Understanding Instructional Models and Methods

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

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Helping people learn through formal instruction is not just about the ratio of lecture-to-student interaction. Whether planning a one-hour presentation, a three-day workshop or a semester-long course, it is important that you match the learning objectives with the most effective approach. Through an understanding of basic instructional models and methods, you can vastly enhance the quality and effectiveness of your training courses, programs and curriculums.

The scope of this article will be limited to exploring formal classroom instructional models and methods and thus will not include on-the-job training, self-study, e-learning or other environments where learning can take place.

To begin, it is important to have a shared objective related to the outcomes to be achieved as a result of a formal course of study. In short, the outcome should be to maximize the student’s ability to apply what they have learned to their life or work situations. When delivering training on work-related content, equipping students with knowledge alone is ineffectual at best. Being able to apply that knowledge to “real life” situations is the true test of the training’s effectiveness. Thus we need to be cognizant of not just what is being presented, but how it is most effectively delivered to maximize the student’s ability to deploy the knowledge gained in …

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