Before you design a course is the best time to figure out where you want to go with your course as well as what learning formats you want to use. Below are the top 10 questions you need to ask before designing to maximize your design time and training efficacy.

My memories of second grade are fuzzy except for two specific recollections. One is being sent to the hallway for talking too much (no one who knows me finds this hard to believe). The other is a classmate’s response to a question in religion class. We were asked what we would do if we knew we were going to die next week. Many of us said that we would pray and go to church, but one bright child answered that he would buy a package of lifesavers. All of us laughed, including our teacher. Why do I remember these incidents?

Jim Gates is fond of quoting from Camelot: "If you want to be happy, learn something." As a technology trainer for Pennsylvania's Capitol Area Intermediate Unit, Gates spends much of his time trying to help teachers learn a very specific thing: using technology to improve curriculum. Many of the strategies that Jim Gates uses— incorporating technology into curricula, bringing teachers...

Activity: Teacher Training Closer Purpose: Many schools throughout the nation are required to write a school improvement plan as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act. The training on how to write a school improvement plan that meets the state’s compliance mandates can be a tedious and boring process, yet, it is important that participants learn the various parts of the school improvement plan and its unique vocabulary. An effective way to close the training session and conduct a review of what the participants learned is to have them complete an A to Z School Improvement List.

When learning specialized vocabulary, divide students up into small teams. Be sure they know the definitions of the words. This is a revisit or closing activity. With your team, create a rap, jingle or song for one of these words: (this is an example of a social studies unit for middle or high school.) The jingle should include the definition and/or usage of the word.

Certified Partner Corner The Bob Pike Group has certified partners for the Research-Based Creative Teaching Strategies workshop in Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky who are offering the program to teachers from outside their areas beginning in June 2008. If you are interested in attending any of these sessions, please contact the agency who is hosting them for additional information or to register.

“Sam Walton was a great storyteller,” said Lee Scott, Wal-Mart CEO, said to his executives. “All you do at meetings is give statistics and show PowerPoint slides. You need to learn how to tell stories." Scott knows from his predecessor the power of storytelling. Long before Wal-Mart began selling actual “power tools”, cavemen told stories by carving pictures on stone walls. They soon realized stories were a powerful tool. They could change emotions; they could make people happy, sad, angry or frightened. How can we also use stories to influence others and bring about profound change?

Businesses: Cut Costs? Yes. Layoffs? No. “Layoffs don't seem to be the first choice for a lot of companies," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp, which recently conducted a survey of 265 companies about cost-cutting this year. "In this uncertain economic environment, it's clear companies are intent.. Nominations Sought for Pike’s Peak Award by June 1 Has your company or learning colleague produced dramatic results in the last two years? Nominate them for The Bob Pike Group’s Pike’s Peak Award. This award is given annually to recognize trainers and their companies who make a commitment to implementing participant-centered training. Nominate them!

Gone are the days of recreating the wheel every time you plan a lesson. Technology, when it’s good, is very, very good! Many students already have experienced the social media aspects of the web. They’ve uploaded their own videos to YouTube, their original musical creations to mySpace and photos to Flickr. Applying that interest and knowledge to education is a simple step. The web also has similar sites that have safeguards in place to allow teachers to use the World Wide Web to engage students’ interest, help them learn, and make it fun. Here are some sites that have incredible resources for you as a teacher and your planning, as well...

Taking the Pain out of Training Last month, we listed what were the Top 10 Pains of training in April’s e-Zine. Becky Pluth, a training consultant for The Bob Pike Group, lists a Creative Training tip for each problem. Also listed are sessions at the 15th Annual Training and Performance Solutions Conference listed where you can get more tips and tricks.