Archive for training methods
What’s Wrong with This Training?
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What’s wrong with this training?
Most of us managers train……along with the other 100 things we have to do each day. Too often, we tend to ‘grab and go’……our training is not too well thought out–with good reason!
In my Instructor Development Workshop (live) and my online distance learning version of the course, Train the Trainer, I show attendees how to deliver their courses without droning through them.
case study
In case study, we create a situation that reflects real life. This case study can be rather long and complex. We use it to help students grapple with the ‘gray areas’ –just like we have to do in real life.
What is a ‘case study’?
First, it isn’t what the attorneys tell us. It’s not a case that you, the instructor, talk through and give the answers. Instead, it’s a written situation that asks the students to come to several conclusions.
When is the case study used? It’s used toward the end of your course or module.
What is the case study for? To test the students’ judgment, understanding, and application of what you’ve taught.
Who can (and should) use the delivery method (teaching method) of case study? Anyone who wants to ‘test’ students’ understanding, judgment, and ability to draw conclusions from the course. It’s great for mortgage lenders, title and escrow, attorneys, and home inspectors to use. in my classes, I ask students to create an appropraite case study for their course.
What does a case study accomplish? It throws the accountability to the student. It lets the students interact, to team build, and to learn from each other. It shows you, the instructor, how well you’ve taught and what you need to review.
Here’s that case study for you. Take a look at the case study I use in my train the trainer courses to see how well students have internalized the concepts taught in my classes. I assign the case study at the end of one class, and we debrief in small groups and then generalize in the large group. (And it helps attendees see an example of a case study and how it is used–so they can create their own case studies easily and quickly).
How did you do? Could you name 10 things ‘Sally’ did wrong?
Grab Great Teaching Methods
Get some new training strategies and step your training up to the next level. See my online program, Train the Trainer, in new course software. It’s fun to do and you learn great methods (plus I give you 8 ready-to-use teaching strategies).
Take a Sneak Preview here.
If You Teach: How Do You Know How You Did?
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If you teach: Do you know how you did?
If you rely on people’s comments after the event, good for you. But, what if you knew the good, the bad, and the ugly–so you could keep all the great things and improve on everything else? That’s what a survey can do for you.
At the end of this blog, grab one of my surveys. Click here.
Surveys Should Throw Some of the Accountability to the Student.
I’m a member of National Speakers Association and they are great proponents of surveys. Surveys can do many things for you. Of course, they tell you how you did from the student perspective. But, more than that, a good survey should throw some of the accountability to the student. What was the learning they accomplished? How would they apply it?
We do surveys in our coaching company, both in the middle of the program and at the end of the program. We ask, “What did you learn? What did you apply? Was there any reason why you couldn’t finish the work?” Build some accountability for student learning into your surveys.
You’ll Get Nice Comments for Promoting your Course, Too!
In my speaking survey, I ask attendees if I can use their comments as testimonial. Most of time they very nicely say yes. Testimonials are very, very important to put in your marketing. After all, we believe what others say about us, not what we say about ourselves! Yes, I’m even starting to do video testimonials. (much better than just written ones!)
Here it is: Grab one of my surveys. Click here.
I can help! Let me assist your association or company. I’ll share innovative training techniques that are easy to apply and instantly energize your audience and help you become more effective–and confident. Contact me and I’ll customize a training to fit your needs:
425-392-6914 or carla@carlacross.com
The BEST Teaching Method to Prepare Them for Action
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Recently, I was consulting to a training series. Here’s how the trainer introduced making calls to clients:
“Okay. Get out your phones and make a call.” Sure. The new agents are just going to jump right up and call someone and ask them for a lead. Not.
- Demonstrate: The trainer should have demonstrated how to make a call to a particular market.
- Provide script or process: The trainer should have provided a script or a process for agents to follow.
- Role play: The trainer should have put agents in pairs (or 3s) and had them practice so they can ‘hear’ the words and grasp the process.
- Debrief: The trainer should have de-brief the exercise.
Now, the students are confident they can successfully use a script or process and are ready to call ‘for real’.
Principle: Never ask students to do something ‘for real’ until they’ve done it as ‘leatherette’ (role play).
Watch the video below to see how to successfully facilitate a role play.
How have you been preparing your students for ‘real life’? Are you skipping some steps?
See my 2 instructor development and train the trainer (distance) workshops at Cross Institute.
