Heacock, Perez, and Associates, LLC
Technical Teaching Skills
OVERVIEW
The challenges of teaching technical or detail-oriented content can be formidable; for example, keeping a student's attention and interest when the subject matter is potentially dry, effectively communicating complex information, dealing with different levels of knowledge and skill in the same audience, and others. This workshop will teach you the tools and techniques necessary to cause the learning and long-term retention of technical information.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the research-based principles that can make technical instruction more effective
- Accommodate different levels of knowledge, skill, and experience within a group of students
- Select the most appropriate blend of "hands-on" practice and instructor explanation
- 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
- Develop techniques that capture and focus the attention and interest of students at the beginning of each topic of instruction
- Use audiovisuals like PowerPoint®, whiteboards, and flipcharts in accordance with accepted principles of adult learning
- Start a technical training session in a positive, motivational way
- Deal effectively with the occasional problem behavior or disruptive situation in the classroom
- Physically configure a technical 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 technical manuals
- Create instructor notes to ensure that all important learning points are covered and that the class stays "on-track"
- Discuss guidelines for teaching international audiences
- Alter teaching methods, where appropriate, in response to varying student learning styles and preferences
COURSE TOPICS
- Common misconceptions about teaching technical subject matter
- How adults learn; principles that have been proven to make technical teaching more effective
- How to use questions effectively
- How to confirm that students are really "getting it"
- 5 techniques to enhance the long-term retention of any technical subject matter
- How to handle students that are varied in both knowledge and skill
- How to write and use analogies
- How to write and use mnemonics
- How to create and use "attention grabbers"
- How to use "presentation skills" like eye contact, voice, gestures and body movement
- How to use audiovisuals like flipcharts, whiteboards and PowerPoint®
- How to avoid the overuse and abuse of PowerPoint®
- How to create "interactive" handouts and written materials
- How to start a technical training program in a positive and motivational way
- How to handle disruptive students and situations
- How to physically configure a technical classroom
- Tips for teaching international audiences
- How to determine what subject matter should be included in a technical training program (and what should not)
- How to create personalized instructor notes
- How to do a demonstration
- How to orchestrate a hands-on practice
- How to gauge and accommodate the different learning styles of a particular group of students
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; for example, we have run this program for engineers, Six Sigma Master Black Belts, programmers, medical personnel, managers, and others. We can modify our materials (to the extent possible) to reflect the vocabulary and concepts found in your business.
- Taught internationally. We have run this course in China, India, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Mexico.
- 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.