Precious little time is devoted to practicing these theories. If the participants can stay awake, they may learn something, but there is no way to test what they learned until they return to the workplace. When the real world collides with the theory, the theory will not be applied, no one is available to help the employees apply it, and old methods or habits are perpetuated. The training dollar is wasted, and the employees become discouraged. In an effective training course, real-world experience and applying skills are more important than theory.
Less time is spent in lecture and more time is spent practicing the skill.
A good approach is the case study. For example, a course on peer reviews could provide participants with the experience of a peer review through sample materials for a simulated software inspection. A better approach is to use actual materials from the trainees' projects. For example, a former colleague of mine delivered analysis and design principles training to an entire project team using its own project rather than a case study. When the team completed this training, it had draft work products that were used as they progressed in the project.