Show/do/Cue: A Model for Training Use of Software Tools
Stephen Schatz · The journal · 1996
Introducing students to computer applications can be particularly time consuming and frustrating for both and student. Lectures and demonstrations lose students because they have no foundation in using the program. Coaching is very teacher-time intensive. As students learn at different rates, a must keep the quick learners occupied while not rushing the others. Computer-based training (CBT) is time-consuming to develop and, because of this, expensive to update and keep current with the seemingly endless stream of product upgrades. There seems to be no good way to introduce these programs. Once the student has gained basic understanding and experience with a program, teaching and learning is easier. Students can then learn more through questions, trial and error, presentation and books. However, getting students over that first hurdle in use and understanding in a timely and effective manner continues to be a challenge for instructors at all levels. Faced with the need to introduce several programs within a semester in a Master's-level course, I devised a technique called Show/Do/Cue that has consistently yielded excellent results. The Process Show/Do/Cue combines parts of established techniques - using lecture, demonstration and modified CBT. In addition, the overriding rule is that Show/Due/Cue focuses on introducing the software - getting the student comfortable with using the software. All lessons must be trimmed with this purpose in mind. The basic steps to Show/Do/Cue are. 1. Provide a very brief introduction to the software. 2. Show the class a finished project. 3. Quickly build a chunk of the finished product (5 minutes of building). Students are told to watch and not take notes. The purpose is to get a picture of the procedure, not to remember the steps. 4. Give the students a paper detailing the steps to complete. Students work in pairs and build their own piece during class. Teacher provides coaching as needed. 5. Finally, give students a computer-based tutorial that guides them through the same procedure. They are encouraged to go home and do the same exercise. The tutorial provides reminders for students as they work through the procedure for the third time. As you can see, there is nothing new in show/Do/Cue. All these techniques are being used. The surprising result happens when they are used in conjunction. The strongest parts of lecture, demo, coaching, peer coaching and CBT combine to produce students who very quickly gain an understanding of even complex programs, apply that knowledge and build on it to produce advanced work in a short time. The technique also provides a framework that makes good use of an instructor's time. Lecturing, while relatively quick for an instructor to produce, takes a long time in coaching when students try to apply lessons demonstrated. And with the most common software training technique of teacher demo/student do, teachers often demonstrate such a large chunk of information that students are completely lost before they start working. As a result, the advanced students go off on tangents and the slow are left behind. CBT, since it must accommodate many possibilities while it trains, is usually both time consuming and expensive to create, which discourages updates. Show/Do/Cue provides a reasonable approach. I developed it to introduce Astound, a high-level presentation product, so examples will be drawn from that module. I am currently developing modules to introduce other programs. These are the steps to build a Show/Do/Cue module. 1. Preparation - Before the class As with most teaching, most of the work is front loaded. The instructor must design and build two projects before class: the project students will work on and the tutorial they will take home with them. The tutorial is covered in greater depth later in this paper. …