Would Information Marketers Benefit More From Using The Tell>Show>Do Teaching Model?

I carpool to and from my day job, and when one of my roommates isn't able to give me a ride I take the bus. I don't mind the two hour ride too much, I have a large backlog of Kindle books to get through.

I have a lot of stuff of the IM and Freelance Writing stuff that is out there, and I'm noticing a...sad trend. A lot of people are either just regurgitating content with no organization at all, or they are trying so hard to be high brow that they never end up saying anything useful at all.

Now, developmental psychologists the world over will tell you that people learn different things in different ways. Can't argue that. But the authors I'm referring to (and I fear there are a lot more that I haven't read. I mean, just look at WSOs and the Classifieds section here) aren't writing their content to cater to one particular learning style. They're not catering to any learning style at all.

So my assumption is this: if a writer wants to teach to the largest audience possible, why wouldn't they be making use of the Tell > Show > Do teaching model? For those who don't get it:

Tell: Explain the concept that you are trying to teach. What it is, why it matters, how it will affect you, and how you will implement the information.

Show: This is where the writer/instructor proves that what they're teaching can work. They either demonstrate the concept on their own or point to verifiable, specific instances where the concept has been put to use.

Do: This is where the learner is prompted to try out the concept for themselves. They should be able to reproduce what was taught, either through a given activity or an outlined experiment that allows them to put the concept to work.

A lot of you will recognize this outline, whether you realize it or not. It's how most schools and most jobs train people. Almost everyone has been exposed to it. So why wouldn't an information marketer use this established structure to their advantage? Even if a specific student cannot learn from the model, it is a starting point that everyone will know of (and hopefully how to adjust from), and standardization is key.

Just my thoughts for the afternoon. Discuss, question and tear apart if you please!