Does Your Course ‘Fit’ the Adult Learner?
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Does your course ‘fit’ the adult learner?
May is my designated Trainer Appreciation Month. So, I’m writing a blog series to help trainers teach and write great courses. And, I’m offering special discounts on my resources for trainers. See them here.
Most real estate courses are not written with adult learning principles in mind. So, let’s look at these truisms and write our courses to reach the adult learner effectively. This is one of the areas we address in my resource on how to write a course (click here to see it).
From writing courses for most of the major real estate franchises, and training thousands of real estate instructors, I’ve found some undeniable truisms. Here’s one:
Why Write a Course for the Adult Learner?
Benefits to teaching to these principles in your course:
- Adults aren’t bored (!)
- Adults feel important
- Adults pay attention
- Adults retain more
- Adults feel protected; low risk environment
- Adults like you better
- Easier for you to teach!
The Big Principles to Keep in Mind
Adults learn through association.
We learn what we already know. Two fellows teaching community colleges instructors how to teach shared that one with me. How insightful!
How do skilled presenters accomplish this in a course environment?
Do you relate what you’re teaching to the adult’s prior experience? Or, do you jump right into a complex theory and expect your students to keep up…..
Adults learn by doing
Life is do it yourself. Do you have your students doing an action in class? What happens in your course to assure the students are doing? How do you know they can do whatever it is you are teaching them to do? Observe it in class, of course!
Retention soars when adults do and say something at the same time. How are you using this principle in your course?
How much doing of significance do you have planned in your class?
Big principle: How we retain information is directly related to how we acquire that information.
Would you say that instructors are most concerned with short-term, or long-term student learning?
Adults learn from each other
Use teaching methods to encourage information exchange.
How do you assure students are exchanging information? Are you using various alternative delivery methods (not lecture) to assure students are learning not only from you, but from one another?
Adults learn through repetition
Use several approaches to the same concept/process. Does your course offer review and repetition to assure students are really learning?
Adults learn through rapid recall
What rapid recall methods have you seen used in the classroom? Do you do this so you ‘tie up’ each section before you move on?
Adults seek to satisfy individual needs
Experience levels vary greatly. How would an instructor find out each student’s individual experience levels prior to getting into the classroom?When I’m teaching Instructor Development Workshop, I provide each attendee a ‘pre-conference survey’ at registration, so I can see the needs and level of learning of that person. Even the words used give me some powerful hints about each attendee’s priorities and beliefs!
Adults learn practical information.
They want information and skills to directly apply to their lives–right away.
How have you seen instructors assure that the information is not only applicable, but that the student applies the information to their challenges, while in the classroom? Are you assuring that each of your attendee translates the course information/skills into action plans?
Go back to the course your teaching or writing and see if you are adequately addressing how adults learn. Doing so is one of the attributes of a real course, not just an ‘information overload!
Expert Guidance to Write that Great Course–at a $30 discount this Month!
If you’re serious about writing that great course, this is the resource for you. Step by step, Carla Cross, who has written courses for Re/Max, Better Homes and Gardens, Keller Williams Realty, GMAC, Royal LePage, and CRB, shows you exactly how to create your course and your outline. And, for those Washington state instructors, she shares tips on how to get your course approved for clock hours.
This resource is digital. You will get access immediately.
May Trainer Appreciation Month bonus: Keys to a Killer Introduction
This ‘how to write a course’ includes:
2 instructional videos
Templates to use as guides for course creation
Examples of courses
2 ‘cheat sheets’ to write your course modules
Tips on how to write teaching methods right into that course, so you can sell it!
Guidance in how to get your course approved in Washington state.
With 95 pages, this resource, along with the 2 instructional videos, shows you exactly how to create a course that has substance, sizzle, and ‘sell’!
May Trainer Appreciation Month price: $99.95 with coupon create course. (Regularly $129.95. Save $30)
Click here for more information and to order. You’ll get immediate access to the 95-page resource guide and 2 instructional videos. Remember, to get your discount use the coupon code create course.
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The 5 Performance Principles I Learned from my Piano Teacher
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Here are the 5 great performance principles I learned from my piano teacher.
Why are these so important? Because, as trainers, we want to
change behavior,
not just impart information!
Big questions right now: Are you training with methods that actually change behavior, or are you just imparting information you think will help your students?
