"The best way to train someone is to give him or her things to feel and touch," she stated.

Engaging Students

During her NAOHSM seminar, she demonstrated the need to change the normal rules and "en-gage the learner." She asked people to participate in some demonstrations. "Four guys holding on to a rope is a more effective teaching tool than me talking in front of the class," she said.

Another way of engaging students, according to Fey, is to ask them to repeat a statement made by the instructor to someone else in the class. She said that it is imperative that employers know their employees are engaged and interested in learning. "You are paying for training, and you have the right to expect your employees to give their trainer their undivided attention," Fey noted.

"Technicians have a tendency to let their minds wander somewhere else when their hands aren't busy. It is safe to say that people don't learn well from looking at pictures."

Fey is also a fan of creating unexpected activities in the classroom. She demonstrated that by tossing a ball around the room and asking others to do the same. "Everyone is awake and aware of that ball," she said.

She wrapped up her seminar by saying that it isn't important for a trainer to know everything about everything. "As a trainer, I am asking you to keep it simple," Fey said. "But there is a fear of being simple - you don't want to look dumb.

"An instructor has to have the courage to say, ‘I don't know, and I don't have to know.' "

Publication date: 06/20/2005