In this video I share an important lesson I was reminded of this morning as I assessed the impact of Cyclone Alfred (March 2025).
On the ground during Cyclone Alfred – An important lesson for trainers.
Tag: training
Two Key Goals of Every Trainer, Facilitator and Designer.
In the below video, I share a lesson I was never taught in my training career… the two key goals of every training session regardless of the content. When I’m designing and delivering a training session, these two goals are always top of mind.
E.A.R.N, probably the most important acronym vocational trainers need to know.
I believe all educators, regardless of what they teach, have two key goals:
- To engage their learners.
- To enhance comprehension and learning.
In that order.
I’ve said for some time, that in my humble opinion, engagement drives learning. Therefore, as vocational trainers we need to be thinking about ways to both engage our learners and enhance their learning.
Introducing the E.A.R.N acronym. Based on the work of neuroscientist Dr Wendy Suzuki as well as other prominent educators, E.A.R.N is an acronym I put together to help remind educators of the four key factors that make something memorable, and often as a by-product, engaging.
E.A.R.N stands for:
- Emotional resonance
- Association
- Repetition
- Novelty.
Emotional resonance: If it resonates emotionally, positive or negative, we are more likely to remember it.
Association: If we can link new skills and knowledge to existing but related skills and knowledge, we are more likely to remember them.
Related to the concept of ‘scaffolding’, association is a powerful technique to help enhance learning and engagement.
Repetition: Things that are repeated, tend to be remembered. Again, things that are repeated, tend to be remembered (see what I did there :D).
However, it’s worth noting that some forms of repetition are better than others, such as retrieval practice (the testing effect) and spaced retrieval.
Novelty: If it’s unusual, unexpected or different it’s more likely to be remembered than if it’s routine or expected.
While being different does come with a little risk, as educators we might want to take educated risks, in order to make our training a little more novel.
Any one or combination of these elements will increase the chances that something will be remembered. Additionally, each can be used to promote learner engagement.
Want to know how you can use the E.A.R.N model in your training sessions? Join me and the team at Velg Training on the 17th of March 2025 as we explore E.A.R.N and it is probably the most important acronym vocational trainers need to know.
Check it out: https://www.velgtraining.com/pages/speed-training
Cheers,
T.K.
Engage Learning and Development 