Gee Chapter 5

I'm afraid if I write about a comment made in the first paragraph of the chapter, it will appear as though I didn't read the whole chapter. But I did! In fact, I've completed the book.

Gee said, "...humans are poor at learning for lots of overt information given to them outside the sorts of contexts in which this information can be used. ... Humans tend to have a very hard time processing information for which they cannot supply such simulations. They also tend readily to forget information they have received outside of contexts of actual use, especially if they cannot imagine such contexts." (page 113)

If I had not already believe this, the point would have been driven home this week with an experience I had. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings teaching Microsoft Access to an audience of six people. As is often the case with Access classes, the people attending the class are long time Excel users and though they are willing to believe that Access is the tool of choice for some jobs, they just aren't convinced it will be worth the effort it takes to make the switch.

I am reminded of a comment I once heard at training conference. This was at a time when WordPerfect was the top word processing program, and the speaker made a comment about word processing programs in general. He said, "A word processor is kinda like a spouse: if you have one which satisfies 90% of your needs, it's generally not worth upgrading."

That comment can apply to people who use Excel (rather than Access) as a database system.

I went through the first two mornings following the approved course outline with the approved course text. Anyway, the class was frustrated on the last day since they just couldn't see how they would do this on their job. So I asked each person what they wanted to be able to do. In each case, I was able in 20-30 minutes to show the class how to solve each person's problem. In one case it was getting data into Access from Excel, in another case it was getting data from multiple .txt files into a single Excel table, and in three cases it was creating the proper database design schema. Each person left the class anxious to try (to learn) Access.

I suggested to my employer that we approach the client about offering a day of one-on-one coaching sessions (four people each sign up for a two hour time slot.) This would be training in the context of each individual's work requirements. (Gee discusses "just in time" and "on demand" information on page 136. See -- I did read the chapter!)