It’s back to school time, and the kids are heading off again to their classrooms. I was a bit nervous when my son started out for his first day of second grade. How would he hold up to 6 hours of sitting at a desk  after a summer full of fun?  And since he doesn’t know many of his new classmates, would he make any friends the first day? My son’s lack of enthusiasm as he left for school only heightened these concerns.

But I was relieved when he returned home and reported that the first day was a grand success. Far from sitting at their desks listening to the teacher all day, they engaged in a series of small group activities. This collaborative approach helped the kids to create projects while working together,  make new friends, and best of all (from my son’s view point) it was fun!

Corporate training groups are also using more of these collaborative ( read the 2009 Corporate Learning Factbook®.) These methods are extremely effective, particularly for the younger generations of workers. With training budgets remaining tight, more companies are seeing the value in these techniques. We expect their use to continue to rise as companies become more accustomed to using them in a corporate learning environment. If your organization is tentative about using these methods, why not step out to your local elementary school – they seem to have gotten it right.