1. Adult Learning and Participatory Training
This presentation should take around 30 minutes to deliver, depending on the amount of interaction with participants.
Intro:
Talk a little about the aims of this series of workshops (e.g. to develop teams of master trainers so that you can deliver effective training on the use of electronic health information resources)
So the main outcome of this particular workshop is to look more closely at how we deliver training so that it is as effective as possible.
To deliver training that is effective we first need to understand what training is, as well as some of the theory of learning and training.

2. Definition Training (event):
Dictionary definition = activity leading to skilled behaviour
Interpretation = skills development leading to a defined learning outcome
Event = time bound
Skills development, learning and knowledge
Here are some ideas about what training is.
One of the words that you can see several times on this slide is ‘skills’. Training is about developing skills.
Ask participants what skills we want our trainees to develop (how to search for electronic health info resources; how to gauge the quality of different resources; how to use electronic resources; how to reference e-resources etc)
Mention that we will go into greater detail about setting learning objectives later in the workshop.
When designing training sessions, you need to understand a few basic ideas about how people learn. People learn in different ways. The way I learn may be different from the way you do.
There are several different learning styles.

3. Learning styles Some people learn by hearing and listening.
They are called AUDIO or AUDITORY learners.
Some people learn by hearing and listening.
People who are auditory learners find lectures useful. If they are studying for an exam, they may find it useful to read their notes aloud. Hearing the words can help them to remember them better.

4. Learning styles Some people learn by seeing, watching or reading.
They are called VISUAL learners.
Other people learn more through their eyes.
Visual learners find that presentations with slides (such as this one) help them to learn things more easily. They also find that reading something, or seeing pictures, helps them to learn better.

5. Learning styles Some people learn by doing.
They are called KINAESTHETIC or TACTILE learners.
Finally, some people learn by physically doing something.
For example, rather than reading instructions before trying a new computer program, they may open the program on their computer and ‘play’ until they can see how to do it.

6. I hear, and I forget I see, and I remember I do, and I understand
Chinese proverb
In this room, there will be some audio learners, some visual learners and some kinaesthetic learners. It is important to remember that this will always be the case, in whatever situation you are delivering training. You therefore need to include different types of activities. If you always gave presentations, it might help the visual learners and the audio learners, but what about those that learn best by doing?
This Chinese saying helps you to remember that a combination of all kinds of activities will help all your trainees to learn the new skills.
Learning styles apply to both children and adults. However, children and adults do learn in different ways. Let’s think about how we learned things when we were children.

7. Learning as children Did you like going to school?
If you did, why did you like it?
If you did not, why did you continue to go to school?
Ask participants at what age they started school.
Ask them to discuss the questions on the slide with the person next to them, for 3 minutes.
Ask a few pairs for some feedback. Try and get a mixture of people who enjoyed it and didn’t.
Try and draw out the point that as children, we have little or no choice in what and how we learn. We have to go to school.
As adults we generally make a lot of decisions ourselves. This is reflected in the way that adults learn best.

8. Child and adult learning
Children:
Are told what is important to learn and accept this
Accept the information being presented at face value
Expect that what they are learning will be useful in their long-term future
Adults:
Decide for themselves what is important to learn
Take in information based on their own experiences
Expect that what they are learning will be useful immediately
Run through the slide, explaining any of the points if necessary.

9. Child and adult learning (continued)
Children:
Have little ability to serve as a knowledgeable resource to the teacher or the rest of the class
Adults:
Have experiences and skills to share with the facilitator and the other participants
We need to remember these ways in which adults learn best. We need to make sure that our training:
gives adults the opportunity to use and share their experience
allows them to see why these new skills are important to them now
gives adults the chance to fully participate in their own learning
Many of these comparative points are taken from

10. Adult learning principles
Adults need to know why they need to learn something
Adults need to learn by using their own experiences
Adults approach learning as problem-solving
Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value
Adult learning is an active process of reflection and discussion
These detailed here (above) are how adults learn best. We all have slightly different preferences that fit some of these areas and issues outlined above.
Adults need to participate actively in training/learning.
They need to be able to share their experiences and learn from others’.
Basing new skills on current problems keeps the training focused and makes it more relevant to adults. They need to see how and when they will use the new skill.
Working together and allowing time for discussion means that new ideas are generated and there is a greater chance that people will put their new skills/ideas into practice after training if they know they have the support of colleagues/peers etc.
There is a great deal of information that could be covered on adult learning principles but this slide provides a short summary of those that are of immediate importance here. The detail isn’t important in this context, just the overview.

11. Effective training? In the past, much ‘training’ looked like this:
In the past, people did not think about how adults learned best. Instead they taught them in the same way that children were taught.
Ask participants the following questions about the picture:
Who do you think knows most about the topic in this picture? (Seemingly the man standing on the box)
Who talks the most? (The man on the box)
What will the group of people do while the man speaks? (Sit and listen)
Is this training based on adult learning principles? (Not really. The participants are not actively participating; there does not seem to be an opportunity to talk about their own experiences. Without the opportunity to talk about your own experience, training is likely to feel irrelevant to you.)

12. Participatory training
Training based around adult learning principles looks more like this:
Ask participants the following questions about this picture:
Who knows most about the topic here? (Difficult to see; more equality in terms of the position of the participants; they all have something to offer)
What is happening in this picture? (People are discussing the topic with each other; they are asking questions)
Who is leading this training event? (All the adults are participating in their own learning – there is no ‘leader’, although there is likely to be a facilitator – a role we will be looking at later in the workshop)
Is this training based on adult learning principles? (The participants are involved in their own learning; they seem to be sharing their experiences and genuinely engaged in the discussion)

13. Participatory training: key features
Trainer’s role is to ask questions and facilitate discussions
Both trainers and trainees are knowledgeable and experienced
Everyone should reflect on her/his own, then share their ideas, experiences and expertise
Trainees are active and analytical, asking questions and exploring alternatives
Trainees develop their own answers. Indeed there may be many different answers
The training event is a learning experience for both trainer and trainees
Most of these key features are taken from
Go through the points on the slide, expanding/giving examples as necessary:
Trainer’s role is to ask questions and facilitate discussions: they are not the source of all knowledge. They understand that people may know the ‘answers’ already but someone needs to ask the right questions to push them to work things out for themselves (The mind is not a cup to be filled, but a fire to be ignited)
Both trainers and trainees are knowledgeable and experienced: It is important to remember that everyone has something to offer.
Everyone should reflect on her/his own, then share their ideas, experiences and expertise: Learning from real situations that participants have experienced makes the workshop/training more relevant
Trainees are active and analytical, asking questions and exploring alternatives: As the first point
Trainees develop their own answers. Indeed there may be many different answers: it is important to remember that in many situations, there is no one, correct answer. People need different answers for different situations.
The training event is a learning experience for both trainer and trainees: as above, the trainer does not know everything. In facilitating training, you often learn more about a topic or about the process of facilitation. No two training events are the same!

14. Summary Training is about developing skills Keep in mind:
- Learning styles
- Principles of adult learning
Participants participate in their own learning = participatory training
Quick recap of main points (although more detail is included in accompanying handout).