Learning by rote
by Douglas E. Welch
September 28, 1999
© 1999, Douglas E. Welch
Learning by rote
During my 15+ years as a computer support worker and private consultant
I have learned that change is the only constant. Technologies
come and go as do our own preconceptions and quickly outdated
beliefs. My own thinking about computer training changed quite
dramatically recently and I found once again that old thinking
will simply not survive in such a new world.
Step-by-step
My previous experience with computer training was probably very
similar to your own. All the students sat at a computer, or perhaps
they shared, while and instructor led them through a series of
tasks, step-by-step. First do this, then do that, then do the
other. Even though I enjoyed and understood computers I was often
bored by this approach to training. There had to be a better way,
but I had not figured it out. I even began to train people in
much that same fashion as I had been taught.
The biggest flaw with this type of training is that it fosters
a narrow-minded focus in the minds of the students. As long as
their computers operated exactly like those they were trained
on all was well. Throw in one small difference, though, and the
user is unable to deal with it. Work grinds to a halt until someone
can help them. This hardly fosters a productive work environment.
Help them help themselves
This was exactly the issue I faced every day while working in
support. It was nearly impossible to provide computer support
to people who never cultivated a base level of computer knowledge.
The step-by-step training we performed forced them to call us
whenever the slightest change occurred. I quickly realized that
the only way to dig myself and my peers out of this support nightmare
was to attack this very problem.
The first step was to establish fun, casual lunch time training
sessions that my partner at the time entitled "Computer Snacks."
Over lunch we would seek to answer the most pressing user questions
about a specific piece of software or the operation and use of
our extensive computer network. While the mood was decidedly low
key I found that the users retained much more of what they learned.
They also felt better about their computers because they could
immediately apply what they had learned. Instead of trying to
teach an entire program we taught what the users needed to know
when they needed to know it.
Putting it together
I should have paid more attention to our success at the time but
one job led to another and I didn’t have the opportunity to apply
what I had learned for many years. When the head librarian of
my local library asked me to teach patrons how to use the newly
installed Internet services, I saw my chance. I began teaching
2 classes each month, one beginner and one intermediate. Both
were based on the concepts I had learned earlier; make people
comfortable and answer there most important questions. The results
have been better than I ever could have hoped.
I have received so many compliments on these classes when, in
reality, I am more of a facilitator than a teacher. Sure I answer
the technical questions but you can see people’s minds turning
as we talk through issues of ISPs, URLs, Windows, modems and the
Internet itself. Many of the students have come back to say how
much the classes have helped them because it gave the background
that allows them to make intelligent guesses when working with
their computers. They don’t get stalled just because a dialog
box asks them a question. Since they have learned what is going
on behind the scenes they can often work through problems that
would have stopped other users cold.
I used to believe that hands-on training was the only way to teach
people about computers. Now I have found a new way of opening
up the world of computers to anyone. It all has to do with teaching
people how computers operate so that they make intelligent assumptions
when things don’t go quite as planned. The next time you are on
either end of the training equation make sure you are asking or
answering the right questions.
Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and computer consultant
in Van Nuys, California.He also writes Career Opportunities, a weekly column on high-tech careers and A Gardener's Notebook. You can find more of Douglas' writing on his web page at: http://www.welchwrite.com/
He can reached via email at douglas@welchwrite.com
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