The Spoon

Some managers wonder why so much planning, questioning, testing, and evaluating has to go into training our people. Some may even believe there isn't value to dedicating someone to this role, or that it's even necessary to work this hard to "just share information".

Well, here's why it IS important:

How Do Humans Learn? I'd venture to say that 90% of managers think that sharing information is the same as training. Sorry to tell you folks, TELLING AIN'T TRAINING. In a sense, learning is like an ecosystem. We’re continually influenced by information, our social interactions, and experiences. These shape who we are and what we know. And this ultimately determines how we act. Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me, and I'll knock your socks off!

When Do Humans Learn? I get this question occasionally, and most of the time managers are trying to determine the best time to hold a training session, or whether offering eLearning can be taken anytime will really be effective for retaining information. Somewhere out there is the belief that people learn the best between the hours of 9a-11a, Tues-Thurs. But that's not the case!! As humans, we’re always in learning mode. We don’t turn learning on or off.

My Training Philosophy: We don’t learn just because someone gives us information or tells us that we’re in a training course. We learn because that’s how we’re wired. So when we do take a course, we fold it into our learning ecosystem and make it part of how we understand the world around us.

Photo Credit: The Rapid eLearning Blog