The Role of a Trainer

I have always worked on eLearning rather than ILTs. I did start my ID career working on an ILT. But last year, I have had the opportunity to work on two completely different types of ILT.

Type 1: During this session, we had to teach call center executives the basics of Internet. We conducted telephonic contextual inquiry and mystery shopping (over the phone) to understand our learners. The learners were a fun loving lot: young, eager to work well, motivated. Designing ILT for these guys was absolutely fun. We introduced several videos and interesting activities and group discussions, which had the desired impact. We also had young, enthusiastic trainers run the training program.

Type 2: This was much, much more challenging. This training program was huge! Kern Learning Solutions conducted an assessment center to understand the current competencies and carried out detailed contextual inquiry. Based on the findings, training areas were formulated. I learnt a lot during the storyboarding phase of this project:
1. Working with SMEs
2. Designing activities that interested the learners
3. Ensuring printing too place (believe me this can be a nightmare)
5. Clear communication with the trainers

I attended the pilot to check how the learners responded to the training. The experience needless to say was absolutely thrilling. I learnt a lot. I specifically wanted to share what I thought of the role of the trainer. During a #KernLearn session on Twitter, I posed the following question:

rnarchana What makes a trainer 'good' during classroom training?
partvinu The trainers should be able to involve the participants in the discussion through listening, and creative interventions.
chneels Should be able to convey the right message and content to the learners without putting them to sleep:)
chneels trainers should teach content with more examples and situations..
partvinu trainers can use humor but only to enliven the atmosphere, not to divert the attention of the learners
sandeepdev Learning by doing & learning by mistakes... the holy way of teaching
geetabose Good teachers do not provide asnwers, they say Find out yourself! RT @sandeepdev: Learning by doing & learning by mistakes...
rnarchana Good trainers always have their finger on the pulse of the audience. They adjust based on the participant's needs.
rnarchana They inspire, encourage, and praise. RT @geetabose: Good teachers do not provide answers, they say Find out yourself!
rnarchana A good trainer is extremely 'likeable', 'approachable', 'full of energy', 'good listener', 'highly observant', 'confident'.
rnarchana A good trainer makes the 'learning' come alive. He engages the learners mind without solely depending on presentation tools
rnarchana A good trainer will never be heard saying 'Man! The participants are terrible. They won't open their mouths.'
rnarchana gd trainer ensures that every participant gets a chance 2 voice their opinion/participate. He uses their names (not hey U! )
rnarchana Good trainers are well-prepared. They find all the answers. And if they don't know an answer, they are not afraid to accept it.
mutechords @rnarchana A good trainer is one who can visualize the realistic outcome of the training program
mutechords I enjoy trainings where there were no PPTs but more interactions+anaysis of situations. good trainers are like that i guess. even before it has started
shana1729 @rnarchana A good trainer shud b interactive n engaging
shana1729 @rnarchana A good trainer will have a clear learning/teaching objective, wil conduct mock sessions before he goes live..
shana1729 @rnarchana A good trainer should be able to tackle the participants who goes on and on debating something useless.
shana1729 @rnarchana A good trainer will never read out the text on the slide!
shana1729 @rnarchana A gud trainer ll nvr underestimate learners. But understands and digs out the deep knowledge n crazy ideas from participants..
shana1729 @rnarchana A good trainer Sets expectation participants before starting off then maps Expectation and Achievements at d end
shana1729 My views on a good ILT, nd my bad experiences as well: http://bit.ly/Z5maD #KernLearn
sumeet_moghe @rnarchana that's the one part i slightly disagree with. good trainers are facilitators -- they guide participants to the answers.

This discussion captures the characteristic of a good trainer. What are the 'don'ts'?
(Photo credit: Veer)
1. Do not invade the learner's personal space. If the trainer goes too close, he will end up intimidating the learner.
2. Do not 'stuff' information down the learner's throat. The trainer must remember that the learner has 'prior knowledge and experience'. It would be terrible to assume that the learner knows nothing. The trainer show draw out the answers from the learners and ensure that everyone learns from each other.
3. Don't be rigid. The trainer is a facilitator of learning. It is ok to add more points to the training material. The attitude 'It is not in the text book' will not work here.
4. Don't hurry topics because you have to meet a deadline. Don't skip activities or rush through the topics because you are worried you won't finish on time.
5. If there are obstacles, underplay them. For example, there is a power cut as you are taking a session, what would you do? Make a hue and cry over the facilities or the lack of it? Or ensure that you continue with the discussion without allowing anything to interrupt your flow?
6. Don't drag your feet. If the trainer is not energetic, how will the learner energy levels stay up? Regardless of how well they know their stuff, if there is no energy, they are detrimental to learning.
7. Don't digress. Too many thoughts/ideas is not what they need. Stay on the right track. Prepare well in advance to crystallize your thoughts.
8. Never blame it on the learner. If they don't respond to you, it is because you have made ZERO impact on them.

If you have any more points to add to this list, feel free to comment.

Social learning without Web 2.0 tools?

Many companies are reluctant to invest in social learning using the Web 2.0 tools. You can try and convince your clients about its power and usefulness. But this may not be the only thing stopping IDs from using Web 2.0 tools. In India, Internet and Web 2.0 tools are accessible to very small percentage of learners. Most learners:

1. Do not have access to Internet. We have learners who work in villages/districts to learners who are foot-on-street sales executives to learners who have access to just one computer.
   
