Training Techniques to Assist in Learning

Brainstorming

The rules for brainstorming are simple:

• Agree on a period to ‘brainstorm’ ideas on a particular issue or problem.
• All members of the group to offer their ideas.
• All ideas are to be noted.
• No idea is to be criticized, rejected, or debated.
• At the end of an agreed period, all the ideas are analysed.
• Group to reach an agreement on some of the ideas that seem most appropriate for the issue.

From these rules, you will gather that this method is ideal for a group that wishes collectively to generate ideas or solutions to a problem. It is a method that offers a number of ideas and does not consider their quality until after the brainstorm.

The next phase is that of processing the ideas generated and reflecting on their appropriateness for the issue or problem.

You need to note that the strength of this method is that it encourages all members of the group to offer their ideas, not in the superiority of the ideas collected by this method. There is little empirical evidence to suggest that the quality of ideas collected by brainstorming is superior to those made by individuals working on their own!

Buzz Groups

Usually, a group of 2 or 3 people seated next to each other in a formal setting, e.g. a lecture, who briefly discuss some point.

Buzz groups are especially useful in a lecture when there is often little response to a request for questions. Buzz groups are formed to discuss the lecture for a brief period and decide on what questions to ask.

They can be used to break up long sessions and learners tend to listen to lectures more attentively if they know they will go into buzz groups.

Case Study

This is usually run as a kind of discussion group and focuses on problems common to the group. A ‘case’, real, or invented or simplified, is presented to the group and they must provide a solution. It aims to give experience in the sort of decision-making that the learner will have to do later.

It is often useful to abbreviate a real case, to present the aspect of interest uncluttered by other irrelevant information. If this is not possible, one may invent a simple case to illustrate one’s point. The problem is to decide what to leave out to simplify the case study for the learners. There are dangers, however, in the oversimplification of a case, which may lead to loss of realism. An oversimplified case will appear to have a unique ‘best’ solution whereas, in reality, other factors complicate the issue so that there is no ‘best’ solution but merely positive and negative aspects to any one of several reasonable solutions. If real-life demands the taking of decisions based on incomplete data and in the face of uncertainties, the case study should simulate this incompleteness and uncertainty.

Discussion may be free or guided by the trainer, often according to some formal pattern (which may have been outlined before) e.g., identification of the problem, statement of the problem, possible solutions, examination of solutions, selection of solutions, implementation, and evaluation methods, etc.

The trainer has the role of presenting the basic case description and some of the data. The trainer may withhold other data, in certain cases, until the learners discover the need and ask for it.

Though the trainer may intervene to review progress, prompting or questioning the approach adopted by the learners, he or she should not suggest an approach or assist in actually solving the case. The trainer acts more as a data bank, referee, and critic than an instructor.

The debriefing session is very important and should engage the learners in self-analysis: ‘We have considered the case presented to us and come to certain conclusions; now let us consider the case of ourselves. How did we attack the problem? How could we have attacked it? What can we learn of general application concerning our approach to case studies?’

Debate

This is a useful method of presenting learners with opposing views on an issue. It is also useful in that it can offer participants who express opinions some protection by the debate being a staged performance.

Fishbowl

The standard format for this method is to have a group of learners in the center debating and discussing an issue. There is another group of learners that sit around them on the outside. They keep silent and observe the debate. The outer group observes the interaction of the inner group and provides feedback during the general plenary discussion. This method is useful for observing group dynamics.

A variation of this method allows the members of the outer circle to become part of the discussion. They can tap the shoulder of their fellow learner (who is within the circle) and exchange places. This is a useful variation in that it allows many people to participate as wish to while all learners are close to the process to follow the debate.

With this method, it is useful to place a time limit. This will allow the learners to discuss some of the insights that they might have gained from observing the interaction and/or by participating.

Group Discussion

Two things have to be considered when deciding on a group discussion. These are:

• Group size (how many learners work together).
• Group interactions (how the learners work together) in a free or directed discussion.
• The group size is dictated both by the interaction desired and by a host of practical and economic factors, many of which might be beyond the control of the trainer.
• Usually, the decision to have group discussions is a trade-off between the theoretically desirable and the practically feasible.
• The main point of group discussion is that learning occurs through the interchange among the group members. The learner can check his or her ideas with those of others.

Discussion encourages learner activity and gives the learner a sense of responsibility for learning. It helps students to feel free to take the initiative and participate and can build up the self-esteem of the participants because each person’s contribution is potentially worthwhile. It allows the experiences of advanced students to be shared. It can also have the opposite effect and be intimidating to learners.

The trainer can lead the group or simply be a group member (though such participation must be genuine and accepted as valid by the group).

A trainer who leads group discussion needs to be skilled in group dynamics, who encourages cooperative rather than competitive interactions. He or she needs to be able to summarize skilfully, remembering who contributed the main points, be able to think quickly, adapt, accommodate, be able to predict student response, and build upon this, and be prepared to learn the background of the students.

A problem for trainers is the desire to intervene when false information is introduced and accepted by the group. Ideally, such intervention is best done not by a ‘lecture’ but by subtle questions.

Although group discussion maintains interest and avoids monotony it is very time-consuming and may require lengthy preparation of questions, handouts, and backup aids in case discussion lags.

Roleplaying

Role-playing is most commonly used for social and human relations education. The purpose of role play is to put learners in a simulated social relationship to widen their understanding of a problem or situation, or changing their attitudes, or practice skills.

