Classroom Training Methods

Educators are responsible for designing effective training methods for their classrooms so students can retain information as best as possible. To do so, they must take the grade of their students into consideration, as age and skill level makes a difference when it comes to selecting an appropriate teaching style. Certain training methods are better suited for more mature students and would, therefore, be ineffective for a younger demographic.

Lectures are a common training method in classrooms, and the format is quite simple. For lectures, a professor presents information to his students while the students take notes and absorb the information. This style of training is typically found at the high school and college levels and is more effective with adult learners. It can be challenging for this training style to be successfully implemented in an elementary classroom, for instance, as it requires students to pay attention to the teacher for a long, uninterrupted amount of time. Once young students start to tune out of the lecture, the training method is no longer effective for conveying the information.

Some teachers find it advantageous to let students lead the lessons, as it forces students to participate and focus on the course material. In this classroom structure, group discussions prevail and lectures fall by the wayside. The teacher will present a topic to be discussed and allow students to take over from there, providing the group with guided questions and prompts along the way. Students can speak from experience, theorize or formulate arguments depending on what the topic is about. Group discussion training methods are effective at all ages, but keep in mind that younger students will require more guidance and direction from a teacher than adult students.

With the right available technology, many teachers allow their classes to participate in self-taught exercises with e-learning modules on the computer. Teachers may bring students to the computer lab or instruct students to use their assigned computer in the classroom. The teacher will prepare the e-learning module or program on the computer, and students will work at their own pace through the curriculum. Computer activities and simple quizzes along the way break up the monotony of the lesson.

Hands-on application is an effective training method for all levels of students because it provides students with practical experience to learn from. Hands-on activities, games and experiments give students the ability to retain information because they have live practice with it. For instance, reading about building a brick wall is one thing, but actually putting it together can allow you to learn the process more effectively. Since many individuals are tactile learners, teachers often integrate hands-on training methods into the course curriculum.