During yesterday’s learning webinar on The Accidental Technology Trainer one of the topics discussed was understanding how adults learn best and what trainers can do to support them in achieving their learning objectives during library workshops. Here is the list of what the participants came up with! Do you have others to add? If so, just leave a comment on this post. Thanks! Stephanie Gerding
- Listen to their needs
- Listen to what they want to learn
- Encourage them
- Put them at ease
- Offer classes at a time when they can attend
- Go ssslllooowwwww
- Offer lots of opportunities for training
- Make it relevant
- Listen to their questions
- Respect their abilities and what they want to learn
- Make it fun for them
- Document so they don’t have to remember it all!
- Don’t talk down to them
- Consider their attention/time span as it relates to their basic needs
- Simple giveaways (chocolate)
- Review
- Simple language
- Engage them with a little fun to relax the pressure
- Praise their questions
- Pause, let them reflect
- Make it timely
- Try to know what the goals of the participants are
- Be clear
- Repetition seems to work best for me
- Speak their language and not techno jargon
- Make sure they know when they have succeeded
- Make a mistake so they see world will not crash
- Don’t assume they’ve “got it”
- Deliver info in chunks
- Repeat the activities at least three times
- If you answer a question, then say, “Did that answer your question?”
- Handouts, handouts, handouts
- Ask what they want from the class
- Have handouts and pencils for those who don’t bring them
- Help them feel adequate and comfortable
- Let them learn from each other
- Check in frequently — how we’re doing
- Offer follow up help
- Don’t teach too much at a time
- Provide the workshop at their pace
- Follow-up
- Offer them an opportunity to voice their needs, “WIIFM”
- Ask what their objectives are
- Publish goals of the course prior to the event
- Use many different techniques
- Humor
- Incorporate all 3 of these: explain/background, demo, and hands-on doing it
- Provide opportunities for success
- Reward/praise for willingness to grow and learn
- Affirmations
- Practice exercises for them to try on their own
- Make available in a variety of formats
- Use visuals
- Practice, practice
- Offer variety of learning styles in each class
- What’s in it for me, yes
- Be patient
- Follow up with them after the workshop to see if there are questions later
- Let them ask questions
- Talk about how they will use what they have learned in their “real” lives
- Ask for feedback on your training process
- Respect their experience and prior knowledge
- Do breathing exercises
- Give them enough info in handouts that they can go back over if something was unclear
- Provide chocolate!
- Don’t overdo handouts