Popular Blog Posts

The Halo Effect: Are we giving our teams room to grow?

Lou Russell is an expert trainer, a consultant in Team and Project Management and an old friend. In her recent article, she explores the truth behind John Merrow’s 2005 article entitled “Unlearning Bad Science.” What happens when we “learn” something that isn’t ... Read More

Learning for Chocolate*

Even when I am on a diet, I can usually justify a small piece of dark chocolate as an afternoon pick-me-up. After all it’s rich in anti-oxidants and, better yet, eating dark chocolate has been found to increase the levels of endorphins released into the brain—excellent news to knowledge trai... Read More

Active Learning – data says it works

I’ve been making a special effort to support the claims of the headers in our Trainers Warehouse catalogs–claims such as “active learning enhances understanding.” In fact, I spent hours yesterday, culling through research and articles to locate original sources and sound data... Read More

Active learning is not "Q&A Teaching"

Petra Claflin, Manager of Digital Media and head blogger for @YESPrep Public Schools, recently wrote about the “Trap of Q&A teaching.” She admits she’s done it herself. It looks something like this: Teacher: I’m now going to model how to solve this type of problem. Firs... Read More

Are catalog companies "green"?

I’m a fiend about recycling. Just ask my kids — I don’t let them get Happy Meals because we end up throwing away every little toy; I refuse to buy those little juice boxes and individually wrapped snacks; and even I reuse ziploc bags. So how is it that I’ve come to terms wi... Read More

Shake off the nerves

Even seasoned trainers feel it — that edge of nerves that accompanies you to each new session or presentation. Despite my experience as a circus clown (yup, it’s true) and negotiations trainer, I still get a buzz of nervous energy at the start of an event if I’m training, facilitat... Read More

A Sane Approach to Email

As much as I think this would help me, I think it’s a great reminder to facilitators and learners alike! The synopsis of this article on email comes from Kim Marshall’s synthesis in The Marshall Memo. “Every minute you spend on email is a minute you’re not devoting to doing something... Read More

Technology not just for technology’s sake

Another interesting article summarized by Kim Marshall in his weekly Marshall Memo. The original article, “Why Twitter and Facebook Are Not Good Instructional Tools,” was written by Paul Barnwell and published in Teacher, May 30, 2012. Can Cell Phones and Social Media Be Useful Classroom Too... Read More

Wait! Slow down.

Don’t be too quick to call on the first hand that goes up. By doing so, you signal to other students that they should stop thinking of an answer. Experts suggest that you extend your wait time to 5 to 10 seconds! This assertion is supported in several research reports, including: Journal of Re... Read More

Starting off right

Because first impressions matter, a good start to your training session can make a world of difference in the overall effectiveness of the learning event. Several trainers have commented on the ways they prime participants for learning before they even begin. Before the Meeting Starts… Be in... Read More