I recently had the opportunity to attend a train the trainer for curriculum designers. One of the things I walked away with was the need for a closer for each section of training. It is one of the most overlooked and ignored portions of the training as we often run out of time and end the training saying something like; “Well, that’s all the time we have today, thank you for coming out.”
However, the closer is one of the most important parts of a training as it reinforces content and can create an opportunity to review how people received, and retained, the training. According to Bob Pike, there are three elements that should be present in every closer. They are as follows:
- It should help create an action plan. What will the participant do with the information obtained and how will they use it in the next 30, 60 and/or 90 days.
- It should be a celebration – Make the closer of training a celebratory experience. They have invested their important time to learn skills and information that will be valuable. This is worth celebrating.
- It should tie everything up – The activity should create an opportunity to review content, plan for action, and even remind them of something forgotten when the activity is shared with their small group or with the class (which should almost always be the case).
One of my favorite closers for a full training is having the participants create window panes. This requires the participants to review the course content, choose the 4-6 most important things they learned, and then create a graphic representation of those items.
Considerations:
- Use flip chart paper and have them draw six concepts they have learned so far. Use bond paper and have them draw four concepts for a one to two-day training.
- Provide markers and crayons.
- Assure participants they do not have to be artist, all they have to do is do their best.
As you can see from the graphic at the left, we used window panes on flip-chart paper to review concepts from a week-long training. As they each reviewed what they thought was most important we had a good laugh (with each other, not at each other) and everyone was re-exposed to the content from the week. In fact, almost every objective in the training is represented on this wall. The activity was fun, interactive and was a great way to wrap up the week on a positive note. Though there were a number of groans when I gave the instructions at the start of the activity, everyone was laughing and learning at the end. People shared what they learned that was most important, what they planned on doing with the information, and was encouraged by everyone else in the class. Further, I was able as the instructor and curriculum writer to make sure the content was being absorbed. There is no better way to wrap up a class then to meet all the objectives of a closer.
Remember, you should have an opener and a closer for each unit of training as well. This is one that is good for closing an overall training. We will review briefer closers that can be used throughout training in another post.
Do you have any ideas for a closer. Post them below for others to see.
Happy training all.
