Have you ever felt like you’re losing your learners’ interest when providing classroom training?
As learning and development experts we regularly hear this obstacle from companies in hope of a resolution. Classroom training is still necessary for many companies due to the type of industry or learning topics. Unfortunately, with this there’s a tendency now more than ever where it can become a little dull.
We’ve gathered what we’ve learnt from past experiences to share with you how to make classroom training fun. We want to ensure both you and your employees reap the benefits.
Make the objectives clear throughout your classroom training
At the beginning of any training, it should be made clear what the aims and objectives are. It gives the learners a purpose and meaning behind the training. It provides them with the exact reason as to why they are doing it which in turn will encourage participation. But don’t forget the objectives should be reminded throughout or recapped when completed to remind the learner.
It also allows employees to check themselves if they have completed the objectives and have retained the information they need.
Understand your audiences’ learning styles
To make classroom training fun for all involved you need to know how your employees learn. This is so you can cater towards that and provide engaging material for them.
However, do not focus on one style! A mixture of mediums and activities will increase engagement as it won’t be repetitive work. So, before you start consider your employees and find out what their learning styles typically are, what they find interesting or what they’d like to do.
Their opinion counts to their enjoyment! Bear in mind though that enjoyment is not directly linked to knowledge retention, but it will make it easier for the participant to revisit the training or look over the materials when they remember it to be a great experience. Which will in turn help knowledge re-embedding.
Use well prepared training materials
Being prepared is always a good thing when it comes to classroom training. It provides you with a guide to follow so, that you don’t lose track of the information you need to cover. However, the other important element to consider is the content of the training material.
We’ve found in the past that classroom training isn’t updated as regularly, and the course content tends to fall behind with content making the training not as effective.
That’s where involving ourselves relieves the pressure as we build the training and materials relevant with you to ensure it’s fun, organised, and informative for the learners.
Add video and other media into your classroom training
Video is one of the most engaging learning tools at the moment. Not only that but, it also helps with the retention of information.
By placing them in throughout classroom training provides a different experience for the learners and can help make what might be considered dull topics interesting.
Using videos injects some fun into the training and provides a little breathing space for the trainer to prepare for the rest of the session.
Have an enthusiastic trainer
Although we can help create effective content and training for your company to use, there’s another factor to consider when it comes to classroom training. Who will be training them? This is important because it’s not just about having the knowledge of the information but, also in the delivery of the content. As a trainer they need to keep the learners upbeat and engaged. The way to do this is by keeping it enthusiastic in tone, provide motivational support, and be interactive by asking questions and providing breakaway activities.
Give the learners opportunity to speak
Learners don’t want to sit there and listen to a trainer for the entire session, it just becomes boring. Give them the opportunity to speak, share their opinions and ask questions.
The more interactive the classroom training is the less robotic it becomes for them so; it might even be worthwhile creating some activities that promote interaction. This could be asking a question to the group, a team activity, or a creative task.
All would add something a bit different to the traditional classroom environment, making it fun for everyone involved.
We strive to keep learning updated and adaptable to the times as we recognise how quickly learning can change.
Our creative team proactively work to create new ideas that can be incorporated into training that you may not have seen before.
So, want to find out what we could provide for your latest project? Visit our Services page!
