Pit & Quarry, December 2009

Safety y P ositive is easy If something can be shown to be positive acceptance is almost automatic Positive is good Positive makes things go smoothly and speeds up accommodation Criticism even positive criticism on the other hand starts with its note of pain To be critical however gentle turns out to be hurtful The constructive side of intending improvement more often than not gets lost in the tone of the delivery and the best of intentions on reception turns on a sour note The valuable side of critical examination gets lost in past experience from destructive criticism Despite any effort to soften criticism it is always important to evaluate read criticize training materials Training materials even those pushed by experts and gurus need to be checked very carefully before use The never park your brain admonition still holds You can park your pickup truck but never park your brain Example for reflection According to one author in 1987 studies show the telling method is only 20 percent effective and follows with the example below The same author in 1996 headlined his use of the same chart with Learners Tend to Remember Note in particular that this author did not identify what studies when they were done who did them or where they were published The author repeats 10 percent of what they read 20 percent of what they hear 30 percent of what they see 50 percent of what they see and hear 70 percent of what they say as they talk 90 percent of what they say as they do a thing A different author in 1997 uses the same misinformation with one slight change This author says we remember 80 percent of what we say Again no identification of the source of the information is given neither author gave a source on request Mini critique Before an author publishes something the material should be fact checked The example above has problems on first glance Miners use their eyes to read Miners use their eyes to see This bares the first confusion What is the CRITICISM EVEN POSITIVE CRITICISM ON THE OTHER HAND STARTS WITH ITS NOTE OF PAIN crossover from 10 percent eye use for reading and 30 percent eye use for seeing Are they separate Are they additive On the surface there are obvious discrepancies to evaluate before publication or before a trainer uses this as a visual aid Now on to what learners see and hear Learners probably remember something they read Learners surely remember some of the things they experienced So there is a reservoir of information to bring to a fresh learning situation However there is no indication of what came from where or how it was integrated For credit card priceless there is no beating 70 percent of what they say as they talk combined with 90 percent of what they say as they do a thing So there are more questions about overlap Are the learners just talking or talking and doing Is there learning and remembering and how much BY CARL METZGAR Safety tip Training surgeons There is a kernel of truth in this cone of learning However to date no one has been able to find the data on which the quantities of learning in the cone are based Thus we are dealing with a SWAG estimate Scientific Wild A Guess with a minimum of emphasis on the scientific for the numbers What does that have to do with training surgeons Somewhere in a long lost article surgical training was reduced to a simple formula Watch one do one teach one We all agree there is more to it than that Consider all of the training a doctor gets before he is allowed to lance a boil But the learning line is right Observation with professional guidance is the first step Combined with other preliminary training doing surgery can follow in measured steps It is rather comforting that surgeons who have learned a skill are willing to confirm and extend their learning by teaching first under close observation then with less supervision as learning and doing skills get better Surgeons and trainers in mines follow the same learning pattern Cautionary tale Peter Shickle classical composer musician and radio host regularly quoted Duke Ellington who said If it sounds Positive criticism Training materials even those pushed by experts and gurus need to be checked very carefully before use Continued on page 56 50 PIT QUARRY December 2009 www pitandquarry com