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IMF Institute Delivery Methods

Asynchronous Learning — Learners work independently and in a self-paced manner but within a given timeframe. In this form of learning, the interaction between learners and instructors does not occur in real-time.

Examples: 

  • Reading a chapter of a book in preparation for a class
  • Watching a recorded lecture video
  • Submitting responses to an online activity
  • Working independently or in a group on an assignment
  • Participating in an online discussion board

Synchronous Learning— Lessons in which the instructor and students all cover the material at the same time. This can be done in-person, online, or in a hybrid manner. 

Examples: 

  • Traditional in-person classroom
  • Live lectures in Webex, MS Teams, Zoom (etc.)
  • Breakout sessions (group discussions) online or in-person

 

The table provides a listing of the various training delivery methods for courses offered by the IMF Institute.

 

Delivery Methods
Blended training

— In blended learning, content is delivered both online (in a self-paced manner) and in real-time (by the instructor). The interaction between the learners and instructor can happen both online and in-person. In other words, blended learning is a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning components to create a seamless experience for learners.

  • Moodle
    • A Learning Management Systems (LMS) used by the Fund. Moodle is used as an interim solution to deliver blended training.
  • Example – Instructors can give learners an online course to focus on learning basic concepts as a requirement; and later use a virtual session or an in-person session to focus on a richer discussion, for instance, to cover study cases in countries and discuss in a deeper way potential solutions to challenges those countries are facing.
Hybrid training

— In the hybrid format, some learners attend the training in-person (or face-to-face), while other learners attend the same training virtually (for example, via Teams, Zoom, Webex). In this format of delivery, content is usually delivered in real time and learners’ participation is either in-person or online.

 
In-person training  

— Content is delivered only in real-time and in-person (not online).
 Online training

 — Content is delivered only in an online format for the learners to engage with at their own time and pace. At the IMF, this content is typically hosted on the edX platform as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and the engagement between learners and instructor happens primarily on the platform.

  • MOOC
    • Massive Open Online Courses are educational offerings, usually asynchronous, that are directed towards large populations of participants with varying degrees of foreknowledge. They stand in contrast to Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs).
  • SPOC
    • Small Private Online Courses are educational offerings, usually synchronous, that are targeted towards a specific population of participants who share requisite topical knowledge. SPOCs stand in contrast to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs.)
  • edX
    • The primary delivery platform where the Fund hosts its online courses (MOOCs).
  Virtual training

  — Content is delivered in real-time only and in an online live session format only. At the IMF, these live sessions are usually hosted on Zoom, MS Teams, or Webex. The instructor usually uses a presentation to teach a topic, sometimes supplemented with learner engagement activities such as group discussions or polling, followed by Q & A sessions, and/or group presentations. 

 

 

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