Technical Trainer’s Toolbox

This two-day skill-building workshop is designed to help experienced technical trainers: (1) plan and structure training programs to cover essential content within appropriate timeframes;
(2) design interactive participant learning activities that both ensure and demonstrate desired learning; and (3) motivate their participants to apply learned techniques and prepare them to effectively address anticipated barriers to implementation. It will provide information about professional instructional decisions and techniques that research has demonstrated will accelerate and improve adult learning in technical topics.

Participants should bring their own training content and a laptop computer, since ample opportunity will be given to apply each step of the lesson design process to their material on both days. They will leave the workshop with a lesson plan and at least one interactive learning activity to use in their own training programs.

Day One focuses on the decisions involved in designing instructional curriculum. It introduces adult learning principles and provides practice using a five-step curriculum design and planning process. This includes how to: (1) identify the training goals, (2) determine the key content,
(3) set the learning levels, (4) write the learning objectives, and (5) select the learning activities.

Day Two focuses on techniques involved in facilitating interactive learning. The morning introduces different learning styles and how to design and facilitate a variety of learning activities. The afternoon allows the participants to design and practice facilitating brief interactive learning activities. This facilitation practice is critiqued by the other participants and videotaped, for the post-workshop review of the participants along with the written critiques from their peers.