Bruce W. Kennedy

Creating a training coordinator position.

The critical need for high-quality staff training in laboratory animal facilities may lead to the creation of a separate staff position-that of training coordinator. The author offers a series of checklists for use in both defining and then filling such a position.

Facilitate, don't dictate.

medicine facilitated by his instructors, putting him as the learner, rather than the content itself, at the center of instruction? Thence der ives t he t i t l e of t h i s month’s column. Trainers in lab animal research should facilitate the learning of their students, not dictate bulletpoint by bullet-point the words of a slide presentation. Consider, as described in previous Fruits of Education columns, the readiness and motivation of those sitting in a classroom or standing around a surgical suite. Facilitate that which they need and want to learn in order to get back to work and apply their newly gained knowledge. Trainers must also facilitate the obligations of the institution, welfare concerns, regulatory mandates, etc. Recognizing all of these factors, by facilitating both the content and learner, will bring success in lab animal instruction. The concepts of adult learning—andragogy—will benefit both the humans and the animals that are involved in our very important work of biomedical research. provides the basis for continued learning activities; (iii) self-concept: adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education, including planning and evaluating their instruction; (iv) readiness: adults are most interested in learning that which has immediate relevance to their work or personal lives; (v) orientation: adult learning tends to be aimed at the problem of immediate concern; (vi) motivation: adults respond better to internal versus external motivators. Let’s examine the notions of teaching and instructing versus training. Some say that teaching is broader in focus than training and is generally theoretically based, whereas training has a more specific focus and tends to favor practical application of knowledge. To apply some of Knowles’ terms, as lab animal trainers, we often have purpose (motivation) in our task when we gather technicians or investigators (who have a need to know) to instruct them. Instruction, derived from the Latin word instruere, means ‘to build in,’ and indeed our adult students have a foundation of knowledge when they come to a training session. In sum, we are engaged in training to address issues (is it fair to say scientific problems?) within laboratory animal science. Although this may seem intuitive— of course we want to learn what is most important to us!—as with many things in science, it needed to be academically studied and stated. The process by which adults learn has implications for human resources, teaching teachers, learning the fun stuff on our days off, and more. Does it not make you wonder how previous generations taught children and adults? What methods were used when our familiar father of lab animal science, Dr. Nathan Brewer, was in school? Was the anatomy of the guinea pig dictated to him? Or was his learning about veterinary That’s my rhyming way of describing how adult learning should happen in lab animal training. Many of us teach (or train) our colleagues the way we were taught as kids in the school classroom. This childoriented teaching, or pedagogy, was contentcentered rather than learner-centered. Our teachers needed to drill materials into our heads to prepare us for the eventual test. But adults are more interested in learning what they need to know and how it applies to them. This approach to education is called andragogy for adult learning, a term that was first used in the early 1800s but didn’t become prominent until the middle of the 20th century, when Dr. Malcolm Knowles began his intense studies on this very important subject. Knowles was the son of a veterinarian and pursued a career in education. He earned his PhD in 1959 at the age of 46— thus, he himself was an adult learner. Studying under the renowned psychologist Dr. Carl Rogers no doubt also shaped his thinking on how adults learn to prepare for tests. In our field, these might include examinations leading to certification from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, the Diplomate t it le from the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine or the credential of certified professional IACUC administrator. Knowles published more than 230 articles and 18 books on the subject of andragogy and as a result is known as the ‘father of adult learning.’ In his work The Adult Learner, The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development (Routledge, New York, 2012), Knowles described six principles of adult learning: (i) need to know: adults want to understand the reason for learning something; (ii) foundation: experience, including making mistakes, Facilitate, don’t dictate

Engaging students to participate.

