Page 267 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

results, seating should be arranged in a circle so that everyone can see and hear other participants. The
instructor should facilitate but not dominate the discussion. Smaller groups of 10 to 15 people offer more
opportunity for participation as learners explore their thoughts, values, and experiences; think critically; and
influence others.

Facilitated discussions, such as those presented by debates and panels, may be more appropriate for a large
group. In this scenario, the educator should plan content and discussion topics that attract the audience’s
listening interest, although very few learners may actually get a chance to actively participate due to time and
group size constraints.

Discussion is more time-consuming than lecture, but it can be more interesting for learners, and thus more
motivating. The learning plan should include higher level cognitive and affective objectives. The key points
raised in the discussion should be summarized intermittently by the instructor to increase the learner’s
acquisition and retention of information since we remember what we say out loud.6

A demonstration is one approach to presentations.
Source: CDC/Amanda Mills.

Simulation

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