[This is a Guest Diary by Joshua Woodward, an ISC intern as part of the SANS.edu BACS program]
Just listening to a lecture is boring. Is there a better way?
I recently had the opportunity to engage in conversation with Jonathan, a lead analyst at Rapid7, where our discussion led to the internal technical training that he gives to their new analysts. He saw a notable ineffectiveness in the training sessions and was "dissatisfied with the new analysts' ability to remember and apply the knowledge when it was time to use it." The new analysts struggled to recall and apply the knowledge from the classroom training and often "had to be retaught live," resulting in inefficiencies and frustration. After reflecting on the root cause of this issue, Jonathan suspected that the traditional approach to learning, such as classroom lectures and workshops, was at the heart of the problem. These more passive learning approaches failed to engage the participants, leading to disinterest in the training and lower knowledge retention. Drawing inspiration from a method that was effective for him, Jonathan decided to adopt a more active and engaging approach: Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions.
Capture the Flag (CTF) Competitions
Capture the Flag competitions can offer exposure to a wide range of cybersecurity concepts or drill into a particular skill set through carefully crafted puzzles. CTFs foster an active learning environment by encouraging participants to apply their critical thinking skills and knowledge in a practical context. The gamified nature of CTFs leads to more excitement and motivation to participate, and active engagement and problem-solving allows a deeper understanding and retention of cybersecurity concepts.
Considerations
Traditional training excels at comprehensively ..
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