PDS 505 - Facilitation and Delivery
What PDS 505 tests
PDS 505 tests facilitation decisions that keep learners in productive cognitive load and psychological safety. It covers adult-learning principles, practice design, feedback, and group management during delivery.
Core rules and concepts
- Adult learners need relevance, problem-centered tasks, and some autonomy (Knowles). Do not overgeneralize into “learning styles”; evidence does not support matching instruction to a preferred modality.
- Manage cognitive load: chunk content, segment complex procedures, use worked examples for novices, and fade guidance as expertise grows.
- Retrieval practice and spaced practice produce stronger retention than rereading or highlighting.
- Facilitate with structure: set norms, use think-pair-share, manage dominant talkers, and debrief activities against the objective.
- Give feedback that is specific, timely, and actionable: feed up (goal), feed back (current performance), feed forward (next step).
Worked example
A three-hour compliance session has low engagement. Redesign it as 15 minutes of prework, six short scenario pairs, and a whole-group debrief. Each scenario asks learners to apply a rule, compare answers, and receive feedback. The facilitator uses a polling question to surface misconceptions, then corrects them with a worked example.
Traps that cost marks
Lecture-only delivery for skill objectives; icebreakers with no link to content; letting one participant dominate; overloading slides; treating “engagement” as entertainment rather than practice.
Key points
- Use relevance and problem-centered tasks for adult learners.
- Chunk content and use worked examples for novices.
- Retrieval and spacing beat passive review.
- Feedback should be specific and forward-looking.
- Structure group work so all learners practice.