Training Students
Thoroughly-trained student employees perform their jobs well, become assets to your department, and make your job easier. The time you spend training your students is an investment that pays in the long run.
Remember: you do not need to be an experienced trainer in order to deliver effective training sessions for your students. We are here to help make this part of your job easier. Contact us if you need further help.
Tips for Training Students on Specific Tasks
When training students, keep in mind that tasks you find familiar may be new to them. Consider how to break a procedure into explainable steps, as well as how the task fits into the “big picture.”
Preparing to Train
- Identify the best procedure for performing the task.
- Analyze the task: identify steps involved, key points, areas of difficulty; define performance standards.
- Prepare the workplace.
Ten Steps of Training
- Explain the task to the student, as well as its purpose and how it fits into the “big picture.”
- Find out what the student already knows about the task.
- Demonstrate and explain the task, step-by-step, at a reasonably slow pace. Identify performance standards for the task. (Sometimes a written procedure is helpful.)
- Emphasize any key points.
- Demonstrate the task a second time.
- Ask the student questions about his or her understanding of the task.
- Allow the student to practice the task.
- Give frequent, specific, and accurate feedback on the student’s performance of the task.
- Have the student continue to practice until the task is done according to the standards discussed in step 3.
- Allow the student to do the task independently, but encourage further questions. Check the student’s procedure and results periodically, tapering off over time.
Additional Student Training Resources
You may used the following training resources as handouts for student training sessions, or use the information in them to create your own training materials.
- Working World 101
Accountability, reliability, professionalism, initiative, and communication.
- BU Basics 101
FERPA, BU Policy on Computing Ethics, and accurate reporting of hours worked.
- Customer Service 101
General customer service issues, including dealing with difficult situations.
- Suggestions for Training Exercises
Geared toward supervisors who are planning student training sessions; exercises correspond to the above “101” modules.
- Additional Training Tips
Scheduling issues, paying students for training, facilitation tips, and links to free training resources on the web.