Get Your Learners Moving During Training

Sharon Bowman, president of Bowperson Publishing & Training (www.bowperson.com) and author of Using Brain Science to Make Training Stick, gave trainers good advice yesterday, so we asked her another question: “Why is movement important during training, and how can trainers build movement into training sessions?”
Bowman responds by reporting that brain research conducted in the past decade has found that moving from a sitting position to a standing position increases oxygen to the brain by 15 percent to 20 percent and that “more oxygen in the brain means better learning. “It’s that simple,” says her latest book.
Specifically, she points to research by molecular biologist John Medina in his book Brain Rules. “Movement—any kind of motion—increases oxygen to the brain, thereby giving the brain a cognitive boost. Conversely, sitting for extended lengths of time makes thinking and learning more difficult to do because the oxygen levels in the body decrease,” Bowman explains.
———————————————————————————————————
Unlimited employee HR training—one low cost—no setup, no software to install. Find out why the Software & Information Industry Association voted TrainingToday^® the “Best Workforce Training Solution.” Go here for more information or to sign up.
———————————————————————————————————
She says trainers need to build in opportunities for learners to move around during training. At least every 10 to 20 minutes, learners should be encouraged to stand and stretch, turn and talk to those around them, bend and write, wiggle their arms and legs, or roll their heads and shoulders, Bowman says.
“You can also build movement into your content delivery by directing learners to do short, quick, topic-related review activities that include movement,” she says.
For example, she builds in “Body Breaks” to her training sessions—that is, 30- to 60-second exercises aimed at increasing oxygen to the brain and enhancing learning. She might have learners stand, stretch their arms, turn to the person next to them, and say three things that they learned from the training content, explain one way they would use the information, or ask one related question, she says.
Another exercise is to have learners walk to a wall chart and write a one-sentence summary of the content, a question, or an opinion.
Recognizing that some learners may be resistant to taking “Body Breaks,” Bowman recommends telling learners that these activities will help them learn more, but not requiring anyone to do them. Often, the resistant ones will start participating after they “realize that they’re missing the fun.”
———————————————————————————————————-
No time to prepare or deliver training? With BLR’s TrainingToday^®, your employees can start taking essential training courses the same day you sign up. Workers (and supervisors) train at their convenience, 24/7. We track and you save with this turnkey solution. Yes, it really can be this simple. Learn more.
———————————————————————————————————-
Effective Training Available Now
Looking for dynamic, interactive, prewritten training material on more than 100 HR topics? Look no further than the HR Library from TrainingToday^®.
Now you can run your training program like a pro with our new TrainingToday system. This dynamic training resource provides course content on safety, ethics, sexual harassment, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and much more.
TrainingToday is a leading provider of online education programs for employees and supervisors. Each course in our extensive library addresses a specific topic with engaging and interactive presentations, delivering practical advice and clear instructions that trainees will remember long after the training is complete.
Three Delivery Platforms
TrainingToday^® offers you the option of three delivery platforms to meet your organization’s needs:
Professional

• Unlimited training for your whole organization for one flat fee
• Easy to start up and track trainee progress
• Hundreds of courses available, from employment law compliance to sales excellence

Enterprise
The Enterprise platform includes all the features of the Professional version, plus it will:

• Track and report capability with the built-in, comprehensive Learning Management System (LMS);
• Train with courses as they are or make them truly your own with our customization options; and
• Upload your own content (PowerPoint^®, video, Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) files, etc.) to the LMS in addition to using our comprehensive training courses.

SCORM

• Integrate content into your existing LMS.
• Easily tailor to your content, logo, presentation style, and corporate policies.
• SCORM-compliant to integrate with existing corporate learning systems.

Unlimited Training That Will Not Bust the Budget
Best of all, in these budget-crunching times, TrainingToday^® costs only a fraction of what you would pay for an LMS. You always know exactly what training will cost, no matter how many programs you use or how many times you use them. There’s just one low, annual fee—for unlimited training—calculated by the size of your workforce. Budget once and you’re done!
These are all motivational, actionable courses—for both employees and supervisors—in such key areas as sexual harassment, the FMLA, diversity, communication, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), recruiting, and many more. The courses are kept up to date to reflect federal and state regulatory changes, and what’s more, BLR^® adds new programs continually.
TrainingToday^® also includes a selection of safety courses—you decide whether you want just the HR courses, the safety courses, or both.
If it sounds as if we’re excited about this new service, well, we are—and so is the Software & Information Industry Association, which just voted TrainingToday^® (formerly the Employee Training Center) the “Best Workforce Training Solution.” Find out what all the buzz is about—sign up for a no-obligation trial to TrainingToday^®.