Imagine the activity you’ve planned for the last few months has worked! Learners were engaged and you can see the learning occurring.
You get the room back together and say, “here is what I want you to take away from this exercise.”
Oops.
You just missed your most impactful training moment.
We each learn best when we are active learners. Active learning doesn’t require moving around the room, talking to people for the duration of a training session.
While we need movement, active learning is much more about engagement of our minds. When we shift our comments to questions, we create a more active environment.
Instead of telling people what they should take away from an exercise ask:
- What happened in this exercise?
- What did you like about this exercise?
- What was hard about this exercise?
- What was of value from this exercise?
- What will you do differently when you return to work?
Switching from telling to asking is a powerful way to engage learners in deeper thinking.
To get the most from your questions, follow a few quick tips:
- Wait silently after you’ve asked your questions.
- Wait some more.
- Say, “I’ll wait.”
- Repeat what learners say without hijacking their conversation. Let it be theirs.
- Say, “what else?” to encourage more comments.
Learners will appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into asking them, rather than telling them. If no one responds, ask them to talk to each other. Keep in mind not every conversation needs to be an entire class discussion for learners to have value. Trust that you are working with adults! They’ll appreciate it.
Interested in learning more about facilitating learning? You can join me in November for The Trainer As Facilitator of Learning. Register now before the seats fill up!
