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Tell, show, do, review

Tell, show, do, review

Using a mnemonic for training

Managing a computer training company back in the early days of Microsoft Office was relatively simple work.

Schedule the class, put butts in seats, and make sure they learned something.

That last part, is where we used the phrase, “tell, show, do, review” as shorthand for the adult learning sequence.

Tell is the act of defining and describing the concept at hand. Show means that the instructor needs to demonstrate the concept. Do moves the demonstration to the student where they need to practice the concept with the instructor merely standing nearby. Review is what the instructor does next, they critique the activity performed.

It’s a great mnemonic and excellent reminder of how to present new concepts. It’s a process, not an event. That “do/review” sequence might be repeated multiple times before a concept takes hold, and that assumes your “tell/show” didn’t have any communication issues.

Give it a try. (consider that you’re “do”)

Good stuff.

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