Despite their expertise in a subject, instructors will sometimes encounter challenges with the content in a course. Sometimes there is too much content and an instructor may feel the need to to rush through the slides and skip the activities. Sometimes participants are disappointed that the content isn’t challenging enough. Other times, participants don’t have the necessary background knowledge and struggle to keep up. To overcome these challenges, instructors need to take a hard look at the course content to answer to some essential questions. Based on the answers to these questions, instructors need to adjust their lesson plans or create instructional support to improve the training experience for participants.

What is the “need-to-know” and “nice-to-know” information?

The learning outcomes clearly state what participants are expected to be able to do at the end of the lesson. The learning outcomes should set the parameters for the lesson. However, course designers sometimes include extra background material or examples that expand the scope of a lesson. Depending on participants’ background knowledge, this extra information may be considered review material or extraneous. Other times, the examples may be outdated or irrelevant to participants’ work situations.

The learning outcomes should be the guide to what is “need to know” information. Anything beyond that can be considered “nice to know” Information. Carefully compare the course materials to the learning outcomes and highlight or mark the “nice to know” information. If you are pressed for time, another option is to display a slide and ask participants what bullet(s) is most important to them or which bullet(s) they have a question about. For more information on using learning outcomes to make instruction decisions, refer to Working with Learning Outcomes and Using the Outcome Verb to Make Instructional Decisions.

What do participants already know?

The sorting of “need to know” and “nice to know” information becomes easier when an instructor has a good idea of what participants already know. There are several ways an instructor can learn what education, training, and experiences participants bring to the classroom. Depending on the size of the class, an instructor can ask participants to share this information when they introduce themselves to the class or provide this information in a brief biography. If the group is too large for personal introductions, the instructor can survey the group on their training and experience. Using the information gathered, the instructor can then decide if it is necessary to present the information, skim over it quickly, or provide it as a handout for reference. The beginning of the course is the best time to gather information about participants’ general knowledge. The start of a lesson is a good time to ascertain their background knowledge of key concepts or topics. Write questions to elicit that information from participants. Think of different ways to gather that information, for example, an oral survey with a show of hands, a brainstorming session, or another method. For more information on gauging participants’ prior knowledge, refer to Quick Writes/Entrance Tickets, Surveys/Interactive Polls , and Activating Participants’ Prior Knowledge.

How can I best meet participants’ learning needs?

If the class features a mix of experienced and novice learners, an instructor has a couple of instructional choices. If the majority of learners are experienced, the instructor can discreetly ask for mentors to assist their less experienced table mates. The instructor can also create supplemental handouts or job aids with calculations, step-by-step instructions, or other essential information to support the struggling learners. If the group is primarily made up of beginners, the instructor can again draw upon the knowledge of the more experienced learners. It may be necessary to change how an activity or discussion is structured to best take advantage of the brain power in the classroom. For more information on how to bridge the gap between participants’ knowledge and the course content, refer to Supporting Participants.

How can I adapt a discussion or practice activity?

If novice participants will not benefit from whole group discussions and independent activities, the instructor can adapt the instructional methods to better meet their needs. Instead of posing questions to the group and calling on one or two participants to answer, an instructor can turn it into a partner activity. After posing the question, the instructor can ask participants to discuss their answers with a peer. This provides an opportunity for the more experienced learners to share their knowledge with a peer and provide additional feedback, if necessary. If the lesson plan describes an independent practice activity, the instructor can alter the instructions so the task can be accomplished either with a partner or as a group. Ask participants to work with one set of material and ask each member of a group to be responsible for a part of the process. To debrief the activity, call on table groups to report on their accomplishments, challenges, and discoveries. For more information on collaborative learning activities, refer to and Cooperative and Collaborative Learning.

One challenge all instructors dread is when a battery or light bulb burns out and the slideshow, video, or microphone doesn’t work. While this can be a shock, it does not mean the training session will be a failure. The PowerPoint slides are not the course. They are just visual aids designed to be a reference tool for the instructor and a common focus of attention for participants. If the slides are suddenly unavailable and the participant workbook contains copies of the slides, the instructor can ask participants to turn to the page in their workbook with the slide image and continue instruction from there. If the participant workbook does not contain copies of the slides, the instructor can continue teaching without the slides and, if possible, print lesson slide handouts for the class during the next break.

