From the very beginning

This article has been staying for quite sometime in my drafts folder. I had intended to start this blog with this entry since I have been a staunch supporter, as a trainer, of Adult Learning Principles. 

I initiate, develop, and implement different types of training programs for the company I am affiliated with. It ranges from client-specific training to management development training. My personal favorite are the trainings the develop the supervisors and trainers, especially the newly promoted ones, if only because I'd like to think that I, somehow, in some small way, become influential in their development as leaders.

For most of the programs that I have conducted, I usually spend the first 2 hours, at least, discussing adult learning principles because I know that if, at the very least, supervisors and trainers knew the fundamentals of how adults learn and assimilate the information, everything else will be simpler. 

So what is it exactly that I want to drive? And why do I spend two hours talking about it?

Well, to begin with, and as discussed in many training books, trainers (and supervisors who coach) tend to deal with their audience in the same way that they were brought up. This means that unless the supervisor has prior experience in dealing with adults, he/she is bound to deal and coach his agent like an elementary or a high school teacher would...pedagogically. That said, unless the trainee has had absolutely no experience in life, then that method would most likely be less effective than if he was dealt with more andragogy.  

There are at least 6 basic principles, from what I learned, that govern adult learning. And I say basic because if we were to get down to its specifics, then it definitely can be further broken down. 

I will post more of the principles but I will end this entry with one of the most common "aha" moments my trainees get in class. 

Adults are practical. In many interactions, be it coaching or training, some trainers/sups become to elaborate in the discussion of the topic without covering the practical side of things, the "why will i do what you are telling me to do" part of the training/coaching. If participants don't see the practical bit of your interaction, then the approach becomes less effective. 

Take Away

So, next time you deal with a trainee/agent, ask yourself: "Why will I, if I were my agent, do what I am telling him to do? And how do i make sure to cover it?"