Capabilities, skills, and readiness to deliver specific learning and development activities are essential parts of the educational approach towards managing people in an organization and ensuring that they get the best learning practices and techniques. A trainer who works in the company and is in charge of L&D activity should work closely with the business to provide human resources that can manage existing and future organizational capabilities’ and tasks’ demands. Thus, a trainer should know the subject and methods used in L&D, such as coaching and mentoring, individual and group development programs, external and internal training, or the ‘in the flow’ approach (CIPD, 2020).
Such comprehensive knowledge of the evolving learning techniques emphasizes the necessity to read scholarly articles and studies on L&D topics. It requires practicing the application several times with teachers or mentors who can adjust the trainer’s actions (Moses, 2019). Moreover, it is crucial to ensure that the trainer is ready to deliver information to other people. To help in the preparations and management of the coach’s emotional well-being, assessment tools should be used, for instance, Trainer Performance Monitoring & Assessment, 360-degree tools, or one-to-one sessions (Moses, 2019).
Besides personal skills and knowledge, an L&D team employee should prepare and ensure that L&D activities will be delivered with the necessary equipment and resources. It includes preparing materials and educational space, such as rooms in an organization, digital learning programs, and other resources (The Guide Association, 2013). Setting a budget or allocating resources for L&D activities should be established; then, a trainer should book a venue. Evaluating the venue and training accommodation, an L&D employee should estimate the number of learners, and Provision of car-parking or refreshments during the event. Furthermore, IT resources (computers, projectors), papers, internet access, external facilities, disabled access, and seating space should be assessed (The Guide Association, 2013). To ensure that all these resources are delivered on time, a trainer can use several tools, such as a Microsoft Project Management tool and a Gantt Chart with tasks and resources allocated to provide on a specific date (Watt, n.d.). Excel tables to track the management of the event and necessary resources are also available with timelines so that a trainer would not face the problem of lacking resources during the event.
A positive learning environment is one of the most crucial elements of a health education institution, where students and trainers build rapport and should feel that they are mutually valued and supported. There are physical and psychological features of a positive learning environment that favorably influence the education process. The physical characteristics of the environment could be the infrastructure and equipment of the education space and the organization of the process. The positive learning environment’s psychological features include the attitude of trainers and inclusivity that establish the healthy state of students and contribute to the positive perception of the process.
Infrastructure includes the room temperature, comfortable furniture, and optimal lighting; the process consists of scheduling, local policies and procedures announcements, and introduction to trainers and coordinators. When appropriately established, all these features positively influence learners’ cognitive and behavioral states (Graetz, n.d.). The equipment should be ordered and tested by trainers or other responsible people, and organization information should be composed and distributed in advance so that learners know what to expect. Trainers and the organization’s employees should nurture the psychological features, namely attitude, and inclusivity to welcome all students’ views and support their aspirations to learn, which can be conveyed during the lesson or in the end by highlighting achieved results (Bradley, 2016).
Establishing a physical environment for safe, healthy learning and supporting the learning activity is essential for the education process and positive outcomes. To prepare a physical space, a trainer and coordinators should address several points. First, health and safety measures should be assessed and established according to existing guidelines, such as Improving Safety Through Education and Training reports (The Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety, n.d.). Second, proper equipment and infrastructure should be created based on laws and regulations that emphasize having physical space in the right conditions with a comfortable temperature, clean furniture, a room, access to air and water, and avoidance of overcrowding.
Room layout and its equipment, such as eating places, desks, lighting, should be ordered and presented in advance by the facility’s manager with coordination from the trainer who should ask about the number of students and their unique needs before the education process (National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, n.d.). Finally, depending on the topic, the visual and video materials should be prepared with engaging content; these can be downloaded from the official sites of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or other organizations and tested on the computer and projector before the lesson.
Communication is also an essential part of learning activities and the consequences of the process. To ensure that all learners feel comfortable and free to speak out and are eager to participate in the learning process, communication and training techniques should be applied. The first technique is using enabling language; for instance, someone from the audience says: “I can’t do it,” and the trainer should add the word “yet” to the initial phrase to highlight that people are learning and will be able to acquire new knowledge and skills soon (Wabisabi Learning, n.d.). The second communication method to break barriers is using welcome activities and training to build trust among learners, such as introduction speeches and positive feedback from peers on each other’s career and education path. The third communication method is an honest reflection on class activities (Wabisabi Learning, n.d.). A teacher should ask every person about their opinions, adjustments needed, and preferences to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to share thoughts and get a better process in the future.
References
Bradley, J. (2016). Creating a positive learning environment. High Speed Training. Web.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). (2020). Learning methods. Web.
Graetz, K. (n.d.). Chapter 6. The psychology of learning environment. Educase. Web.
Moses, J. (2019). These are the tools accelerating L&D strategies on future readiness. People Matters. Web.
National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments. (n.d.). Physical environment. Web.
The Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety. (n.d.). Improving safety through education and training. Web.
The Guide Association. (2013). Planning and designing a training session. Web.
Wabisabi Learning. (n.d.). 6 ways of helping students with overcoming learning barriers. Web.
Watt, A. (n.d.). Project schedule planning in Project Management (Barron et al., 2016). Web.