#12 - Conversation with Theresa McKeon

This week we are talking with Theresa Mckeon from TAGteach International. If you are in the dog training world, either professionally or as a hobby, and aren’t familiar with TagTeach, you should definitely check it out. TagTeach is a really cool way of looking at teaching and learning. It’s an approach that applies clicker training philosophy to teaching human learners. Like clicker training with animals, TagTeach facilitates learning by breaking skills down into pieces and giving instant and meaningful feedback, focusing on building behavior and reinforcement, rather than hassling about what not to do. Unlike clicker training with animals, TagTeach also encompasses using positive, and precise language to give clear instructions… but of course, we already know you don’t have to speak the same language as your learner to teach them. And that’s one of the things that I think is so cool… TagTeach techniques work beautifully even when the teacher and student can’t speak the same language at all… I mean literally… like if one is from Finland and the other is Turkish. Or other countries… either way. When the behavior that is being taught is broken down into such small pieces that the goal is completely black and white… either it was accomplished or not… then words don’t matter as much, because both teacher and learner can tell if that goal has been accomplished. But of course, it’s nice to have clear language to give instructions when you can. And when you do use words, it’s super important to be clear and precise. That’s one of the topics we discussed… which is particularly relevant for us, I think… because those of us who get very excited about our topics often have a habit of flooding the listener with words. Theresa calls it “passion talking”, and I’m certainly guilty of that on a regular basis. We also talk a lot about the parallels between teaching animals and humans. And we discuss our opinions on the worst part about being a grown up. But first, I want to let you know that my new online mentorship program, Zero to CD is officially open for enrollment. Zero to CD is a comprehensive mentorship program designed to help positive trainers just like you earn their first competitive obedience title… even if they don’t know the first thing about obedience. The program covers everything you need to know compete successfully in Novice-level obedience. Providing training, support, and accountability to keep you focused and on track. Humans need structure and reinforcement too! And this program aims to provide exactly that. Enrollment is limited, and the next round begins May 1. So if you’d like to find out more, visit: www.zerotocd.com For show notes for this episode, visit: www.wonderpupstraining.com/podcast