HIS MAY COME AS A SHOCK TO SOME AGENCY trainers, so hold on. People who come into the profession to be trained are not children. Agencies that continue to train adults with K-12 teaching techniques don’t mean they consider new employees to be
child- like, they just have not considered the different learning styles of children and adults. The educational terms for the two types of learning are andragogical and pedagogical.
When agencies struggle with high employee turnover rates, it may be time to re-evaluate
The training methods the agency uses may be useless and possibly detrimental to the adult learner. The following is a list of 30 considerations an agency should consider when rethinking its training program.
Motivation to Learn
- Expect high expectations from the trainee- Many adults seek out learning experiences to cope with specific life-changing events (e.g.. marriage. divorce, a new job, a promotion, being fired, retiring, losing a loved one, moving to a new city, ) Most people welcome learning when they begin a new job and come to a comm center with elevated expectations of the program and trainers.
- Understand the stress of learning: The more life-changing events an adult encounters, the more likely they are to seek out learning opportunities. Just as stress increases with the accumulation of life-changing events, the motivation to cope with change through engagement in a learning experience also increases. Realize that trainees may be excited, but also stressed about their new and exciting position.
- Encourage personal growth-The learning experiences that adults seek out on their own are directly related, at least in their perception, to the life-changing events that triggered the seeking. When entering a training course, many people feel they are growing as
- Acknowledge trainees’ transitions- Adults are generally willing to engage in learning experiences before, after, or even during the life-changing transition. Once convinced that the change is a certainty, adults will engage in learning that promises to help them cope with the transition. They come to training expecting this help.
- Make learning useful- Adults who are motivated to seek out a learning experience do so primarily because they have a use for the knowledge or skill being sought. Learning is a means to an end, not an end in itself. This means that when beginning each learning event, a trainee must know that the learning is useful in some way.
- Give positive feedback when due- Increasing or maintaining one’s sense of self-esteem and pleasure are strong secondary motivators for engaging in learning experiences. Nothing can downshift a trainee more than feelings of failure or low self-worth to the trainer or agency.
Training Design
- Focus on single concepts- Adult learners prefer single-concept, single-theory courses that focus heavily on the application of the idea to relevant problems. Most trainees are willing to do what it takes to learn it.
- Value past trainee experience – Adults need to be able to integrate new ideas with what they already know to retain and apply the latest ideas. The trainees’ prior experiences must be valued.
- Ensure information is timely – Information that conflicts with what is already believed to be true, which forces a reevaluation of the old material, can confuse a trainee. It helps to find out what a trainee must unlearn before moving forward; otherwise, trainees may appear to be slow or resistant to learning new information.
- Incorporate new material- Information that has little conceptual overlap with what a trainee already knows needs to be acquired The use of metaphors and previous experience works well to help trainees process new material (e.g.. “Like when you…”).
- Keep an even training pace- Fast-paced, complex, or unusual learning tasks can interfere with learning. Instead of using the “sink or swim” method, allow trainees to learn one step at a time.
- Don’t rush- Be aware that adults tend to overcompensate for being slower in some psychomotor learning tasks by being more accurate and making fewer trial-and-error ventures. These trainees may sometimes appear clumsy when they are simply being cautious.
- Encourage risk-taking- Adults tend to take errors personally and are more likely to let errors affect self-esteem. Therefore, they tend to apply tried-and-true solutions and take fewer risks. To risk, they must feel safe, not criticized.
- Ask trainees for feedback- First, trainers need to know what trainees think, so it helps to ask. Too often, trainers provide a DOR (daily observation report) of what they observe trainees have learned, but never ask the students about their own beliefs and learning needs. This can be a big mistake.
- Personalize training methods – Programs should be designed to accommodate viewpoints from individuals in different life stages who hold diverse value sets. This requires some two-way communication. Center training often is rigid and does not allow learners to be part of the review and design process.
- Understand each individual’s needs – A concept needs to be tailored for the individual being served. For example, does the person play golf? If so, using golf examples may help him understand a new concept.
- Encourage independent learning- Many adults prefer self-directed and self-designed learning projects to group-learning experiences led by a teacher. For example, have trainees ride with responders and create a project involving that experience so students can learn more than the officer’s opinion of dispatch.
- Don’t substitute one-on-one learning-Although books, programmed instruction, and the Internet have become popular training tools for adults in recent years, they are only one way of learning. Adults must interact with others to purge old knowledge and reflect
on what they have learned. Although every agency is looking for the magical quick fix to training time, there is none. There is no substitute for one-on-one instruction with a trainer.
- Try simulation training- Many trainers have found that simulation and step-by-step educational methods are effective in creating a safe environment to grow strong
- Don’t equate self-direction with isolation– Studies indicate that self-directed projects involve an average of 10 people who serve as resources, guides, encouragers, and even the professed self-directed learner gives lectures and short seminars positive ratings, especially when these events give the learner face-to-face, one-on-one access to an expert. Bring in experts from other fields to expose a trainee to multiple resources.
Training Atmosphere
- Create a comfortable learning environment – The learning environment must be both physically and psychologically comfortable. Consider what is happening on the floor, what trainees are hearing without permission, how others treat trainees, and if trainees are getting enough rest.
- Acknowledge boundaries Self- esteem and ego are on the line when trainees are asked to risk trying a new behavior in front of peers and demanding trainers. Bad experiences, feelings about authority, and the preoccupation with events outside the classroom affect long-term employment.
- Define expectations – It is critical for trainers to take the time early in the training to clarify and articulate all expectations before delving into the content. The trainer can assume responsibility only for their own expectations, not for those of the students. Trainers must be clear about their roles and provide a safe atmosphere for learning it is up to the trainee to learn.
- Encourage dialogue with peers- Adults bring a great deal of life experience into the classroom, an invaluable asset to be acknowledged, tapped, and Adults can learn well and much from dialogue with respected peers.
- Ask the right kind of questions- Instructors who tend to hold forth rather than facilitate can hold that tendency in check-or compensate for it-by concentrating on the use of open-ended questions to draw out relevant student knowledge and experience. This works!
- Learn from each other- New knowledge has to be integrated with previous knowledge and students must actively participate in the learning experience. The learner is dependent upon the trainer for confirming feedback on skill practice. The trainer is dependent on the learner for feedback about curriculum and in-class performance.
- Create a balanced learning environment. The key to being a successful trainer is that the trainer must balance presenting new material, moderate debate and discussion, and sharing relevant student experiences against the ticking of the clock. Ironically, it seems that trainers are best able to establish control when they risk giving it up. When they set aside their egos and resist the tendency to be threatened by challenges to their plans and methods, they gain the kind of facilitative control needed to effect adult learning.
- Moderate disagreements- The trainer has to protect minority opinion, keep disagreements civil and unheated, make connections among various opinions and ideas, and keep reminding the group of the variety of potential solutions to. The trainer is less an advocate than an orchestrator.
- Be patient with trainees – the integration of new knowledge and skills requires a transition time and focused effort on application. This is when you see stalling or gaps-it’s natural and
- Don’t stick with just facts– Learning and teaching theories function better as ways to understand and motivate rather than facts to disprove.
Conclusion
An agency seldom suspects that the methods it is using to educate and train adults are ineffective and even detrimental to the learning process. Agency managers must recognize that human resources are precious and that each person who comes to the profession willing and eager to learn should have the opportunity to do so. The work of the agency trainer and training program is to create an adult-learning atmosphere that is safe and supportive. If such an atmosphere is created and maintained, then, and only then, is it the responsibility of the adult to thrive
Ref: The Adult Learner 9th Edition by Malcolm S. Knowles (Author)
