For more information on preparing good instruction, see Teaching Tips Index. Test your knowledge of instructional strategies and learning styles with Quia. Visit the Volunteer Training Websites, Articles and Books section for a list of more online tools. Effective Practices Enter the name of one of these articles related to planning and designing effective training in the search box: Training with style Choosing icebreakers with a purpose Dealing with difficult training situations Using small groups to maximize training Preparing for pre-service training of members

Key Issues:

• Strategies to Motivate Your Learners
• Examples of Motivating Training for Volunteers
• Volunteer Orientation Instructor Pack
  

Strategies to Motivate Your Learners

Effective training motivates learners, but how? Let's examine how we can use instructional strategies to motivate learners by building confidence with early successes, demonstrating value and relevance, engaging learners in solving real problems that they care about, and allowing them to discover, explore, and share.

Connect training to relevant goals and purposes
Good training not only grabs your audience's attention, it also relates the content of your training to the organization's goals and purposes.

• Be clear about the purpose of the training, and how it will help volunteers move in directions that are aligned with the program's purposes and goals.
  
• Relate learning to their personal goals.
  
• Encourage participatory goal setting, where the volunteer and manager work together to pick key performance goals.
  
• Have volunteers create an action plan to customize the new knowledge to their own situation.

Integrate training with what they know
No training session stands alone. Each session builds on skills and knowledge learners already possess, complements other trainings they've had, and prepares them for additional training and skills they will get on the job.

• Tell volunteers how this training session fits into other trainings available to them.
  For example:
  • This course builds on what you've learned in ______________.
    
  • This course complements [other training session] by providing_____________.
    
  • This course will prepare you for your volunteer assignments or challenges, such as____________________________________________________________.
• Build bridges between new information and what they already know.
  • Set a comfortable tone in the first class period that encourages active participation and sharing, and allows for debate and challenge of ideas.
    
  • Preview what you're going to tell them using an outline or graphic organizer.
    
  • Tell them why it matters in the bigger scheme of things.
    
  • Use familiar themes or metaphors.
    
  • Ask learners to share their experiences that might be related to the topic.
• Encourage small group discussions that allow participants to reflect on and discuss their new skills and knowledge. Use online discussion boards, e-mail, group meetings, etc.

Show and tell
Show or tell learners exactly how they are to perform the job. You might explain the steps in a procedure, describe a concept, definition, or rule (e.g., "If this happens, then you do this"), or demonstrate how to perform a specific task.

• Include many examples and non-examples.
  
• Make it human by using real stories, quotes, and pictures.
  
• Show them actions linked to results.
  
• Tell them how it influences what they do.

Let them apply what they've learned
Give plenty of opportunities for learners to test their skills and knowledge. When you can, provide opportunities for them to solve real-world problems.

• Let them try it out.
  
• Emphasize how learning can be applied in their volunteer work.
  
• Give them a chance to ask questions, discuss, and share.
  
• Include knowledge checks that ask learners to remember or recall information, as well as tasks where the learner performs a procedure.
  
• Provide an action plan to be completed during class.
  
• Give them "homework" or reading to extend their learning.
  
• Guide them to pursue additional areas of interest that were perhaps only skimmed during class.

Provide support beyond the classroom
Change is inevitable, and volunteers will continue to be faced with ever-changing demands. Therefore, one of the purposes of training is to help people learn to help themselves. In other words, we must help volunteers become lifelong learners, because they can't rely on training alone for the skills and knowledge they will need.

• Extend the classroom by giving them tools and additional resources to use before, during, and after the training, including job aids, reference materials, websites, people to contact, etc.
  
• Develop programs for peer mentoring. Encourage learners to be a resource for one another.
  
• Provide coaching and guidance to help them apply what they're learning until they begin mastering the skills on their own.
  
• Provide immediate and positive feedback and reinforcement.

Examples of Motivating Training for Volunteers

Here is an example of how we've used technology to create motivating training for volunteers. We call it an "Instructor Pack." The table below describes the components.
The instructor pack includes a PowerPoint presentation along with associated handouts, checklists, and evaluation forms--everything you need to conduct a short volunteer training session. We encourage you to download these materials and modify them for your own training programs. (You must have Microsoft PowerPoint on your computer to use this file.)

How to use this PowerPoint file:

1. Download the PowerPoint file.
   
2. Make a backup copy of the file before you modify it.
   
3. When you open the presentation, be sure you are looking at the slides in the NOTES view. In NOTES view, you will be able to see the slide AND the Presenter Notes that give you the rationale for each slide. To see the NOTES view, go to the menu bar, select "View" -> "Notes Page."
   
4. Modify, add to, or delete slides to best suit your purposes.
   
5. Change the look by applying a Design Template to your presentation. To do this, go to the menu bar, select "Format" -> "Apply Design Template."

Note: This lesson is not designed to teach you how to use PowerPoint. Please consult the program's "Help" feature for more information. Or, use these online tutorials:

• Land Grant Training Alliance Online Lessons - To start the lesson, choose the version of PowerPoint you have installed on your computer.
• Microsoft Support Knowledgebase - Search Microsoft's online help for your PowerPoint questions. (Select the version of PowerPoint you are using from the first dropdown menu.)
  

Volunteer Orientation Instructor Pack

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