1. Principles of Adult Learning
Training of Trainers
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
2. Objectives of the session
Better understanding of adult learning…
How to make the learning personal, real and engaging…
8 tips that improve your odds for success …
≠Not a ‘how to train’ session…
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
3. Adult Learning ⃝ ⃝ ⃝
Adult learning is defined as 'the entire range of
formal, non-formal and informal learning,
activities which are undertaken by adults after a
break since leaving initial education and
training, which results in the acquisition of new
knowledge and skills'.
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
4. 8 Principles of Adult Learning ⃝ ⃝ ⃝
Active Learning
Active participation
through discussion,
feedback and
activities creates more
learning than passive
listening.
Problem-centric
Adults are not there
just to get more
information. If your
presentation doesn’t
help them solve their
pressing issues, it will
be forgotten.
1 2
Previous
Experience
New information has
to be linked to
previous knowledge
and experience or it
will not be
remembered.
Relevance
If the information
being presented is not
relevant to the
listener’s life and
work, it will not get
their attention. .
3 4
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
5. Emotional
Connection
Presentations that
connect with a
learner’s emotions are
more likely to be
remembered, recalled
and learned.
Self Learning
Adult learners have
some strong beliefs
about how they learn.
These beliefs, whether
accurate or not, can
interfere or enhance
their learning.
5 6
Alignment
Adults expect that a
presenter’s content,
learning outcomes and
activities be aligned
together. If the learning
outcomes do not match
the content, the learner
feels disconnected and
learning is hampered.
Fun
Learning should be
fun! As a presenter, if
you are not having fun
presenting your
information and
facilitating learning,
then you should stop.
7 8
8 Principles of Adult Learning ⃝ ⃝ ⃝
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
6. Do not tell adult ‘WHAT IS THIS’…
Tell them ‘HOW & WHERE IT
WILL WORK’…
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
7. Who are your participants?
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
8. The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads better-
informed parties to find it extremely
difficult to think about problems from the
perspective of lesser-informed parties.
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
10. 8 tips that improve your odds for success as a trainer…
1. Credibility
2. Accurate
3. Relevant
4. Current
5. Practical
6. Usefulness
7. Involve
8. Affirmation
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
11. Your training session should not resemble a
‘Wedding reception’….
Have you ever attended marriage receptions where you met up with a lot of people?
Pretty- courteous folks,
chatty, breezy, mindless conversational overload,
lots of names and polite smiles exchanged, and THEN…!
You returned home and the new faces were soon forgotten.
And THEN……
You wondered what did you really go there for?
In this age of internet and information savvy world, it is obtuse to just dump information on
participants which they can easily procure from the web or numerous other resources.
Many of the Training Sessions end up being like these
wedding receptions…
Lots of Participants
Plenty of information which is downloaded and passed
on,
Innumerable data- and-graph- heavy PPTs add nausea
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
12. 4 methods of adult learning…
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
13. Adult Learning Cycle
Experience Reflect
ConcludeApply
What you see/
observe OR face
What?
Review of information
related to experience
So What??
What and how you
can doNow What??
Use strategies you’ve
planned
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
14. In any training set up: the trainer, the
learner & the learning (content) are the
three elements which interact.
Ideal learning happens at the meeting point
of these.
Alternatively, let us suppose that these
three elements form a triangle.
The question then arises: Which side of the
triangle is the most important one and
why?’ [Group exercise]
Exercise 1:
Who is the V.I.P in the Workshop?
Trainer
Learner Learning
1 2
3
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
15. Exercise 2:
Game of recap…
the BUCKET and the BALL Game
Javed Mazher | javed.mazher@yahoo.com
The facilitator helps clarify the purpose of the presentation as well as extract each individual’s own goal.
The facilitator allows participants the freedom to state why the topic is important to them.
PRISONERS: These are the chained participants, chained by their values/limited knowledge/beliefs, bound by ‘How can I question what the person on the podium is saying?’ belief. They will nod their head in silence and do all the talking and question in their hearts. Their learning is limited to the extent they absorb the unquestioned data.
VACATIONERS: They have come in the Workshop for some sponsored fun. The company is making us work so hard, they might as well foot the bill for this forced vacation! Their belief clearly is: ‘Can a two day Workshop really make a real difference in my life?’ They look forward to free food and fun in the evening…
COMBATIVE JUDGE-RS: These are ready to argue any data which is presented to prove a point. Sometimes these arguments are valid, most of the times they carry away the session into a zone of chaos for the trainer and the learners, and the learning of the session gets diluted.
LEARNER: They come in with beginner’s mind, are curious; they participate, question and are willing to learn in the truest sense.
How do we deal with them and elicit their active participation is the moot point?…It is not about labeling the individuals and writing them off but supporting their learning process, wherever they are!
One size fits all or I will deliver what I have to, let them do what they have to, will not work here!
One will need to enroll participants to be able to meet the learning objective of the Workshop.
THE next big step would allow them to commit a way of participation ON THEIR OWN!
There is a learner lurching inside each of us. It is Trainer’s skill how he unearths/encourages/allows emergence of this aspect in each participant.
Tricky, but if done can make life easy for the trainer….else there is no common ground for learning to happen.
Tap Tap – Shoulder to your partner while singing a song silently- Ask your partner to guess the song
Biasness e.g. what political thoughts you have, what religious sect you associated with and what culture you belong…
Cognitive Load Theory suggests that learners can absorb and retain information effectively only if it is provided in such a way that it does not “overload” their mental capacity.
An old Chinese proverb says:
Tell me, I forget.
Show me, I remember.
Let me, I understand.
Make 3 groups and a jury with two senior judges.
Assign each group one Side of the triangle
Give them 20 minutes and ask them to come up with your thoughts (how and why)
Give each group 5 minutes to present on a flip chat.
Ask judges to decide.
1- Divide participants in 4 equal groups
2- Ask all groups to stay at four positions marked at four directions with the bucket kept at the center.
3- Each member gets a chance to come up and play his/her turn
4- The trainer asks the question, one word at a time.
5- Four members (one representative from each team) throw the ball into the bucket from equal distance (not too close or too far from the bucket). Whoever throws the ball in first gets to answer first.
6- The trainer questions from a prepared list of questions which the participants answer.
7-The team scores on every question answered correctly and points are deducted for every incorrect answer.
8- If the team is unable to answer, the trainer throws upon the answer to all.
9- Total 6-7 turns/ questions will be made.
10- Winner will be given sweets/ candies