My Take: Make It Brief and Work It

By Debra Christopher, MSM | February 26, 2014

I was recently on a business trip in New York City. While roaming the city one evening after dinner, I passed by a street vendor who was selling small canvas bags with colorful messages stamped on the sides. One message caught my eye, and it’s turned into a new mantra for my professional development work. The message: “Make it brief . . . and work it!”

 

This statement relates directly to what the science of learning tells us about how the human brain functions—specifically, how human memory systems operate. We know the human brain holds information in short-term memory for only about 18 seconds. If that information isn’t attached to something quite meaningful, or if there’s no time to organize the information and process its relevance, it leaves the brain as quickly as it entered. Without some type of emotional hook or cognitive engagement, the content simply cannot stick.

Have You Ever Attended a Bad Training?

How many times have we experienced training sessions or workshops where the presenter shares (or, worse, reads from) an endless number of PowerPoint slides without ever coming up for air? The result: pretty much nothing.

Note to Self: Placing a wad of information on a slide (especially in paragraph form) does not support learning transfer.

Best Practices: Engagement, Motivation, Learning

As an organization involved in training and learning, it’s become part of ETR’s fabric to review and apply research and best practice related to engagement, motivation and learning. We do this consistently and with gusto.

It’s so very clear, no matter the field (neuroscience, cognitive science, implementation science, adult learning theory and beyond), that the traditional “sit and get” method does not work—at least not if our intent is to create positive change.

And so, using our canvas bag mantra, what’s a change agent (or trainer, educator, leader or whatever you call yourself) to do? Start by checking out this set of tips, all based on research, and think about how they relate to your current practice.

Make It Brief

Create crystal clear learning objectives. What, specifically, is your intended outcome? How does each part of the training support that outcome? How can you measure whether the outcome is achieved?

Yes, creating effective learning objectives takes time and can be difficult. That’s probably why it’s one of the most neglected steps we see when working with other trainers.

Decide what content is needed. What specific functional knowledge is most critical to share? What do you want people to know and do when they leave your event?

Divide the content into coherent “chunks” of information. Put them into a logical sequence and link them to opportunities to practice the understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to reach the intended outcome.

Make it reasonable. Based on the above steps, establish a reasonable time allotment for the learning you want to occur. Another common error we see trainers make is trying to cram too much content into too little time.

You cannot effectively teach someone how to facilitate 20 different classroom activities in a 2-hour training. But, with clear objectives, ample time and strategies designed to engage the brain, you could, for example, prepare participants to effectively facilitate roleplay activities or answer difficult questions from students.

Note to Self: “Brief” doesn’t mean simple or non-specific. It means creating reasonable segments of content that can be “worked” by the participant so learning transfer can occur.

And “Work It”

Create processing patterns that support effective learning transfer. This means creating relevant learning activities that allow learners to engage cognitively, organize the content to make their own meaning, and then integrate the new learning with prior knowledge. These steps are critical for adult learners.

Follow the 10-minute rule. This is vitally important. Don’t talk more than 10 minutes without stopping to conduct a process check or some type of cognitive engagement process.

Seriously. Stand in front of the mirror and talk at yourself for 10 minutes or more. Do you find this interesting? Unless one has narcissistic tendencies, it becomes painful!

There are endless possibilities for “10-minute engagements.” Ask participants to jot down 3 key points related to the content and share with an “elbow” partner. Ask a table group to identify what was most compelling or most surprising about the content shared. Use a lively activity that gets learners up and moving (movement can increase learning) by asking them to cluster with two others and share what resonated with their trio.

Always allow time for learners to apply the learning to their own work situation. This is the ultimate in “working it.”

Follow Up

Follow up with learners to boost memory patterns and further support their learning. Here’s the simple truth: genuine learning and application occur during implementation, not during the learning event. It's not true learning until participants take it out of the training and put it to use in the real world. The best way to make sure meaningful learning occurs is to check in with participants after the training or event.

Note to Self: Remember, it’s the learner who’s actually working it! Let participants do the thinking and talking. As one of our great mentors, Pat Wolfe, often says when coaching trainers, “The one doing the talking is the one doing the learning.”

The Quest

We at ETR are on a perpetual quest to find the best approaches to professional development and training—strategies that effectively influence health behaviors and support positive outcomes. The exciting science of learning is making a difference in the work we do. And if we remember to operationalize this mantra— “Make It Brief and Work It” —we’ll keep delivering the best trainings possible. We invite you to join us on the quest!

To learn more

Check out our recently published paper:

Lauer, P.A., Christopher, D.E., Firpo-Triplett, R., and Buchting, F. 2013. The impact of short-term professional development on participant outcomes: A review of the literature. Professional Development in Education. DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2013.776619.

See the abstract (free) or download the full article (fee) here. >>

Read a description of the article here. >>

Debra Christopher, MSM, is Director of Professional and Organizational Development Services at ETR. Contact her at debra.christopher@etr.org.