This blog relates to the unit TAEDEL401 Plan, organise and deliver group-based learning from the course TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Can we really teach just anybody to be a trainer? Can we teach just anybody to be a concert pianist? We can all agree that it takes a special talent and passion to be a concert pianist. The same applies to being a trainer.
What makes for a superlative trainer? Of course they must know their subject – that goes without saying. But knowing your subject and being able to impart the knowledge and skills to others are two different things.
A trainer needs instinct, talent and passion. They need confidence in their own ability while empathising with the learner’s lack of confidence. It’s important for us to remember where we came from and how hard it was for us in the beginning. We need to “leave ourselves outside the door” and focus on our learners. When you focus on your learner and what they are thinking, you don’t have time to be self-conscious.
We may start with a session plan, but we also need to think on our feet and know when to throw the session plan out the door and, instead, give the learners what they need when they need it.
We have a number of DEL units in the TAE and no doubt they will provide additional knowledge and skills but if the trainer is not born to train, all the teaching in the world will not make them into a trainer.
Written by Sandy Welton
Post your thoughts on what makes a great trainer.
I agree to a certain extent, passion is essential for the delivery of engaging, meaningful training. However, I’m not certain everyone is born with the gift to train and this is something that can develop over time. I would suggest that I’m a good case for this point. In year 10 at high school I completed 3 weeks work experience as a PE teacher in a primary school. At the end of the experience my supervising teacher said I was too quiet, lacked confidence and the inspiration to teach. I wrote a comment underneath saying I did not enjoy the… Read more »
A trainer must be a lifelong learner, someone who never stops growing, adapting, and bringing new ideas and strategies to their own life. In this way, they stay current and relevant, and also remember the journey of going from someone who knows nothing to becoming unconsciously skilled at what you do. An inspired, enthusiastic trainer has the opportunity to be a light beacon, helping others find their way when they get lost.
I think a great trainer is an individual who possess a natural instincts, appropriate knowledge and skill. Such an individual would also have a calling, which could be a motivation and guiding principle to do the best in their field. With training such an individual would be more focused and understanding, to deliver a group or individual focused training.
I’m not sure how much intrinsic skill and talent is involved in being a teacher or trainer. Yes it is there, but the growth mindset that leads us to learning and developing is just as much part of the trainer as it is the learner. We must always be curious, growing and improving.
“…if the trainer is not born to train, all the teaching in the world will not make them into a trainer.” This is a very strange article to post in a training education forum – particularly in a forum hosted by an organisation called the International Teacher Training Academy – as it seems to completely devalue the work of educators in the training sector (as well as the entire soft-skills training industry) with a wholly unsubstantiated assessment of the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate. I don’t think I have ever disagreed with any article more thoroughly. But let’s run with it.… Read more »
I remember once at teachers college, a fellow student said “just because you know information, doest mean you can teach it!” Not everybody agreed that day – and I sat on the fence. At some point in life we all teach or support someones learning of something. What I do believe is that you do need the knowledge base to teach a specific topic/subject. Your passion for the subject and the students/learners, supports your ability to teach. But there is more to it than that? How many times have we heard parents mention that their child grew/learnt in leaps and… Read more »
It seems to me that a great trainer begins with few assumptions about their learners, which leads them to start with the basics, explaining not just WHAT they will teach but also WHY it is relevant to the learner. Learners who don’t know how the information is going to benefit them can easily switch off, or struggle to encode the information in a way that allows them to recall it later. The best trainers start a topic in a way that reaffirms those who know things about the topic already, while tactfully bringing those who know very little up to… Read more »
‘I believe if you are passionate enough about your subject, passionate enough to share what you know with others and have a love of learning more about your subject, with hard work and determination you can become a great trainer.’ Lisa Phillips
The discussion about what makes a ‘superlative’ trainer could be seen in is most simplistic form as another exploration of the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate in the context of teaching/training. That is, are superlative trainers born with the necessary characteristics or talents or can they be developed by careful nurturing? Or perhaps there has to be equal contributions from both? Many of this have reflected on this particularly after participating in classes eager to learn from an expert in education and training only to be disappointed in the lack of passion, patience and professional delivery. Also is it possible that… Read more »
“We need to leave ourselves outside the door and focus on our learners”. I could not agree with this more, as a teacher as much as our role is about imparting knowledge, the action and role we play actually has nothing to do with us as individuals and everything to do with out learner and the way they learn. It is our role as teachers to be able to quickly adapt and pick up on the different styles and ways of learning and each learner will have a different way to learn. This is where the intuition and passion comes… Read more »
Sikiki, it is a pleasure to work with someone who is passionate about what they do.
I completely agree with the statement that educators/trainers are born and not made…I took the path of business management but invariably found myself in a training/hr role hahaha. I never saw myself as an educator but I now have a Master of Teacher and have been a secondary teacher for the last five years, having retrained out of Tourism. I’m moving into Adult Ed now and find that I should have bitten the bullet and become a teacher when I first left school! Oh for the wisdom of hindsight. I also am with David, ITTA have been fantastic. The professional… Read more »
Andy – Yes, you are right – it comes back to the argument about nature or nurture, and in your case it looks like it was both (fortunately).
But … my question is … if you weren’t a born trainer then, at this late stage, could I turn you into one? In my experience it’s a resounding “No”.
An interesting view on what makes a trainer. It is clear to me that this comes back to the age-old discussion of nature versus nurture. Is someone good at something because their parents were good at it? Is it in the genes? Is it just chance that they were born that way? Or is it because their parents raised them in a way that mirrored the training concepts – questioning them, challenging them to find the answers? It may not have been the parents raising them this way it may have been a role-model or mentor (many of which we… Read more »
Thank you very much ITTA team, recently completed an RPL process to upgrade my two TAE Diplomas to the 2016 version AND my TAE40110 to TAE40116.
As always, I cannot comment highly enough on the assistance and support I have received form ALL the team at ITTA.
I am so impressed I keep coming back to do more and more because the team is so professional AND I am now marketing ITTA to all my VET Trainers/Assessors to use ITTA to gain or update their Training and Assessment qualifications. I am so proud to call ITTA as my preferred supplier 🙂
David, thank you for the lovely feedback. I was just looking at the title of this Blog “Trainers are born, not made” – this is what really makes the difference. I know you are passionate about training and assessing David, and as one of our TAE candidates you certainly demonstrated through your commitment and quality of work that you are a born trainer! Keep up the great work.