More Interactive Learning, Less Lecturing Esri charts a new course in training By Carla Wheeler, Esri Writer Before they started lessons on symbolizing data and creating map layouts, Dave Donley and Delores Fillingame cracked open their fortune cookies. Instructor Mark Stewart gave the cookies to his students as he welcomed them to ArcGIS Desktop II: Tools and Functionality, one of 35 GIS courses Esri offers. He asked everyone to introduce themselves, read their fortune aloud, and add “with ArcGIS” to the end of each fortune. “Nothing is impossible with ArcGIS,” Fillingame said. “Love and you shall be loved with ArcGIS,” said Donley. Laughter filled the classroom at the Esri Learning Center in Redlands, California, as other students chimed in: “Eat chocolate and have a sweet life with ArcGIS”; “Your smile has great charm with ArcGIS”; and, perhaps most appropriate, “A lesson well learned is never forgotten with ArcGIS.” Esri wants students to learn GIS well and never forget what they’ve learned. That’s why Esri Training, which develops and delivers the company’s software classes, recently adopted a new course design and training delivery style that stresses interactive, peer-to-peer learning; real-world GIS skills; and, yes, even having 64 ArcUser Winter 2011 fun. Say goodbye to formal lectures and hello to lessons that focus on essential theories, concepts, and skills and stimulate students to speak up and share their GIS knowledge. “We want learning to be fun, easy, and applicable,” said Esri national instructor manager Krista Page when explaining why this new training approach was adopted. “Research on adult learning shows students retain more when they are actively involved in the learning experience. So now we’ve expanded the interactive component.” Students Take On New Role Until now, Esri instructors typically taught in a traditional style. They would lecture for up to 45 minutes, give a demonstration, then assign a hands-on software exercise. Students usually worked by themselves. Instructors did most of the talking; students listened. Today, however, students take a greater role in the classroom, answering questions and contributing ideas. The instructors act as facilitators, encouraging the class to think and talk about the GIS concepts, tools, and skills they’re learning. By helping students understand how this new information relates to their jobs and letting them integrate their experience, instructors help them better relate the material with what they already know. “Every adult comes to class with a certain level of experience, and being able to share what you already know and then to build on that, that’s a big deal,” Page said. The new course design and delivery style incorporates  Icebreakers (like the fortune cookie readings) and brainteasers to energize and involve everyone and help people get to know each other. When students are more at ease with each other, they will feel more comfortable participating in class.  Problem-solving exercises conducted in small groups or at whiteboards. In the online Instructor-Led Online Classroom (where 50 percent of Esri’s courses are taught), those exercises take place in breakout “rooms” on the Web.  Instruction, demonstrations, and hands-on software exercises that emphasize practical, real-world scenarios and situations.  More questions posed by the instructor that spur students to think and share their onthe-job experiences, insights, and knowledge of GIS with classmates.  Review questions to ensure that students understand the concepts, skills, and software tools taught in each lesson. A new supplemental workbook also includes tests that reinforce understanding. According to Page, students like this mix of activities. “The more senses you use, the more likely you are to learn and retain,” she said. “Previously, there would have been a lot of listening. Now there’s listening, there’s talking, there’s writing, and after an activity, there’s a esri.com