Training from the BACK of the Room!

You just finished a customer service training for a small group of your company’s employees. They listened attentively the whole time your were talking. Now you stop and ask, “Do you understand?” They nod their heads. You continue, “Do you have any questions?” They shake their heads. “Good,” you think. “They’ve got it.” Or do they?

  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!

Many of us have a bookshelf filled with our New Year’s “to-be-read” books. Here are six of mine – interesting and informative resources to jump-start 2018. All contain concepts about the human brain and successful learning. You can read or just skim them and still find something to use in your own personal or professional life. Happy New Year!

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!  

About 14 months ago I created a webinar titled “Brain-Based Presenting: Getting the Brain to Pay Attention.” I’m reposting both the webinar and bonus presentation tools here – use this post to refresh your memory or to learn about brain-based presenting.

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.  

The Arizona “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’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.

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 … 

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!”). And you may already be planning to attend the TBR class on April 6th – 7th 2017, in San Diego, California.

(NOTE: I posted this the day before the actual webinar, Feb. 23th 2017, 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 webinar titled “Brain-Based Presenting,”   consider joining me on Thursday, February 23rd 2017, for an hour of exciting, brain-based learning. The webinar is sponsored by IACET, the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.

To my blog readers: You already know that “Follow-Ups” are optional activities that help participants revisit what they’ve learned from a class or training. So here are the Follow-Ups for the P01 Certificate Program held in San Diego at the Training 2017 Conference & Expo last week. Even if you didn’t attend the conference, you will find the Follow-Ups interesting and informative.

If you’ve attended one of my training programs, or if you’ve read previous blog posts about “Priming,” you already know that I send out “Warm-Ups” before every training class. Here are the “Warm-Ups” for the upcoming Training 2017 Conference & Expo Certificate Program in San Diego this month.

Vic Bonacci here, writing for Sharon’s blog. Are you a trainer with a passion for continuous improvement? Do you believe that lifelong learning is a key to satisfaction and success? Then read on for my “Top 10 Tips for Trainers” for 2017.

Sometimes all it takes is a gentle reminder – and some small chunks of time, spaced over a few days/weeks – to change a teaching, training, or learning habit (or, for that matter, to change ANY habit!).

Dear Reader: Because I want you to know how much I have appreciated your interest in my blog posts, I’ve created a little gift for you so that you can end 2016 and begin 2017 with health and well-being. I call the gift “Pocket Cards: 10 Super-Easy Health Tips for 2017.”

In these first two decades of the 21st century, there has been an explosion of information about how the human brain takes in, stores, and retrieves information, i.e. learns. Here are a few outdated ideas that we need to let go of.

Gifted filmmaker Tiffany Shlain has done it again with “The Adaptable Mind,” an elegant, informative, and inspiring 11-minute video about five skills that make the human brain uniquely … well, human! 

Most days I walk – sometimes a short walk around the tree-lined block, other times a mile or two along a lovely meadow. I take my mobile phone with me to track my steps and mileage. But, while walking, I find myself doing other things with the phone, as well.

Through my Internet search for interesting videos about the human brain, I discovered this informative and innovative 10-minute film that covers everything from how the human brain develops to how we are reshaping our own brain every minute of our lives.

This short, animated video is the best visual description I’ve come across about the concept of “neuroplasticity” – the ability we all possess to rewire our brain.

In my last post, I introduced you to the website “Hello Brain” – a collection of short, informative videos and blog posts about the human brain and how it works. In this post, I am introducing you to another excellent video and more blog posts about attention and memory by Hello Brain.

Every now and then I go on a YouTube search for new brain science videos. Sometimes I come across ones that I simply must post in this blog because of their usefulness in understanding how the human brain works. The following two short videos on the human brain’s capacity for memory-making are definitely in the “must-post-here-now” category!

To my blog readers: You already know that “Follow-Ups” are optional activities that help participants revisit what they’ve learned from a class or training. So I always post the Follow-Ups for the “Training from the BACK of the Room!” (TBR) classes I have facilitated, in this case, the Nashville, Tennessee classes that were held this week.

It doesn’t matter if you’re instructing small groups (under a dozen people), medium-size groups (1-3 dozen people), or large groups (three dozen or more). Nor does it matter if you’re presenting in a lecture hall or to an auditorium-size audience. And it really doesn’t matter what your topic is. You still need some quick, easy, and effective group management strategies.