Which Teaching Method Is Right For You and Your Students?

When designing and delivering training classes for adults, there’s only one question to ask: What is best for the students?

In a student-centric model of training design and delivery, a good instructor knows that it’s not about what you want to teach, but about what (and how) the student wants to learn.

There are many ways to deliver training material to your students, but the two most important ones are the Lecture Method and the Workshop Method.

You’ve seen and participated in the Lecture Method thousands of times: the teacher gets up in front of the group and delivers the material, while the students listen and take notes. Occasionally the students ask questions. This works great when there is a lot of new, introductory material to be delivered and the students have no experience with the topic.

In the Workshop Method, a collaborative learning environment is established. The teacher uses hands-on exercises, Q&A, and discussions to help the students cement what they’re learning in a real-world environment and begin to apply it immediately. This method is ideal for adult students who bring a wealth of background experiences to a class, who need to apply what they’re learning to the real-world environment quickly and need to stay motivated.

Is one method better than the other?

No. But the Lecture Method has the risk of being much more boring! An all-lecture class can easily put your students to sleep, especially if you’re teaching via teleclasses where they can’t see you.

Some teachers choose the Lecture Method because it allows them to be the “sage on the stage” instead of the “guide on the side.”

Smart teachers choose the Lecture Method, wisely, when there is a great amount of foundational information the students are required to learn.

Really smart teachers use both methods: the Lecture Method for the basics, then switching to the Workshop Method to allow students to process the material in a real-world atmosphere and apply what they’ve learned. This is especially helpful when you factor in that adults begin to lose attention and focus after 10 minutes of doing anything. Switching back and forth between the two methods helps keep students engaged in the learning process.

Here’s an example of how I use these two methods in a class I teach:

In my Marketing Planning class there is a lot of foundational information to learn about the psychology of marketing and creating a strategic marketing plan for your business. These lessons are generally taught using the Lecture Method, but I throw in some discussion questions and allow a fairly large chunk of time for Q&A. When we move into the lessons about writing your own marketing plan, we switch to the Workshop Method.

Here’s how I apply the Workshop Method in class:

• I ask students about their specific situation and how they’ll apply what they’ve learned in class to their own marketing plans and campaigns.
• Sometimes I have a student in the “hot seat” to talk about their challenges, and the rest of the students act as a mastermind group, brainstorming with each other to come up with best practices and creative solutions to problems.
• I give them homework assignments that they can submit to me for review and comments, which keeps the learning going strong between class sessions.
• Students write their marketing plan in a step-by-step format using a workbook I’ve designed for the class.
• I ask questions related to the material where students fill in the blanks from their own life experiences. (You’d be surprised how much you know about marketing just by having been a consumer all these years!)
• I ask students to debate the pros and cons of choosing specific marketing techniques.
• I divide students up into smaller groups during class to discuss a topic and bring back their best answers to the larger group.

Getting your students active in their learning process keeps the energy high, keeps them motivated, and most importantly, keeps them learning at a peak rate.

And while you’re at it, consider this: When giving speeches, what if you combined the Lecture Method with the Workshop Method? Professional speakers, too, can spice up their speeches by moving away from the I Talk and You Listen model.  🙂