Leatherwork Courses - Improving The Learner's Experience

[UKRay]

This winter I'm planning on running a few one and two day leatherworking courses (at beginner and intermediate level) and wondered if anyone had any experience of either running or attending similar events.

I guess what I'm looking for is the best way to give a great 'customer experience'. What stuff have you or your students enjoyed? What didn't go so well? How would you run a course or what would you like to see/learn if you attended one?

I know this is a huge topic but we have to start somewhere so please contribute any ideas or suggestions.

I'm really looking forward to your opinions and responses.

Ray

[DoubleC]

Get a notebook and write down everything you'd like to accomplish, just free form, you can organize and delete some later. Then write down any suggestions you get on here even if you aren't sure about them, just think about them for a while and then decide. The creative side of your brain will work on this when you don't think you are.

You can use your computer for most of this, but keep paper and pen by your bed....you will find you get your best ideas in that fleeting moment before wake and sleep, the brain is already freeing itself.

If I wanted the customer experience to be the best thing, I'd pick a project anyone can succeed at and be proud of. Also one that uses tools, good, bad or ugly. What comes to mind for me is a small picture that could be framed. There are tons of free pictures on the internet they could trace, I usually try and find the free 'coloring' pages because they are in black and white and easy to see to trace.

If MY brain thinks of anything else I'll add it later :-) Cheryl

[electrathon]

I like teaching short classes best. Knife sheath, sewing/lacing, carving, tool sharpening, etc. Set them up so that the person can attend one or two, or all of them. My biggest sugestion is to tell them what to do! Do not allow three patterns to be carved durring a carving class, you hand them the pattern you are teaching. If people go off in differant direction it really causes confusion.

Aaron

[DoubleBarP]

Interesting topic.

Iwas just talking to a friend of mine today asking him if he had ever considered teaching a class.. I would want to attend. He advised he would have to charge a significant fee as he would be losing money as he was not working and being productive in his shop..

That said as a LEO instructor that has taught adults physicalskills since the late 70's I have some experience in this area. I wish there was a class so I could attend…instructed by a competent instructor who is also a craftsman in the true sense of the word.

Being someone who has dabbled in leather for years I have just enough knowledge to really mess a project up.. It was only after I retired that I had time to devote all my attention to my new found hobby, Holster building... My friend told me on one ocassion its's not something I can tell you how to do. I can show you and then you need to just do it... Just start praticing. It was one of the best things I have ever learned from him about leather. You get bettery by doing (useing your hands).. But I guess that goes for any true Craftmanship. It takes pratice...

The way my mind works and the way I teach somewhatcomplicated topics is to break it up (the task) into small steps.. For that it means break the steps of holster construction down into a list of steps so I did not forget one and jump ahead or skip a step and forget to put in a snap or t-nut…

Now that I have done a few dozen holsters I don't have to use my "recipe" or checklist everytime..

Now the good stuff: First pick a project.. ie, pancake holster, or glass coasters what ever the topic. Next assemble the materials so it can be completed in a day or two… Now just document the steps in a logical sequence that can be followed to complete the project…

I think electrathon hit it on the head when he said keep it short and simple. Adults (males) sometime have trouble following instructions and just forge ahead…. Then there is an occasional oops and we need a new piece..

I like your idea and based on the way my mind works I would make an outline which includes, course goal, objectives, and performance standards that you hope to achieve.. IE. At the end of this course of instruction the learner will be able to:

Determine Leather Wt based on measureing technique

Properly case leather for tooling

Dye leather

Stitch leather using the saddle stitch..

You get the point…

Most of all consider that the students as adults bring various experiences and expectations to the class and use that while considering there is more than one way to do something right… I say it this way. It's not the way to do it but A way to do it…

Keep us posted I would be interested in what you come up with…

Edited July 11, 2012 by DoubleBarP

[Jazznow]

Hi ray,

Interesting topic indeed. I've done two courses and the 3 weeks I spend with you in your workshop. Comparing both I have to say, that I learned more in the courses considering their duration (1 day). BUT it's more than a year ago and I forgot almost everything I learned in his courses. When I'm dyeing something I do it the way I learned from you, cutting, stamping etc. the same.

The time I spend in your workshop was much more effective in terms of learning (and it was more fun :D ). This was because I had time to do repititive work so my hands learned what to do, not only the head.

Since here is no time for repititive work on 1 or 2 day courses you have to give your students the possibility to do this repititive work at home by providing detailed instruction sheets or similar. I tried to write down important things in the courses I visited but I always missed something the instructor said while I was writing down what he said before.

Another aspect you have to think about is what the topics of your courses will be like. Will you do one project in on course like building a bag, stamp/carve it, dye it, make nice edges, assemble it, finish it. In this case you will have to think about aspects that you can skip (you could use edge cote for finishing the edge instead of going the long way with wax and much elbow grease or you could precut the parts of the bag) since time may become a critical factor.

The other possibility is to do one or two aspects of leather working in extreme detail. So you can say ok on this course we will learn different dyeing techniques and different edge finishing techniques. In this case you could give your students some 8" belt cutoffs and work on these. It allows you to handle more aspects of the same topic in one course (block dyeing, Normal dyeing, antiquing, antiquing with prior resists and so on, building up certain effects like shadowing at the corners etc.pp.)

You should think about how many students you want to have in a course. More student means you can take less money for the course to get the same amount at the end of the day. But it means, that you have less time for every single student too ( and I think it is important to have enough time for every student so you can work on individual mistakes everybody is making.

Last but not least make sure to have enough tools for everyone. Buy some sets and ask them if they want to take it home, if not you can use the same set for the next student if yes, you made some extra dollars.

