OSHA Long Term Care Worker Protection Train the Trainer Program Part 6: Best Practices in Teaching Strategies

Objectives Recognize the unique learning needs of adults. Identify the principles of active learning. Discuss a variety of strategies for teaching adults that can support positive learning outcomes. Analyze the use of different group exercises to reinforce learning in adult groups.

Adult Learners Are autonomous and self-directed. Have a great deal of life experience and knowledge. Are goal-oriented. Are practice (real life) oriented. Are practical. Need to be shown respect.

For each characteristic, there are implications for successful training.

Autonomous and self-directed Must involve participants in the learning. Trainer as a facilitator. Ask questions, find out what participants want to learn – what would help them in their roles.

Life experiences and knowledge Acknowledge the expertise and experience of the participants. Ask them to share experiences with the others. Encourage sharing and learning from each other.

Goal-oriented Be well organized with the educational session. State clear objectives. Stay focused on the topic. If you do get distracted, or off-track, what can you do?

Real life oriented and practical Clearly identify how the content relates to their workplace and their work activities. Be certain they see the relevancy of the training topic to their health and safety and the care of the residents. Use real life examples for each topic.

Need to be respected Acknowledge the background, experience, and knowledge of the participants. Recognize the participants as partners in the training.

Importance of “Active Learning” Learning is not a spectator sport! The more actively involved the participants are, the more learning will take place. Vary instructional methods to get the best results.

Active Learning: What works? Adults learn the most from: * demonstrations and return demonstrations * discussions of real life situations Adults learn from: * audio and visual * reading Adults learn the least from: * lecture

Questions for you! What have you found to be most effective for you, when you are the learner? What have you used as a teaching strategy that was most effective?

Strategies Lecture Role playing Brainstorming Group problem solving Risk mapping Demonstration/return demonstration

Strategy: Lecture Avoid lengthy lectures. Include examples from actual experiences. Include handouts to reinforce key points. Prepare the presentation with questions that lead to participant involvement. Try to avoid using a podium. Include pictures or a video clip to reinforce learning, offer participants a time to analyze what they have seen.

Lectures Try to avoid using a podium. Include pictures or a video clip to reinforce learning, offer participants a time to analyze what they have seen. Keep it short – ask questions – provide breaks!

What do you think?

Using pictures/video clips To supplement a lecture, to emphasize a key point/skill. Can really add variety to the lecture format. Offer participants a time to analyze what they have seen.

Video clips Be careful with copyright protection – if it belongs to another organization or person, you must have written permission to use it! Keep them short and meaningful. Use funny ones and impactful ones – each should have a clear purpose. Examples.

Lecture with PowerPoints Never read the entire PowerPoint slide – adults can read! Keep words to a minimum. A little animation is enough. Include relevant pictures, but not on every slide. Consider them a guide!

Strategy: Role playing Careful planning of the “roles”. Clear directions. Set a time frame. Wander and listen to each dyad/triad. Some adults do not like role-playing – but most will try!

Role Playing with a Purpose! Plan carefully – be sure of your objective in using role- playing. Example: if facilitating a session on Bloodborne/Prevention of Spread of Infectious Diseases:

Strategy: Risk Mapping High energy, focused group exercise. Purpose: To identify, describe, and analyze workplace hazards. Helps to gauge worker’s level of awareness of hazards.

Risk Mapping Break into small groups – no more than 5 to a group. Have the group draw a basic floor plan where they work – or you can prepare a floor plan for them. Note where exits are, hallways, resident rooms, supply areas, shower/bath areas, etc. Using the colored dots (refer to your handout) indicate safety, health, and ergonomic hazards. Prepare to present your map to the group.

Risk Mapping Advantages: engages the participants and highly interactive. Disadvantages: takes time and planning.

Strategy: Brainstorming Excellent way to engage participants in identifying solutions, ways to minimize/eliminate hazards. Different approaches: * Round robin * Popcorn

Brainstorming Used to answer why, how, what. Welcome all points of view. Build off of other’s ideas. Assures that everyone has an opportunity to participate. Should be no need to defend ideas. Do not allow critique of ideas. Go for quantity.

Strategy: Demonstration & Return Demonstration Great way to learn skills! Focus on one or two skills in a session – ie, lifting and moving from bed to wheelchair, ambulating with gait belt and walker. Have someone demonstrate physical therapist, staff nurse, facilitator, etc). Ask the group to analyze and ask questions. Have the participants do the skills on each other with supervision.

Demonstration & Return Demonstration Excellent way to reinforce “right way” to minimize/ eliminate risks. Good opportunity for participants to watch and then try the skill. Everyone needs to be involved.

Return Demonstration only… When you want to reinforce skills that the participants already have learned. “Volunteers” Examples: Handwashing technique, use of alcohol based hand cleansers; lifting/moving people or materials, use of computer keyboard/monitor, etc.

Group Management Skills Gatekeeping : a. Closing b. Opening c. Use carefully and selectively

Group Management Skills Prevent problems before they escalate. Remind everyone of the Ground Rules! Keep conversations/responses focused on the topic. What do you do if participants: * arrive late, leave early? * carry on side conversations?

Your Best Practices! Consider what changes in educational sessions you might make…. What would you like to try?

Be Creative! Everyone is creative. It is a learned skill.

Creativity What do children do with a box of Legos or blocks? And adults? Creativity involves not knowing exactly where we will end up, what it will exactly look like, or how we will get there. Requires courage, conviction, willingness to strive for the best outcomes.

One Aspect of Creativity Competing ideas or behaviors produce new ones. By influencing the type and number of competing ideas or behaviors, we can speed up the creative process and direct it. Competing ideas/behaviors: when we are thinking of two different possible ways to present content, these possibilities become interconnected to form new ideas! Examples…

One Approach: By increasing and changing the number and type of behaviors or solutions that are considered, we can accelerate the creative flow.

Important Points about Creativity related to Training * Every topic can be delivered in a creative way. * Everyone can be more creative, given the right environment. * Creativity can be enhanced, or it can be diminished by the work environment.

Strategies for Enhancing Creativity Capturing – creative ideas are fleeting, come at unpredictable times, and need to be captured. Challenging – we get more creative when we face a ‘failure’. Broadening – the more we learn, the more people we interact with, the more new ideas and behaviors we explore, the more creative solutions we will find. Surrounding – jazzing up the environment, presenting new exciting, different stimuli.

The Myths Creativity is rare. Only artists have it. Only high IQ people have it. Women are better at this than men. It’s mysterious – smoke and mirrors!

The Steps to Creative Thinking Preparation: gathering information, how does the current process work? How do we manage lifting and moving, spills on the floor, etc. Incubation: listening intently to others, being in the moment, giving in to daydreams. Insight: encouraging risk taking, allowing new solutions to emerge in a safe environment. Verification: test out a new idea on others, try it out with a small group, in a short time period.

A new idea or solution is extremely vulnerable – it’s creator may be the only supporter….the usual reaction to a new idea is to ignore it completely or identify it’s defects. Sullivan & Decker, 2001

Enhance Your Creative Approaches to Training! As soon as you have a new idea, make fun of it, play with it! Telling a story. Ask What if questions?? Challenge questions.

Health & Safety Training Can Be a Great Adventure! Plan to make each session engaging, informative, and fun. Help participants to see the application of what is being presented to their individual health and the safety and health of the residents. Remind participants of the importance of reporting any hazards and any injuries. This can be an exciting adventure, with great benefits!

Tool Kit Let’s take a few minutes to review what is in your Tool Kit. You may not need everything that is there, but you might! What else could you add to this to assist you with the training?

Questions? Suggestions or Comments?