At one point, simply giving a lecture-style presentation in front of a classroom was sufficient for teaching. The most interaction between instructor and student was a question-and-answer session at the end of a topic or class.
Today, the expectation is for a blended approach that includes lecture with discussion and real-life applications, workshops and hands-on experiences, self-guided activities based on prior knowledge, and online platforms with e-learning opportunities.
Navigating this shift from passive to more active instruction has been challenging. One reason is workload. Unlike most educational settings, where summers may be slower or class sessions are limited, the Training Department never has scheduled time off to transition material or incorporate and test new delivery methods. This work must be done alongside classroom instruction, code updates, online course development, and assessment reviews, keeping staff instructors very busy.
Another reason this shift has been challenging is a limitation of resources – one of which is time. When considering different types of adult education, whether it be a community college technical program, certificate or apprenticeship training, or practical on-the-job training within an organization, more often than not, the length of the instruction is determined by content, whereas we are restricted to the number of days we are allowed to have students for any given course. Understandably, this is driven by the costs employers incur when employees attend classes. Respecting the time constraints is important but it does, at times, make finding time within an agenda to expound upon a difficult topic during class impossible. Unfortunately, this is an obstacle to incorporating more interactivity into class due to the additional time required.
A second limited resource is instructional staff. As you may imagine, an arsenal of instructors with a wide range of industry experience and knowledge is the dream team. However, in the world of “work from home” options, finding experienced, knowledgeable, and qualified individuals to join our instructional team is another obstacle, as we face direct competition from the industry for such a specialized position.
So, how are these new high expectations and existing limitations shifting the direction of NBBI training? To start, our curriculum staff is shifting focus from producing online training courses to assisting instructional staff in developing instructor- led training. By the end of 2026, students can expect to see more instructional video segments embedded into our classroom curriculum; breakout sessions based on student experience and background; and new ways to deliver workshop activities, such as short online components with knowledge checks to confirm a student’s understanding of the material. Students may see more reading assignments and primer work prior to the first day of class, or as part of evening homework, to allow instructors more classroom time for discussion and review the next day.
Although this shift in instruction to a more student-based model will make the most of our development time while maintaining our class schedule, when possible, we will continue to add full-time instructors and consultants to achieve our main goal: to provide our students with the best instruction and training we can during our short time together in class.