Thought Design Learning Studio Review: A Deep Dive into Metonomy's Skills for Trainers Program

In today's rapidly evolving world, the ability to learn effectively is becoming increasingly crucial. The amount of knowledge on meta-skills, or "learning how to learn," is growing exponentially, making it challenging to keep up with the latest techniques, experiences, and tools. With the aim of updating my understanding of learning new skills, I decided to enroll in the Skills for Trainers program ideated by David Kohler. Powered by Metonomy, this 9-week training promised to enhance my abilities as a trainer.

The Promise and the Commitment

The program's promise was to cultivate training skills within a group of six participants. The commitment was significant, with 4-hour sessions, but the innovative approach piqued my interest. This approach combined theoretical modules with practical environments, allowing trainers to experiment with new facilitation methods. As an engineer, I believed this meta-skills training could significantly impact my theoretical knowledge of learning. Since no prior experience was required, I joined the next available cohort.

Key Takeaways: Rethinking Training Approaches

After completing the 9-week Metonomy Skills for Trainers program, several key takeaways emerged.

Challenging Existing Practices

The experience highlighted the vast potential for improvement in program design, regardless of prior experience. The course provided numerous opportunities to practice curriculum design, set learning goals, and deliver training under time constraints. Receiving actionable feedback from observers proved invaluable, provided one is receptive to it.

Nurturing an Effective Learning Environment

Creating an effective learning environment goes beyond simply reading slides and assuming expertise. It begins with clearly defined learning objectives, encompassing cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. A well-structured lesson plan that aligns with these goals, incorporating conceptualizing, experimenting, experiencing, and reflecting, is essential.

Read also: Unlock Your Potential

Subject-matter expertise alone is insufficient. Pedagogical expertise is crucial to ensure that students retain what they learn long after the training session ends.

The Humbling Power of Practice

The course involved designing and implementing four practical training sessions on diverse topics. The other participants provided feedback on each session. This process provided countless lessons on outdated methods of planning and implementing curriculum.

I am grateful to Gabi, Olivia, Soley, Helena, Sweta, and David for their invaluable and humbling feedback. The course also offered a strong foundation in delivering performance-based feedback, a valuable skill both inside and outside the classroom.

Moving Beyond Guided Tours

Monitoring the amount of time spent talking during training sessions is an effective way to gauge how controlling a trainer is. Like many trainers, I tended to design "guided tours," leaving little room for learners to explore new knowledge areas independently. A key takeaway was the importance of creating more relaxed and exploratory learning experiences.

Consider learning about impressionism at a local museum. A guided tour would involve listening to someone talk about artists, dates, and masterpieces, much of which might be forgotten the next day. A more effective approach would be to involve the audience in experiencing impressionism, reflecting on it, and applying it to their lives. This could involve exploring inspiring artworks, reflecting on the reasons for that inspiration, sharing those reflections with a group, attempting to create an impressionist piece, and receiving feedback from experts and peers.

The Importance of Checking In and Out

Beyond the tools and concepts shared during the sessions, I valued the way David started each session with a check-in and ended with a summary. This created a comfortable atmosphere, like catching up with old friends before and after a productive session. Mastering this skill is vital for facilitators, especially in online settings, where it's easy to jump straight into the subject matter. Recognizing that participants arrive at training sessions with different mindsets and acknowledging them before starting is crucial.

The Longer Learning Journey Report: A Session-by-Session Breakdown

The Metonomy course stands apart from typical online learning experiences. Instead of pre-recorded videos, all interactions take place live in a Zoom room with a group of six participants.

The Miro board serves as a central hub for content and a space to "park" ideas for later exploration. Once participants become comfortable with the tool, participation becomes highly interactive. While the content is well-structured and goal-oriented, there is flexibility to explore topics of interest to the group. This highlights the importance of seizing opportunities to learn differently, even when plans are in place. Trainers should prioritize the learning experience over rigidly following lesson plans.

Session 1: Defining Training, Curriculum, and Learning Objectives

The course began with a definition of training and its distinction from other forms of facilitation or coaching.

As participants arrived with diverse expectations, it was valuable to define personal reasons for dedicating nine weeks to the course. My expectations included:

Read also: UCLA DMA Program

Understanding that trainers should design and nurture effective learning environments, combining subject-matter expertise, subject-pedagogy expertise, and pedagogical expertise.
Learning to design effective curricula with goals, activities, and assessments that facilitate skill acquisition.

Practicing the creation of effective learning objectives was particularly insightful, as poorly defined objectives often cause problems in the classroom. A well-defined learning objective describes a resulting competency, the environment in which it will be applied, and the criteria for assessing achievement.

Finally, the session covered lesson planning frameworks, such as BOPPPS or COARDS, which can be chosen based on the domain of the learning objectives (cognitive, psychomotor, or affective).

Session 2: Planning and Executing a Training Experience from Scratch

The second session involved putting the newly acquired tools into practice. Before starting, the session addressed feedback. While most people claim to welcome feedback, they often struggle to receive it, particularly when judgment is mixed with actionable performance-based feedback.