Animal Science’s Institute for Laboratory Animal Management program. When using traditional methods of surveying students, such as asking for a show of hands, responses may be guarded as students look around at their peers to see if their answers match. With Poll Everywhere, trainers can choose to make all responses anonymous and use a counter to track the number of responses. As the number climbs, almost everyone engages and watches as the results are displayed. Students seem less inhibited to participate. Trainers can ask all kinds of questions, which can be multiple choice or allow short, free-form text responses: “How familiar are you with covered species?” or “Have you experienced a challenge when conducting a euthanasia task?” or “How many digits are on a mouse’s forepaw?” Students can share their answers and learn from the responses of their classmates, while trainers can evaluate the group’s overall knowledge and pinpoint topics that might need to be revisited or clarified. The Poll Everywhere site includes tutorials and instructions for using the product. Polls can be saved and reused. Usage is free of charge for fewer than 40 respondents. By encouraging student participation and engagement, Poll Everywhere can help turn mobile phones from distractions into effective training tools. questions of the group, conducting exercises in break-out sessions and demonstrating tasks can encourage students to engage with the material. Long ago, Confucius said, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” These observations hold true today, even in a world with many distractions. So I wanted to share my experience with a tool that trainers can use to turn distractions—specifically mobile phones and other wireless devices—into opportunities for interaction. It’s a product called Poll Everywhere (http://www.polleverywhere. com) that energizes the classroom by enabling students to participate in surveys and tracking their responses in real time. To use Poll Everywhere, a trainer begins by constructing a survey question, testing it out and then incorporating it into a PowerPoint slide. During the classroom presentation, the slide will appear, displaying the question along with instructions for responding, and the trainer can direct students to use their mobile phones or wireless devices to respond to the question. As responses are received, results are presented in a chart on the slide and updated in real time, almost immediately. I’ve included two examples: one from my lab animal class (course number AHS 369) and another from the American Association for Laboratory As trainers, we want our sessions to be lively and interactive. We want our students to respond and contribute. We want to be sure that the material we present is processed and applied. Why would we train if the instruction didn’t result in subsequent improvements in laboratory animal research tasks? That would be a waste of resources. But in reality, we sometimes look around our classrooms and see tired faces. We see heads bowed, attention directed at mobile phones instead of PowerPoint slides. No matter how recently updated or relevant it is, the presentation on the screen is not attracting the attention that was intended. How can we capture and keep students’ interest? We must recall that adults learn differently from children. Principles of adult learning, or andragogy, as proposed by Professor Malcolm Knowles, tell us that motivation in training situations should be oriented toward the learner rather than toward the content. Adult students need to appreciate why they are in the classroom and to find reasons for participating in a training session. Simple statements of learning objectives are generally not sufficient to engage adult learners, but interaction between trainers and students is more likely to achieve the intended results. Interactions such as asking Engaging students to participate

Training military medics with animal models.

all read and appreciate his deep conviction for the animals, for people and for training. We know it’s not easy. I can’t imagine the anxiety and adrenaline levels while in the battlefield for both human and animal medics. This is why training is so important. All students need actual handson preparation before the real thing, regardless of discipline. While teaching and speaking about outreach for animal research, I often mention my son. I want my audience to hear as many aspects of the use of animals as possible, and I like to distribute the AALAS poster “Use of Animals in Biomedical Research” (http://www.aalas.org/bookstore/detail. aspx?id=191). I believe that we all come to understand better the importance of training when we know more about its impacts. While working in Maryland, I met many 91Ts—the old term for military vet techs, now called 68Ts. They used animals in research and in training, while also serving as soldiers. Never did I meet one who was not passionate about animals, just like everyone else I know in laboratory animal science. One more thing, on a very fatherly and personal level. My son shared this statement in his email response to me: “On a side note, all of the vets and a lot of the vet techs have seemed to know you in some way or the other.” That makes us a big family in the community of animal use, training and welfare. It seems the fruit does not fall far from the tree. I am proud of my son for serving in the military. I am proud that he also has an appreciation for those animals used in military training. And I am proud that he uses the word training as much as I do. stationed in Afghanistan, and he has shared with me how his training and courses with animals have taught him to treat injured soldiers. And third, I have myself been addressing animal welfare and training for over 30 years. After reading FBR’s post, I immediately sent an email to Nate, asking what he thought about it. Following is his response: “I have participated in over 10 goat labs (combat trauma training labs) as a student and an instructor. My first goat lab was when I was a private, and the only training I had had was what I learned in my Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Sam Houston. The live tissue training that I received before deployment to Iraq was invaluable. I felt so much more prepared to deploy and be ready for the types of injuries that we would see. After deployment, we did continual training to make sure our skills were sharp and that we could sustain life, whether it be human or animal. At this point, I changed roles and became an instructor, and I educated my squad of medics to be better prepared for the deployment to Afghanistan. I have spoken to all of my guys, and they agree that this training is the best that they have had. Being able to actually have hands-on experience makes the medic so much more competent and capable in the field of fire, so that there is not that horrible pause where someone’s life is on the line. During the labs, there is always a veterinarian present with a large team of vet techs making sure that the goat is stable, properly anesthetized, and that no inhumane acts occur.” Let me share that rarely has my son written with such clarity. I was impressed with both his words and his passion. We can Since 2009, the US Army has required specific combat trauma training for personnel with medical specialties prior to deployment. This training is a week-long review of basic skills needed to provide lifesaving interventions on the battlefield. The course consists of didactic lectures, video demonstrations and practice of procedures on partial task trainers (simulators) and mannequins. The week culminates in an exercise in which an anesthetized goat is used as a wounded patient. For many deploying medics, this is their first, and sometimes only, opportunity to work on a living, breathing and bleeding patient. A few months ago, the Foundation for Biomedical Research posted an excerpt from a BBC article (Kelly, J. Who, What, Why: Does shooting goats save soldiers’ lives? BBC News Magazine ; 7 March 2013; http : / /www.bbc.co.uk/news/ magazine-21620521) about animals used in military training to its subscription newsletter known as Total e-Clips (http:// www.icontact-archive.com/172Rtdu1Q5 ykuE4whsOmhjtUs3Ng2uUk?w=4). The excerpt read, “The Department of Defense says such exercises ‘prepare medics for the time-critical wounds they will encounter on today’s battlefield.’ However, animal rights groups say the training is ‘barbaric’ and unnecessary.” This snippet resonated strongly with me for several reasons. First, I lived in Maryland at the time (‘80s) when the US Department of Defense re-considered its continued use of dogs and pigs in military doctor training at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD). Second, my son—and I say this with fatherly pride— is a 68W, an army medic. Nate is currently Training military medics with animal models

