I primarily work with e-learning, so it’s a ton of fun when I get the chance to create a classroom training program. It is important to maintain the pace and interest of the class, and to implicitly enable collaboration among the attendees so that they can learn with and from each other. Here are just some of the many activities that can be used in the classroom for entertainment, as well as realization, analysis, learning, reflection, assessment, and application.
These activities, and many others, are part of the book, Training Activities that Work, by learning and performance consultant, Catherine Mattiske and her colleagues. Don’t miss a chance to review this fantastic resource! Btw- I am writing this post because I was suitably impressed by the book- this is not a sponsored review 🙂
Activity 01: In the News: This is a great activity to frame the training topic in a current context. The participants, as individuals or pairs, research the training topic and identify one recent news item on the topic. Volunteers then present their news items and the Trainer presents their expert viewpoint on the same.
Activity 02: Changing Hats: This activity is useful to build collaboration among different teams performing different responsibilities on the same task/ process. Have one such group recall or list the tasks that are performed by another group. The second group can then point out if any actions were explained incorrectly. This activity also helps the first team appreciate the tasks performed by their counterparts in the second group.
Activity 03: Acronym Hunt: Request the participants to form small groups. Then ask each such group to identify a key learning message, and create a fun acronym to remember the message. A perfect little activity to wrap up before breaking for lunch!
Activity 04: Mental Aerobics: Energy is low once the class returns from lunch. To make everyone alert, play a quick memory game. The Trainer starts the game by listing one learning point from the pre-lunch session and identifies the next player. The next player repeats the first learning point and adds another. The game is played sequentially till all attendees have added their learning point. (optimum group size: 6-8)
Activity 05: Standardize before you Improvise: A very important, yet unobtrusive activity to help the training attendees reflect on their learning from the session. At the end of a successful training session, attendees can often be extremely eager to start applying their learning to their day to day tasks. But before doing so, it is necessary to take a moment to appreciate that while some of their learning points can be customized, it is important to apply other learning points as is. Standardization is especially useful for technical skills training, processes training, etc.
Activity 06, 07: Survival Kit, Dropping Anchor: These two activities enable reflection among the attendees. At the end of the session, the Trainer asks each attendee to write down a few learning points from the training that they will be using at their work (Survival Kit). Then, each attendee is requested to deep dive into ONE specific point and write down how they will apply it, what tasks they will perform, which documents they will use, what benefit they see in this learning point, etc (Dropping Anchor).