If the projection system malfunctions but the video is available on the instructor’s laptop, small groups of participants can take turns standing around the laptop to view the video. If the video is available on the internet, the instructor can share the URL and participants can use their smart phones to access it. The best way to deal with a malfunctioning microphone is to move away from the projection screen and closer to the learners. This can mean pausing and delivering instruction while you circulate around the tables or up and down the aisles. It will be important to check in with participants to make sure they all can hear you. If they cannot hear you, turn to face them and repeat the information. This is also a good opportunity to convert whole group discussions into partner or small group activities.

Classroom management is another challenge instructors face. It is the instructor’s responsibility to create and maintain a positive and supportive learning environment. That means addressing any comments or behaviors that negatively impact the learning of others in the classroom. Clearly communicating expectations for participant behavior is a good way to set the tone for interactions and avoid common disruptions. Most often, ground rules are established at the start of a course, but they can be agreed upon or revisited any time it is necessary. For more information on developing and enforcing class rules for behavior, refer to Ground Rules and “Netiquette” or refer to “Ground Rules" in the NHI publication, The Circle of Learning.

Types of Problems

There are two types of problems with participants: those that need to be addressed immediately and those that are best handled outside the classroom. Disruptions such as violating ground rules, conducting continual sidebar conversations, disrespecting other participants or the instructor, telling off-color or racist jokes, etc., should be dealt with in the classroom, but in a professional manner.

On the other hand, if a reaction from the instructor would embarrass the participant or make the situation worse, it is best to make a “quick fix” and speak to the participant during the next break. Behaviors like habitually interrupting other participants, continuously challenging the instructor, continually arriving late, etc., should be managed through one-on-one conversations outside of class time.

If an intervention is necessary, be sure it is non-punitive. Make sure the intervention or response to the behavior is not intended to hurt, insult, or put a participant on the defense. Decide when you will speak with the participant. It is important to address the situation in a timely manner. Be specific and honest when you describe the disruptive behavior. An important question to ask is why the participant is exhibiting the behavior. You may be surprised to learn there is a legitimate reason for the behavior. Then, get consensus with the participant on how he or she will change their behavior.

Some difficulties or disruptions are unique to virtual or remote learning situations. Among these may be the fact that participants may not be wholly focused on the course and also may be looking at other projects or computer screens during the training. One way to engage students in web conference or remote/virtual learning is to incorporate polls and discussions in chat pods, but there are many other methods to help participants link facts and information back to the content and purpose of the course. Table 3 presents several techniques to help participants engage with the content and connect to the instructor and their peers.

Table 3: WCT Engagement Techniques

Technique	Description
Sort-it-Out	This is a digital version of the traditional concept mapping exercise. It challenges participants to examine how key concepts in a unit, lesson, or chapter relate to one another. Participants can work independently or in pairs to develop the digital concept map. Ask participants to combine text and visuals to show the relationship between concepts. Instructors can have participants complete this activity online asynchronously and then share them during face-to-face sessions (blended) or in video conferencing sessions (online).
Use Chat or Polls to Check Understanding	Post survey or poll questions to check participant understanding of concepts. Give the participants time to consider the question and respond.
Spider Web Discussions	Prior to a remote learning session, participants first answer questions independently. Then either participants discuss their answers with a team that subsequently shares the team’s responses with the class, or each participant can share their own answers independently at the start of the class as part of a larger class discussion.
Flipped Classroom	Provide content to participants through a link to a video, through an earlier class session, or through assigned reading. Then have participants work individually or in groups to present their synthesis of the information to the rest of the class in the synchronous session.
Virtual Think-Pair-Share/or Small Group Work	Use project-based learning techniques to engage participants by giving participants a prompt, breaking them into groups, and having them record their answers on a shared document, presentation, or Adobe Connect whiteboard. Once participants return to the main classroom, ask volunteers from each group to share their answers with everyone.
Teach Backs	Have participants work in groups to study a niche element of the lesson or unit. Then have them develop a presentation and use it to teach the class. With this method, the instructor will need to have clear expectations of what will be in the presentation and how long it will be. The instructor also will need to provide an overview of anything the participants missed in their presentation.
Non-Verbal Feedback	Allow participants to express their opinions by selecting an icon (e.g., raise hand, thumbs up or down, etc.)