Learning beyond your CCE workshop: 5 pro tips
Learning beyond your CCE workshop: 5 pro tips
By Stephanie Oley
What do our facilitators tell participants who want to keep learning after attending a professional development workshop?
Professional development is a large part of our offering at CCE, and corporate training for groups particularly so. But how can participants build on their newfound knowledge afterwards and continue to grow their skillset?
This is a question we often get asked, so we reached out to our facilitators for their suggestions. Read on to learn what they said.
Principles of adult education
Before we dive in, we’ll note one factor that makes adult learning different to other education styles: the goal-oriented nature of adult learners. Organisations book training with CCE because they know their people are highly motivated to develop their career and personal objectives.
These attendees bring with them a diverse set of experiences and knowledge, which adds to the richness of class discussions. At the same time, adult learners can have ingrained approaches to doing things. Our facilitators use established teaching frameworks for embedding new approaches, but for many participants, the learning journey will continue after class.
5 ways to keep learning
Follow-up courses are offered for most CCE workshops and detailed reading lists are available for those self-directed learners out there. However, our facilitators had these ideas too.
Set individual goals
Groups and individuals usually arrive at CCE to accomplish specific goals. They can continue to nurture this drive, by adding more learning goals to that list.
Angela Chellas, facilitator of various Project Management courses, suggests that participants aim to implement at least one, if not three, ideas they gained from the workshop.
Leadership course facilitator Kate Peardon agrees. “At the end of my sessions, I include time for participants to choose at least one learning area to implement.” Adopt a mindset of lifelong learning, and you’ll continue to grow.
Actively practice new techniques
As Winston Churchill once said, “I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” Admittedly, the learning curve can be steep. Many of us need encouragement to move past the awkwardness that’s inevitable before we can master a new skill.
Mandy Vyner, one of our Microsoft course facilitators, has a tip for learners at this stage.
“I encourage participants to spend at least 15 minutes daily to review one topic they found to be particularly new,” she says.
It’s important to do this as soon as possible after the training, according to Denise Tsagaris, while the learnings are still fresh. “Participants should determine the two or three topics they found most useful, and practice these as soon as possible. Don’t let brain rust take hold!”
Enlist the help of a mentor
Life gets busy, and chances are the team will be back in the world of deadlines and external pressures soon after the training.
Not if they ask someone to help them stay accountable, says leadership course facilitator Jack Rankin. “Hold an internal review session, so you remember to keep tracking towards the actions or goals you committed to in class.”
Fellow leadership course presenter, Kate Peardon, agrees: “I connect participants with another person from class, and they set a time to share how they have progressed with their goal. For in-house corporate clients, I suggest that the group meets several weeks later to review how they are applying the learnings.”
Eleanor Shakiba, who runs a number of CCE’s organisational psychology courses, also favours this approach. “Check in with your supervisor to discuss what you learned and how you will apply it. I also recommend follow-up discussions for the first three or four weeks after a workshop.”
Teach your skills to a colleague
Adult learning has four stages, according to influential learning theorist David Kolb. This starts with encountering a new experience, through to reflecting on it, modifying the concept and finally testing it in new situations. One way to master that final stage is to explain the content to someone else.
Michael Kelly, presenter of several verbal communication courses at CCE, says: “I encourage each participant to deliver a 3-minute presentation to their line manager on what they learned in the course.”
Organisational psychology and leadership course presenter, Dominic Siow, agrees. “Schedule an informal catch-up for the group to share their learnings in person or virtually. You can even reach out to your trainer and tell us how it went – we can always guide you further.”
Establish a community of practice
Some skills should be embedded within the whole team. Clear and concise writing is one of them, says business writing course facilitator, Stephanie Oley. Stephanie recommends that teams attend the training together, rather than sending lone individuals to ‘fix’ their specific issues.
“After the training, teams can establish a community of practice by sharing best practices and agreeing on benchmarks that will help guide others to write well. This will ensure they have a consistently high skill level, regardless of who stays in which role.”
In short: there are several different ways to consolidate your team’s learnings, whether it’s a simple solo activity or a power-up challenge involving others. Regardless of the team’s size, working style or location, these strategies will help to maintain and grow valuable skills long after the training ends.