Member Training and Development

• Designing Effective Training
  • Developing a Training Calendar
  • Designing Training for Adult Learners
    • Establishing Effective Learning Outcomes
    • Understanding Learning Styles
    • Opening an Effective Learning Session
    • Facilitating Learning
    • Asking the Right Questions
    • Closing the Learning
      Session
    • Planning the Learning Session
    • Additional Resources
  • Maximizing Your Training Budget
  • Using Games to Foster Teamwork
  • Using Reflection Activities
  • Promoting Service Learning
• Training and Development Topics

Home > Member Training and Development > Designing Effective Training > Designing Training for Adult Learners > Closing the Learning Session

Closing the Learning Session

Ending in a way that ensures all participants leave changed

Plan for a powerful closure that allows for integration of learning experiences, reflection on experiences and insights, and evaluation of the training session.

Consider these tools for:

Reflection and Integration

• Sharing Key Learnings – What are the "ah-ha's" from this discussion or meeting? Have your group share learnings verbally. It sometimes helps to have them share first in pairs.
• Journal Writing – Have members silently reflect on the day.
• Call to Action – Ask participants to commit verbally or in writing to how they will use or be changed by their new skills.
• Return to the Expectations – Make sure participants receive what was expected. Ask for examples of how you have addressed each expectation.
• Partners Test Each Other – Have participants test each other's knowledge and skill retention.
• Group Reflection – Ask the group to reflect as a whole. Ask participants to say a word or create a picture to describe what the experience was like for each of them.

Evaluation

• Individual Written Evaluations – Conduct a formal written evaluation with questions that include space to comment on each part of the meeting.
• Group Verbal Evaluation – Conduct a large group feedback session by asking the group members to identify verbally with parts of the meeting that worked and parts that needed improved. (Also known as Plus/Deltas and Pluses and Wishes.)
• Thumbs-Up/Thumbs-Down Evaluation – Ask the group to evaluate the meeting by casually rating it with their thumbs. This can also be done numerically with fingers.
• Anonymous Suggestion Box – Place a box in the room and invite feedback.

Go on to Planning the Learning Session

…