I hope this helps ,)

Jonathan

P.s. if you need an assistant teacher gimme a call and I'll see that I can get some free days at work. After all I'm the perfect example that people can learn something when you are the instructor

[Bob Blea]

I've taken short leather courses, but I also have some experience with technical training with my day job. I recommend sticking with a very specific subject for the class, say carving or finishing, and go into really good detail on it. As DoublebarP and Jazznow said, having hands on experience and repetition are great for real learning and retention.

Where I have found things not going so well is not keeping the class on track, and not finishing the project. It's not hard for the class to go off on tangents and you've got to gently redirect them back on track. I think having the small size helps because it's easier to get them back on track and keep the class together, but even then people work at different paces and need help in different areas.

Bob

[spooky]

Sorry, I've only just skimmed the other replies. I recently attended a one-day, beginners braiding course, and was very disappointed. Class had about 10-12 students, which I found was too many. I understand the logistics of "bums on seats" in order to make money. The number of students meant that when the teacher demonstrated anything (with normal sized lace), it was almost impossible to see. I don't know how you solve this problem if you wanted to keep the same number of students (which really isn't that many). My random thoughts are setting up a video camera/overhead projector, so that all students can see a larger version of what is happening. Or, alternatively, using over-sized lace... something such as rope, so students can clearly see what is happening. Otherwise, if you could be really organised, you could possibly stagger starting times at 15 min intervals, four students at a time, so you spend 10 mins getting each group started, then spending the last few mins checking on what the previous group has achieved.

I have also been attending a leatherwork course at an adult education college, which is taught by a remarkable saddle maker. I think a few students have dropped out because things don't move quickly enough for their liking. It is probably an unusual class in this day and age, as each student starts the term learning basic skills and one project set by the teacher, but after that, each student works on an individual project. This means that the student needs to spend time with each student individually, teaching them specific skills and coaching them through their project. Unfortunately (perhaps) this means that sometimes students need to wait to be shown their next step. I think that this puts some people off. However, students can also use this to their benefit - the teacher has no problems, and actually encourages students to "eavesdrop" on other students projects - that way you're still learning whilst waiting. I think this style class takes some getting used to, but has definite benefits in individual coaching.

Sorry to ramble - perhaps it might help?

[Northmount]

Sorry, I've only just skimmed the other replies. I recently attended a one-day, beginners braiding course, and was very disappointed. Class had about 10-12 students, which I found was too many. I understand the logistics of "bums on seats" in order to make money. The number of students meant that when the teacher demonstrated anything (with normal sized lace), it was almost impossible to see. I don't know how you solve this problem if you wanted to keep the same number of students (which really isn't that many). My random thoughts are setting up a video camera/overhead projector, so that all students can see a larger version of what is happening. Or, alternatively, using over-sized lace... something such as rope, so students can clearly see what is happening. Otherwise, if you could be really organised, you could possibly stagger starting times at 15 min intervals, four students at a time, so you spend 10 mins getting each group started, then spending the last few mins checking on what the previous group has achieved.

I have also been attending a leatherwork course at an adult education college, which is taught by a remarkable saddle maker. I think a few students have dropped out because things don't move quickly enough for their liking. It is probably an unusual class in this day and age, as each student starts the term learning basic skills and one project set by the teacher, but after that, each student works on an individual project. This means that the student needs to spend time with each student individually, teaching them specific skills and coaching them through their project. Unfortunately (perhaps) this means that sometimes students need to wait to be shown their next step. I think that this puts some people off. However, students can also use this to their benefit - the teacher has no problems, and actually encourages students to "eavesdrop" on other students projects - that way you're still learning whilst waiting. I think this style class takes some getting used to, but has definite benefits in individual coaching.

Sorry to ramble - perhaps it might help?

I like the idea of a video camera and projector so everyone gets to see close up. It does add a cost to the course provider, and may require an additional person to keep the camera focused on the work.

Students also learn from other students. When a student or 2 are ahead of the others, the instructor can assign them to help someone else catch up. It helps the instructor keep up, helps the people that are slower or waiting, and helps the faster student learn how to impart his knowledge to others. Also, the faster student that is helping others will learn other ways to accomplish the intent.

Lots of ways to present training courses. Different subjects require different approaches. The instructor needs to be flexible and able to addapt to his students. Not every student is going to be happy. That is something that both students and instructors need to recognize. If a student recongnizes he has a problem with the corse material or instructor during the first hour or so, he should withdraw from the class if he can get his tuition back. Then decide what kind of class or work he should be in next.

And when an instructor gets tired of his job, it's time to get out and get another job. Don't make the students pay for his unhappy state.

CTG

[TwinOaks]

Ray, take look in "spec. events, contests, and classes" and look at the current run of monthly challenges, and also at the previous iterations (hosted by Bert and Ernie...er...Clay and Clay). See if there's any topic or structure that you can use in them.

[sherlockian100]

I am currently taking classes from a guy who owns a private leather store and he offers once a week, two hours a night, classes for 6 months at the beginner level (he starts with 12 and said his attrition rate is about 50% by the end of 6 months). Class #1 was casing and the swivel knife, then into other tools, etc. it will ultimatly cover sewing, dyeing, attaching hardware etc. I am not a beginner to leatherwork, but i'm fairly new to tooling. I figured even at that, I am hoping to break some bad habits. I am sure he will cover a lot I already know, but much I don't as well. He doesn't let anyone start at intermediate, you have to go through beginner. Then he only chooses 6 of the 12 to move onto intermdiate, as he offers more one on one time in that class. That one is once a week for a year. Hope some of this info helps, if you have any questions about my classes, I'll try to answer them By the way, he only charges $20 a month.