Training from the BACK of the Room!

It used to be thought that, once the human brain reached adulthood, learning slowed down. It was further thought that, as the brain aged, it became almost impervious to growing new neural pathways. Cognitive neuroscientists now know that both assumptions aren’t true. We can thank the brain’s “neuroplasticity” for this.

Those of us who have been teaching virtual classes know about important staging elements: quality lighting and sound, external camera, backgrounds that don’t distract, etc. However, we might think that these elements don’t matter when we’re the participants in a class – or do they?

If you’re using Zoom to teach a virtual class, the reason you’re doing so is to ensure that you can see the participants and they can see you, right? When people are learning together, visual cues are extremely helpful, except when they’re not! It turns out that too much of a good thing isn’t so good after all.

Eight-hour training days may be the norm for in-person training, but it’s a poor format for live virtual training. The overwhelming temptation for trainers is to maintain the status quo when offering classes online. However, this flies in the face of science, academic practices, and decades of professional reports of successful virtual learning experiences.

Want to understand a bit more about your human (mammal) brain? I invite you to view this interesting slide presentation. It explains so much in “scientific-language-made-simple,” and it helps us understand why both physical and psychological safety are so important to learning. Enjoy!  

Dear Reader: I repost this little set of health cards every year. This holiday season, they may be especially helpful (along with Covid mitigations, of course). They remind us to be kind to ourselves and that it’s the tiny things in our lives that can make the greatest difference.

I’ve been asked a number of questions by my blog readers and website commentators about the “Training from the BACK of the Room” Virtual Edition (TBR-VE) Class. So I’ve collected the most frequently asked questions – and my answers – and have posted them here.

Once in awhile I come across an article that just begs to be included in my blog. This is one of those articles. According to the author, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, in stressful times (like now), a surprising lesson from neuroscience may help lessen our anxieties as we go about our daily lives.

The human brain evolved over millions of years to learn “on-the-fly,” that is, while the physical environment was constantly changing. The brains of our ancestors adapted to change slowly, over time, and perfected certain learning behaviors. The current situation with the global pandemic has exponentially increased our need to do the same, only faster.

The questions have come up many times: “What are the differences between the ‘Training from the BACK of the Room’ Virtual Edition (TBR-VE) Class and the in-person TBR Practitioner Class? Are the classes interchangeable? Does one class replace the other?”

(NOTE: This blog post is contributed by TBR-Certified Trainer Jean-Paul Bayley): When it comes to class size, my thinking is that smaller groups of learners are better than larger ones for an optimal virtual learning experience. But is this intuition or is there empirical evidence to support this? Let’s look at the research.

It’s the nature of the beast: There will ALWAYS be tech-glitches when learning virtually. With that said, here are 9 tips to make sure you, the adult learner (participant, student, attendee – whatever you wish to call yourself) get the most from any virtual class or training.

There has been a huge upheaval in traditional human learning globally, whether it’s about kids in classrooms or adults in corporate training rooms. Switching from mostly face-to-face instruction to almost entirely virtual (online) learning has been daunting for teachers and trainers, as well as their learners.

Dear Readers: My thanks to those of you who were able to attend my free webinar yesterday, sponsored by InSyncTraining. In this blog post, you’ll find links to the Q&A document (with your questions and my responses), as well as free infographics and other free, follow-up items. Enjoy and stay safe! 🙂 Sharon

For those of you who are new to the brain science about effective instruction (whether face-to-face or virtual), or for those of you who just want a “refresher,” please join me on August 11th 2020 for a free, one-hour webinar during which you’ll experience six brain science principles in action.

Whether you’re a teacher with a virtual classroom full of kids, or a trainer/instructor of adults via a remote platform, this collection of resources will be helpful for all. I’ve also included resources for parents of kids who will be in “distance-learning” classes for the upcoming school year.

In this post, you’ll find the free Micro-Course I created awhile back that is a primer for any kind of virtual training and learning. You’ll also find a free infographic and Pocket Card Set to download and share. Enjoy and stay safe! 🙂

The world has been through a huge, forced transformation affecting most aspects of life and routines as we used to know them. In particular, how we collaborate, learn, and exchange information have all been severely impacted. We need to rethink how we teach/train others. 

(Note: This blog post was contributed by TBR Certified Trainer Angela Johnson.) Many of us are now teaching virtually instead of face-to-face. Below are my top tips for effectively keeping any virtual training session on track.

“Platform skills” is the term most often used for face-to-face presentations: the presenter’s voice tone, body movement, facial expressions, movement, and energy. Let’s translate all of that to the virtual world with “staging.”

(NOTE: This blog post was written by TBR Certified Trainers Jean-Paul Bayley and José Casal, Partner and Founding Partner of Actineo Consulting, LLC, based in the UK.) The last few weeks have been pretty tough on everyone. The new “normal” is quite different now in the training world, so we have a few ideas we want to share with you.

There is a lovely quote from the movie “Starman” (1984, starring Jeff Bridges). When asked what he learned from visiting Earth, the Starman said, “Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.”

This short video, with concepts from Benedict Carey’s book “How We Learn,” contains some surprising information about how to study more effectively. The book is an excellent resource for learning about how the human brain learns best. Enjoy! 🙂  

(NOTE: This blog post was written and contributed by TBR Certified Trainer Jean-Paul Bayley): Most trainers talk about the importance of “psychological safety,” both in the classroom and in the workplace. But how do you go about creating it from the moment learners step into the classroom or training space?  

