Engage and Advance Staff Using the "Training of Trainer" Model

What happens when you discover that the thing you’ve always done no longer works? How many times have you heard someone say, "It’s just the way we’ve always done it?" It’s easy to fall into a cycle of repeating behaviors just because they worked in the past. But have you ever stopped to reflect and consider whether those behaviors are really working, or if they've just become another thing you do? Ask yourself, "Are these efforts truly effective and engaging?"

Within education there are innumerable processes that require annual training, from beginning of the year staff development to compliance training to state mandated security and processes training. Each of these are essential and have an impact on students; therefore, the training must "work." Investing in quality professional development can be costly and time consuming, but there’s a better way to engage your staff in effective training opportunities that will also allow them to "level up" in your organization.

As a former school and district testing coordinator, I know firsthand the immense pressure that comes with preparing staff to administer assessments each year. The efforts of the trainer affect the staff, and the staff affect the students. With so many rules and procedures to follow, educators not only worry about the impact testing has on their students, they also worry about the threat to their certification should something go wrong. The stakes are high!  

You may be asking these questions:

• How do I deliver effective and engaging training, over something like state-mandated testing, to ensure my staff are fully prepared?  
• How do I maximize the limited time that is allotted to training?
• How do I empower school testing coordinators who are responsible for communicating and overseeing the entire testing process?  
• How do I provide advancement opportunities through my staff with professional development?

The answer – you use the Training of Trainer, or ToT, model! ToT engages subject matter experts in coaching new staff that are less experienced with a particular topic. ToT not only helps you maximize your time and resources, it also provides an engaging model for delivering professional development and training.

Here’s are three easy steps to get started...

• Identify your expert. In this scenario, it’s the district testing coordinator. This person will deliver the "why" content, like expectations and security practices, to school testing coordinators.
• Call upon a champion. Consider asking some "star" school testing coordinators to serve as facilitators alongside the district testing coordinator to provide best practices from the field.
• Empower your ToTs. Combining the "why" from the district experts and best practices from school champions prepares your new school testing coordinators for success.  

Based on my prior experience, utilizing the ToT model results in a significant increase in effectiveness and engagement during school testing coordinator training. It also contributes to greater employee satisfaction and retention. Not only are new staff members introduced to the rules – the "why we do what we do" – they also learn the "how" from respected colleagues.

If you want to break the cycle of just doing what you’ve always done and create more effective and engaging training opportunities, meet your attendees where they are. Examine your training opportunities through the lens of your staff and ask yourself what is working and what is broken. Utilizing the ToT model can help you make small, iterative changes that will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your training while building the capacity and capability of your team.