In order to set our participants up for success in training, we, as instructors, need to be set up for success as well. Our knowledge and skill regarding course content, our facilitation skills, and our prep time can all contribute to success in the classroom.
Knowledge and Skill Regarding Course Content
While some people believe that you need to be a subject matter expert (SME) in a specific area to teach a course on that content, the reality is that an excellent facilitator can teach any course with a combination of knowledge, skill, and facilitation techniques.
To gauge this truth, consider how much knowledge and what level of skill a participant will possess after completing a training course. We, as facilitators, need at least that same level of knowledge and skill to deliver the course. To achieve this, we can take certain steps such as thoroughly studying the course content. This means reading all the content in the lesson plan, as well as performing the activities and taking the assessments that the participants will take during the training. It also entails making notes regarding any questions that come up as we study and preparing to answer those same questions for our participants. This level of studying pushes us past our “basic” knowledge and can increase our confidence and comfort level in the classroom. To further strengthen our knowledge and skill, we can work as a designer for a course we will later teach – should the opportunity present itself. This work can provide us with an even greater depth of knowledge and skill than that of the participants who attend the training.
Facilitation Skills
Given the choice, I’d rather have a great facilitator who has moderate knowledge and skill levels about the subject matter being taught than a SME who lacks facilitation skills. The facilitation skills I’m referring to are the ability to converse with a group, follow a lesson plan, and being willing to explore questions and issues.
Conversing with a group is different than lecturing to a group. The focus when using a conversational style is on the group rather than the presenter. Keeping a group engaged is about talking with them rather than at them. Remember, people listen individually, so we need to address a group like we’re really talking to one person. Consider it a conversation, not a presentation.
Following a lesson plan can be a struggle when you know far more about a topic than what the course is intended to teach. There are times in my own teaching opportunities where I have to pull back the reigns of what I’d like to say to keep the group focused on what they “need” to learn. Having a lesson plan that identifies what key points to make, how to facilitate activities, and even timeframes for how long each teaching segment should take is a fantastic tool used to create consistent training even with multiple instructors. Remember, this is training not theater. What I mean is that we don’t have to memorize what we will say and do – we can take that pressure off. Instead, we can let the lesson plan be our guide in the classroom.
Lastly, we need to be willing to explore questions and issues. Keep in mind that none of us knows “everything.” If a question gets asked to which we don’t know the answer, we can post it on a parking lot chart with other issues to be addressed at the end of the day or the course. We can then go and research the answer so we can provide it to the group. The parking lot approach also works well for issues that go beyond the scope of the course by avoiding the derailing of our content. We can offer to stay at the end of the day to discuss those issues.
Prep Time
I once spoke with a participant who said, ”Yeah, we do on-the-fly training. We’re told what to teach, when to teach it, and then we prep on the plane.” Upon further discussion, I was told that this approach doesn’t work so well because the instructor feels unprepared. I’m not surprised.
Whenever we are teaching a class for the first time, we can let the course length be our guide. If we are teaching a one-day class, then we need at least that much time to prep. Industry averages and unofficial surveys in my classes have revealed that facilitators usually get about two times the course length to prep a “first-time” course. Teach-backs, co-facilitating, and rehearsing on our own can be valuable methods for preparation.
Once we’ve taught a course for the first time, it’s important to go back and review the lesson plan to adjust our actions so we are even more prepared the next time we teach. Once we’ve taught a course, conducting the same course again and again will not require much prep. It might even be as brief as looking over the lesson plan the night before, just to get our bearings before we teach.
I feel it a great privilege to train trainers. When I teach our facilitation skills classes, I have an especially targeted focus on practicing what we teach. I would not expect our participants to do anything that we ourselves are not prepared to do. It is with this same passion that I encourage you to truly prepare to teach. After all, how can we expect our participants to succeed if we ourselves are not first given the knowledge, skills, and time to succeed?
Jim
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Comments RSS
Prep time is so important – thanks for driving the idea home!