People remember a mere 7% of what they hear. Huh? Yes, you read correctly. A mere seven percent of the substance of what you say will be retained by an audience. What then is remembered? In The Magic of Rapport: How You Can Gain Persona/ Power in Any Situation, Jerry …
After two and a half years of anticipation our “house museum” was ready to open. It was with enthusiasm that I joined my fellow docents on an orientation tour. We were all excited — our training was about to begin! As we entered the large entrance hall, many exclamations of …
Anyone who has taken “the tour” at more than two historic house museums knows the variety and quality of site experiences is striking and telling. The American house museum culture offers everything from the structured sophistication of a Winterthur tour to the folksy and often improvised guided adventure delivered at …
“On Being a Docent” We first greet the students. Their tour has begun. “Keep hands at your side, no chewing, don’t run.” I must keep them together — don’t let them stray. Give each one a chance to have his or her say. I have to be sure that I …
More and more, our schools are gathering places of students with differing cultural backgrounds. Stepping from his Spanish-influenced household, a youngster may head off to his English-speaking school where the teacher introduces the customs of the Chinese New Year. Similarly, museum docents welcome busloads of diverse children and explore with …
This fall marks the third collaborative partnership of the Temple City High School and the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The “Dovetail Docents Program” empowers young adults, through service learning, to become student teachers who expertly share their knowledge of the current exhibits with …
The first grade teacher stands in a classroom filled with busy children. It is time for them to stop their individual activities and rejoin her for a group story. She claps her hands three times as she sings, “One, two, three. Look at me.” The children immediately look in her …
Teaching is an endeavor that has both artistic and technical components. While it may be difficult to transmit much about the artistic aspects of teaching because they emphasize such subjective attributes as performance, attitude, style, and nuance, the technical aspects of teaching can be more easily delineated. Successful teaching should …
There are people who believe that teaching is simple — just learn the subject matter and then tell others about it. But, they are mistaken. The gulf is wide between telling what you’ve learned and helping others to learn. Think about it — if effective teaching is really as easy …