1. Teaching and Training Methods
C/Maj Zach Bannon

2. Introduction: Types of Methods
Lecture
Guided Discussion
Demonstration-Performance
Experiential
Simulation

3. Lecture Most common teaching method Oral presentation including:
Information
Concepts
Principles
Goal: lead students toward fulfilling a learning objective

4. Lecture
Pros:
Allows for the presentation of a large amount of information
Adds personal knowledge and experience of instructor
Easy to Prepare
Cons:
Mostly one way flow of communication
Can be boring
Limited opportunities for feedback

5. Guided Discussion Instructor-controlled group process
Students share information and experiences with the group to achieve a learning objective

6. Guided Discussion Pros: Cons:
Students learn from both peers and the instructor
Great opportunities for feedback
Students may relate topic to personal experience
Cons:
Facilitating a discussion requires skill and practice
Can fail if group is not participative or instructor too dominating
Assumes that the student possesses knowledge about the subject

7. Demonstration-Performance
Process driven approach to training procedures
Demonstrate to students the procedure
Evaluate performance and provide feedback
Used when students need to physically practice new skills

8. Demonstration-Performance
Pros:
Students learn skills by example and have the opportunity to practice
Individual attention
Immediate feedback
Cons:
Designed for skills training, not academic study
Should have an appropriate student to teacher ratio
Instructor must be able to diagnose performance issues

9. Experiential Hands-on learning
Students learn from doing, or experiencing.
Learning topics can include:
Games
Role-Playing
Service Projects
Problem-Solving Challenges
Other Hands-On Learning Activities

10. Experiential Pros: Cons: Fun, exciting, and interesting
Allows opportunities to create learning across many topics
Cons:
Requires a lot of preparation
May convey only a small amount of academic content

11. Simulation Replicates conditions of a job as realistically as possible
Great opportunities to practice existing skills
Example: search and rescue training

12. Simulation Pros: Cons: Prepares student for “real world” events
Active and exciting
Good feedback and practice
Cons:
Students must have prior knowledge of the topic
Requires a great deal of preparation
Better for smaller groups

13. Conclusion
Good teachers use different teaching methods to achieve different learning objectives
Choose appropriate teaching or training method.
Happy instructing!

14. Questions?