Reflections

I was watching the programme Coast on BBC 2 and they were talking about how the coastline around Britain is evolving and is a dynamic part of our earth. It's not just a static piece of land and is constantly undergoing a process of change whether it is receding or growing outwards towards the sea.

As a trainer this is also what happens. You don't just train as a trainer and then there you are, the sorted trainer. Often at the beginning we think we have to be the 'expert', all knowing for our learners. But time shows us that learners need more than just our expert knowledge to be able to learn, and maybe we don't need so much of the 'expert' in our armoury.

So what is it that we do that enables people to learn?
We need to make the connection on a human level, have credibility yes, but our knowledge and experiences are only helpful if we make them accessible to the learner.

We need passion and enthusiasm about our subject that is generous to the learner and accessible to them. We do this by presenting it to them in a non competitive and non daunting way. Have you ever been rather overwhelmed by the seeming cleverness of the trainer? That can leave you thinking: ' I am never going to be able to do/understand that...' Let alone, have the courage to ask what might seem to you to be a 'stupid' question. When knowledge and experiences are so remote and daunting to the learner- they cannot begin to think of being in a similar place.

We need to be responsive to the group and the individuals within it- taking the time to understand their perspective and just how they might or might not be able to apply the knowledge and skills to their everyday working practice.

We need to model the interpersonal skills and qualities we teach. If we want them to be supportive to patients and clients and help them learn from their slip ups, then we need to do just that with our learners. It's not just about doing a role play for them as the 'professional'. It's applying those qualities and interpersonal skills in how you interact with them as human beings. We want to welcome and encourage them to make mistakes and to have a go and learn by doing just that.

I recently took up kayaking. I was doing really well, but had only fallen out once and was then assisted to get my boat free of water and back afloat. I knew that the only way I would get really confident about capsizing would be to experience it again and then make myself empty the boat of water, get it out of the river and then get myself back into it on the riverside. I needed to make the mistake of capsizing to be able to learn this. The funny thing is that having fallen out again I felt more confident about kayaking in general. I realised that what I feared most (falling out and not being able to get back in again) was not as bad as anticipated and that I was stronger than I thought.

This experience reinforced for me the importance of actively encouraging learners to have a go and make those mistakes - within a supportive learning environment.

Not everything gets better with age but some things do! Car insurance goes down and the ability to say when you don't know something and genuinely not mind is a great asset! When I first qualified as a nurse, I thought I had to know it all for patients. When I first became a trainer I thought I had to have all the answers. Now, I don't worry. I know a lot in some areas, I know enough in other areas, but most importantly I know my limits and I am quite happy to say 'I don't know- but I might know where to look, or where you could find out.'

I need to remember what its like to be a learner.
My body balance teacher told me that every 3 months she has to go to a huge class full of experts to learn the latest routine to then teach us poor unfit mortals. She finds it much easier to learn the routines from the DVD they send her. She does not enjoy the huge class, but what she gets out of it is the reminder of the experience of being the learner and this is really valuable to her.

Can you be a good trainer if you have forgotten what its like to learn?

I have rights as a trainer.
Sometimes we have difficult learning experiences with our learners- for all sorts of reasons. I am happier as I get more experienced to remember that Trainers have rights also. It's not all about the learners! These are ones that are important to me:

I have the right:
To run out of energy and bright ideas.
To not know everything
To not be responsible for every minutiae of the group's learning
To expect adult learners to take responsibility for actively engaging in their own and other's learning
To not be the 'fall guy' for the system
To not to be 'abused' by the learners
To try out new methods that may or may not work.
To not get it right all the time.

What rights are important to you?

Happy learning and teaching in 2008.