Tell, Show, Do and Review

Asking for Feedback at Training

This has been an intensive week of training for the StarQuest 2009 road staff.

The dance competition world is unlike anything else I have ever experienced in entertainment. It is a mix of reality TV, a pageant, and a pop concert. I can promise you that a new set of rules apply to just about everything when working in a youth oriented dance competition.

This year we have a very strong group of auditors (Judges Managers), and awards managers. After a long week of training, they picked up on the complexities that come along with their positions.  The other day we asked them, “…with all this training, and running through the motions of your role, is there anything else we could have done to enhance your learning experience?”. 

The young women, already very energized (from what I consider a successful training period) started to rattle off ideas on what could have enhanced the experience for them. The ideas varied and each one involved a different learning style.

Their feedback reinforced my need to revisit learning styles and the importance of incorporating them when training my staff.

The Three Learning Styles:

1) Auditory Learners

2) Visual Learner

3) Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

Often as managers in entertainment, we don’t take the time to work with these concepts; however, we run into conflicts when we don’t acknowledge that what is a common learning approach for one person, is not the best for another. A visual manager, who uses images to demonstrate to their staff how to do something, gets frustrated with a company member (a kinesthetic learner) when he doesn’t get it. A kinestheic manager gets frustrated when a well-educated auditory learner doesn’t get it after having them do it for the first time.

I don’t have the time to figure out what the best learning style is to teach each and every company member (and I doubt you have the time either).  We often have to train entire groups how to accomplish a task – and everyone learns differently!

It is always a safe bet to incorporate the “Tell, Show, Do, and Review” method. It is really simple, and I have experienced and seen it work first hand.

Tell, Show, Do, and Review:

Tell – Tell the company members what the task is, and why it is being done. (This covers the Auditory Learners.)

Show – Do the task yourself, or have a skilled technician do the job. (This covers the Visual Learners.)

Do – Have the company members do the task themselves. (This gets your Kinesthetic learners in on the action.)

Review – Go over with the company what you have done by asking questions and getting feedback. (Reinforces the task overall.)

Everyone utilize all the learning styles in one way or another, so this method embeds the task further for everyone.

So…Before you get frustrated with a very competent employee, ask yourself, “Am I showing them how to do this the way I learn, or the way they need to learn?”.

-- Welcome to the team: Lyssa, Jennifer, Patricia, Stacey, and Leah (The new StarQuest International Auditors and Awards Managers)

What type of learning style works best for YOU?

Comments

[Krug]

I feel that there is one important thing that must be done before any teaching can commence. One action that the instructor needs to accomplish before "Tell, show, do, review" can begin.

You must judge the current knowledge of the person (people) receiving the information. Without knowing how much experience the student has, you have no starting point. You must first determine their skill set then build atop that.

You run the risk of beginning at the improper level of education. If you start at level too low, you waste your time. If you start too high, you do not have the necessary foundation to complete the lesson.

[Michael Ian Cedar]

You are very right Michael.

When I hire I go by the following criteria

1) Attitude
2) Aptitude
3) Current Level of Skill

I will blog more on that topic shortly.