TRAINING VS. LEARNING

Here in the USA a new school year has or is about to begin. In conjunction with that I thought I would talk this week about how we conduct the training/learning sessions in our companies. The fact that we have a training program does not necessarily mean we have people learning anything.

We can order our adult employees into a classroom but that does not mean they will learn. We can't force them to absorb what we have to impart. One basic fact--adults learn much differently than do children. I find many companies set up their training programs much like they had them set up when they were in school and then wonder why learning doesn't take place. Have you found that out in your organization? Be honest.

So how can you motivate your potential great employees to learn? Sometimes that can seem like an impossible task when you are trying to teach someone how to clean a toilet. There are several important facts we need to know about motivating adults to learn:

1. Adult learners are motivated by appealing to their personal growth and wealth---in order to motivate adults to learn, we must tell them "What's in it for me?" They need to know the justification for taking the time and effort to learn something. You see, children rely on others, teachers, parents etc. to decide for them what is important to learn. Adults decide for themselves. So what is the motivation to learn for adults?

Could be just receiving a paycheck that they maybe haven't had for a while. Could be they see a promotion in store for themselves if they learn the subject matter well. How about personal recognigtion of becoming knowledgable in a certain area?

2. Children accept the information being presented in the class at face value. If the teacher says there are 24 crayons in a box, the child believes it because they trust what the teacher says.

The adult, on the other hand, will want to count the crayons in the box because they remember years ago buying some and being shorted two crayons in the box. Their experience has taught them to be cautious as to what people tell them. They have learned that people do not always tell the truth. They may have been listening to members of the US congress.

3. Children are told and expect what they are learning now to be useful to them in the long term. The are led to believe that the education they are receiving now will result in a better paying job etc. etc.

Adults on the other hand, expect what they are learning in your training class to be useful immediately. That is why people attend conventions, workshops and the like. They expect to learn something that they can take back to the job and use NOW.

4. Chldren have little or no experience upon which to draw---they have relatively "clean slates". They still believe everything they are told. Think back to your childhood. Your parents and teachers were your source of information and truth. As you grew older, questions started to arise, and by the time you were a teenager you had answers to questions that had not even been asked. (Just kidding)

Adults on the other hand have much past experience upon which to draw. They have had time to form their opinions and viewpoints which many times will differ dramatically from the very people they were relying on for information in their youth. I know many of my viewpoints have changed from when I was a child. I don't necessarily disagree with what I was told, I just have more facts now on which to form an opinion.

It is important to remember that the employees you are wanting to train also have had the opportunity to learn new and different views on a variety of the subjects you may be trying to teach them. Recognizing the differences will make a HUGE impact on whether your training is successful. I urge you to remember that as you develop and execute your various training progams.

So what is the point of all this I have been saying. The point is this---ARE YOU JUST BRINGING YOUR PEOPLE IN AND LECTURING TO THEM OR GIVING THEM A MANUAL TO READ or do you have training sessions where real learning takes place by letting the adult students you have use their experience and knowledge? Do you make training fun? Next week we'll talk a little about that.

Let me encourage you to review your training programs and assure yourself that you have real learning experiences for participants and that you are just not checking boxes.

Till next time.