About Dave

dave_ferguson_headshot_a_2016_06_20I’m Dave Ferguson. I’ve worked in the training/learning/performance arena for over 30 years–though I care less about training than about learning, and less about learning than about on-the-job performance. Sometimes you can increase that performance through training, but, despite what you’ve heard, more often you can’t.

The ins and outs of that are part of what I write about at Dave’s Whiteboard.

I think most people learn better when they go from the specific to the general.  They look at what someone’s accomplished in a particular situation, and they go on to adapt that to other situations.  In other words, if you’re trying to get better at whatever you do, or to learn what you don’t yet know how to do, examples can be a real boost.

That’s why I’ve launched this site.  “Ensample,” a word that’s been part of English since at least 1307, means an example, an illustrative story, a model. I first came across “ensampler” when Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan) shared one showing different ways to depict hierarchical relationships.

I’ve spent a lot of time working on job aids, and I’ve built up a collection of examples from fields as far apart as PHP coding and financial counseling for consumers.  What better way to start this new site than with a job aid ensampler?

If you’d like to discuss job aids, examples, Dave’s Ensampler, or something else, you can find me on Twitter. Or leave a comment here (don’t forget to include your email).

 

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