Remember the 10 minute rule: stop lecturing after 10 minutes and give your learners a chance to review and apply it.
Pair-shares and small group discussions are fast and fun ways to increase interaction and get your learners talking about the topic. Studies show that interaction increases their retention level.
Here are some tried-and-true statements you can use to kick off the discussions when pair-shares are appropriate: (more…)
I want to let you know I am speaking at ASTD 2009 International Conference & Exposition, which is being held in Washington , DC this year. This is the first year I’ve participated as a speaker.
On Monday, June 1, at 4 p.m., I will teach a focused breakout session titled “Bag it! A Remarkably Quick and Easy Instructional Design Process.”
As part of the conference’s instructional design track, I use just four lunch bags and a handful of index cards to teach a new instructional design process that saves time, effort, and expense.
Marcia
Make it easy for your learners to connect with each other, the topics, and you as their guide. Plan for them to connect to each other, this lowers learners’ nervousness and increases the positive anticipation. Connections create community and a sense of community lowers the barriers to learning. Back on the job participants can use these connections to continue to support each other.
Here’s what I do:
#1 Create a welcoming and fun environment.
-Set up tables with 4 – 7 participants at each and make sure there is space for the participants to move around.
-Hang quotes, posters and flip charts for up-coming activities are on the walls.
-Put colored markers, highlighters, pens and sticky notes of various colors & sizes in paper bags or boxes on each table.
Engage kinesthetic learners by having toys, stickers, pipe cleaners, play dough, Lego’s and items that relate to your content such as wire, parts, credit card blanks, or play money.
We have all been conditioned to get information in 8 - 12-minute segments. Do you know what has conditioned us? You are correct, TV. Americans watch an average of almost 4 hours of TV per day - WOW! The TV advertisers and marketing folks know to capitalize on how the human brain takes in information; that is why they break up your favorite show with commercials every 8 - 12 minutes.
Here are a few things we can learn from TV about how to help our learners learn: (more…)
Current brain research shows that if you write it you will remember it. Instead of giving copies of your PowerPoint slides, use one of the following techniques to help your learners remember it:
1. The Note Taking Technique - have your audience take notes. Ask them to write down the important words, phrases, and concepts they want to remember.
2. The Fill-in-the-Blank Technique - use a graphic organizer or note taking page that has concepts pre-printed with important words or phrases left blank so that the participant can fill in blanks as you lecture.
3. The Mark-up Technique - have your concepts pre-printed on a note taking page. Then have participants highlight, circle, or underline important words or phrases.
All three of these techniques require your participant to be actively involved so that they will remember it.
-Marcia
Training Resources
