Learning: The Magic of Making Training FUN

Over the Chinese New Year holidays, I was clearing my University papers and notes and I found some pieces of information very useful and relevant to this blog. The blog post start off with Trainer roles and deals with difficult conversations that everyone of us have to have with our colleagues and family. I have had to have them with my colleagues at work, my nephew and friends. It was and is never easy. We have great difficulty taking to bosses, colleagues and family something that we do not wish to discuss. We adopt the flight or fight mechanism. Trainer Roles Instructor, Trainer, Facilitator, Coach, Co-Learner are all trainer roles. They need to be viewed on a continuum, depending on the discipline, workshop objectives, personal training style and participant profiles. . Even though there is a great amount of debate among academics on the interpretation of a training role, one thing almost everyone agrees is that the role is much more than a dispenser of information . Collaborati...

I was very pleased to read the comment to my last post. It was a short but to the point response. My comment that one person can derail was responded to by a simple statement – it may derail the train but so long as the passion to make the learning and work collaborative remains, the goal to help people learn and perform is paramount, such incidents are only rare obstacles. It may derail but the train can get back and up running very quickly with collaboration. The best swordsman does not need to fear the second best but only the antagonist who has never handled a sword before is true for the trainer. A participant who knows more than the trainer is not to be feared, the one to be feared is the one who has no knowledge at all and is in the training room as a very reluctant participant as he or she has been told to do. Dealing with a diversity of participants is always a challenge. It is here we address the issues of Trainer roles. Instructor, Trainer, Coach, Facilitator and Co Learner ...

I posted on Sunday ideas on how to implement collaborative learning. This week Monday and Tuesday were tough days. Hence this additional post tonight. Monday It was a day of intense preparations by my team to the Board. We learned how the Board of Directors can promote collaborative learning. Tuan Haji Ishak Hashim., a Director on our Board emphasized the need for democratic learning and what we can do about it. Insightful ideas, incisive action plans and a day of soul searching led to very meaningful learning as a result of co labouring due to intentional design. Tuesday A day most INFJ Chief Executives would worry about. On the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I am an INFJ. FJ executives tend to be more emotionally driven than TJ executives who are more logical. That is as simple as I can describe the MBTI. Suffice for now, that there is much more to be explained in MBTI but as an ISFJ, I had to grapple with decisions I had to make as a CEO. The day started pretty good. We ha...

We have discussed in the last couple of blog postings on the need for collaborative learning. The discussions on the three essential components for collaborative learning - intentional design, co labouring and meaningful learning set the groundwork for our discussions. Sometimes the research on instructional methods is highly criticized for comparing average classroom sessions with carefully designed experiential learning. Hence, the need for comparing the best classroom session with the best experiential activity. Results show greater learner satisfaction, involvement and learning based on the results. Though most of the research is often in the educational setting, my own experiences in corporate training can vouch for it - I have found experiential learning extremely powerful. The criticism from practitioners that collaborative learning takes more time and results in the content not being followed is being overcome by the strong results. Collaborative learning when well done leads...

Small Groups Enhance Learning We looked at collaborative learning and the three essentials for it. Our discussions revolved around the use of small groups for collaborative learning. I had the opportunity to visit a website that detailed how small groups can lead to effective learning. Small group work can enrich your learners’ learning experiences. Small groups are a good motivational tool because they add variety to an instructional activity and allow participants to learn in different ways. For example, by participating in small groups, some of your learners may be able to comprehend the content that they may find difficult in a lecture. Small group activities are also important because they help your learners learn social skills such as cooperation and communication, which they are not always able to do to the same extent in a regular lecture environment. In addition, some learners especially in an Asian situation - high context cultures, do especially well in small groups because...