Skills and Training Enhancement

In the world of education, as professionals we are mandated to continue our learning. Many hours each year are allocated for various trainings and professional development. While this requires dedication and commitment from teachers, most of these trainings are not effective. In my opinion, the most effective trainings that I have encountered were the trainings that actively engaged us and focused on the needs of our students. Many of the wonderful trainings that I attended started off with an ice breaker followed by activities that got us up out of our seats and moving. Piskurich (2015) states that "The quality, and possibly the success, of your training program can be measured by the activities you develop for it." This drives home because these are the most memorable trainings because of the engagement. This reminds me of a training that I attended call Non-Violent Crisis Intervention. This training evolved learning about ways to identify behaviors and prevent escalation. After we studied a topic, we then traveled to the next room to practice strategies to assist us in handling explosive situations. The trainer had us in stations, at tables, and working our way around the room completing various anchor charts.

As I reflect back upon the chapters, we were taught various ways to complete the development stage of our professional development and do it right. I like how the author really detailed the introduction phase of training. Introductions should be short and to the point. They should let the trainees know key learning points and objectives (Piskurich, 2015). I believe that a good introduction should add excitement to the training . I like to think of it as the bait and tackle. The bait meaning what captures the learners attention and the tackle is keeping it. Furthermore, as I continued to navigate through the text, I was introduced to shortcuts. Everybody loves a shortcut, and when it comes to designing a well thought out training, I believe that sometimes shortcut are needed. Piskurich (2015) noted that software exists that in theory, is designed to help us through the instructional design process, but warns us to stay clear. I understand this to mean that all that glitters is not gold. As with any shortcut we may take, we must remain vigilant that the shortcut we have chosen gives us the results that we are looking for. In addition, we were also introduce to different design applications. My favorite was social networking-based learning. This continues to be a trending topic in education today. I view social networking and training as a win-win. Why is this you may be asking? Well, if social networking has become a universal part of millions of peoples lives, then what better way to drive your point across to trainees then using what they relate to most? Social networking would be a great way to demonstrate collaboration during your training.

  I chose to write about is Padlet has my technology tool I could use to enhance my training. What is Padlet you may be asking? Padlet is an application that one can use to create bulletin boards as an avenue for displaying a topic. Some of the great features includes the ability to add videos, images, and links. These displays are interactive and very user friendly. When I think about how I can use Padlet to enhance my presentation, I envision a platform for me to display my presentation, have my trainees complete discussions, have my trainees complete an interactive KWL chart, and complete their exit tickets by sharing something that they learned before they leave the training. I absolutely adore Padlet. It's fun, new (to me), and innovative. For those of you who would love to know more about Padlet, please view this short video below.

In conclusion, it is my belief that no matter what tool we choose to enhance our training, it is up to us as trainers to take the necessary steps to ensure that we have great instructional design.



                                                                     Reference
Piskurich, G.M. (2015). Rapid instructional design. Learning ID fast and right. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.