2. Are still very much lurkers. Learnability testing has shown us that people are very reluctant to voice out their thoughts in a public forum.
   

I use tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and so on for my own self-development. But these tools are very specific to a learner profile and therefore, not the only learning solution. If the learners do not have access to or are not inclined to use Web 2.0 tools, what can we do to ensure social learning takes place? Social/informal learning has been around for ages and is not a new phenomenon. People exchange notes in class, outside class. Employees discuss training at work and outside work. So, how can you encourage people to talk about what they have learnt during and outside the training?

1. Include activities. This works well regardless of whether it is during or after training. Ensure that you make these activities fun and challenging. Ask them to do some research and share with the team.

How: Include this as your implementation plan and get the buy in of the management. Encourage learners to take an hour from their work. Let them come together in an informal setting (such as a cafeteria, outside in the lawn).

For example, for a sales executive, you could have impromptu role plays on selling skills. Divide people into groups of two and have them enact different situations.

2. Induce competition. This especially works for highly motivated learners and if the learning objective is a skill based one.

How: Include this in your implementation plan. Ask the management to send an informal mail or put an informal notice for all to see. Make it fun and do not enforce it on employees. Involve internal managers and ask them to observe the behavior and decide the winners. Put the names of the winners on the notice board or send an email out to everyone appreciating them. Basically, give them due recognition.

For example: We had to provide grooming skills for shop floor executives. We suggested that the management announce 'The Best Groomed Employee' at the end of every week. The employee was required to apply what was learnt to achieve this. The store chief helped identify the best groomed employee in his store.

3. Use learning aids. Put up interesting posters, catchy motto/lines, distribute flash cards.

How: Design eye catchy posters/handouts. Keep this very informal. Use bright colors and interesting illustrations. make the learners laugh if you can (comic strips should do the trick). Remember to share only the key points. Things that will help reinforce the most important concepts. Keep these in places where it will catch the learners eye.

For example: To help customer service associates touch up their make up, we suggested posters be put up in the washrooms. Visual description of the steps guide them and reinforces learning.

4. Design a great course. The biggest drawback about eLearning is that it is self paced (I know this has been discussed as a boon and I completely agree). People take courses and then forget about them as soon as they click exit. Designing the course right helps a big deal. If a course that inspires learners or makes them think, they will talk about it. Think about it. When you read an exciting book or watch a great movie, what do you do? Discuss with your friends? Share your thoughts on how the piece moved you or inspired you.

How: Understand your learners. Find out what makes them tick. Identify what motivates them and how they think. Understand their attitudes. Why will they like your course? Find the answer to this.

For all the above, avoid having too many. Focus only on the key learning points and stick to these. Informal/social learning is about people connecting with one another to learn. Try these and social learning will take place even if your learners do not have access to Web 2.0 tools. The key is to keep it informal. Give people the freedom to participate. Involve people from within the organization to take responsibility for these.

Quauntifying Time Spent on Web 2.0 Tools

Is this a trick question? ;) My response to this month's Big Question:

How much time do you spend and how did you find time for all the relatively newer things like reading blogs, twitter, social networks, etc.?

I use TweetDeck and receive tweet notifications. If I am working on something that requires high concentration, I close this application. Else, I logically close a thought and quickly check what others are saying. If the tweet inspires me, I tweet back immediately. If it is an interesting link and a longish blog, I keep it open and read it during my next break. I blog has to be either really compelling or really short for me to read it immediately. I check Facebook only once or twice a day as I use it only for personal networking. Without a doubt, Web 2.0 makes us more effcient. Everyone values time. When a blogger blogs, he/she tries to keep it crisp. I scan through a blog before i decide if I want to invest time. Twitter is popular because writing/reading short tweets does not take time. Coming back to the question, I will not be able to say exactly how much time I spend networking/learning. It various as per project deliverables, my moods, blog updates, and twitter traffic.

What are you doing less of today than you were 3-5 years ago?

• I used to take longish walks to breath in some fresh air when I was at office. Now, that I work from home, I tweet or read blogs. I don't go through my Google reader as most bloggers I follow share links on Twitter.
• Earlier, I used to surf the Internet for hours together to find information that interests me. Today, I go looking for information only when my research is very specific to something. Most times, information comes to me (courtesy web 2.0). This surely means my search is more effective and productivity high as I spend lesser time surfing the Internet for information.
• I also hardly spend time text messaging and talking over the phone (several relatives, including my sister, complains of this).
• I am also a member of ASTD, Social Issues and Serious Games fourms. These discussions happen over mail and therefore, I don't read these anymore. Today, I prefer real time discussions.
  
• Finally, do I neglect my work? No, I manage time better than I did 3-5 years back.

Do you have less of a life with all of these new things?

No, I still shut my computer down by max 7. I don't tweet or read blogs over weekends. My weekends are reserved for my family and myself. Anyway, I don't think people who are online all the time, don't have a life. (Unless ofcourse if you are recluse and unsocial, but who am I to judge ;)) I also think my life is 'more happening' now as I 'know' more people than I did before these new things were introduced.

Informal Learning

Ever since I joined Twitter, my account has been bombarded with tweets on informal/social learning. If you don't know or you need a quick refresher on what informal learning is read What is Social Learning? Is this a new type of learning? The answer is a sure no. Informal learning has been around for ages, even before formal training came into the picture. People have always been exchanging notes to perform better.

Read more about this on my latest post at Learnability Matters: Informal Learning - 7 reasons why organizations must promote it