To wonder if I'm stupid or is the trainer just a bit rubbish?

[fairysquid]

Currently on a training course with work, learning about a subject that I have no prior knowledge of. Admittedly I'm not a trainer and have never delivered any training courses in my life so I don't really know what's right or wrong. I'm not a fast learner which I did explain to the trainer before we started the work. I really struggle with understanding certain questions or paragraphs with lots of information. I will read the text but the information just seems to go in one ear and out the other, it's as if my brain can't really process the information no matter how many times I read it, but if someone breaks it down for me explains it that way I do understand. Does that make sense? I had the same issue in school and college. I'm not talking about EVERY single question or paragraph that I come across. I find that some questions are worded in a really strange way as well which doesn't help, almost like a trick question.

The trainer is nice but all she does is read from a booklet that we all have, which I could do myself as I can read and write just fine. She doesn't seem to break anything down for us or go through things point by point to give us a better understanding. We're just expected to process all this information. There is around 15 of us in the group and no one else has mentioned anything or seems to be struggling that I know of so it's making me wonder if it's just me, am I dumb or could she deliver the training a different, better way?

It's making me really anxious as we have a quiz at the end of the course and I don't feel like I'm actually learning anything

Can you spend a bit of time breaking the leaflet down for yourself?

@Alternista I can definitely try. I just think it would help if the trainer gave some examples occasionally along with the information to give us (or maybe me) a better understanding of what their actually trying to teach us. I don't know if that makes any sense? It does in my head ha!

That does sound quite poor. Most trainers should be able to explain the content in multiple ways to account for different learning styles. Can you approach her outside of the session and ask for help?

Hi Op,

I'm a trainer and it's a tricky one especially when training 15 people. If you take it too slow the people who are getting it a little quicker will disengage, but on the other hand if you go too fast people like yourself (your not stupid by the way just have a different learning style) can feel left behind.

The trainer should be reading the room and trying to make sure she gets the right balance but with that many people it isn't easy. You say it's only specific paragraphs or sections of information. When they come up would you feel comfortable to ask a question or for an example? I know it can be hard in a group but there are no stupid questions and maybe someone else was thinking the exact same thing.

I think I would struggle to stay awake if someone was just reading aloud to me. Are you able to politely interrupt and ask her to give some examples in practice?

I’m a trainer and I’ve taught bigger groups than 15 and I’ve never just read from a leaflet. Even if you’re delivering the dreaded PowerPoint there are ways of breaking down dry information into manageable chunks and using real life examples / other methods to illustrate a point. We don’t all learn the same way Unfortunately being knowledgeable isn’t the same as being a good trainer. Are they providing any other support material or is it just the leaflet.

Thank you for your kind message @2000lightyearsaway123 . It's good to hear from a trainers perspective. I don't know tbh, I use to feel pretty confident in asking questions, even in groups but she seems to be a bit snappy with me (well maybe not snappy, losing patience perhaps) I could be taking it the wrong way though. I worry that if I interrupt too much and ask more questions it will hold everyone else up as nobody else seems to be struggling. We had to complete 8 pages today with 6 questions on each page and all the answers were in the booklet but not in an obvious way if that makes sense. There was one question that I was struggling with, the wording in particular as I've mentioned before. I had to provide 4 answers and when I explained that I was struggling to understand the question itself, she told me to look back at the booklet (say section 3 just as an example) and that the 4 answers were in there. I could only find 2 and she said she needed 4 but didn't really help or guide me. Just left me to it, in the end I just filled out the 2 spaces and left the others blank. I read that section over and over again but I could not find 4 answers to the question.

She gave us 30 minutes (which I thought was a fair amount of time) to complete 4 pages and then told us to go on a break. We came back and she said we had 15 minutes to complete the other 4, baring in mind there were 6 questions per page which I think is a lot for that timescale. She went over all the questions with us and just gave us all the answers afterwards which I really don't think helped at all. I think it would have been more beneficial to ask everyone what they'd put down to see what their thought process was instead of just giving us the answers. I was sat on my laptop from 9-5 today and I honestly feel like I've learnt two things in that time. I came away feeling like my brain had gone to mush!

What's the training for, and who is paying for it? If it's you/your employer then you should definitely be concerned about getting value for money from the course.

Will there be any assessment at the end to show how much you have learned? Will you be able to give feedback to the trainer at the end?

