Guide To Training Methods and Learning Activites

Trainers use a wide variety of learning activites and exercises to promote learning. It's critical that trainers master the "tools of the trade", since exercises and activites that are incorrectly used just use up valuable training time, and can even interfere with job performance once learners return to the workplace.

We've gathered together hand-picked information about what the various training tools entail, and how to use them properly. Whether it's brainstorming, group work, or even simple things like icebreakers and energizers, you'll find guides to their correct use in training seminars.

Top : Training Methods and Activities :

Trainers have many tools to use to help create learning, from various small group techniques, to questioning and one-to-one methods, to traditional lectures and use of audio-visuals technology. In this section we'll provide hints and tips for each. We limit the number of entries to reduce duplicate information.


Compare & Contrast By na
Compare and Contrast is used to highlight similarities and differences between to things. It is a process where the act of classification is practiced. It is effectively used in conjunction with indirect instructional methods, but can also be used directly to teach vocabulary signals, classification, nomenclature and key characteristics. It is often presented in either written text paragraphs or a chart. Its most common use is as a graphic organizer of content. Hits: 1040 )

Exercises and Activities For Teaching Group Dynamics By Donelson Forsythe
If you teach group dynamics do NOT miss this incredible goldmine of learning activities and exercises. PDF downloadable. Hits: 1475 )

Trading Places By Mel Silberman
This techniques allows participants to get acquainted; exchange opinions; and consider new ideas, values, or solutions to problems. It is a great way to promote self-disclosure or an active exchange of viewpoints. Hits: 1636 )

Confidence Based Learning By Barbar Pytel
Thomas Frey holds out hope that Confidence-Based Learning may be the key to significantly reduce time that it takes to learn new things. Learn a little more about CBL. Hits: 1098 )

Beyond Simulation - Into Dissimulation By n a
Learn more about dissimulation as a training technique. The author shares some thoughts to help you determine whether dissimulation is a viable training technique for you to use. Hits: 1306 )

Concept Maps For Creating Understanding By na
A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and gathering and sharing information. Concept mapping is the strategy employed to develop a concept map. A concept map consists of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and links. The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow symbol. The labeled links explain the relationship between the nodes. The arrow describes the direction of the relationship and reads like a sentence. Hits: 1284 )

Jigsaw As An Instructional Method By na
Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that enables each student of a %u201Chome%u201D group to specialize in one aspect of a learning unit. Students meet with members from other groups who are assigned the same aspect, and after mastering the material, return to the %u201Chome%u201D group and teach the material to their group members. Just as in a jigsaw puzzle, each piece--each student's part--is essential for the completion and full understanding of the final product. If each student's part is essential, then each student is essential. That is what makes the Jigsaw instructional strategy so effective. Hits: 1126 )

What should be considered when choosing instructional methods and strategies (Part I)? By Robert Bacal
When designing and planning training, trainers and designers need to consider a number of factors when deciding on what training and learning activities should be included. Here's a rundown of factors to think about Hits: 1271 )

Body Language Exercise Collection By na
These exercises are designed to help students tune in to the subtleties of body language and what they might mean about interpersonal behavior. Hits: 1597 )

44 call centre training tips By Kevin Stillwell
There has never been a better time to train our call centre staff. We asked for training tips and have been amazed by the response. Here are the 44 great tips we were sent%u2026 Hits: 2202 )

Instructional Strategies Online - Alphabetized Listing of Instructional Methods By U. of Sask.
A gateway to more information about a wide range of instructional strategies and learning activities that includes a number of activities that most trainers have never heard of. Hits: 907 )

THE Training and Development Crossword Puzzle By Robert Bacal
Take the challenge. Our first training and development crossword puzzle. Try it yourself, or use it in class free. Hits: 1307 )

Reviewing by Doing By Roger Greenaway
'Active reviewing' is not necessarily any better nor any more 'advanced' than reviewing by talking. If the discussion after an adventure is an engaging one and is helping young people to learn from their experience, then it is probably best not to interrupt the 'flow' with an 'active review technique' (or with a new activity). But having an extensive and varied 'toolkit' of active reviewing techniques does increase the chances of finding a suitable method (or combination of methods) for making the best use of time spent reviewing. Hits: 901 )

Drill & Practice By na
As an instructional strategy, drill & practice is familiar to all educators. It "promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice." It refers to small tasks such as the memorization of spelling or vocabulary words, or the practicing of arithmetic facts and may also be found in more sophicated learning tasks or physical education games and sports. Drill-and-practice, like memorization, involves repetition of specific skills, such as addition and subtraction, or spelling. To be meaningful to learners, the skills built through drill-and-practice should become the building blocks for more meaningful learning. Hits: 1156 )

Cognitive Apprenticeship - Collins, et al. By na
Effective teachers "involve" students in learning as apprentices: they work alongside students and/or set up situations that will cause students to begin to work on problems even before fully understanding them. A key aspect of an "apprenticeship" approach to teaching involves breaking the problem into parts so that students are challenged to master as much of a task as they are ready to handle. In addition, teachers are encouraged to provide students with varying kinds of practice situations before moving on to more challenging tasks, allowing an understanding that surpasses the use of formulas. Hits: 904 )

