What type of teaching styles are better to pay attention to & what kind of slides are more interesting?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 03:16:38 -0400

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2016 6:06 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 06:06:52 -0400

Teaching styles are dependent on the student when it comes to effectiveness. Some are auditory and learn best through lecture. while others need pictures or getting hands on experience. Power point is great to get information out there, but to have the most effective training you need to incorporate physical, visual, lecture, and if available reference where they can read about the topic.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 16 at 2016 6:10 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 06:10:36 -0400

Use material that will hold the persons attention, try to keep lectures up beat.

Response by TSgt David L. made Jul 16 at 2016 6:22 AM

TSgt David L. — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 06:22:56 -0400

I taught at our school house for 6 years. EOD is a combo of a knowledge and action based career field so no one instructional method would/could work.
GOOD
The Facilitative (Lecture with the emphasis on the student taking the info and putting it into action). Better for knowledge based curriculum and puts the learning in the student's hands.
or
BETTER
Demonstrative (Lecture with teaching aids or examples), better for task oriented subjects. I liked it because you show slides, video or physical examples and then the student can apply it in the controlled learning environment.
BEST
A combination of both with the emphasis on the needs of the curriculum. Like knowing the components of an IED and then being able to disrupt it safely. There is math, physics, and mechanical principles (simplified for this example) so a combination of teaching styles are needed to relay the material to students with an emphasis on whatever works better for the learning styles of each student.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jul 16 at 2016 10:08 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 10:08:30 -0400

That which works is best. Observe and adjust (just like artillery) Results will vary with nature of teacher, students, subject matter, and environment.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2016 1:38 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 13:38:25 -0400

Depends on ...
.....The subject.
............... The target audience.
.........................The instructor.
...................................The resources available.
.............................................The environment.

Response by SGT Ronald Kershaw made Jul 17 at 2016 10:29 PM

SGT Ronald Kershaw — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 22:29:25 -0400

Sorry I was 19 eco M48 an M60A 2 tank we practice this open range combat, most of the time we used two tank intersect on some gidges.

Response by SFC Roberto Garza Jr. made Jul 18 at 2016 1:57 PM

SFC Roberto Garza Jr. — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 13:57:21 -0400

Teaching style is based on the student, experience level and information being taught. Use slides only as point of reference do not read off of them, very boring, involve your audience. Multiple teaching methods to choose from but as a tanker I would select the best method based on the subject matter.

Response by Cpl Jon Westbrook made Jul 18 at 2016 2:43 PM

Cpl Jon Westbrook — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:43:57 -0400

The majority of Marines and Soldiers I've come into contact with prefer hands on practical application and/or videos to death by PowerPoint. If you have to use PowerPoint slides try to incorporate some sense of humor provided its professional, or improvise to keep them awake and engaged. I don't care who you are, nobody likes listening to some guy drone on for hours.

Response by SPC Michael Mead made Jul 18 at 2016 9:14 PM

SPC Michael Mead — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:14:44 -0400

Well, here's what most of my NCO's did.
Pointless, dangerous and contradictory work details. Mindless paper training on weapons we weren't issued. Endless vehicle maintenance, with special emphasis on not ordering parts we knew we'd never get. Scheduling UCOFT (Unit Conduct Of Fire Trainer) for Commanders & gunners only. "Losing" personal weapons qualification records so that I'd get sent to requalify (the only part I liked!) Conduct never-ending fault-finding missions.

You get the idea. Accomplish the mission, if possible without coming off as a Medal of Asshole winner, unless re-ups are something you just don't want.

Response by SGT Ben Ortiz made Jul 19 at 2016 1:02 PM

SGT Ben Ortiz — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 13:02:03 -0400

The best teaching style to get people engaged is up to you, not the slides. No slide in the world can paint an awesome picture if the presenter is a dud. The presenter has to engage the audience and use the slides to tell the story.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jul 19 at 2016 8:37 PM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 20:37:10 -0400

As an instructor you will develop your own teaching style, don't try to copy one - observe others and how they handle classes, but get it to work for you. You also have to be able to adjust, overcome and adapt to situations which arise during a class, and they will happen. Be prepared to adjust your presentation, but ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU COVER THE TASKS and CONDITIONS to STANDARD.

Response by SFC(P) John McLaughlin made Jul 21 at 2016 12:29 AM

SFC(P) John McLaughlin — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 00:29:39 -0400

I hated slides. I was always a participant instructor.

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2016 8:34 AM

1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 08:34:50 -0400

Throughout my civilian and military career with the Reserve, I've found that I learn best through practical application. For instance, I can't the rules to a game very well if someone just reads them. But if I play the game, and the rules are consulted, then I learn. I just returned from the Reserve SNCO Career Course at Quantico, VA. The teaching style used facilitated discussion, not pure lecture or Death-by-PowerPoint. Slides are tools, not crutches. But they can be powerful visual aids when used effectively. Engaging your troops in the class, not merely trying to pour knowledge into their heads, will result in longer retention. This is something we all as leaders must continue to improve.

Response by SGT Ashar Elliott made Feb 22 at 2018 5:50 AM

SGT Ashar Elliott — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 05:50:10 -0500

As already stated; the "best" teaching style is student dependent.
The problem with PowerPoint is that most people don't use it correctly as a teaching tool. Instead of the slides being a tool to help get the point across, the slides become the lesson. If you are going to make a person read every word on a slide and just restate what was on them and ask if there are any questions; then you would be better off just handing them the manual and tell I g them to read that and come back to you with any questions. I was always taught that PowerPoint slides should be like the old superhero t.v. shows. There should be a lot of interesting stuff to look at and the only words should be THWACK, POW, ZOOM, and KABOOM. Of course there are exceptions, like haveing a list of stats or names, but I'm sure you get my drift. In other words, a new student should not be able to teach themselves the lesson by flipping through the slides.
(***Good idea fairy***) Maybe the military should make NCOs attend a real PowerPoint class so they will know how to really just it instead of just having the only source of entertainment be the different ways in which the slides appear. *******(GASP!!!!)*****

Response by PFC James (LURCH) Janota made Feb 11 at 2019 8:40 PM

PFC James (LURCH) Janota — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 20:40:21 -0500

Reference an online resource for this http://gregorc.com. This site will help those understand different learning styles and how to work with combinations of styles.

Gregorc Associates, Mind Styles & Gregorc Style Delineator

Gregorc Associates, Mind Styles, and the Gregorc Style Delineator.

Response by GySgt H Logan made Apr 4 at 2021 11:28 PM

GySgt H Logan — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 23:28:05 -0400

Keep visual aids simple, watch the audience for attentiveness, and keep the information simple.