I deliver quite a lot of training, and as a trainer you should always be prepared to explain things in different ways, and should be checking in on your trainees regularly to make sure everyone is on track.

This course sounds unsuitable for you in the way it's being delivered at the moment. The trainer needs to be made aware that you aren't accessing the teaching in this format.

It probably doesn't help that we are training over the computer. I'm use to a classroom.

I have run lots of training courses and yours sounds dire..... the trainer is not doing an effective job.

Is it being delivered by your own company or an external provider? If, after having spoken to the trainer they are still not meeting your needs - then you should talk to the person who arranged the training and explain your issues. You sound like you want to try to do well but they just aren't explaining things clearly (this is often a sign of a trainer who doesn't know their subject matter - they can't add in examples because they don't know any and haven't bothered to prepare properly.....)

Can I ask - is this something that you 'have' to do - is it regulatory training? e.g. data protection, safeguarding, health and safety etc etc

When I explained to her that I didn't understand the question that I've mentioned in my last post and said the wording was a bit confusing, she said that nobody has ever said that before about that individual question and I just felt like it drew attention to the fact that I was struggling. Everyone else could hear as we were on teams and it kind of felt like she was saying "you're the only person who has never understood this question before" but maybe I'm taking it the wrong way and being sensitive.. I don't know. It's just made me feel like I don't want to ask for her help now, I'd rather just struggle and fail the exam instead.

If the trainer is just reading from the booklet, there isn’t really much point in having a trainer. You can all read from the booklet yourselves. Total waste of the company’s money.

A trainer is likely no expert in what they are delivering, and they are unlikely to have the pedagogic knowledge either (NATALT of course).

Have you ever considered testing for dyslexia or dyspraxia?

Hmm not good that she is being snappy when you are asking questions. And others are correct that there are vanishingly few instances I would consider it acceptable to just read something out with no discussion but I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt as I don't know what the training is.

If there is the opportunity to give feedback at the end make sure you do and in the meantime keep asking questions and if you feel comfortable to do so maybe approach them privately and explain that you are finding some of the training difficult to follow. If they are anyway decent they will adapt their style to help you understand better.

But regardless your not stupid so don't feel like that and good luck with your course. Fingers crossed it improves!

@Mumdiva99 I work as a customer service advisor and the company I work for have several different contracts and sometimes move us around. Lots of campaigns so the campaign that I'm working in now is completely different to what I did before! This is a completely new subject for me.

It sounds really hard and especially online. A good trainer should use different ways to get the information across to suit all styles of learning. So there may be some reading and questions or examples or quiz or discussion or video clips or group work etc and a chance for you to talk about any issues (this bit is harder online)
Would you feel comfortable telling us what the course is and which bit you found hard and I'm sure someone on mumsnet will have some experience and can give an example?

No I can't say I've ever really thought about it @Monestera . Does it sound like I'm showing signs of dyslexia?

I think this is a trainer issue. She should be able to link the knowledge to things you have done before. Use different techniques to explain things...use visuals, descriptions, stories, exercises....she should adapt the course to the delegates she has.

Even if it was just you being slower than the group she should take you aside and have a chat. I would then offer to spend a few minutes at break or lunchtime going through anything again that you were still unsure of.

I don’t think you need to jump to a conclusion of learning difficulties just because the trainer is not able to explain anything differently than how it’s laid out in the booklet!
Everyone had different learning styles, some digest text better, other prefer visuals, learning by doing etc. That’s not the same as a learning difficulty like dyslexia or dyspraxia.
It’s a shame that your trainer is not more approachable, she may not feel she has time to explain everything in different ways all the way through the session, but she should be able to give you some additional hints/tips.

I wonder if the trainers knowledge of this subject is quite limited… it would seriously restrict your ability to answer questions and provide examples… especially if you’re asking about real life examples.

As far as I'm aware she's done the job herself before so is pretty knowledgeable on the subject. Maybe I'm just not explaining myself properly to her and she doesn't realise how much I'm struggling with it all. I might see if I can have a quick chat tomorrow. Will report back, thanks all

I thought dyslexia or inattentive adhd as soon as I read your post, OP.

(Learning styles theory was debunked years ago. The trainer’s style however sounds passive and incredibly ineffective).

Your trainer needs training to deliver a session properly. She sounds rubbish! Is she properly qualified? New at the job?