Varied Activities in Training Design

The Training Design Podcast

Trainers and Training Designers can be forgiven for the temptation to use tried-and-trusted activities and types of activity. But if the aim is to maximise engagement and learning, and meet the learning objectives, having a variety of activities and keeping them fresh and original is vital. In this episode, we have a host of practical tips for you on how to mix up your palette of activities, and get inspiration for new ones.

This episode was recorded before the pandemic, so some of the references (e.g. snowboarding trips!) may sound strange now, but we're confident all of the insights are still relevant to the world training designers find themselves in today.

00:21 In this episode

00:47 The importance of a variety of activities

03:02 Case study: an Innovation and Creativity session

06:07 Getting inspiration from The Crystal Maze

07:01 Learning Styles: useful or not?

09:07 Activities as a way for learners to spend more time with a topic

09:40 Bloom's Taxonomy as a source of inspiration

11:58 The Five Types of Activity

13:50 Examples of the 'Structure' category of activity

15:01 Using technology to support different activities

16:20 More 'Structure' examples

16:42 An unusual activity: 'Break the Model'

18:08 Combining basic activities to create something deeper

18:59 The 'Solve' category of activities

20:51 the power of combos

21:44 Case study: The Origami Factory

23.21 Storytelling case study: Customer Service and Mental Health

24:40 Creating activities using core 'kernels'

30:26 Terry's 'Transform' card deck for inspiring activity design

33:03 Sheridan's mini-topic: The importance of practice (especially for snowboarding!)

41:46 Summary

Resource Links

Bloom's Taxonomy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_taxonomy

Terry's Innovation and Creativity workshop: 360learningdesign.com/store/products/360-cips

Contact the Hosts

Our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TrainingDesignPodcast

Terry Pearce LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terrypaulpearce

Sheridan Webb LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/trainingdesigner

The Training Designers’ Club: www.trainingdesignersclub.co.uk

Untold Play: www.untoldplay.com - For game-based learning and gamified learning consultancy and design

360 Learning Design: 360learningdesign.com - For bespoke, creative and personalised learning design

Keystone Development: www.keystonedevelopment.co.uk - For bespoke learning and development programme design

Power Hour: www.power-hour.co.uk - For ready written bite-size training materials