Active Training: A Handbook of Techniques, Designs, Case Examples, and Tips (Active Training Series) - Hardcover

Silberman, Melvin L.; Biech, Elaine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1118972015 ISBN 13: 9781118972014

Publisher: Wiley, 2015

Synopsis

The all-time bestselling training handbook, updated for new technologies and roles

Active Training turns instructional design on its head by shifting the emphasis away from the instructor, and on to the learner. Comprehensively updated to reflect the many developments in the field, this new fourth edition covers the latest technologies and applications, the evolving role of the trainer, and how new business realities impact training, advancing new evidence-based best practices for new trainer tasks, skills, and knowledge. Up to date theory and research inform the practical tips and techniques that fully engage learners and help them get the most out of sessions, while updated workplace examples and revised templates and worksheets help bring these techniques into the classroom quickly. You'll gain insight into improving training evaluation by using Return on Expectations (ROE), learn how to extend the value of training programs through transfer of learning, and develop fresh, engaging methods that incorporate state-of-the-art applications.

Active Training designs offer just the right amount of content; the right balance of affective, behavioral, and cognitive learning; a variety of approaches; real-life problem solving; gradual skill-building; and engaging delivery that uses the participants' expertise as a foundation for learning. This book is the classic guide to employing Active Training methods effectively and appropriately for almost any topic.

• Learn how the trainer's role has changed
• Engage learners through any training delivery method
• Inspire collaboration and innovation through application
• Overcome the challenges trainers face in the new business environment

Active Training methods make training sessions fun, engaging, relevant, and most importantly, effective. Participants become enthusiastic about the material, and view sessions as interesting challenges rather than as means to fulfill requirements. To bring these widely endorsed methods into your training repertoire, Active Training is the complete practical handbook you need.

About this title

About the Author

MEL SILBERMAN was Professor Emeritus of Adult and Organizational Development at Temple University for 41 years. Mel rose to international prominence for his contributions to the field of training. Mel passed away in 2010.

ELAINE BIECH is President of ebb associates inc, where she specializes in helping leaders maximize their effectiveness. She is the author or editor of over 60 books.

CAROL AUERBACH has over 25 years' experience designing and delivering corporate training programs for such companies as CIGNA Insurance, Kellogg's, and IBM.

From the Back Cover

The Trusted Active Training Methodology, Fully Updated for Today's Business Challenges

Active Training is the runaway bestselling handbook for beginning and experienced trainers alike. This Fourth Edition updates the proven Active Training approach which turns the spotlight away from the instructor and puts the emphasis on the learner to reflect today's business realities, emerging technologies, and the ever-evolving role of the adult educator.

The field of training has changed dramatically in the past decade, and this thoroughly revised edition provides a wealth of practical information for implementing training practices across a newly expanded range of settings. New topics include:

• Emerging learning technologies, such as social media, mobile learning, and online virtual classes
• Tips for implementing the active learning method in onboarding, change management, coaching, consulting, and team building
• Advice for working under budgetary constraints, training a multi-generational workforce, and participating in globalization

In addition to covering these crucial issues, Active Training now contains expanded guidelines on assessing training return on expectations, training management, and extending the value of training programs. Updated examples, templates, and theory round out this comprehensive update, making Active Training the only choice for practitioners in this ever-important field.

From assessing training needs and developing objectives through to preparing well-rounded training programs that appeal to learners of all types, Active Training is a bounty of practical tips and techniques guaranteed to improve any training program.

From the Inside Flap

When the first edition of Active Training was published in 1990, there was an emerging awareness that adults learn best by engaging actively with what they are learning. Since then, new research and evidence from practice has only continued to strengthen this core fact about adult education. There is every indication that learning by doing the active approach is crucial if we as trainers want our courses to make a lasting impact. Therefore, it is unsurprising that Mel Silberman's classic Active Training has become one of the most widely used and deeply trusted training methodologies in existence.

In this fourth edition, Mel Silberman, along with coauthors Elaine Biech and Carol Auerbach, preserve the heart of the active instruction with the detailed, example-based style that trainers and training leaders have appreciated for decades, adapted for the present-day. Originally, Active Training emphasized face-to-face, instructor-led programs in which learners could interact directly with one another and with the trainer. From a trainer's perspective, this kind of hands-on learning might still be the ideal; however, the reality of today is that we are often challenged to take learning out of the classroom and onto devices.

New virtual classes, m-learning apps, and other emerging technologies present opportunities for the training field, but can present challenges for the design of engaging activities. This new edition of Active Training tackles mobile learning and social media effortlessly, proving that the classic learn-by-doing method can carry forward and adapt to new realities. By measuring return on expectations using the Active Training method, trainers will be able to demonstrate the impact of their efforts no matter what form those efforts take.

In business environments, new realities extend beyond technological change. With a workforce that spans four generations and is increasingly globalized, adult educators must consider a host of factors that were once unproblematic. When we combine these facts with tightening budgets, we find that trainers must adapt to new roles like vendor management and coaching, constantly doing more with less all while continuing to engage learners. Thankfully, this edition adds ideas for handling each of these situations using the same time-tested principles that have helped Active Training remain as the preeminent teaching methodology for decades.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1118972015
• ISBN 13: 9781118972014
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 448