Family History Training: A Different Approach
Do either of these questions seem familiar?
- “I need to teach a class on <xyz family history topic> for the first time.
Should I borrow Tom’s slide deck and change it around, or should I make my own? I only have a few days to prepare, and there are handouts to print, files to proofread and upload …” - “I like attending family history classes, but I often wonder what to do next, after the class is over. And I wish I could remember what the instructor said in between those PowerPoint bullets …”
This is how family history training has been done for a very long time – it’s labor-intensive and prone to learning gaps. Is there another way?
Shared Learning
Meet the ultimate slide deck – one that addresses every
important topic and can be easily customized. Well, it’s actually a website: The Family History Guide. It’s a shared learning approach, where students and teachers go to the same place to learn. The website has the material needed for learning and teaching, all quickly accessible. Think of the savings in time and effort: trainers can avoid preparing custom slide decks and handouts, and students can quickly find answers to their questions on the website. That might sound too good to be true – how is that even possible?
What Makes It Work?
The Family History Guide empowers shared learning by providing these things:
- A structured yet flexible learning system. The structure comes from Projects, Goals, Choices, and Steps, giving learners a step-by-step path to follow. The flexibility comes from the ability to quickly move to areas of interest on the website, including learning by steps or by videos.
- Exercises and Instructor Tips. Trainers and st udents can use the online Exercises to test skills and knowledge, and the Instructor Tips help trainers solve classroom or coaching challenges.
- Printed and Online Trackers. You can track what you’ve learned, or assess what your students have learned, using the Trackers. Proficiencies are tied to Exercises and then recorded on paper or online, with helpful notes.
Power to the Learner
With The Family History Guide, you don’t have to wonder what to do next. Whether it’s FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, or general research, the learning paths are laid out in convenient fashion. Proceed at your own pace – and you can even follow up a family history class with your own extended learning. Watch your family history experience come alive as you learn!
Power to the Trainer
With a centralized learning site, your training preparation time is dramatically reduced. In addition, the Training section of The Family History Guide gives you the tools and strategies to succeed with all types of training – individuals, beginners, families, classes, even other trainers. And with links to a wealth of top-quality articles and videos, you may find yourself getting ready to teach topics you never thought you would.
Is it Working?
This is a truly a different approach to family history training, and so you may be wondering how well it’s working in the real world. Take it from our friends in the field – learners and trainers who have experienced The Family History Guide first-hand and have shared their quotes about the difference it has made for them.
This is all so true. I have been involved in education and training for over 40 years both in public education and corporate settings. The Family History Guide represents the best in class training environment in that it takes the leaner from where they are to where they want to be. It allows for infinite review and various modalities of learning.
The Family History Guide and its parent organization The Family History Guide Association are blazing new trails in the dissemination of family history training and guidance. This approach is setting a new, higher standard that will facilitate millions of people finding out who they are and where they came from.
This is really a great post, and a wonderful new approach to teaching and learning. I think a lot of teachers would be willing to teach a lot more without all the rigor of preparing everything again and again. It doesn’t make sense to keep doing the same lessons over and over again as individuals. In the past whenever I spent hours on preparing a presentation, I always gave the powerpoint to the students to use as they wished afterwards. Now with the Family History Guide this is really so much better. Everyone can have access to all the lessons all the time in the Family History Guide. This is such an impressive way to move the work forward quickly and efficiently.
Thanks, Bonnie! It really is a different approach, but it’s catching on well.