# 81: The Behaviors of Training the Trainers with Megan Sanders, BehaviorWorks Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/animal-behavior-conversations-the-podcast-of-the-abma-6055377/81-the-behaviors-of-training-the-trainers-with-megan-sanders-behaviorworks Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/animal-behavior-conversations-the-podcast-of-the-abma-6055377/81-the-behaviors-of-training-the-trainers-with-megan-sanders-behaviorworks.md Podcast: [Animal Behavior Conversations: The Podcast of The ABMA](https://stenobird.com/podcast/animal-behavior-conversations-the-podcast-of-the-abma-6055377) Published: 2026-08-14T12:01:23+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theabmapodcast/episodes/81-The-Behaviors-of-Training-the-Trainers-with-Megan-Sanders--BehaviorWorks-e3nd9hr Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/d9199a04/podcast/play/124216315/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-7-14%2Fd26e99eb-3cbd-6f86-7f83-4506976c57ca.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/animal-behavior-conversations-the-podcast-of-the-abma-6055377/episodes/81-the-behaviors-of-training-the-trainers-with-megan-sanders-behaviorworks Duration seconds: 4144 ## Resource This episode continues on "The Behaviors of..." series which dives into the people side of the animal care field. This episode Megan Sanders, BehaviorWorks, discusses the behaviors of training the trainers and advice on coaching people through the science and practical application of training. This podcast is a companion to Megan’s presentation at the 2026 ABMA-IAATE annual conference titled “Training the Trainer: Behavior Skills Training Using PORTL to Improve Accuracy with Animal Trainers”. Megan starts the episode by demonstrating how we can take our knowledge of the science of training animals and apply that to training and coaching humans. Next, Megan discusses the importance of practicing skills in the “classroom” beforehand and advice on how to teach those skills. Finally, Megan provides some advice on giving and receiving feedback and how to best set yourself up for success if you are the one being training. Stay tuned in for Megan’s "Training Tale" about the simple way spider monkeys were recalled from the rainforest. For questions or suggestions about the podcast email ⁠ ⁠ abc@theabma.org ⁠ ⁠ and to contact Megan email mms@behaviorworks.org 4:10 Introduction to Megan Sanders 13:00 How do we use the knowledge that we have about behavior modification in animals and bring that into how we teach people 16:30 Information on resources related to the science of behavior change and people 19:15 The importance of practicing skills before training an animal 30:35 Behavior Skills Training and how to apply that to teaching training 34:30 Teaching training skills in a classroom setting using PORTL 40: 25 Advice on giving feedback 45:45 Modeling as an effective teaching strategy 47:30 How to set yourself up for success if you are the one being trained 5… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/animal-behavior-conversations-the-podcast-of-the-abma-6055377/episodes/81-the-behaviors-of-training-the-trainers-with-megan-sanders-behaviorworks/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/animal-behavior-conversations-the-podcast-of-the-abma-6055377/81-the-behaviors-of-training-the-trainers-with-megan-sanders-behaviorworks.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.