Fax: 508-651-2674 
Category: FACILITATION TIPS
As facilitators of learning, teachers and trainers are constantly honing their own facilitation skills. They’re known to share their best and favorite learning tips with colleagues. Trainers Warehouse collates best practices from a broad range of resources, focusing on active learning, neuroscience, participation and engagement, gameplay, live and remote learning, and tons more.
Brainstorming Techniques
I’m always intrigued by different methods of brainstorming. I always learned the cardinal rule: NO CRITICISM . . . Don’t start “evaluating” during a true brainstorm; let all ideas surface. Last November, however, Jena McGregor wrote an article “Why Brainstorming Doesn&#... Read More
How do you deal with ‘wise guys’?
About a month ago, Vesna Sodnik asked this question on our Effective and Fun Training Techniques LinkedIN group. She was looking for ways to manage the “know-it-all” participants. Here are a few of the suggestions that were shared online, which capture the breadth, diversity, and wisdo... Read More
Ways to use Dice in Training
A long long time ago, Trainers Warehouse used to sell humongous nine-inch dice as a training tool. The product lost popularity, probably because they were a little too big, but the notes we created back then on ways to use dice in training still offer some good ideas. When I saw a recent quest... Read More
Wingclip for Inspirational Movie Clips for Learning
I just came across this great resource for movie clips for learning. It’s a subscription service called WingClips. WingClips, LLC, has secured the right to offer and provide trailers and/or short segments (“clips”) of certain films to organizations for use during religious services and/o... Read More
Perfect Quotes for Training
When I was a kid, I collected buttons — not the kind you sew on clothes, but the kind with a pin on the back. I had buttons for gymnastics (my childhood passion), “Big Mac attacks,” political campaigns, you name it. I had hundreds of them. More recently, I’ve been collecting ... Read More
Go Old School with Post Card Reminders
As an advocate and frequent user of the US postal service, I’ve been closely following the news about their financial woes and efforts to fix it. And yet . . . when I think about opening MY mailbox each afternoon, I still experience a small rush of anticipation. Will I find a letter, postcard,... Read More
Time Management Tips
I’ve been following a rich discussion on Time Management on the T&D Training and Development LinkedIN group. One of the group members recently asked if there was a good way to capture all of the great time management tips located within the discussion. So, in the interest of Time Managem... Read More
Giving Feedback
David Gibson gave me permission to share this terrific exercise on coaching and giving appropriate feedback. All you’ll need is about 12 marker pens and a box the size of a waste paper bin or the waste paper bin itself, plus 3 volunteers. Conducting the exercise is fairly simple: Ask the 3 vol... Read More
Remote Icebreakers & Team Building Activities
Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, trainers looking to make their webinars as interactive as their live training sessions asked about virtual icebreakers. I initially put this blog post together several years ago, but am updating it now to reflect new ideas and new resources that have become availab... Read More
9 Ways to increase student engagement
As I culled through this week’s Marshall Memo I was pleased to find a bunch of suggestions to increase student participation. I was even more pleased that “Dry-erase boards” made the list. I believe it was about 10 years ago that we were sitting in a Trainers Warehouse product meet... Read More
PRODUCTS YOU’LL LOVE!
Who's First?® v3 Wireless Game Buzzer System
Engage fidgety fingers with a Desktop Fiddle Set
Build team spirit and communication with Team Writer
Learn more about who's who with the Favorites Thumball
LEARNING FACILITATION TIPS
Browse through tons of tips and tools that cover all aspects for training. Sharpen facilitation skills by understanding, for instance, how to:
- Use card decks for metaphorical debriefs
- Deliver interactive training on a tight budget
- Integrate games into content delivery
- Draw on brain science to develop effective training techniques
- Put Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset approach into action
- Draw out quiet learners and manage difficult participants
INSIGHTS, TEACHING TOOLS, & MORE
Beyond learning facilitation tips to help teachers and trainers hone their facilitation skills, Trainers Warehouse shares insights and product selection tools drawn from serving the training industry for over 30 years. While Trainers Warehouse sells 100s of training tools and toys on their e-commerce website, they share 1000s of free tips within this blog. Special interest categories include exercises and activities or popular training topics, as well as communication and relationship-building tools to help learners engage in meaningful conversations.
"EDUTAINMENT" GURU
Susan Landay, the President of Trainers Warehouse, graduated from Yale College, Kellogg Business School and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. She’s the perfect resource to help trainers and teachers balance fun and professionalism, education and entertainment. Her insightful thinking and careful research make the WorkSMART blog interesting and informative.