Instructor Skills Workshop

This course is customized to exactly meet specific needs.  It is flexible.  For example, it has been delivered in two days (Moore Business Forms) and 24 days (Ameritech), and for as few as six to as many as 24 participants.  It can be configured in a variety of ways:

• To teach basic instructor skills to new trainers, or advanced skills to experienced trainers.
• To prepare a new Instructor staff to teach a variety of courses.
• To provide training managers and designers experience in using different teaching methods.
• To focus on the 14 competencies identified by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (ibstpi) in preparation for Certified Technical Trainer (CTT) testing.
• To practice specific methodologies such as lecturing, demonstration, coaching, discussion, role-playing, and case study.
• To include practice in designing instructional strategies, developing lesson plans and other courseware, performance evaluation instruments, and job aids.
• To practice using electronic media, laboratory equipment, or software.

Instructional Process This course differs from the Single Course Workshop in that different participants may practice different lessons, different courses, and different skills.  It has two components.

The first component, Content-Free Microteaching ®, teaches how to cause error-free learning, and to focus on the planning, teaching, feedback cycle. Four and one-half hours are devoted to Content-Free Microteaching on the first day.

The second component can be configured in several ways.  

• If the purpose is to become better at teaching their assigned courses, they would practice “Real-Content Microteaching” (RCM).  During RCM, the participants practice teaching the content of the courses they teach to real students on the job.   This is essential for ensuring transfer to the job after completing this course.  Throughout RCM, participants also practice the 14 competencies identified by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (ibstpi).
• If the purpose is to learn new methods of teaching, such as discussions, role-playing, and case studies, they would practice those techniques in "Assigned-Lessons Microteaching" (ALM). Nearly all of the core skills, including establishing readiness to learn; questioning; explaining concepts, processes, procedures, and principles; chunking content; summarizing; and so forth, are practiced.
• Participants are given prepared lesson plans for real, but specified, content.  The content is appropriate for short lessons and for the practice of nine specific organizational patterns.  It is these patterns (simple-to-complex, overlay, sequential, cause and effect, whole-part-whole, problem-solution, and others) that makes the course so valuable to course designers. Using a prepared lesson plan, participants teach a 20-minute lesson to three other participants.  When they finish, they are given feedback on their presentation skills, strengths, and areas for improvement.  They then view a videotape of their lesson.  See Teaching Practice Format to visualize how the learning activities are carried out.