PURPOSE

WHEN TO USE

Role Playing

Helps participants practice skills used in interactions

C To practice newly acquired skill

C To experience what a particular situations feels like

C To provide feedback to participants about their behavior

Game

Provides non-threatening way to present or review course material

C To help grasp total program content

C To present dry material in an interesting way

C To add a competitive element to the session

Simulation

Recreates a process, event, or set of circumstances so that participants can experience and manipulate the situation without risk and then analyze what happened

C To integrate and apply a complex set of skills

C To elicit participants= natural tendencies and provide feedback on those tendencies

C To provide a realistic, job-related experience

Observation

Some participants act out or demonstrate behaviors, tasks, or situations while others observe and give feedback

C To show group how to perform procedure or apply a skill or behavior

C To increase participants= observation, critiquing, and feedback skills

C To demonstrate behavior modeling

Instrument

Provides feedback, self-assessment

C To identify areas for improvement

C To establish a baseline for future growth

Writing Task

Helps participants reflect on their understanding of concepts, information, ideas

C To provide for individual input

Lecturette

Conveys information when interaction or discussion is not desired or is not possible

C To convey information quickly within short time period

C To communicate same information to large numbers of people

C To provide basic information to a group that is not knowledgeable

Small Group Discussion

Offers opportunity for participants to express opinions, share ideas, solve problems, interact with others

C To generate ideas

C To find out what participants think about a particular subject

C To increase level of participation

C To encourage group interaction and build group cohesiveness

Case Study

Allows participants to discover learning points themselves

C To apply new knowledge to a specific situation

C To practice problem-solving skills

Task Exercise or

Activity

Allows participants to work with the content in small groups

C To test participants’ understanding of concept or process

C To promote group collaboration

C To increase participants’ confidence in their ability to apply learning on the job