A questionnaire is one of many different experiential learning activities that ensure a rich learning experience.
A Questionnaire Focuses on Specific Content
What: A questionnaire asks questions that focus the learners on the specific content that they need to know.
It Can Be Used at the Beginning or End of a Lesson
When: It is used at the beginning of a lesson as the organizing principle or to identify learner knowledge and understanding.
In addition, it is also used at the end of a lesson to evaluate learning.
It Enables Interaction with the Content
Why: It focuses the learners on significant information and then allows them to interact with the information.
There are Many Applications
How: A questionnaire can introduce concepts or information, initiate group discussion, or test learning.
State Questions Clearly
Clearly state the questions, with yes/no, true/false, or agree/ disagree response options.
Different Uses
- Ask individual participants to complete the questionnaire.
- Participants can discuss their answers in a small or large group.
- The trainer can read the questions and ask the participants to signal their responses (thumbs up, down, or to the side).
- Use it as a pre- or post-workshop assessment device.
- Use it to introduce the workshop content, then organize the content in sequence with the questions.
The response to each question can be the content of a separate training module. In this usage, it is important that the sequence of questions follow a building block approach to the content.
However it is used, the trainer must give definite answers and the rationale for the answers to provide appropriate closure.
Length of Time for the Questionnaire Activity Varies
Length: Approximately one to four minutes of group discussion for each question. The same approximate amount of time for small group reports to the larger group.
Benefits of a Questionnaire
Benefits: A questionnaire can:
- present technical information in a more interactive fashion than a lecture provides.
- give the learners immediate feedback regarding what they know and what they do not know.
- give the trainer important diagnostic information about the knowledge or skills possessed by the learners.
- help the trainer avoid teaching content that the learners already possess.
- generate group discussion of real life examples that can increase learning retention.
Levels of Learning
Level of Learning: Knowledge, Comprehension
Meets Different Learning Preference Needs
Learning Preferences: Aural, visual, print, interactive, haptic, and even kinesthetic if a thumbs up or down response is used.
Next week, we will explore another experiential learning activity: the case study.
If your trainers would benefit from adding experiential learning activities to their curriculum and learning how to facilitate them, please book a call to discuss a tailored traini-the-trainer program. https://laurelandassociates.com/contact/
Thank you to: Tia and Chris, who correctly identified the level (s) of learning (Comprehension and Application) and the learning style(s) satisfied by a Game: (actually,any and/or all of them, depending upon the game). Their one-minute technique has been mailed to them.
