Training Adults? Know How They Learn Best

Q. Part of my job as a supervisor is to train new employees in department procedures,

safety, etc. I’ve written everything up in a manual, but most don’t read it carefully, and make a lot of mistakes. It surprises me that adults would have this problem. Is there a way I can show them how to read the training manual more carefully?

It’s probably not their reading habits, but the way they learn—and it’s usually not by reading. Adults learn differently than younger people do. A great source for understanding this is 50 One-Minute Tips for Trainers by Carrie A. Van Daele (Crisp Publications, Palo Alto, CA). You’ll find her ideas helpful:

Are They Ready?

Adults learn best when they’re ready to learn. They need a sense of purpose, a strong reason for learning the skill (like doing it right so they can do it easily and safely.) Then they’re ready to receive instruction and make progress. And most of us develop skills through practice. The more often we use what we’ve learned, the better we can perform, or understand the skill. Employees also learn faster when the results are satisfying and useful to them. And they’re more likely to want to learn more.

As adults, we tend to link learning to what we already know. So it’s best to start with simple steps they can connect with what they can now do (or already understand) and then proceed to new and more difficult tasks or ideas. Despite the popularity of “multi-tasking,” we really learn only one thing at a time, so real learning has to be accomplished step-by-step—in a logical, orderly way—one step at a time.

Adults also learn best by actually doing what they’ve been told. Demonstrate the skill, then watch them do it, and be available as they practice it. Learning becomes complete when we put into actual practice what we’re trying to learn.

Build on Success

Whenever learning is successful, we feel good because we have a sense of accomplishment, and this stimulates more learning. Failure to learn or to understand a skill discourages further learning. Plan your instruction so that you can assure a successful learning experience at each step of the way.

And remember that we get new impressions—new ideas—through our five senses: seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling. Most of what we learn comes from seeing what happens, through observable actions, pictures, and written material. Since so much of learning begins with what the learner sees, the trainer must make every effort to use visual images effectively.

Finally, we all learn differently. Some learn best by seeing; some by hearing; others by doing; some by just thinking about a new idea or process. We differ from one another in experiences, abilities, and background, and we learn at different rates. So it’s important to provide a wide variety of learning experiences in the same learning session. For example:

Step-By-Step

• Cover only one major point at a time, Move in small progressive steps from what the employee knows to what he or she doesn’t know—from the simple to the complex.

• Use each new step to build the learner's confidence.

Participation.

Participating in the learning strengthens the learning experience, and converts learning from a passive to an active experience. It develops patterns of behavior essential to learning skills, and it generates and maintains learner interest. For peak participation:

• Ask learners questions often during the training.

• Ask them to help organize the training or the new skills development.

• Put them in learning teams to work together on the new skills.

Help Them Visualize

Visualization—helping people see the results—increases the impact on the mind by employing many sensory impressions. It converts abstract ideas and concepts into concrete, easier-to-understand behaviors. And it increases retention and recall by up to five times over methods that don’t employ visualization. Try this:

• Show or describe what the final result will look like.

• Help them imagine what it will feel like to do the process correctly.

Repeat—And Use It

We seldom learn an idea or action by hearing about it or doing it just once. And we forget what we don’t use (“Use it or lose it.”)

• Put the new skill to use as soon as possible.

• Arrange to have new learners practice the new skill often.

Focus on Rewards, Results

Adults need to know the purpose for the learning—why it’s important. And when you reinforce each successful step, you lock in the learning

• Plan learning that guarantees successful results.

• Provide rewards (even a simple, “Great job!”) at each successful step.

• Encourage and motivate the new learners to continue to learn.