How Teachers Become Great Trainers

December 2, 2020
3 minutes
How Teachers Become Great Trainers with Lisa Spinelli

There's always been a steady flow of educators moving from teaching in schools to creating instruction and teaching within industry. But with thousands of educators leaving their beloved education careers behind, they're rapidly transitioning into the enterprise faster than ever.  

Our guest, Lisa Spinelli, joined us to talk about this trend and how's it's never too late to make the transition from teaching to training. You can read some of her thoughts in a recent article from ATD.  

If you're a school teacher looking for a career change, this episode is for you. And if you've already made the jump into corporate training we'd love to hear your story.

Here are some resources and comments from the chat this week:

Sara Stevick

“As a former teacher turned ID I offer some options and information for teachers wanting to transition here "

Sara also shared this wonderful link and this additional comment: “Teachers are wonderful at scaffolding it down to meet the learner where they are”

Monika Mikulionis

“The L&D network is so helpful, starting with LinkedIn - I'm happy for teachers who are looking into L&D to reach out to me

Taruna Goel

“In my experience, teachers are much better than most L&D about estimating time for instructional activities especially for facilitated sessions! Most L&D are over optimistic about what can be covered in a certain time frame”

Kellie Wiesenbeck

“I am finding that I have had to really find my voice. Once I realized that my teaching skills were translatable, my confidence grew.”

Heather (sorry, no last name given!)

“Agreed! I am a teacher turned trainer who works in the medical field now. I am constantly learning, and my brain is so happy!”

“If you find a company that knows the value of teachers, it is easier to prove your talents. However, you have to be prepared to sell your talents for those who aren't aware.”

There were so many great comments this week and we appreciate everyone for sharing their experiences and wisdom!

To see all the comments from the chat check out the full session right here.

About Lisa Spinelli

Lisa Spinelli is the Senior Content Manager for the Career Development, Talent Management and Finance communities as well as the ATD Job Bank administrator and host of The Accidental Trainer podcast. She is also the creator and manager of the ATD transitioning military service member workshops, Troops to Trainers, and editor of the ATD Press book Teachers to Trainers.

Prior to joining ATD, Lisa worked as a content strategist, editor, and journalist for over 14 years. Some of her freelance work was previously published with Fast Company magazine, Huffington Post, Mental Floss, Northern Virginia Magazine, Houston Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Associated Press, to name a few. She grew up in Rome, Italy, and is an alumna of the University of Virginia and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. She currently resides in Northern Virginia with her three little divas and USAF veteran husband. Follow her on Twitter @atdcareerdev.

About IDIODC

Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee (affectionately known as IDIODC) is a weekly live videocast and podcast that helps instructional designers with pain points and provides best practices and industry insight.  

Every Wednesday morning at 10am ET hosts Brent Schlenker and Chris Van Wingerden guide us through an upbeat and candid conversation with their guests from the elearning and training world. The live cast session encourages peers to participate in the chat and share their own personal insight! After airing live, you can catch the learning podcast on all major streams such as Spotify, Apple and Google Play podcasts, as well as on YouTube.