Came across an interesting observation about subject matter experts training. Many have opined that training and knowledge expertise are often disconnected . I am a bit confused, that the citatedels of high intellect often miss out on the expertise of imparting knowledge or skills. It appears that most of these experts are blessed with knowledge absorption and assimilation capabilities, which is one side of communication, but have a challenge on dissemination. A stuttering cousin of mine , went to consult a doctor for his stuttering problem. The doctor told his parents (my uncle and aunt), that his mind works faster than his speech and hence the mismatch. Much , that I laughed then, i continue to do the same at my ignorance today. The same cousin qualified as a scientist from a premier Indian university , served as a research scholar, went to Canada and taught in a prestigious university before settling down as a scientist in a innovation center. For major part of his work , he has been interacting , educating and leading teams all of which requires communication and engagement skills. As long as the SME has a people centric approach and attitude, with minimal skill development they can become very good trainers. Going back to SME's- they are experts because they have the knowledge , skills and experience to create coherent understanding . With a training on how to engage learners , they may be able to do a great job. Most of the Indian IT companies have been immensly successful from this approach. Therefore, it is possible to have subject matter experts as great trainers. A word of caution here , my focal point of discussion is based on classroom experience . Not so sure , how they can create content based on Instruction Design principles. I am assuming that in most cases these trainers would be engaged in pedagogy and hence actual contextual requirements for experiential learning may be minimised.
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