This will be a very brief Tip, with one more story and a note of thanks.

Beth Tomlin, Departmental Training Specialist with TRICARE Division – Nordby, sent this wonderful story about the unexpected results of incomplete instructions:

“I have a funny anecdote to go along with this subject. Years ago, I worked at a summer day camp and the kids would go swimming almost every day. On the first day of swimming, I had the youngest girls in my … Read the rest

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. My recent learning experience with having an MRI reinforced the importance of giving meaningful, clear and complete instructions.

1.  Avoid Giving Unnecessary Instructions

My appointment instructions explicitly told me to wear pants without any metal attachments. Okay, that was no problem. All I had to do was wear pants with an elastic waist instead of a zipper. Unfortunately, I … Read the rest

Happy New Year.

I know that I said that these Tips would recommence on January 16th. However, something came up. A not so funny thing happened to me on my way to planning my international travels. I was diagnosed with early uterine cancer.

In the space of a few days, my life and my focus were dramatically reframed. So now, instead of getting visas and packing for Jordan and Nigeria, I’m getting medical tests and preparing for surgery.

I’m also learning a lot- about myself, about my family, and about my friends.

First of all, I’ve learned that my body’s defensive response to devastating news … Read the rest

Thank you for accompanying me on my learning journey this past year. My wish is that you find peace and joy in the faces of your loved ones and gratitude in the life story you continue to write for yourself.

Next year, I embark on a very new and different adventure. I will be traveling for a month for USAID to train trainers in Nigeria and Jordan to design and deliver dynamic learning.

I look forward to sharing those experiences with you.

May you have a healthy and happy holiday season.

Laurel Learning Tips will begin again on … Read the rest

What do trainers leave inside their trainees? There are the various states of mind that trainers can stir in their trainees. Some of these states of mind are desirable and others are not. With an appreciative nod to Paul Simon and his “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” here are some of the desirable and undesirable states of mind that trainees may have when they walk out of a training program:

1.   Clear about what they were supposed to learn, or
2.   Wondering why they had to attend the training.
3.   Partnered with the
… Read the rest

Criticism can be uncomfortable, unkind, and unfounded. As a result, unless they want to be the next Top Model or American Idol, most people avoid situations in which they are likely to be criticized.

Assuming that trainers are not masochists, there are many reasons why they may dislike and want to avoid having participants evaluate their training programs. After all, hours of work go into creating training program materials. Conducting a training program can be exhausting. Why add insult to injury by requesting participant feedback?

Unfortunately, participants are customarily asked to evaluate the training programs that they attend. Since trainers cannot avoid these program evaluations, they need some … Read the rest

I met a friend in a grocery store where he was stocking up on six-packs of a highly caffeinated drink. He explained that he needed continual infusions of caffeine to stay awake during a technical lecture at a local university. He later told me that he ended up falling asleep anyway, shaking from the caffeine.

So, what made this lecture so incredibly boring that my friend couldn’t keep his eyes open? If you would like to duplicate his experience for your own audience, here are ten things you need to do (although we all hope that you won’t!):

1. Talk about yourself for an hour.… Read the rest

The mind can only absorb what the rear can endure. That philosophy should be a standard for training programs that last long enough to accomplish the training goal yet treat both participants and trainers in a kinder, more humane fashion.

Unfortunately, the powers that be who make the decisions about training content and length, particularly in technical areas, appear to be oblivious to the toll that long training days take on the participants’ mental and physical well being.

This is not, by the way, simply an indictment of technical training programs that are lecture-based. It doesn’t matter whether the training is lecture-based or participant-based, the end result of a training day that … Read the rest

Our society tends to be very goal-oriented. We set long-term goals and short-term goals. We make daily to do lists. High school freshman are expected to know the course of study they should take. College freshmen have to select a major area of concentration. It seems as if we should all have our lives wrapped up in a tidy prefabricated package.

Yet how many of us make our living using that college major? How many of us are doing something entirely different from anything we could ever have planned, expected or even imagined?

Change continues to happen at a whirlwind pace, leaving us exhausted and … Read the rest

When we talk about anger, physical violence is often the first thing that comes to mind. However, anger is simply another emotion, like joy or fear. It does not have to have a physical or a violent component. It can take many different forms. Some of us express our rage with loud and long rants, others let their anger simmer quietly, and … Read the rest