Training the Trainer Without Being Trained: My Origin Story

Imagine it’s your first day as an instructor.  

You walk into the room dressed to impress with your materials, your presentation, your activities and a smile.  But on the inside, you are afraid. Today you are tasked with teaching others to teach a course…without ever having taught a course before nor ever being in the classroom. 

That’s exactly what happened to me – and get this, teaching and training amounted to only one-third of the simultaneous responsibilities I was juggling at the time in my role!  Yet this day was just the first in a series of successes, each one gaining speed and increasing in positive impact.

Many employees working in the fields of learning and development are thrown into spaces with only half the tools and experience needed to achieve a win.  A Forbes September 2024 article regarding Higher-Education explains:

“When it comes to teaching itself, most faculty members have never received formal, skills-based training on best practices in teaching and learning.”

To break this down further, Twitter-polled statistics grabbed from an author of the American Association of University Professors unfortunately showed that out of 2,800 college-level educator responses:

• only 52% received pedagogical training in their graduate programs
• only 12% had taken any sort of pedagogy-focused course in graduate school
• even after becoming new faculty members, 62% still had no preparation to teach

I was in this group.

So how did I persist despite the lack of experience, knowledge, and background needed to succeed?

I turned this setback into an opportunity for growth and pumped myself up for the challenge! More simply, I asked for help. I networked my ass off on campus, read as much as I could, grabbed as much feedback from my learners as possible (both fellow faculty and college students!) and decided to go back to graduate school so I could become that partner I so desperately needed when I took my first steps.

After my deep dive, I realized that this was an opportunity to fill a need, that I could be of service to others, and that I held purpose in my work.  And I came to this conclusion:

Asking a subject matter expert to ALSO be a learning design expert is too much to ask.

Partnership is needed to carry the heavy load of instruction.

Whether a faculty member, a director of training and development in a corporation, or an individual building a business around course creation, someone like myself is needed to create balance and structure, offer insight and empathy, and add a designer’s perspective.  

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and that then allows you to learn something new.” – Barack Obama (2009)

If I could give you one challenge today it would be this: Seek partnership despite ego.  Do you feel like you should be handling it all on your own?  If so, where did this message stem from?  Is this approach is serving you, your work, and your success best?  What might a partner bring to your business, operation, team, or project?  What gaps could a partner fill for you?  Where do you need some extra magic?

I would love to help!  Visit my “Work with Me” Page on my website to learn what I can offer to help you achieve your goals.

Curious how partnering can support your business initiatives?  Book a free 30-minute consultation with me.

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Until next time – keep shining for those who would otherwise remain in the dark.  

Be the light!

Resources: 

Ladany, N. (2024, September 24). Behind the curtain of higher education: Faculty aren’t trained. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasladany/2024/09/24/behind-the-curtain-of-higher-education-faculty-arent-trained/

Stommel, J. (2020). The human work of higher education pedagogy. American Association of University Professors, 106(1), Winter 2020. https://www.aaup.org/article/human-work-higher-education-pedagogy#:~:text=Most%20university%20and%20college%20educators,after%20becoming%20new%20faculty%20members

The White House. (2009, September 8). Remarks by the President to a national address to America’s schoolchildren. Office of the Press Secretary. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a-national-address-americas-schoolchildren