• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

International Teacher Training Academy (Australia)

  • Home
  • Blog
  • International
  • Contact
  • Student Login
  • Teacher Community of Practice
Speak with one of our experienced trainers today

1300 780 477

  • About
    • ITT Academy
    • Academy Staff
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Vision
    • Case Studies
    • ITTA Student Information
  • Teachers
    • Motivation For Teaching
    • Are You Making a Difference?
    • Understanding Your Learners
    • Professional Development
    • Australian Qualifications Framework
    • Employment Opportunities
    • VET Capability Framework
  • Managers
    • Emotional Intelligence
    • Leading & Managing Teams
    • Quality Customer Service
    • Managing Risk
    • Continuous Improvement
    • Managing People Performance
    • Recruitment
  • Courses
    • TAE40116 Certificate IV Training and Assessment
    • TAE40116 Upgrade (from TAE40110) Workshops
    • TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training
    • TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development
    • BSB50420 Diploma of Leadership and Management
  • Literacy
    • Digital Literacy For Indigenous Communities
    • Language, Literacy & Numeracy
    • LLN Resources
  • RPL
    • RPL Overview
    • RPL How To Apply
    • RPL Rules Of Evidence
  • Professional Development
    • Adult Language Literacy & Numeracy
    • TAE Diploma Workshop
    • Real Skills For Work
    • Engaging The 21st Century Learner
    • Teaching for Tomorrow
    • Myers Briggs Personality Types
    • Develop and Use Emotional Intelligence

“Trainers are born, not made”

June 1, 2017 By Academy Staff 14 Comments

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.

14
Leave a Reply

avatar
Upload up to 5 files (PDF, doc, docs)
 
 
 
 
 
13 Comment threads
1 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
13 Comment authors
Clemence MatsikaKymZoeLizClaire Latham Recent comment authors
avatar
Upload up to 5 files (PDF, doc, docs)
 
 
 
 
 
newest oldest
Clemence Matsika
Guest
Clemence Matsika

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.

Reply
2 months ago
Kym
Guest
Kym

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.

Reply
2 months ago
Zoe
Guest
Zoe

“…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 »

Reply
4 months ago
Liz
Guest
Liz

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 »

Reply
7 months ago
Claire Latham
Guest
Claire Latham

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 »

Reply
1 year ago
Academy Staff
Author
Academy Staff

‘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

Reply
1 year ago
Sharon Chirgwin
Guest
Sharon Chirgwin

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 »

Reply
1 year ago
Laura Edwards
Guest
Laura Edwards

“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 »

Reply
2 years ago
Carolyn Fletcher
Guest
Carolyn Fletcher

Sikiki, it is a pleasure to work with someone who is passionate about what they do.

Reply
2 years ago
Sikiki
Guest
Sikiki

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 »

Reply
2 years ago
Sandy Welton
Guest
Sandy Welton

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”.

Reply
2 years ago
Andy Keyte
Guest
Andy Keyte

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 »

Reply
2 years ago
David Lorkin
Guest
David Lorkin

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 🙂

Reply
3 years ago
Carolyn Fletcher
Guest
Carolyn Fletcher

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.

Reply
3 years ago

Primary Sidebar

Have a question about any of our courses?

Send your query to one of our experienced TAE or Leadership and Management staff. We’ll reply within the next business day.







    Please help us prevent spam by answering this question:

    Recent Posts

    • BSBMGT516 Facilitate Continuous Improvement – The Need for Continuous Improvement
    • Sparking Creativity
    • Outdated Traditions and Sacred Cows
    • 4 New Paradigms for Pedagogy
    • Building Capability
    • Barriers to Fostering Originality and Creativity in Students

    Popular Courses

    • BSB51915 Diploma of Leadership and Management
    • TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education & Training
    • TAE50216 Training Design & Development
    • TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
    • VET Courses / RPL Recognition of Prior Learning
    • Myers Briggs Australia

    Footer

    Popular Courses

    • BSB50420 Diploma of Leadership and Management
    • TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education & Training
    • TAE50216 Training Design & Development
    • TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
    • Professional Development
    • VET Courses / RPL Recognition of Prior Learning
    • Myers Briggs Australia

    The ITTA Difference

    We provide personalised mentoring and support by highly qualified professionals. It's important to us that you feel supported throughout your training. Our expert staff are here to guide you - from RPL assessment to course completion.
    Meet the Academy Staff

    Connect With Us

    • Connect on LinkedIn
    • Find us on Facebook
    • Join us on Google
    • Watch us on YouTube
    RTO Code 40716

    Copyright © 2021 · Site by Matt Angel

    • 1300 780 477
    • Home
    • Courses
      • TAE40116 Certificate IV Training and Assessment
      • TAE40116 Upgrade (from TAE40110) Workshops
      • TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training
      • TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development
      • BSB50420 Diploma of Leadership and Management
      • Back
    • Managers
    • Teachers
    • Professional Development
    • RPL
    • Literacy
    • About
    • International
    • Blog
    • Contact
    wpDiscuz