Roleplay is related to case studies, but interaction is dramatized. The learners may participate as role players or as observers, depending on the objectives of the role play. Each role player temporarily assumes and plays the role of another individual. In assuming the role, the learner tries to feel like, act like, and sound like the individual the learner is attempting to portray. To add realism and entertainment, each player may be described the character they are playing, e.g. you are a very efficient public servant but bad-tempered.

The trainer presents a situation, e.g. a conflict between a public servant and a member of the public. Participants then act and each player reacts as he or she thinks fit.

The purpose of the role play is not in itself to solve problems, but to provide data for subsequent group discussion or identification of behaviour. Also, the aim of role-playing is not to develop expertise in acting and as many learners as possible should be given the chance to go through a role play.

The trainer has an important function to play at the beginning of the exercise, explaining the roles and the precise objectives of the exercise. The leader should also try to dispel nervousness and create the right climate for playing without embarrassment.

Roleplay should always be followed by a discussion to explain and thus provide reinforcement to the experience gained in the role-playing exercise. The trainer may supply feedback of a constructive nature and lead the debriefing towards useful generalized conclusions.

Players must be de-rolled. This is particularly important on emotive issues. Unless de-rolled, participants may level destructive criticism at each other. The participants must be brought out of their role. Sometimes this needs to be done in a ritualistic way.

Simulation

A simulation is an imitation or a representation of an actual physical or social situation reduced to manageable proportions to serve a specific purpose. Simulations are usually also games, involving many of the elements which we associate with other kinds of games: there are goals to be achieved, rules to be observed, usually some form of competition - and they are fun to play!

It is not always possible or convenient to let learners experience ‘the real thing’, at least in the early stages of a program, e.g. a new system in a government department. It is often necessary to simulate real-life conditions so that the learner can experience the result of his or her mistakes and errors of judgement (and learn to avoid them) without damaging him or herself or others. Another benefit of simulations is that although the characteristics of the real-life situation are retained, ‘time’ may be compressed so that results of discussions that normally appear after weeks or months may be examined in a few hours.

The two essential elements of simulation games are that they are simulations and that they are games.

Hence a simulation game is a series of activities in a sequence in which players participate in a “simulation” that has stated rules, usually involves competition and leads towards some objective.

Simulations are useful for problem-solving, planning, and decision-making tasks. Real or invented situations and data are presented to the learners, who adopt the roles of the decision-makers or planners.

Examples of simulations are board games (such as Monopoly), role-play games, case studies, and psycho-motor simulations such as flight simulators and computer games. Some games combine various of these techniques.

The most vital part of the learning process in simulation games is the evaluation at the end; the ‘debriefing’, ‘de-rolling (the period at the end of the game when players drop their roles and become themselves again), or post-mortem period. It is at this point that most of the real learning takes place.

The two key questions are:

• What decisions were taken during the game?
• What were the effects of these decisions on the game?

In all simulation games, the game director (the trainer in charge of the game and responsible for its proper functioning) plays an important part. He or she must be thoroughly conversant with all phases of the game being played; its purpose, its schedule (that is, what happens next), the roles of the players, the type of interaction that will take place, the points at which conflict is to be expected, the likely outcomes, the probable learning.

The director must remain ‘outside’ the game in the sense that he or she does not take part as a player (although in some games the director may be required to act as banker or messenger). The functions of the director are to direct and to be aware, at all times, of what is going on.

Seminar

The learners should have previously researched and prepared a topic. The topic, usually chosen by the teacher or at least approved by the teacher, is then presented in the form of a mini-lecture to the group by the researchers. It may be an individual or cooperative project.

Group discussion then follows and the group, guided by the teacher, concludes. Much of the responsibility for learning and instruction is delegated to the learners themselves.

T-Groups and Encounter Groups

This educational method is based on individual group members discussing their interaction and relationship with each other and using this to become aware of interpersonal relations, individual awareness, sensitivity training, self-awareness, and leadership functions in the group.

Such groups emphasize openness and emotional honesty. They are a very powerful educational (and at times therapeutic) method. However, this very power can result in disharmony within groups, and this can lead to serious problems between learners, even after the group has broken up. It can also be very damaging to the individual’s self-esteem and therefore the method needs to be handled with extreme caution. It requires a skilled and ethical trainer.

Visits

Taking learners on visits, tours, and field trips are an important part of many training events. They provide the learner with personal experience of real situations and also provide the group with a common learning experience and this can become a resource for further learning. After such trips, a debriefing session is necessary.

Workshops

Workshops generally have a practical applications aspect. The workshop leader or leaders may present information, procedures, and principles by any instructional methods. Under supervision, the participants apply the new information to a real task. The skill is practiced on problems or tasks of special interest to each member or sub-group. The atmosphere is informal, and an important objective is that participants learn from each other. Report backs are usually required so that all the participants may share their results and receive reinforcement for their new learning. The leader is also responsible for arranging materials, support services, and equipment.

Computer-aided Instruction

The use of computers as a training method is becoming increasingly popular. Often adults find using computers a daunting task as they have not been introduced to it at an early age. At present, there is a proliferation of programs that offer learners a chance to learn a variety of subjects. However, the lack of personalized contact with tutors may prove a hindrance to the expansion of Computer Aided Instruction (CAL).