Reasons for using blended delivery

Adult Learners

Adult learners tend to be time poor, having a job and a family to look after at the same time as engaging in a course is a real challenge. Using blended delivery that includes self-paced learning as well as facilitated face-to-face training allows our participants to learn when it is convenient and when they want to, without sacrificing the very valuable time with an expert trainer and a group of peers to discuss the learning with.

Learning styles

Different people learn in different ways, so one way of delivering ttraining that works very well for one person may not be as effective for another. Most people find that they learn best when a number of different teaching methods are used to cater to the different ways that all of us learn. The most widely used description of the different ways that people learn is VARK.

VThe V in VARK is Visual. People that have a strong preference for a visual learning style tend to like visual aids such as graphs, charts, diagrams maps and pictures - any graphical information.

AAuditory - people that have a strong preference for auditory modes of learning will get the most from lectures, podcasts and radio programs or from speaking activitiers such as group discussion.

RRead/Write - People who have a strong preference for reading and writing learning styles will get the most out of reading handouts and articles and taking notes.

KKinaesthetic learners are often described as people that "learn by doing", this is only partially accurate. Kinaesthetic learners have a strong preference for activity and the real situation where the learning will be applied. This covers not just practical experience but physical activity and direct contact with what they are learning about or the nearest that can be achieved. They will prefer practical work, demonstrations, simulations, videos and movies of real things as well as case studies.

Most people will use a variety of these learning styles or will prefer two particular styles and select the one they think is most appropriate for the occasion.

You can take the questionnaire on this website to see what your learning preferences are.

In a typical group of 12 or more participants all of the different learning styles will be present in varying degrees of preference and will need to be catered for. Providing a blended delivery allows us to cater to all the different learning styles by using a medium that has different strengths for each style.