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Training the Trainer: Minimizing Expense, Maximizing Skills
by Howard Miller and Jo Johnson
”Training doesn’t work.” This announcement is the first thing that trainers from REM-Minnesota hear when they enter the train-the-trainer program. Training, as it is typically done (listeners auditing a speaker in a classroom situation) just doesn’t stay with learners very long.
So, how do you train staff so that they retain the information? That was the question we tried to answer when we put together a generic train-the-trainer program titled Facilitating Adult Learning (FAL) for REM-Minnesota trainers. REM-Minnesota, a multi-service agency serving people with developmental disabilities, has more than 3,000 direct care staff who are trained by about 300 trainers, most of whom are supervisors in various management capacities.
The format that evolved was a full-day training program. The course was set up to be an example of optimal training, so participants would have a model to use from the outset. FAL is essentially a six-hour elaboration of the statement, “If adults know why they are learning, and if the reason fits their needs as they perceive them, they will learn quickly and deeply.” The FAL course helps trainers assess their training styles and to recognize how those styles interact with the adult learning cycle. It introduces trainers to the wide variety of methods and materials available that will enhance their presentations. Trainers are taught to do whatever it takes to get the learner involved, presenting training that learners not only hear and see, but also do and review. Make people laugh, get them up, get them involved, and – most importantly – get them to demonstrate what they have learned; this is the essence of good training.
It would be hypocritical if we did not practice what we preach. So, after hours of being trained by others, the trainees take over and put together a training session for their peers. Topics have included everything from how to do the Makarena to how to blow bubbles using bubble gum. While it is an intensive learning experience, FAL is also fun.
Facilitating Adult Learning is the cornerstone of REM-Minnesota’s statewide training system. Once a trainer has completed FAL, the person is eligible for topic-specific training sessions that are held at least once annually. These are offered regionally to maximize the number of REM trainers who can attend without breaking the training budgets of their various REM-Minnesota companies. Formats and topics vary from year to year based on needs expressed by trainers in the field. During the summer of 1997, the topics included use of structured observations rather than classroom or other lecture formats, and updates and new ideas for required annual training (e.g., aversive procedure rules, client rights, active treatment, sexuality, and aging). In the coming years, input systems will be developed so that these regional meetings are more like seminars than training, and trainers from different regions will come together to exchange ideas, techniques, and resources with each other, and to be introduced to new materials or ideas from the training directors.
The REM-Minnesota training approach has proven to be quite effective – training supervisory staff who will provide ongoing reinforcement of those they train, and training those trainers in a manner that maximizes their abilities. In a time of limited resources (including new recruits), it is nice to know that sometimes the fiscally expedient approach is also the most effective one.
Howard Miller is Director of Training for REM-Minnesota, and Jo Johnson is Director of Training for REM-Minnesota, Inc. Howard may be reached at 612/922-6776 and Jo at 507/433-7301.
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Resources: Web Sites Related to Direct Support Workforce Development
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Citation: Gaylord, V., Hewitt, A., & Larson, S. (1998). Impact: Feature Issue on Direct Support Workforce Development, 10(4) [online]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration. Available from http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/104/. __________ Hard copies of Impact are available from the Publications Office of the Institute on Community Integration. The first copy of this issue is free; additional copies are $4 each. You can request copies by phone at 612-624-4512 or E-mail at icipub@umn.edu, or you can fax or mail us an order form. See our listing of other issues of Impact for more information. The print design version (PDF, 448K, 28 pp.) of this issue of Impact is also available for free, complete with the color layout and photographs. This version looks the most like the newsletter as it was printed. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.
