Photo by: Andrii Dodonov via Canva
What is the purpose of training? To show off the trainer’s ability to create fancy PowerPoint slides? Uh, no. To force everyone into a room to endure hours of non-stop information dumping? Gosh, no! To upskill? Well, yes…but why?
Our main goal for delivering training is to teach our learners new skills but also to have them transfer those skills back to their jobs. So then, what techniques can we use to maximize our learners’ retention? Here are five ways to do this effectively:
Stories
Stories, metaphors, and analogies make the content more relatable. They can also trigger an emotional reaction. “Emotional events are easier to remember because they activate your amygdala and hippocampus at almost exactly the same time.” – Healthline. Just make sure your stories are relevant to the course material or learning goal.
Involvement
“Research has demonstrated that engaging students in the learning process increases their attention and focus and motivates them to engage in higher-level critical thinking.” – University of Washington. Ensure learners are part of their learning journey. Involve them by letting them share their experiences and by assisting others who have less experience. Engage your learners often by having them participate in answering questions orally, in polls, or voting, and by being part of group discussions.
Practice and reflection
Experiential learning, or application of training content, not only allows learners to have hands-on practice, but also enables the instructor to monitor progress and adjust where needed. “By engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are better able to connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations.” – Kent State University.
Positivity
A positive and safe learning environment provides a level of comfort that enhances learning. Not only will learners feel at ease participating, but they will also be able to better focus as they aren’t distracted by negative thoughts and emotions. “The highest-level executive thinking, making connections, and “aha” moments of insight and creative innovation are more likely to occur in an atmosphere of what Alfie Kohn calls exuberant discovery, where students of all ages retain that kindergarten enthusiasm of embracing each day with the joy of learning.” – Edutopia.
Support
“Essentially, our brains are programmed to forget nonessential information over time. Some studies show that by 30 days after learning something, we only retain about 2-3% of the new information.” – Allencomm. Skill development and application doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Ensure your learners have a back-to-work plan where they receive coaching, follow up, and managerial support and incentives for the training they’ve received.
What are you doing to ensure your learners retain the knowledge and skill they received in your training courses so they can apply them back on the job?
To add some techniques to improve engagement in your virtual training, consider our Maximizing Engagement in the Virtual Classroom workshop.
