RE: How to demonstrate how well disabled people understand

[Scott Luebking <phoenixl@sonic.net>]

Hi, Larry

I probably would disagree.  There are sometimes limits to what can be
conveyed without appropriate background.  Relativity is not readily
taught to people without the appropriate background.  For example, do
you just teach the key formulas?  In that case, you aren't demonstrating
to students why they should believe the formulas are correct.  They need
to trust what you are saying is accurate.  If they don't trust you and
they don't have the appropriate background, what do you do then?

Similarly with regards to the nurse, the issue is trust or not.  If you
trust the nurse, then you are just looking for the advice itself.
However, if you also want the nurse to prove that their analysis is
correct and tell them they can't use chemistry, what does the nurse do?
How does the nurse bridge that chemistry gap?

With regards to teaching, I'm generally much better teaching students at
upper division or graduate level.  Often, I'm much less effective at
lower levels because I don't understand how they are approaching the
information or why they are making the mistakes they are making.  Most
of the time I seem to do better at lower division level if I am working
in more a mentoring role where there is individual interaction and the
student will try what I suggest they should try.

The problem being that of need to communicate is something I've been
thinking about.  One thing I've been looking at is what people to
communicate with.  Some people I can communicate well with.  Others I
don't.  Something I'm beginning to realize is that I often communicate
better with people when there is more matching background.  It is one of
the reasons why I think I do better with technologically creditable lead
users.  I also seem to communicate better with people who have seen what
I can do and are willing to try things.  Another approach I've been
using is to just push the person in, e.g. force them to actually perform
an analysis of an interface.  That will sometimes give them the
experience to understand the issues.  Frequently, they also learn to
trust my understanding of the issues.  If they don't want try something
because they already believe they have enough information to make the
decision, another thing I sometimes find helpful is to try and arrange
the order of tests in prototype testing such that their mistake becomes
readily apparent early in the process.

Scott

> Scott
> 
> At 11:32 AM -0800 11/7/01, Scott Luebking wrote:
> >But what does the other person need to have as background in order to
> >listen to what I am saying.
> 
> You are asking the wrong question. Neal has it right.
> 
> It is your responsibility to listen to the other person, to find the 
> common ground, and to bridge the gaps because you are the one with 
> the problem,i.e., with the need to communicate. It is not the 
> responsibility of the other person to have or to acquire some 
> specific background regardless of your perception of the need of that 
> other individual for the information you possess.
> 
> You need not only to hear but to understand what the other person is 
> saying. Further you need the ability to utilize this understanding to 
> build on what the other person does have as background in order to 
> bridge the gaps that exist, often on both side as Neal points out.
> 
> An impossible job? Not really. It is one that any experienced teacher 
> or training instructor accomplishes every day.
> 
> So, listen and
> 
> (1) recognize a communication problems exists
> 
> (2) understand the nature of the problem
> 
> (3) identify the gaps on both sides
> 
> (4) find a way to bridge these gaps
> 
> (5) build on the person's existing foundation (background)
> 
> >Suppose you ask a nurse for advice, but you also tell the nurse not 
> >to use any of that chemistry stuff in the explanation.  What does 
> >the nurse do?
> 
> A good nurse will provide the advise requested - without using that 
> chemical stuff - unless you then specifically ask for details or 
> otherwise show that you (might) understand them. She will, for 
> example, stress the importance of completing a prescribed course of 
> antibiotics even if you feel completely well before finishing the 
> pills. She will not go into a detailed explanation of exactly how 
> drug resistant bacterial develop over time when people fail to take 
> all of their prescriptions - unless you ask and she has the time.
> 
> Larry (teacher, training instructor, married to a nurse)