Planning and conducting effective training sessions
Abstract
Conducting an effective training session begins with appropriate preparation. Use the provided recommendations to plan an agenda that meets your training objectives, but allows for the flexibility to respond to audience needs during the session. Excerpted from section three of the Corporation for National and Community Service's Making an Impact on Out-Of-School Time by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time.Issue
Developing a training session that is informative and instructive, while engaging the interest of the audience.Action
Training sessions should be interactive, and should model the methods that participants will use in their real life service experiences.
Planning Training Sessions
- Gather information about those you will be training:
- What do they already know?
- What are some areas where they might need extra instruction?
- If they have participated in previous training, what worked and what didn't?
- Establish and Prioritize Goals:
- What do the participants need to know?
- What would they like to learn?
- What do you hope to convey to participants during this training session?
- What topics are most important?
- What goals are reasonable given the time constraints of the training?
- Brainstorm and Select Methods:
- Which methods best meet the goals?
- Think about the inclusion of large and small group discussion, panels, role plays or scenarios, lectures, stories and personal experiences, hands-on activities, games, and time for questions and answers.
- Be sensitive to different learning styles and develop a variety of methods that you will use in presenting each topic.
- Design the Agenda:
- In what order will you present topics?
- How can you break up a lecture with small group work or hands-on activities?
- Arrange your agenda in such a way that participants will be presented with a balanced variety of training activities.
- You may want to select lively, interactive, and/or hands-on activities for the block of time immediately following lunch, since that tends to be when participants are sleepy.
- You may want to offer more lecture-oriented topics early in the day when participants are fresh.
- Plan adequate breaks.
- Prepare Materials:
- Do you need handouts?
- Many participants find it easier to follow a trainer if they have handouts to look at.
- What materials do you need to present your hands-on activities?
- Think about the use of slides, overheads, chalkboards, and/or flip charts.
- Some trainers keep participants focused by using overheads or flipcharts during the session, and wait until the end to distribute handouts.
- Start with Introductions and/or an Icebreaker Activity:
- How can you create an atmosphere that welcomes discussion and input from participants?
- Introduce yourself and talk a little about your experience in the field.
- To get people talking to each other, have everyone introduce themselves; interview and introduce another person; do a scavenger hunt looking for people who have a specific interest or talent; or participate in some other sort of icebreaker activity.
- Go Over the Agenda:
- How can you prepare participants for the content and pacing of your session?
- Make sure that everyone knows what will be covered and how long they should expect to be in each session.
- Highlight some aspects that participants can look forward to.
- Be prepared to adjust your agenda to fit the needs of the group.
- Gauge Participants' Knowledge and Interest:
- How can you gear your session toward the specific interests and needs of your audience?
- As you start presenting each topic, take a few minutes to find out how much participants know about the topic and what areas they would like to focus on.
- Pay Attention to Participants:
- Do the participants look like they're following well? Are they nodding, volunteering comments, asking questions?
- Stop from time to time to ask for questions and ask how everyone is doing.
- If participants are tired and/or unengaged, you may need to slow down, turn the material into questions and generate discussion, move more quickly, switch to a different type of activity, or offer a short break.
- Be Flexible:
- What will you do if some things do not go as you planned?
- Expect that some of your activities may take longer or shorter than planned.
- Explain to participants what is going on if you need to deviate from the schedule you've laid out.
- If participants don't seem to be engaged in a given activity, be prepared to adjust, stretch, shrink, or eliminate activities as necessary.
- Think About Pacing:
- How can you keep the interest of participants?
- Start with simple concepts, build them into more complex ideas.
- Integrate physical movement, humor and games.
- Tailor the presentation to this specific group of participants.
- Interject personal stories and humor.
- Make the Conclusion Strong:
- How can you help participants tie everything together at the end of the session and encourage participants to incorporate what they have learned in your session into their work?
- End each session with a summary and a chance for participants to share last thoughts.
- It can be very effective to end with a challenge -- something you urge participants to do in relation to what you've presented.
- Have participants set goals related to the topic and/or work in teams to brainstorm new ideas related to something that is needed in your program.
- Ask everyone to share one thing that really stood out.
- Have Participants Evaluate Each Session:
- How can you find out what worked in your session?
- Have participants fill out evaluation forms that ask what they learned in your session, what they enjoyed most, and what they would change.