Welcome to the new year! You know how, at the beginning of the year, you make a bunch of plans and resolutions? You start out strong, everything is going great and then suddenly it’s February and you’re already behind. Well! Let’s go over a few tips to get you back on track! Prioritize Determine what…
Sometimes a word is more than that. “I’m stupid about this stuff.” I’d heard this phrase from a family member as she spoke about saving docs to Google Drive. “I felt stupid asking for help.” I’d heard this phrase from a friend as she described searching for tools in a hardware store. “I’m stupid. I’m…
Overview During this final post, I’ll cover the potential benefits of integrating technology in training. There are several considerations, most importantly the impact they can have on the efficacy of the training. Stolovitch and Keeps summarize these factors in saying, When it comes to training efficiency, the measure is fast and cheap. When it comes…
I’m going to tell you a not-so-secret. Training adults is a game of social circles and politics. At one of my employers, training required a lot of buy in from different groups and participants generally wanted to fell like they were actively contributing to the event, rather than be on the receiving end of a…
A Familiar Scenario Imagine you spent an entire weekend writing a paper for your Instructional Design course. It’s a lot of work and you’re unfamiliar with the content. You dedicate a few hours to reviewing the syllabus, assignment description and resources and you feel pretty confident in your final result. When you get the grades…
Overview The first two posts in this series talk about what we generally encounter as trainers – what we might define as failures in ourselves or our learners. I also cover a few techniques you can quickly in implement for existing trainings or those instances when you need to supplement content. This chapter and post…
You’re Really Good at That! (Or How You Become a Trainer) When I took my first position as a trainer over 10 years ago, I had no idea how complex it would be. In hindsight I can see how ill-prepared I was to create meaningful trainings. This isn’t to say they were terrible or ineffective, or…
A Little About this Project Although this case study focused on my role and the product my company was selling, the key components of evaluation remain the same. As you read through this article, consider how you currently evaluate success in your role and in your company. How does it compare to what is discussed…
This is the first in a series building on the core concepts explored in Telling Ain’t Training. Click here to read the rest of the series. Understanding Your Learner – What’s Your Approach? When designing trainings, how often have you considered the learner? And in what capacity? Do you think about your delivery method? What…
This is part of a 3-part series focusing on applying adult learning theory in the workplace. To see the other articles, view A Brief Intro to Adult Learning Theory and Self Directed Learning as a Training Solution Current Problem Teams across 15 campuses are finding it increasingly difficult to track information and share it with the…
This is part of a 3-part series focusing on applying adult learning theory in the workplace. To see the other articles, view A Brief Intro to Adult Learning Theory and Using Inter-team Collaborations to Promote Critical Thinking Skills Current Problem Where I currently work, we are finding that our instructors need and crave more targeted professional…
Given as a project in my Processes and Methods course, this website was created to explain the what, why and how of collaborative learning. The most concise definition I’ve found comes from Cornell University for Teaching Excellence (quote below): Collaborative learning is based on the view that knowledge is a social construct. Collaborative activities are…
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests intelligence is not solely defined by IQ. Instead, human beings learn and excel in areas for which they have an aptitude. The seven intelligences described are visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic and logical-mathematical. In relation to problem solving, it is thought that assembling a team to include a…