Sharon Bowman's Website

Amir Peled is a Certified Trainer for “Training from the BACK of the Room.” In this post, he relates his discouragement with traditional methods of instruction and his enthusiastic embrace of brain-based, learner-centered teaching. “For years I hated learning. It always reminded me how the education system gladly ejected me from high school at the age of 16, after being

Dear Readers: For the past four years, the Braintrust Consulting Group has sponsored numerous public 2-day “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) classes as well as the “Trainer Certification Course” (TCC) days that I’ve facilitated annually. For 2019, changes are in the air!

PowerPoint®: noun 1. An overused lecture tool that is a teacher’s or trainer’s joy and a learner’s nightmare; 2. A slide creation program that is as good, or as bad, as its human user; 4. A computer application that can either aid – or destroy – learning.

You’ve just completed a train-the-trainer class with lots of great information to use and new instructional strategies to experiment with. So how do you keep from falling back into traditional, lecture-based methods of instruction?

This post was written  for the San Diego 2017 Scrum Alliance Gathering participants and I’m reposting it because it’s a useful refresher of some important brain science principles. This post introduces and reinforces concepts from my keynote titled: “Know Thy Brain!”

Kelly Pfeiffer is a Certified Trainer for “Training from the BACK of the Room.” As part of the required assignments to become a Certified Trainer for TBR, she created an excellent and useful slide presentation to share with trainers and teachers everywhere. Enjoy this image-rich learning experience!

On my website you have at your fingertips dozens of slide presentations that give you hundreds of ways to create awesome slide decks, without boring your audiences to death. Here is one of them that I thought was worthwhile enough to repost.  

Many of my blog readers already use “Warm-Ups” as a way of introducing learners to concepts that will be taught in an upcoming class or training. For those of you who are planning to attend any of the “Training from the BACK of the Room” classes being offered for 2018 – 2019, here are some of the class Warm-Ups.

Take a moment right now to roll your neck, stretch your arms above your head, lean back in your chair, and take a few deep breaths. I’ll pause writing this blog post and do this quick Body Break with you … There now, you probably feel a bit more alert, and perhaps curious, as well.

(NOTE: I posted this the day before the actual webinar on February 1st 2018 so that participants can access it immediately once the webinar ends). You attended my webinar “Brain-Based Presenting: Getting the Brain to Pay Attention” and now you’re ready to do some of the “Follow-Ups” – spaced practice activities that will help move what you learned into your long-term memory.

If you haven’t already participated in my free webinar titled “Brain-Based Presenting,”   consider joining me on Thursday, February 1st 2018, for an hour of exciting, brain-based learning. The webinar is sponsored by IACET, the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.

I’ve been asked many times about applying the concepts learned from the face-to-face class “Training from the BACK of the Room” to either synchronous (live, virtual learning) or asynchronous (independent, self-study learning) via webinars or teleconferences. Here are some resources to help you create more interactive, brain-based online learning experiences.      

  If you haven’t already participated in my free webinar titled “Brain-Based Presenting,”   consider joining me on Thursday, February 1st 2018, for an hour of exciting, brain-based learning. The webinar is sponsored by IACET, the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.

“The person doing the most talking – or moving or writing – in a class or training is doing the most learning.” And,if you observe a traditional face-to-face class, it’s immediately obvious who is doing the most talking, moving, and writing: the instructor or trainer, of course!

Dear Reader: Because these little Pocket Cards were so popular when I first posted them on my website a year ago, I’m reposting them now to give you a gift of health and well-being for the upcoming holidays and New Year. Enjoy! 🙂

There are 6 “Training from the BACK of the Room” classes being held the rest of this month (December 2017) in the US and Europe. If you have just completed this class (or any other train-the-trainer program), how do you keep from falling back into traditional, lecture-based methods of instruction?

Perhaps you’re planning to attend a class, training, or webinar. Or maybe you’ve signed up for a conference. Or you might be going to a “meet-up,” where people who are interested in the same hobby as you meet and share information. And now you’re asking yourself … 

The question keeps popping up: “What is an effective training design/delivery model that is easy to use and that enhances learning and retention?” My answer is the 4Cs Map. So I’m reposting: “A Quick Guide to the 4Cs Map.”

Every now and then – and especially around the holidays – I take a break from posting training-related information and instead I focus on personal health and well-being. Here is my blog post from this time last November. Enjoy!

There are many ways to introduce learners to training concepts before the actual physical or virtual class begins. I’m reposting this blog because I think it’s a great reminder about how to do just that.    

