Work Related Writing

Lockwood, [VanderSloot] S.K. (2007). “Reality Check”, MACUL Journal, 28(2), pp. 24–25. 

In 2006 I was a high school teacher of computer applications. I challenged myself to use an e-learning platform to organize my classes, and I was enamored with using an e-learning platform in all my classes. I noticed, however, that students made simple mistakes in using the platform and that they had "go to" people in the class they would ask for help before asking me. I reflected on this experience in this article and came to understand that the students went to each other before they came to me as a way to avoid letting me know they didn't know how to do something. When I moved my career into manufacturing, I found a similar experience -- front line employees were not using an online platform to do work. Using my experience in the classroom, I assembled a group of people, gave them a group name (the PD Action Committee), and trained them to be experts on the process. As expected, the front line employees felt very comfortable asking for help from them and our plant became "high achievers" in employee engagement due to their use of the system.