Advanced Skills for the Practical Trainer

Objectives for this workshop include:

• Enhance your understanding of learning styles and how to accommodate all four learning styles in the classroom
• Understand the key principles of effective communication in a workshop setting
• Use a variety of training techniques to stimulate participation
• Develop a plan and prepare for an effective training session
• Understand the different levels of evaluation and when to use each
• Understand how and when to add fun and humor to your training session
• Identify advanced interventions for difficult situations
• Practice the skills needed for a team presentation

Course Overview

• You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

Preparing to Learn

• To begin, participants will explore what they want out of this workshop.

Understanding Learning

• Next, participants will talk about the role of the facilitator and the top skills a trainer needs.

Competencies for Adult Educators

• This session will give participants a profile of the gaps between where they are now and where they need to be in order to perform their role efficiently.

Accommodating Learning Preferences

• Next, participants will review Kolb’s experiential learning cycle and how it fits in with different learning styles.

Increasing Your Expertise

• This session will explore three basic ideas about adults in a learning context. Participants will also look at the workshop from a designer’s perspective.

Using Existing Materials

• In this session, participants will learn about using customizable course material to give them a head start, copyright concerns, and how to over-plan to ensure success.

Managing the Stress of Training

• During this session, participants will learn ways to manage their stress and that of trainees.

Planning a Workshop

• Next, participants will receive a brief introduction to planning and preparing a workshop.

Visual Aids

• This session will cover some basic kinds of visual aids and encourage participants to determine if, how, and when they want to use each type.

Your Role as an Effective Communicator

• During this session, participants will learn how to communicate effectively as a facilitator or trainer.

Questioning as a Training Technique

• This session will explain how good questioning skills can make anyone a better trainer.

Kirkpatrick’s Levels of Evaluation

• Next, participants will explore the four levels of evaluation, including samples for each type. Then, participants will develop their own evaluation for their training session at the end of the workshop.

On-the-Job Support

• During this session, participants will explore why on-the-job support is so important after training has taken place, and what they can do to encourage it.

Dealing with Difficult Situations

• This session will give participants some tools for dealing with common training problems.

Training in Different Forums

• Next, participants will explore some different forums for training, including virtual formats.

Webinar

• This session offers tips for planning an effective webinar.

Team Teaching

• Next, participants will talk about co-facilitation.

Training Preparation and Presentations

• The bulk of the third day will be spent preparing, presenting, and evaluating team training sessions.

Workshop Wrap-Up

• At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.