Practicing performance-based feedback during the session was invaluable, with examples drawn from colleagues' presentations. Receiving feedback based on performance, without personal attacks, was also fulfilling.

Due to time constraints, many participants attempted to cram too many learning objectives into their sessions, diminishing their effectiveness. There was also a tendency to talk too much and not encourage enough audience participation. Despite extensive experience in teaching and designing education programs, it was humbling to re-examine basic training assumptions.

Following Session 2, participants received a video of their training session and an analysis of their speaking time. The results revealed a common issue: too much talking, too little learning!

Session 3: Active Learning and Assessments

The third session focused on analyzing the passivity and lack of interaction in the initial training sessions.

A key insight was the importance of deconstructing ineffective mental models to build new ones. The discussion about mental models and how you need to deconstruct and break a mental model that is not working anymore, in order to be able to build a new one that works.

The Active Learning Cycle emerged as a core concept. Updating mental models requires more than simply telling people a new way to think. It requires conceptualizing, experimenting, experiencing, and reflecting.

The session also explored different types of assessment: assessment of learning, assessment as learning, and assessment for learning. Participants committed to using these new tools in the next practice session. It is so common to assess students using tests and exams, that we forget the actual purpose of assessing people. During this session, we explored 3 different kinds of assessment (assessment of learning, assessment as learning, and assessment for learning) and we committed to use the new tools we acquired in the next practice session.

Session 4: Implementing a Training Session Using Active Learning and Assessment

Preparing a lesson plan for the second time proved interesting. Participants became less ambitious about the amount of material they included and began incorporating methods for assessing participants' prior knowledge. I chose to use Mentimeter to gather quick feedback from the audience instead of dominating the conversation.

The change was significant. The second round of training sessions was more interactive, and participants generally managed to complete their lesson plans within the allotted time. Feedback from participants was more positive:

"Loved it, itâs so interactive right away."
"Was engaged throughout. Not having to speak gave it more of a pace."

However, some challenges persisted, such as slides that were too small, too much data to absorb, and post-testing activities that didn't align with the learning goal.

Overall, progress was evident. While far from perfect, engagement was higher, and the experience was more enjoyable for participants. Some even expressed interest in continuing to learn about the topic after the class!

Session 5: The Challenge of Commitment

During the 9-week course, I realized that committing to 4 hours of training per week could be challenging alongside a full work schedule. While I managed to juggle things for the first month, it became overwhelming in the second month, forcing me to skip a session. This experience highlighted the challenges of adult learning. Even with interest, commitment, and motivation, life can sometimes interfere. Programs should be designed with this in mind.

This also made me realise how challenging adult learning is. Even if you are interested, committed and motivated to participate in a learning activity, sometimes life is just too much. And that is ok, you should design programs with that in mind.

Session 6: Practice Round 3: Finding the Flow

By the third training session, I felt more experienced and delivered what I believe was my best session. Having been quite controlling in the first two rounds, I experimented with the format to give participants more space for free exploration.

I designed a session where participants could learn about each other's passions through a simple guessing game. The session was playful, simple, and flowed smoothly. Feedback was shorter and more positive:

"It was fun, engaging and interesting topics, we are naturally drawn towards learning about this stuff."
"It was great to learn more about each other."

While there were still comments about the time, they stemmed from a desire to continue playing the game, indicating a positive learning environment.

By this point, the entire group had mastered the preparation of effective learning plans with clear, achievable learning objectives and assessments that reinforced learning. Significant progress had been made in just six weeks.

As everyone improved, David began to help us refine our questioning techniques and improve our interactions with the audience.

Is It Worth It?

While the course carries a significant price tag (nearly $1,400 for corporate clients, with cheaper options for non-profits, freelancers, and students), it is a worthwhile investment for trainers seeking to enhance their skills and deliver more effective training. Davidâs experience is invaluable and can accelerate growth faster than books or podcasts.

Real-World Impact: Testimonials and Reviews

The effectiveness of Metonomy's training approach is further validated by positive testimonials and reviews. Zakaria Gaizi, one of the trainers, has received numerous accolades for his engaging and insightful teaching style. Reviewers consistently praise his ability to explain complex concepts clearly, provide real-life examples, and foster interactive learning environments.

Common themes in the reviews include:

Clear and concise explanations: Zakaria is praised for his ability to break down complex concepts into easily understandable terms.
Real-world examples: Reviewers appreciate the use of practical examples to illustrate key principles and make the learning more relevant.
Interactive and engaging activities: The training sessions are described as highly interactive, with a variety of activities designed to keep participants engaged and involved.
Effective use of visual aids: Zakaria's use of drawings and visual aids is highlighted as a valuable tool for enhancing understanding.
Positive and supportive learning environment: Reviewers consistently mention the comfortable and supportive atmosphere created during the training sessions.

These testimonials highlight the positive impact of Metonomy's training programs on participants' knowledge, skills, and confidence.

tags: #thought #design #learning #studio #review