The “cognitive organizer” has been a very useful concept to me as well. Here is another example that I’ve used in the past.

In the pre-work (or even very beginning of the class) ask the learners a question that they don’t have the knowledge to answer yet. Don’t provide them feedback on the answer.

Then, as you go through the training, they will naturally start applying their learning to that question. As you teach, you will see “the lights come on.” At the end of the class (or e-Learning lesson), ask them the same question.

We’ve used this in e-Learning and gave the learner the opportunity to see their original answer and then modify it based on their learning. It is always interesting to see the change in the answer.