A Cognitive Apprenticeship for Disadvantaged Students By Allan Collins Jan Hawkins Sharon M. Carver
cognitive apprenticeship, refers to the focus of the learning-through-guided experience in cognitive skills and processes, rather than physical ones. Although we do not wish to draw a major theoretical distinction between the learning of physical and cognitive skills, there are differences that have practical implications for the organization of teaching and learning activities. Most importantly, traditional apprenticeship has evolved to teach domains in which the process of carrying out target skills is external, and thus readily available to both student and teacher for observation, comment, refinement, and correction, and bears a relatively transparent relationship to concrete products. The externalization of relevant processes and methods makes possible such characteristics of apprenticeship as its reliance on observation as a primary means of building a conceptual model of a complex target skill. And the relatively transparent relationship, at all stages of production, between process and product facilitates the learner's recognition and diagnosis of errors, upon which the early development of self-correction skill depends. Hits: 1018 )

Explicit Teaching By na
Explicit teaching involves directing student attention toward specific learning in a highly structured environment. It is teaching that is focused on producing specific learning outcomes. Topics and contents are broken down into small parts and taught individually. It involves explanation, demonstration and practise. Children are provided with guidance and structured frameworks. Topics are taught in a logical order and directed by the teacher. Another important characteristic of explicit teaching involves modeling skills and behaviours and modeling thinking. This involves the teacher thinking out loud when working through problems and demonstrating processes for students. The attention of students is important and listening and observation are key to success. Hits: 967 )

Case Studies - Valuable Tool For Teaching and Training By na
Case studies are stories or scenarios, often in narrative form, created and used as a tool for analysis and discussion. They have a long tradition of use in higher education particularly in business and law. Cases are often based on actual events which adds a sense of urgency or reality. Case studies have elements of simulations but the students are observers rather than participants. A good case has sufficient detail to necessitate research and to stimulate analysis from a variety of viewpoints or perspectives. They place the learner in the position of problem solver. Students become actively engaged in the materials discovering underlying issues, dilemmas and conflict issues. Hits: 1426 )

Overview of Concept Formation As An Instructional Technique By na
Concept formation provides students with an opportunity to explore ideas by making connections and seeing relationships between items of information. This method can help students develop and refine their ability to recall and discriminate among key ideas, to see commonalities and identify relationships, to formulate concepts and generalizations, to explain how they have organized data, and to present evidence to support their organization of the data involved. Hits: 929 )

Selecting Different Types of Training for Different Types of Learning By Jeffrey Dalto
Outlines a taxonomy of learning goals, a little like Bloom's and ties that into choosing the best training methods to reach each kind of goal. Hits: 799 )

SMALL GROUP TECHNIQUES By na
A good overview and help with using various kinds of small group techniques. While the article deals with community development applications, it may stimulate your thinking about the use of small group techniques and training. Hits: 1367 )

Overview of Indirect Instruction By na
In contrast to the direct instruction strategy, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered, although the two strategies can complement each other. Indirect instruction seeks a high level of student involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data, or forming hypotheses. It takes advantage of students' interest and curiosity, often encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve problems. Hits: 1065 )

Instructional Methods - Advantages and Disadvantages By AdPrima
Short synopsis of a wide range of instructional methods and learning activities that provides advantages and disadvantages of each. Hits: 1026 )

Evaluate Training Games With This Checklist By n a
Depending on the training objective and the characteristics of the participants, different items may be more relevant than the others. Use the checklist to choose among different training games and activities. Also use it to evaluate and improve your own creations. Hits: 1936 )

Sub Categories In This Topic

Active Learning (5)
Active learning is not so much a single instructional method but a family of methods based on the idea that the more active the learner the better learning will be.
Brainstorming (16)
Learn about the function of brainstorming, hints and tips about how to make it work and how to avoid pitfalls.
Case Method (6)
We look at the case method/case study approach, strengths and weaknesses, and ideas to make it work.
Cooperative Learning (17)
Cooperative learning (and teaching) is based on the idea that people learn when they are working together in teams, and often teaching each other.
Creativity Exercises (0)
Exercises, activities, icebreakers intended to spur creativity in participants.
Energizers (13)
Here's a collection of energizers you can use with groups to increase physical or mental alertness.
Games For Learning (0)
Trainers are always looking for games they can include in their seminars. In this section you'll find a nice selection of (mostly) free to use ideas for including various types of games and learning activities into your delivery.
Games for TeamBuilding (5)
Here you will find ready to use instructions and/or material to help you run games designed to build teams, and teamwork.
Icebreakers (42)
Trainers and facilitators are always looking for icebreakers. Here's your gateway to finding them on the Internet.
Leadership Development (2)
Here you will find various activities specifically designed to be used for leadership development purposes.
Questioning Techniques (6)
Questioning techniques are essential in increasing learning and fostering learning interactions in training. Here's how to use them, and it's more complex than you'd think.
Role Playing (17)
Learn about how to conduct role plays properly to maximize learning, and find out about the pitfalls of the technique.
Simulations (8)
Simulations are powerful training techniques particularly when they are as similar to the performance environment as possible. Here we will discuss how simulations can be used effectively in training and development.
Storytelling (23)
Storytelling used to be the most common way of teaching others, particularly in oral tradition based cultures. It still is a valuable learning and training tool.
Value Clarification Exercises (0)
Exercises designed to examine values and clarify them.
Video - Audio - Feedback (0)
While the use of video and audio based feedback is more common in therapy, it still remains an abused process often often led by incompetent trainers. Learn more about using video or audio for feedback purposes in learning and training.
Wellness and Stress (0)
Here you'll find wellness and stress reduction activities suitable for use at work, in an organized fashion, or for on your own use.

Related Categories

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Pages Updated On: 22-Aug-2019 - 09:09:04

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