This post is adapted from content originally posted on the Enspire Learning Blog

Better learning, better retention, better transfer, and better business results — critical goals of any organization’s training and development program. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve these training outcomes in our classrooms and online training offerings. Have you ever wondered about how our nation’s most prestigious universities pursue these same goals?

UT Austin is engaged “in reinventing higher education in the 21st century” by applying the latest evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning. We’re excited to see these approaches in learning sciences and instructional technologies applied to corporate and non-profit organizations’ learning programs.

Below, I’ve distilled the basics of several higher-ed transformation lessons that you can integrate into your training.

Flip It

You’ve probably heard about and even used a flipped classroom approach: out-of-class readings or viewings (often in the form of video lectures) cover base content knowledge acquisition while in-class activities focus on deeper thinking and application. One skeptical faculty member said to me, “flipping the classroom used to be called homework.” But there’s actually quite a bit more to “flipping” instruction.

More than a methodology, the flipped classroom is a huge shift from teacher-centric instruction to learner-centered pedagogy. Beyond replacing the classroom lecture, it’s more about how to better use the social learning venue of the classroom. Done well, student participation, interaction, and personalization all increase. The instructor’s role is vital to guiding students to deeper thinking and applications of the content.

For additional information, check out UT Austin’s resources on “flipping” a class.

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