Welcome to the 2026 Trainers Institute! A virtual experience designed for meaningful connection, professional growth, and lasting strategies for training success. The Institute brings together Kentucky’s ECE Credentialed Trainers to connect, reflect, and strengthen practices that support effective training. Across seven sessions, participants will explore adult learning topics that build impact extending beyond the Institute into ongoing training practice.
This year’s sessions deepen that commitment by focusing on how people retain, apply, and sustain change. You’ll engage with strategies that build trust, create meaningful moments, reduce overload, leverage digital tools, and design training experiences that truly stick.
Sessions are designed to support trainers at every stage, strengthening practice while growing impact across the early childhood field.
Questions? We’ve got answers. Email us at registration@lsv.uky.edu
What Our Attendees Say
Hear from those who’ve been there. What past attendees loved about the Institute.
Organization, collaboration, intriguing ideas.
Engaging and exciting trainers and varied topics applicable to all.
Well organized and thought out! Information was outstanding and very relevant to trainers.
Pricing
One price. Seven sessions. Maximum impact.
Good news!
The Institute is approved by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Division of Child Care to assist approved credentialed trainers with meeting renewal requirements for ‘how to train other adults’ and other clock hours.
Master Card and Visa Accepted
Group Registration Available
Secure your spot at the Trainers Institute
Registration closes April 24, 2026.
Session Levels
Session levels help you quickly identify the depth and focus of session content, based on the level of prior knowledge assumed related to the topic. Sessions may focus on foundational concepts, practical application, or deepening understanding of a subject area.
All sessions are valuable for credentialed trainers, regardless of credential level or years of experience. Participants are encouraged to select sessions based on their familiarity with the topic and learning goals.
Session Levels at a Glance:
Session Levels at a Glance:
Initial – Focuses on foundational concepts and shared language.
Intermediate – Emphasizes practical application and strategy building.
Advanced – Explores deeper reflection, refinement, and expanded understanding of the topic.
Grow Your Network: Regional Gathering
Join fellow trainers from your region for a relaxed meetup designed to build relationships, share ideas, and strengthen your local training community. This informal gathering gives you the chance to connect with other trainers who live and work near you—because strong networks make strong practice. Your Regional Training Coach will be there to welcome you, spark discussion, and support meaningful trainer-to-trainer connections. Come ready to swap stories, compare strategies, ask questions, and grow your professional circle in a supportive, trainer-to-trainer space.
Who Should Attend:
Trainers of all experience levels looking to deepen connections within their region.
What to Expect:
- Easy conversation and community building
- A space to share challenges and successes
- Opportunities to exchange resources and ideas
- Support and encouragement from your Regional Training Coach
Sessions at a Glance
Dive into the sessions below, click any session to explore the topic, presenter, and key details.
People do not remember data. They remember how you made them feel. In this session, you will explore how to create meaningful, memorable moments in presentations that connect with audiences on a human level. Through storytelling strategies and practical speaking techniques, you will learn ways to encourage laughter, reflection, and action, leaving with tools that grow your influence and inspire lasting change.
Learning Outcomes:
–Explain how to craft memorable moments in training sessions.
-Identify at least one storytelling strategy and speaking technique.
Kristen Day
Early Childhood Author, Podcaster, Speaker, and Trainer
Kristen Day & Play
Kristen Day is the retired founder of the magical Butterfly Hill Nature Preschool. In her quest to create a place filled with play, learning, nature, emotions, and meaningful moments, Kristen discovered that play-based learning is a must in all early childhood environments and has become a passionate advocate for play in early childhood education. Kristen is not just a teacher and lifelong learner. She is also a mother of four who loves donuts, reading just about everything, and traveling to new places. Now a podcaster, keynote speaker, and online entrepreneur, Kristen uses her experience and her B.A. in Education, with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education, to help early childhood educators rediscover play, settle in, and enjoy the journey through trainings and digital courses.
Find Kristen on Social Media
Remember the children’s story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? You know, this porridge is too hot, this one is too cold, this one is just right. Struggling works in the same way. Too much struggle in virtual learning will lead to frustration. Too little struggle is just spoon-feeding participants with a golden ladle. Just the right amount of pain and struggle: that’s what allows participants to feel a sense of accomplishment and meaning in training, which builds up a sense of autonomy and self-worth. Join this session to define the Goldilocks zone of struggle and discover how much struggle is just right.
Learning Outcomes:
–Identify the optimal level of challenge – Recognize the “Goldilocks zone” of struggle in virtual learning environments, distinguishing between productive struggle that enhances learning and counterproductive struggle that leads to frustration or disengagement.
–Evaluate and adjust struggle levels – Assess when learners are experiencing too much or too little struggle during virtual training and implement strategies to calibrate the difficulty to maintain engagement and maximize learning outcomes.
Kim Zerby
Senior Consultant
The Bob Pike Group
A licensed teacher for a decade before becoming a training consultant, Kim has a depth of experience practicing educational methodologies to design and deliver successful training. Kim understands learning modalities and incorporates them in the Instructor-Led, Participant-Centered model for classroom and virtual trainings. Kim’s ability to combine business acumen with the knowledge and skills to increase performance makes her a trusted partner in training. She brings a high-energy, creative approach to programs in a way that motivates participants to leverage new skills.
Working memory is the brain’s desktop, the limited space where learners process new information before it can be saved in long-term memory. When this desktop gets cluttered or overloaded, nothing sticks, no matter how engaging the training feels in the moment. In this session, you’ll learn the 4C’s of working memory (Cut, Chunk, Combine, and Connect) and how to apply them in your design and delivery. Walk away with practical strategies to reduce overload, boost retention, and make your training stick.
Learning Outcomes:
-Explain how the limited capacity of working memory and dual-channel processing influence learning.
