive and motivational way.
• Problem Students: How to handle disruptive participants and situations.
• Demonstrations: How to effectively demonstrate a product or process.
• Classroom configuration: Options for physically configuring a training room to cause maximum participation and learning.
• International Teaching: How to deal with multiple nationalities in a training session.
• Learning Styles: How and when to vary delivery methods and instructional strategies to accommodate different personalities and preferences. Participants will be given a learning style assessment tool to confirm their own stylistic preferences.
• Humor: Guidelines for use and cautions

VARIATIONS

This workshop can be:

• 2 or 3 days long, and customized to your organization’s specific needs and priorities
• Targeted to a specific target audience: salespersons, customer-service reps, managers, coaches, or any other. We can modify our materials (to the extent possible) to reflect the vocabulary and concepts found in your business.
• Taught “in-company”, or you can attend an open enrollment (public) course with persons from other organizations. Contact us to find the date and location of the next running.