BONUS - RUSTENBURG - Times are changing, and today, many conference attendees will no longer tolerate the same old lectures, an everything-for-everyone panel, or sessions that have no real meaning to their work. Attendees want to engage with the presenter, with each other, and with the content. They want to be actively involved and presenters must use tools that will allow participants to contribute, be empowered, to speak up and have their say. Active learning in conference sessions is a necessity that conference organisers can’t afford to exclude.
It is not participation for participation’s sake, but rather, instructional activities where attendees do something and are involved in critical thinking while doing it. It means transforming traditional conference session practices like lectures into problem-based learning, collaborative, and activity-based approaches, with guidance from the presenter.
While active learning strategies may require more up-front work by the presenter, research shows that these strategies increase attendees’ learning and retention of knowledge and skills.
Presentation techniques that encourage maximum learning, participation and retention
Body Voting
This is the process of asking the audience to act based on a series of questions. Example: Have everyone stand. Then ask the following questions: If you’ve been in this industry for more than one year, stay standing. Those that haven’t, please take a seat. If you’ve been in this industry for more than five years, stay standing. Those that haven’t, please sit. Repeat the process until only a few are standing, as people need the chance to move around, especially if they’ve been sitting for several hours at a conference.
Case Studies
These are written accounts of real or fictitious situations or problems. Some case studies are left unsolved, so that participants can analyse job-related situations and arrive at their own conclusions. They are designed to develop critical thinking and decision-making skills and are not intended to be prescriptive or to prove a point.
Fishbowls
Fishbowl activities have garnered a lot of attention since Samuel Smith’s use of it in 2010. One variation of Smith’s procedure is forming a circle within a circle. The inner circle discusses an issue while the outer circle listens and takes notes on the group dynamics, process or content. The outer circle then shares their observations. The groups switch and the process is repeated.
Human spectagram
The presenter starts by making a statement. Attendees then stand along one wall, where one corner represents strongly agree and the opposite corner represents strongly disagree. Attendees are asked to stand along the wall where they rate their level of agreement with the statement. Some may choose to stand in the middle. Some may stand closer to one corner. The presenter can pose a variety of statements with different variables to see how most of the audience feels about specific issues.
Jigsaw grouping brainstorming
The attendees are divided into separate groups each with a pre-established topic, facilitator and flip chart. They brainstorm the topic of their group while someone keeps notes on a flip chart. After a prearranged time, members of the group separate and go to other tables where that table’s topic is discussed and the flip chart shared. The facilitator at each table starts the brainstorming where the previous group ended. At the end, all charts are shared with the attendees.
Mind maps
Often used to help individuals and groups to think globally and creatively, mind maps help attendees analyse, classify, evaluate, generate, list, structure and visualise important ideas. Attendees draw diagrams representing words, ideas, issues, tasks, etc. around a central idea.
Role play
Role play allows participants to create manageable versions of situations in which they can practice new behaviours and try out new forms of communication. Participants can make and correct mistakes in a safe environment, while preparing them to be more effective in real world situations.
Structured note taking
Structured note taking provides some type of graphical representation that frames the lecture, discussion or reading. Some presenters intentionally omit important words or phrases from handouts to allow attendees to write them in the spaces provided.
What would you do here?
Participants are given a scenario and a series of choices at key decision points during a presentation. The individuals make a choice in private, then discuss their thoughts with the people around them. The speaker reveals the audience’s answers and the ‘best’ answer. They then discuss the differences and why one answer might be better than another.