(Note – This blog post contribution was written by TBR Certified Trainer Nick Zingo): Awhile back I wrote a blog post regarding a very different group engagement technique titled “Café Conversations.”  Here is recap with some new information for you to experiment with.

If one of your 2020 goals is attending a “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) Practitioner Class, or if just want to know more about what you will learn in the class, here is a summary of five great “take-aways” from attending.

Gearing up for a busy and productive 2020, I decided to repost these 10 simple health tips that will help us all stay a bit more balanced in mind and body as we teach, train, and help others to learn and grow. Enjoy the tips and pass them on!

(Note: This blog contribution is written by TBR Certified Trainer Nicole Fleming): The New Year is usually a time of reflection and change.  With the year 2020 upon us, I have been reflecting on 2019 and planning ahead for 2020, using “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) as one of the ways to reflect back and plan forward.

Dear Reader: Every year around the end-of-year holidays, I repost this popular set of little Pocket Cards. They have more to do with health and well-being than with effective teaching and training. But, just perhaps, the two go hand-in-hand.

In this post you’ll find the “Pop-Quiz Homework” for my “Brain-Based Presenting” Webinar that takes place on December 10th 2019. You’ll also find more webinar-related give-aways to help you enhance your own training, teaching, and instructional skills.

I’m always surfing the web for information about the human brain and how it learns. In this blog are two short videos: “The Learning Brain” and “How to Learn Faster.” Both videos are visually-interesting and great refreshers on how we, as humans, learn.

If you missed it last time around, InSync Training is again sponsoring my live, free webinar titled “Brain-Based Presenting: Getting the Brain to Pay Attention.” The webinar will be held on December 10th 2019 at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Read on for further information …

If you missed it last time around, InSync Training is again sponsoring my live, free webinar titled “Brain-Based Presenting: Getting the Brain to Pay Attention.” The webinar will be held on December 10th 2019 at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Read on for further information …

I’m reposting this blog entry because I’m still often asked, “What do you do about company-created slide decks that you have to use for a mandatory company training?”

As trainers and teachers, it’s always a good thing to remind ourselves now and then about the power of images to help the human brain learn and remember important information. Here are some excellent resources to explore that do just that.

You just finished a customer service training for a small group of your company’s employees. They listened attentively the whole time your were talking. Now you stop and ask, “Do you understand?” They nod their heads. You continue, “Do you have any questions?” They shake their heads. “Good,” you think. “They’ve got it.” Or do they?

I’ve been asked to repost this blog entry because a number of “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) Practitioner Classes are scheduled during September 2019. Even if you’ve never experienced a TBR Practitioner Class, you’ll find a lot of useful training give-aways in this post.  

I wrote this blog post in 2017 for the Scrum Alliance Gathering in San Diego that year. If you haven’t read the post yet, or if you just want a recent refresher of some brain science principles as they relate to human learning, this post will do the trick – enjoy the learning!

Khurram Bhatti is a Certified Trainer for “Training from the BACK of the Room.” Khurram attended the Trainer Certification Course (TCC) this past spring and then created this blog post for his own blog. I think you will enjoy his personal story about TBR and brain-based instruction.

In this post there are a number of links to free give-aways with content and strategies from the “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) book and classes by the same name. Regardless of whether you’ve attended a class or read the book, you can find lots of practical information here that you can put to immediate use.  

For a topic-related discussion activity that includes lots of movement and that can be used with any content and any group of learners, experiment with “Take-a-Stand” the next time you teach or train.  

Want a five-minute training game that takes no preparation beforehand? Want a high-energy game that engages all learners and that reviews training content in a fun and memorable way? Introducing: “Grab That Spoon!”

TBR Certified Trainer Nick Zingo says: “Yup, folks, it’s ‘Socrative’ not ‘Socrates!’” He explains: “If you’re looking for another great instructional tool for your teacher’s/trainer’s toolbox, you may want to consider Socrative – a great digital tool that ensures collaboration and that reinforces learning!”

Many of you will be familiar with these 7 tips for turning listeners into learners. But sometimes it’s good to get a quick “refresher” of brain-based strategies that make learners more successful. While these strategies help learners stay attentive and engaged throughout a class or training, they will also help you become a more effective trainer or teacher.

In exploring YouTube and the videos on human learning, I discovered this excellent one – done in the quick-draw, white-board animation style of RSAnimate.

You’ve just attended a train-the-trainer class with lots of great information to use and new instructional strategies to experiment with. So how do you keep from falling back into traditional, lecture-based methods of instruction?

In this post there are a number of links to free give-aways with content and strategies from the “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) book and classes by the same name. Regardless of whether you’ve attended a class or read the book, you can find lots of practical information here that you can put to immediate use.  

Most of the time, learners’ questions are easy enough to answer on-the-spot during a class or training. Once in awhile, though, the questions might post a bit of a challenge. So it’s often helpful to have a few other options “in your back pocket,” so to speak, to address difficult questions.

A number of webinar participants from the two free webinars I presented in March 2019 asked interesting questions that are relevant to our jobs as trainers, teachers, instructors, and learning facilitators. I’ve posted the questions (with some slight editing) in this blog, along with my responses.

Here is the “Pop Quiz Homework” for my March 20th 2019 webinar, “Brain-Based Presenting: Getting the Brain to Pay Attention,” sponsored by HRDQ, a globally-recognized developer of research-based instructional materials.