4 Key Ways to Optimise Your Training for Type Three Learners

Continuing in this series on how to optimise your training to provide environments that support different types of learners, we now move on to look at the 4MAT Type Three Learners.

Type Threes are down-to-earth problem solvers who are action and skills oriented. This style is a very hands-on type, so information is only valuable if it has immediate usefulness and application. As a result they prefer “just in time” learning and like to get to the practical details of how to make things work as quickly as possible. This type likes e-learning where they are not constrained by others in how quickly they can work through the material.

Type Threes are very focused on results, so they tend to get right to the point when communicating with others. They have limited tolerance for “fuzzy” ideas or people who don’t know what they are talking about and will be quick to decide if you have something to offer them or not. With a strong desire to understand how things work they need hands-on experience, preferably in a real world context before they really understand something.

I guarantee that you will find all different types of learners in your training environment and knowing their strengths and weaknesses can assist in organising the learning space, selecting the appropriate range of activities and strategies for delivery and creative ways of organising the learning to both capitalise on their strengths and also stretch them… just a little.

So what can you do to help these types in your training?

1. Provide them with an idea of where the training is going as soon as practical

   This group of learners also like information presented in an ordered and logical way, but not down to the minute detail. Since they want to get moving quickly, as a trainer you need to give them an idea of where the content is going so they know how long they have to wait until they get to the bit they are interested in.

2. Build in opportunities to do something with the information as you go along

   Too much talk, lecture or reading will bore this type most of all, so to keep them engaged make sure you include regular places to stop and do something with the content you are working on. Whether that includes having a chat to someone near you about the implications of the last piece of information, answering some questions in their training manual or some sort of activity where they use the content in some way, regular opportunities to apply what they are learning, while they are learning is helpful.

3. Let them choose a task and how to deliver on it

   These learners are results focussed so they excel at putting a plan into action. Where possible provide the opportunity for them to demonstrate their learning to you in a practical way, so including lots of options to complete a task will get them interested. Of course the more active and real world you can make this task the better.

4. Organise the content in a way that lets them move ahead

   Type Three Learners work fast; they are always the ones that are finished first and look ahead in the manual. Providing a range of tasks to complete (so long as they don’t look like more work for no reason) can be useful. Make sure once you get everyone else together that they have opportunity to share the extra tasks they completed.