PS. If you want creative training techniques that really do change behavior, check out my unique course, Instructor Development Workshop. Or, see my distance learning version, Train the Trainer. Both qualify instructors to teach clock hour courses in Washington state.
Why Some Get Results–and Others Don’t
Recently, one of my coaching clients (an owner of a real estate company) asked me, “Why do some trainers and coaches get great results and others don’t–but seem to be working as hard?”
Great question, huh? In fact, if we trainer/coach types knew that answer, we could build our systems so that we assured great performance! So, I went back to my ‘former life’–that as a musician and piano/flute teacher, and thought, “Why do some piano teachers create great performers–and others don’t?”
Why Use Piano Teachers as the Analogy….
I use the analogy of the piano teacher, because it’s easy to hear differences in sloppy and great performance. I’m sure you’ve heard 2 people play the same piece of music. One plays it accurately and one just kind of slops through it. Or, some piano teachers’ students drop out, unmotivated to practice, while others stay motivated, challenged, and achieve high performance–even if they don’t seem to have great talent.
Five Proven Components for Great Performance
From having taken piano lessons since age six, gaining a degree in piano performance, and having taught piano at the grade, high school, and college level, I’ve had an opportunity to see the great and the not-so-great–both teachers and performers. Here are the five components I’ve discovered make the biggest difference in great performance (which is what you want to shoot for when you teach!).
1. Great piano teachers screen in and screen out.
They don’t let just anybody take lessons from them.
Trainers and coaches: What’s your ‘screen in’ process? Do you have one? Do you have a list of questions you ask? In our coaching company, we have a prescribed list of questions we ask potential clients (and we unfortunately have to turn down some). I even have a Coachability Assessment I provide potential clients. Click here to request your copy.
2. Great piano teachers set expected standards (minimums) during the screening process–not after the lessons start!
Those standards include: Amount of practice each day, recitals attended and played in, going to lessons, etc.
Trainers and coaches: What do you expect of your clients? Make a list of at least 5 standards now–and get the ‘mutual expectations’ agreement in writing prior to letting them into your program.
3. Great piano teachers figure out the ‘competency levels’ they want their students to attain–and when they expect them. They won’t let the students perform in front of others if the student has not reached compentency levels.
Trainers and coaches: How good do you expect your students to get in that one-month training program you’ve been doing? Do you even measure skill levels? Which skill levels to you measure? How? Do you have your students practice their listing presentations until they reach the level of competency you believe the real client expects? What an eye-opener! Make a list now of 5 skills and the level of competency you want your students to attain in your training program. You’ll see your outcomes go way up just by doing this.
4. Great piano teachers get better performance because their excellent students motivate other good students to excellence.
Trainers and coaches: Have you ever gotten yourself into the situation where you felt like you were way above the other people in your group? This isn’t an ego thing–it’s just a ‘I don’t belong here’ thing. Likes attract. Good performers motivate other good performers. Excellent performers stay. Are you creating a self-motivating group–or, are you creating a situation where your good performers will leave for a team that is ‘more like them’? This goes back to those ‘screen in’ and setting competency principles. I know we all feel challenged when people don’t appear motivated. Here’s one of the secrets to fire them up!
5. Great piano teachers provide lavish praise–when deserved.
Behavior that’s rewarded is repeated.
If you have competency levels, you have a way and a reason to praise. Your students/clients know when they have reached those levels–and can expect praise, too! In fact, strong students/clients will ask you for praise. Write down the 5-10 methods you use to appreciate and praise good performance. If you can’t get to 10, figure them out.
But, what about the method? The specific coaching, the training? Yes, the method is important, but the coaching/training techniques above are much more important. I’ve heard some great performers and some poor performers all playing the same kind of music from the same method. At the same time, great methods should have some ‘built-in’ features that assure the trainer/coach is achieving these 5 principles.
Principles, System, Coaching–Putting it All Together
From talking with prominent trainers, managers, and coaches, we’ve pinpointed a need for all those training and coaching today to get the coaching they need to turn out great performers. So, each one of these 5 principles is in my initial online training program for newer agents: Up and Running in Real Estate. Check it out. Your agents will be performing better and faster with this program and principles.
Is Your Initial Training Program Getting the Results you Want?
Or, a better question: Do you know what the results are? With my online training program, Up and Running in Real Estate, you see the progress your agent is making each week. You measure the results in concrete terms. Check it out. It will save you time, and money, and give you much greater retention!