I spend some part of every week teaching English to my colleagues at InfoJobs. They are great students and great professionals, and I feel very fortunate to work with them. I've been teaching for some time now, and yet I make mistakes all the time.
Probably the most significant continuous mistake I make is failing to look at what we're doing from the student perspective. People talk a lot about looking at things from the customer's perspective, but this isn't necessarily so easy.
Why not? It should be simple to "put yourself into the other person's shoes", right? But as a teacher of my native language, so much is second nature to me that it does require a certain amount of deconstruction to teach effectively.
It seems that the same could be said of products, services, and spaces.
What's obvious to the creators of transactional spaces may not help, serve, or please the customer, user or patient. When was the last time you went into a shop, hospital or government office and said "Wow!" (in a good way)? Do you generally find that spaces intended to serve you have been created with your comfort, ease, or pleasure in mind? Even virtual spaces, which would seem to offer a lot of potential for engagement without the kind of spatial and climatic boundaries "brick-and-mortar" places face, are often disappointing, if not totally frustrating.
For my students, encountering new material in class could be compared to walking into a building. How do you know which way to go? Do you feel welcome? Is what's happening clear? Is the signage helpful? Is there something to discover? Will your activity be active or passive? What landscape of emotions is evoked? What will happen if you make a mistake? Will there be enough time to find your way around? How will you feel when you leave? Will you take away any gifts or souvenirs? How will you remember your experience?
The vulnerability of students, patients, and customers is impressive, sometimes overwhelming, but may offer a real opportunity: a positive new experience paves the way for more openness towards experience in the future.
Probably the most significant continuous mistake I make is failing to look at what we're doing from the student perspective. People talk a lot about looking at things from the customer's perspective, but this isn't necessarily so easy.
Why not? It should be simple to "put yourself into the other person's shoes", right? But as a teacher of my native language, so much is second nature to me that it does require a certain amount of deconstruction to teach effectively.
It seems that the same could be said of products, services, and spaces.
What's obvious to the creators of transactional spaces may not help, serve, or please the customer, user or patient. When was the last time you went into a shop, hospital or government office and said "Wow!" (in a good way)? Do you generally find that spaces intended to serve you have been created with your comfort, ease, or pleasure in mind? Even virtual spaces, which would seem to offer a lot of potential for engagement without the kind of spatial and climatic boundaries "brick-and-mortar" places face, are often disappointing, if not totally frustrating.
For my students, encountering new material in class could be compared to walking into a building. How do you know which way to go? Do you feel welcome? Is what's happening clear? Is the signage helpful? Is there something to discover? Will your activity be active or passive? What landscape of emotions is evoked? What will happen if you make a mistake? Will there be enough time to find your way around? How will you feel when you leave? Will you take away any gifts or souvenirs? How will you remember your experience?
The vulnerability of students, patients, and customers is impressive, sometimes overwhelming, but may offer a real opportunity: a positive new experience paves the way for more openness towards experience in the future.
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