Tips and Tricks for “On the Spot” Training:

Taking Advantage of

Teachable Moments

Cheryl GouldSpring 2004

gouldc@infopeople.org

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Knot Tying as a Teaching Problem

• Point of view

• Complicated task at first

• Skills require demonstration

• If need to learn to do it quickly and independently, require practice– a diagram or illustration– need to know why

Bends• Attach rope end to rope end

– make a long piece out of 2 shorter pieces

Sheet Bends are used to attach different

sizes of rope

Fisherman’s Knots are good for small rope or

fishing line

Agenda

• Purpose of “On the Spot” training

• Using learning styles

• Give overview not just “how to”

• Chunking complicated tasks

• Teachable moments with computers

• Cheat sheets

Teachable Moments and the Library

• What is your professional responsibility?

• What’s in it for you?

• What’s in it for them?

• What’s in it for the library?

• Not enough time

• Setting boundaries and expectations

• Where to start

• How far to go

• Too complicated

• Don’t want to look or feel dumb

• Not enough time

What’s Hard About “On the

Spot” Training

Telling Isn’t Teaching(If you put a library on a camels back, it

doesn’t make it any smarter)

• Learners need to know:

– What it is

– Why they should listen

– How to use it

The fact that you know how to find information means that

you're systematically prevented from thinking about information

the way your users do.

Mary Ellen Bates http://web.utk.edu/~wrobinso/531_lec_interview.html

People Learn Differently

• Visual– pictures, graphics– mental images

• Auditory– talk – listen

• Kinesthetic– let them do it, handle it, move it

People Generally Remember…

10% of what they read

20% of what they hear

30% of what they see

50% of what they hear and see

70% of what they say or write

90% of what they say as they do a thing

Teachable Moments Consist of…

1. Welcome -- (human)

2. Content -----(information)– accurate– clear– relevant– complete

3. End --------- (human)

Value of Scripting Answers

• Don’t have to reinvent the wheel

• Helps with things you know well

• Saves time and energy handling common questions

Why Don’t People Just Ask?

• Want to see if it’s safe– don’t want to look stupid

– privacy concerns

• Not sure of– what they need

– what library has

– services available

• Cultural differences

The Process

• Welcome

• Ask questions to get to the “real” need

• Solution– give answer that teaches what the library

can do for them

• End– Have I answered your question?

Communication Isn’t All Talk

• Verbal – the words you say– from 7% to 25% of the message

• Non-Verbal– tone of voice– rate of talking– how you present yourself

• gestures and posture• facial expressions• appearance

Welcoming

• Smile

• Make eye contact

• Greet

• Give your full attention

Make Learners Feel Comfortable

• No judgment

• Don’t assume knowledge of any kind!

• Be concise– no jargon– short sentences

• Try not to overwhelm:– “There are 3 things I’ll need to show

you…”

Get From the Opening Question to the Real Need• Start with questions, not solutions!

• Clarify - before you proceed to solution – “Would you prefer the opera on a cassette or

CD?”

• Paraphrase - to be sure you understand– So you’d like 30 double-sided color copies. Is

that right?”– “You need 3 articles on genetic engineering of

food crops, Do I have that right?

– You want to find a way to work off your $200 in fines?

Assess the Situation

• Does the learner know enough– assess skills

• library use• readiness to use electronic sources

– catalog– computer– search skills

• Do you know enough to help– how do you refer

Referring

• Know staff members with expertise

– “I don’t know but let me get you to someone who can help you with that”

• Have lists of common local resources– classes– community resources

• Know resources in other libraries

Solutions

• Tell them “why” not just how

• Empower users– make them self-sufficient– have solutions that answer more than

just the immediate question• offer a library map to find not only sci fi

but also the mysteries and art books

How Far Do You Go?

• “I’m looking for a CD”– point to location of CD’s?– What kind of CD are you looking for?– teach them to use the catalog?– Are you interested in finding other CD’s or

material?

• You can’t:– force someone to learn– teach it all so teach what’s important

• scripts help

Techniques

• Use as many senses as possible– explain in words– handout with pictures and text– draw on scratch paper

• Tell them the WIIFM• Demonstrate, then let them try• One minute of demonstration beats 5

minutes of explanation

Try to finish talking before the learners are finished listening

Chunking

• Long laundry list

• Put in order

• Chunk in to 3 to 5 main parts– Main point

• subpoint• subpoint

Teachable Moments With Computers

• Assessment is critical • Learners MUST have hands on

keyboard• Teach Help menus• Refer to classes• Copy and paste into word

– text– images– Internet printing problems

Infopeople “How To” Resourceshttp://www.infopeople.org/howto/

• New Computer Users – Teach New Computer Users in English or Spanish

– Teach People to Type

– Teach People to Use the Mouse

• Quickguides (suitable for laminating for use at public terminals) – Introducing the Internet Explorer Browser - DOC [130k] or PDF [256k]

– Printing and Saving from Internet Explorer - DOC [56k] or PDF [100k]

– Introducing the Netscape Web Browser - DOC [87k] or PDF [176k]

– Printing and Saving from Netscape - DOC [35k] or PDF [15k]

• Using Screenshots and Word's Drawing Features to Create QuickGuides - DOC [87k] - PDF [23k]

When Situations Come Up Over and Over and…

• Treat each person as if it’s the first time you’ve heard the question ;)

• Have a script

• Have a cheat sheet

Constant or frequent tasks handled well save time

Creating Cheat Sheets• Content

– accurate– clear– relevant– complete

• Design– KISS – quick to scan

• easy to navigate• headings

– use color and bolding to mean something

Formatting Cheat Sheets

• Ideally one sided• Plenty of white space• Number things that are in sequence• Stick to one font

– Times New Roman for readability in print– No smaller than 12 pt– NO ALL CAPS

• Use pictures or simple diagrams