-Identify training practices that illustrate each of the 4C’s (Cut, Chunk, Combine, Connect).
Nicki Patton Rowe
Early Childhood Education Trainer
Brain-Based Learning Solutions
Nicki Patton Rowe works with early childhood education trainers to strengthen their ability to teach and support ECE professionals. Grounded in brain science and adult learning research, her training focuses on designing instruction that truly changes practice. Nicki’s core belief is that understanding how adults learn is essential to becoming an effective ECE trainer.
A Message from Nicki:
Through experiential activities and structured reflection, participants will practice connection-building techniques, explore how to tap into collective team wisdom, and discover why understanding willpower changes their approach to sustainable change. Expect hands-on practice, peer connection, and actionable strategies to try immediately.
Learning Outcomes:
–Building Trust to Accelerate Learning– Practice one connection-building technique they can use in their next coaching conversation or team meeting
–Eliciting Expertise & Cross Pollinating– Explore a peer-learning technique they can adapt for their teams
Chris Danilo
Learning Facilitator
Human Skill Training
Chris is an award-winning facilitator who trains the ECE workforce in modern neuroscience and human skills using experiential learning techniques.
A Message From Chris:
Find Chris on Social Media
Don’t miss the Grow Your Network Regional Virtual Gathering!
Join other trainers for conversation and community.
In today’s digital world, traditional paper handouts are being replaced with dynamic, accessible, and eco-friendly digital versions. This engaging session introduces participants to what digital handouts are and explores their many advantages, including increased accessibility, cost savings, and the ability to include interactive multimedia features. Participants will also discover easy-to-use tools and resources—such as Google Docs, Canva, and Microsoft Sway —to create professional, engaging handouts that enhance learning and communication. By the end of the session, attendees will be able to define digital handouts, list their key benefits, and identify reliable tools for designing and sharing them effectively.
Learning Outcomes:
-Explain the purpose and benefits of digital handouts in training contexts, including how they improve learner engagement, accessibility, and cost efficiency.
-Select appropriate digital tools (such as Google Docs, Canva, and Microsoft Sway) to design and distribute training handouts based on learner needs and delivery mode.
-Design and share an effective digital training handout that integrates clear structure, accessible formatting, and interactive elements to support learning outcomes.
Dawn Griffin
Instructional Design Coordinator
Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky
Dawn Griffin is an Instructional Design Coordinator at the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute, where she designs and develops engaging training, presentations, and distance-learning courses for early care and education and adult learners. With more than a decade of experience supporting quality improvement in early childhood education, she has previously served as an Early Care and Education Coach with Child Care Aware at the University of Kentucky, providing training, coaching, observation, and feedback to educators and credentialed trainers across the state. Dawn brings strong expertise in instructional design, learning management systems, and evidence-based quality improvement practices.
We’ve all seen it: learners leave training with new knowledge but return to work without changing what they do. Why? Because knowing isn’t the same as doing. To bridge the gap between learning and application, learners need chances to observe new practices, examine examples and non-examples, and practice with feedback. This session highlights three practical strategies to transform knowledge into confident workplace performance.
Learning Outcomes:
-Use the analogy of learning to drive to explain why knowledge alone is insufficient for changing workplace behaviors.
-Apply three strategies (video modeling/demonstration, examples/non-examples, and practice with feedback) to improve a sample training plan.
Nicki Patton Rowe
Early Childhood Education (ECE) Trainer
Brain-Based Learning Solutions
Nicki Patton Rowe works with early childhood education trainers to strengthen their ability to teach and support ECE professionals. Grounded in brain science and adult learning research, her training focuses on designing instruction that truly changes practice. Nicki’s core belief is that understanding how adults learn is essential to becoming an effective ECE trainer.
Presenter Session (60 minutes):
Move over, Oprah, it’s time for Becky’s Favorite Things: Training Edition. Becky shares her favorite (often free) training resources, including websites, podcasts, publications, and trusted voices in the field.
Training Coach- Hosted Favorite Things (30 minutes):
Training Coach- Glenna Gamble will remain on to host an interactive “favorite things” segment, giving participants space to learn about additional tools and resources from peers.
Perfect for trainers who want great resources without spending hours searching.
Learning Outcomes:
-Identify industry thought leaders and free training resources
-Discover the five items you’ll never want to train without
-Build your own go-to list of favorite training resources
Becky Pike Pluth
CEO and Senior Consultant
The Bob Pike Group
As CEO of The Bob Pike Group, Becky has more than 20 years of exposure to Creative Training Techniques®. She has helped clients, including Target, Bose, Coca-Cola, FedEx, and Wells Fargo, realize cost savings and training efficiencies. Becky was named one of Training Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. She easily employs a participant-centered approach to classroom, virtual, and blended e-learning. Becky is the author of numerous professional development books and training materials, including Creative Training: A Train-the-Trainer Field Guide and Webinars with WOW Factor.
Ways to Connect Throughout the Year!
Make a Connection!
Trainer Connections are a series of ongoing events designed for Trainers, by Trainers, and held across Kentucky. These events provide opportunities for Trainers to come together, exchange resources, share ideas, and network. Trainer Connections can be hosted online or in-person in different regions, tailored to the specific needs of each Trainer community. Can’t attend? No problem – all sessions are recorded and available to watch later.
You can view Trainer Connections at: https://www.childcareawareky.org/trainer-resources/ or subscribe to @ccaky on YouTube.
Facebook Group
Connect with fellow Kentucky Credentialed Trainers in the private Facebook group administered by Training Coaches. It’s the perfect space to find training tips, tools, resources, and updates from the Division of Child Care, as well as collaborate with others in the community.
Visit www.facebook.com/groups/1884401974955801 or connect using the button below.