When entering into a training situation, it is quite easy to fall prey to doing enough to "get by" than to challenge yourself to reach deeper to do more. In a conversation with a dear colleague, we discussed the team dynamic of proactive approaches vs. reactive survival. When you are working with a population of people, it is really easy to become a manifestation of that population. If you are working with professional people, the push is to become as professional as possible in your approach, delivery and prep time. If you are working with population of people that are more "challenging" (i.e lack certain education, have various employment boundaries, mental health issues or potentially socially deviant behaviors) the push becomes to lower the standard of excellence to settle for "whatever".
This is the challenge that I am currently having on our training team. We have phenomenal curriculum, top rated information and NOW some technical tools to make that transition to professional more feasable, however, we don't have the internal drive from our leadership to make this a priority.
The masses can only excel as far as the leadership is willing to go to make it a reality. If leadership does not deem the materials and the strategies in the classroom as crucial to the manifestion of career oriented and focused customers, then the likelihood of that becoming a reality is lost. You can never afford to be mediocre when you are facilitating a process or training the next level of new professionals. Demanding more of you as an individual and catalyst for change in the lives of people is a neccesity not an option. Knowing that you have the power in the information you share with others to kill dreams, fuel them or stall them is never a light thing and should never be considered as such!
Demand more of you so that mediocrity has no where to dwell. The cost is too high.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
What is the motivation
Interestingly enough this week, I was a participant in a training that was structured to, "help me be a better prepared trainer for the AWANA program". Now the AWANA program is a christian based program for children that helps them learn of their faith and develop a relationship with God. The content of the material is so awesome and so exciting that I was expecting the same enthusiasm from the training presenter, but OOOO WEEE was I sadly mistaken.
As a trainer, it is really easy to take your expertise and make it the plum line for all training approaches and tools that should be used. However, I learned years ago from my training mentor that a good facilitator is one who not only knows the material but takes the time to learn from those for whom they are giving instruction. This information for me, has become a training principle for any class that I teach and to whatever audience I instruct. It is my golden rule.
This instructor was quite interesting to say the least. She was extremely prepared, knowledgeable and well versed on the subject matter, but never took into consideration her audience or the framework that those participating in this training already had under their belts. She was condescending, never answered the questions that were asked and took more pride in the information she had rather that if the instructional directives were applicable for those who were in the training. She cut people off and made individuals feel stupid and unimportant. She ended up spending almost 4 hours (yes, I said 4 complete hours of ongoing talking no one was permitted to ask a question, UNLESS she asked if there was a question). Many people left the training not having anymore information on the foundation of the program or how they should facilitate their classes for their age groups.
It took all I could to sit still and watch this travesty of phenomenal information loose its impact and effectiveness because the trainer was more concerned with the information that she had on her training agenda than the needs of those in her training session and the effect that it would have on those who would thus receive that instruction.
Training and facilitation is a multi-facet discipline that requires listening, sensitivity to the needs of those who are receiving instruction and flexibility. You have to risk not being right to make sure that those in your direct sphere of influence are encouraged and not discouraged. IT is not an opportunity to showcase all your expertise, education and fabulousness (hee hee); but a chance to open yourself up to a new learning and teaching experience that will broaden your horizons and help you to be a better more effective training professional.
It is the trainer or facilitator that sets the tone for the success of failure of a training session. So, what is your motivation?
As a trainer, it is really easy to take your expertise and make it the plum line for all training approaches and tools that should be used. However, I learned years ago from my training mentor that a good facilitator is one who not only knows the material but takes the time to learn from those for whom they are giving instruction. This information for me, has become a training principle for any class that I teach and to whatever audience I instruct. It is my golden rule.
This instructor was quite interesting to say the least. She was extremely prepared, knowledgeable and well versed on the subject matter, but never took into consideration her audience or the framework that those participating in this training already had under their belts. She was condescending, never answered the questions that were asked and took more pride in the information she had rather that if the instructional directives were applicable for those who were in the training. She cut people off and made individuals feel stupid and unimportant. She ended up spending almost 4 hours (yes, I said 4 complete hours of ongoing talking no one was permitted to ask a question, UNLESS she asked if there was a question). Many people left the training not having anymore information on the foundation of the program or how they should facilitate their classes for their age groups.
It took all I could to sit still and watch this travesty of phenomenal information loose its impact and effectiveness because the trainer was more concerned with the information that she had on her training agenda than the needs of those in her training session and the effect that it would have on those who would thus receive that instruction.
Training and facilitation is a multi-facet discipline that requires listening, sensitivity to the needs of those who are receiving instruction and flexibility. You have to risk not being right to make sure that those in your direct sphere of influence are encouraged and not discouraged. IT is not an opportunity to showcase all your expertise, education and fabulousness (hee hee); but a chance to open yourself up to a new learning and teaching experience that will broaden your horizons and help you to be a better more effective training professional.
It is the trainer or facilitator that sets the tone for the success of failure of a training session. So, what is your motivation?
Monday, September 13, 2010
What do we do NOW
In this new class for the Fall quarter, we were asked to create a blog to journal changes and insights from this class called, "Adult Learning Theory and Instructional Strategies." I am looking forward to seeing where this leads and my travels through it all.
- I am current working with the City and county of Denver as a Career Development Facilitator/ Assessment. My primary audience are adult learners. These are individuals who are classified as our "non traditional job seeker" or considered the hard to employ population. I am directly involved with the design of curriculum, facilitation, program implementation and design. I have worked with Adult learners for 16 years.
- My future plans in working the Adult Students is to expand my knowledge and application base about how I facilitate change and current and future curriculum to insure that the fundamental principles of workplace guidelines and structure will be applied when they return back the job market or enter into it for the first time.
- My knowledge base of Adult learning theories is more in application and practice and the reciting of formulation years and those who developed them. General concepts that I apply are the principles that each adult learner has to find out how they learn in order to embrace the process of understanding information as it relates to themselves and the world around them. The more effcient they are in knowing about them, the more receptive they will be accepting the information that is presented to them.
- As an adult learner I know some key things about myself: 1) I love information, but being spoken to like a child shuts down my reception to the one that is instructing. 2) I am teachable. I can admit when I have missed it and graciously take that correction and add it to my tool box so that I can be more effective. 3) I love taking information that is complex and making it applicable to my life and those that I effect. 4) I know that learning to me is life.
- As this course progresses, my goal is to be a more effective Trainer/facilitator and take my instruction and knowledge of the Adult learner to the next level.
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