Thiagi's Interactive Lectures

Everyone talks about learner involvement and interactive training. A lot of it is hot air or just plain window dressing. The tools in this book can help you as a trainer/lecturer to deliver relevant content and put the onus for learning where it belongs---on the learner. Some strenghts are: - Exercises come with a pretty thorough "how to" and "when to: use. - Exercises also come with ways to cut down the time for exercies if time is limited. Recommended for newbies and experienced trainers who feel a bit stuck with their current tool boxes. The other reviews in this seciton will also give you a good feel for the book.

I found this book to be very helpful in using interative teaching modes in training.

I received this book a couple days before teaching a class that I teach a couple times a month on job searching. I browsed through a night or two before my class and was able to find new interactive strategies that I applied right away. By the end of the workshop, participants almost groaned when I brought out the index cards! I thought a few of the activities were pretty similar, and I don't know that they each merited separate treatment, but overall, this is a very helpful book. I especially like the way Thiagi gives suggestions for using the activities with larger or smaller groups or with more or (as is usually the case!) less time. I will be passing this book on to co-workers so they can benefit from the ideas in it.

If your experience with lectures includes crowded lecture halls, white text on blue PowerPoint backgrounds, and monotone delivery for hours on end...this book will help you change the way you think about lectures! Drawing from his combination of years of experience and academic work, Thiagi has written this very usable book. His writing style is exceptionally crisp and clean, making it quite easy to understand and use. Here's what you get: *) A Decision Table for selecting lecture formats, based on the type of learning to occur *) A dozen reproducable handouts for nine of the lecture formats *) 27 different lecture activities, divided into seven "learning domain" categories, and detailed well enough to allow you to implement them immediately in even your most sadistic lecture *) Hints, tips, and the benefit of Thiagi's experience in adjusting the activities to accomodate time needs, numbers of participants, etc. *) Humour that really hits the point...such as the story about the instructor who woke from a dream about delivering a lecture to find himself in front of a class--and delivering a lecture. Giving a lecture on interpersonal skills (such as dealing with difficult people, workplace respect, etc.)? Try the "Interactive Story" format. Training procedures? "Multilevel Coaching" may be just the thing for you. Teaching a new concept? Try out "Confusion." And one of my favourite lecture techniques of all time for getting across facts and technical content is "Press Conference." If you are training, teaching, presenting, or otherwise involved in lecturing-type activities, you will find this book invaluable. Better still, your learners will thank you for it.