Group management strategies (what works; what doesn’t) was a topic of conversation among Certified Trainers for “Training from the BACK of the Room” this week. So I’m reposting these five excellent strategies – find the one that works for you!  

Lately, I have been receiving a number of emails from trainers inquiring about the 2-day “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) class that I am facilitating on April 12th – 13th 2018 in Minneapolis, MN. Here is some information about the TBR class for anyone interested in learning more about it.

Because I’ve been asked about ways to ease lecture-based instructors into more brain-based ways of teaching/training others, I’m reposting this “Got a Minute?” blog entry here. It describes five ways to use 60-second activities to engage learners during the lecture segment of a class or training. 

In previous posts, I’ve shared a number of excellent ASAP Science videos having to do with how the human brain functions and learns. This is their newest video about the brain: “How to Learn Faster.”    

  In my Internet wanderings, I’ve gathered some interesting brain videos – refreshers of what you may already know about the human brain or some new facts that you weren’t aware of. If you have some spare time, treat yourself to one or more of the videos in this blog post. Enjoy! 🙂  

Sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves that we aren’t really totally rational beings, especially when it comes to learning new information or new ideas. And it’s good to remember this whenever we’re teaching or training others. THEY aren’t always rational, either!

I’m Jean-Paul Bayley, one of the Certified Trainers for “Training from the BACK of the Room!” Over the years, I have attended a lot of training courses. In recent times, I have been the trainer rather than the training participant, and I have noticed a repetitive number of “anti-patterns” of training delivery.

Dust off your old guitar. Break out that recorder (remember? the wooden flute-like instrument from the 1960s). Tinker with the family piano. Or better yet, buy a used anything –  keyboard, ukulele, drum, banjo, tamborine – and play it (well or poorly, it doesn’t matter) to benefit YOUR brain!

I’m reposting this short slide presentation because, even though it’s primarily for parents of school-age children, I believe the 5 tips are great for us adults, as well. I would add a 6th tip to the list: get moving! 🙂

You may be a corporate trainer giving crucial information to a group of employees. You may be teacher lecturing a class full of students. You might be telling a co-worker or friend something you consider really important. Or you may be a parent, hoping that your children will remember and heed what you tell them.  

I’ve been asked again about topic-related, learner-centered “Connections” (aka: openers) and “Conclusions” (aka: closers) for training programs. So I’m reposting four strategies that can be used with any topic and any group of learners. These activities will energize learners while actively engaging them in making connections and drawing conclusions.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you already know about “Warm-Ups.” And you already know about TBR (“Training from the BACK of the Room!”). But if you’re not familiar with either, or if you’re a participant in the TBR class next week that will be held in Gilbert, Arizona, read on.

Want a five-minute training game that takes no preparation beforehand? Want a high-energy game that engages all learners and that reviews training content in a fun and memorable way? Introducing: “Grab That Spoon!”

You’ve got a long summer of class instruction ahead of you. You know how difficult it is for your learners (and for you!) to stay indoors while sunshine, blue sky, and fresh air beckon just a window or door away. So why not insert a “Walkabout” into your content-delivery?

Two years ago I posted a blog entry titled “How Technology Rewires the Brain.” Since then, I’ve been asked many times about the use of technology in formal learning environments, namely, face-to-face classrooms (as opposed to virtual classrooms where technology IS the delivery system). Love it or hate it, technology is here to stay.

About a year ago I wrote a blog post titled: “PowerPoint 3.0 (and a Free Give-Away).” I’m reposting that blog here because I’ve gotten email questions regarding the use of slides. Be sure to check out the resources at the end of this post and pick up the free give-away, if you haven’t already.

Tiffany Shlain is a professional filmmaker who has created numerous short, high-energy, image-rich videos about how the human brain functions, learns, and creates. In this video, Tiffany gives us 10 powerful steps to follow for creating ANYTHING.

The San Diego “Training from the BACK of the Room” class held this month has been completed and now the “real work” begins – with “Follow-Ups,” of course!

I’m writing this blog post for the San Diego 2017 Scrum Alliance Gathering participants (although I’m sure you’ll find this post to be a useful refresher of some brain science principles, regardless of whether you’ve attended the Gathering or not). This post reinforces concepts from my keynote titled: “Know Thy Brain!”

Because the San Diego “Training from the BACK of the Room” classes –  and the 2017 San Diego Scrum Gathering – are right around the corner,  I was really lucky to find this great slide presentation about active reflection and successful long-term learning.