Fruits of Education: E-technology and applications in lab animal training

LabAnimal Volume 46, No. 1 | JANUARY 2017 11 Each of us learns in our own unique way. Approaches to learning include hands-on exercises, listening, reading, interpreting, repeated exposures to curriculum, working in groups, and more. In some cases the learning is content-focused, meaning the instructor determines which basic facts must be mastered and remembered; in others, what is learned is determined by the student, based upon individual needs or experiences. All are valid, but not all can necessarily be provided in busy and/or small training programs, primarily because of resource limitations. Well, e-learning products can help to overcome some of that. Here I share some e-learning applications deemed pretty darn good by fellow trainers. An investment to learn them can return many benefits, because I predict the future of lab animal training will increasingly incorporate such technology. Each product has a free version as well as a paid one that includes extra features: Poll Everywhere (www.polleverywhere. com). I have reviewed my experiences in greater detail in a previous issue (Lab Anim. (NY) 43, 291; 2014), but in short, it’s a good piece of software for engaging everyone in a learning situation—whether in a classroom or at a conference. Poll Everywhere allows the trainer or teacher to pose questions for their students to answer with either their smart phones or computers; the app then provides summaries of the responses. Since writing about it, I have seen others like Jim Cox of Janelia Research Campus poll audiences at PRIM&R, LAMA, AALAS, and ILAM. Padlet (www.Padlet.com). Similar to Poll Everywhere, Padlet provides immediate engagement with the audience but with an extra feature that allows images to be uploaded as well as text. I have used it

What is your mindset about learning

tial, and were they receptive to your learning materials? Or was it business as usual with another group of trainees? It can be a huge challenge for any of us to change our mindsets. Every word and action can be meaningful and sends a message to others. As trainers we need to be conscious of that. Similarly, when we are the ones learning we need to be receptive to changes in our own mindsets. We can’t effectively engage in a topic with a fixed mindset, especially when that mindset is negative. Neither can we charge ahead with audacious and unrealistic expectations about the power of growth mindsets in training. Sometimes we are faced with limited resources, so we must fit our attitudes and approaches to do the best we can within a given situation. Our brains are not fixed anatomical structures; the very research on neuroanatomy and physiology that we support in lab animal facilities demonstrates that the brain is facile and can change. The brain adapts, gets stronger and responds when we learn. It grows. As trainers, we play a fundamental role in this learning process and in the ‘setting of minds’.

What's in a title?

and other familiar recognitions in the field of laboratory animal science. Other countries have their own designations, such as the Registered Master Laboratory Animal Technician in Canada and the Fellow of the Institute of Animal Technology in the UK. Indeed, a plethora of titles are used to recognize our training, and by these titles we communicate our specializations and abilities to others. At the other end of the acronym spectrum, I have met and worked with some incredible people in animal facilities who did not have a formal academic degree. Some would call their knowledge ‘street-learned’, having been taught hands-on by practical experience. It takes all kinds of training to engage in laboratory animal science. So, what’s in a title? Does it come down to semantics? Are we obliged to explain ourselves? In some cases the answer is yes, and we need to inform others about ourselves and our roles. In this world of 30-second sound bites, oftentimes it is only one line on a sheet of paper or one short conversation in the elevator that allows us to quickly communicate who and what we are. But, of course, each of us is more than just a brief message. As many voiced in the online discussion, our intent should be to educate others about what our jobs and titles represent together. Laboratory animal science is a rich field that allows talented veterinary technicians and nurses to apply and demonstrate all that they have learned. Whether they are titled ‘technician’ or ‘nurse’, let the rest of the veterinary medicine community and the general public find out about their education and important contributions. A change like that proposed by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America will take some time to become commonplace and be understood in our community; but importantly, this change is a matter of recognizing what each of us knows and does in our professional roles. of their many job duties, such as laboratory technician, nurse, x-ray technician, phlebotomist, surgical nurse, anesthetist, rounds nurse, dietician, trainer, or surgeon. This seems complicated, upon consideration, and these titles sound similar to those of nurses in human medicine. Some suggested the title of ‘animal nurse practitioner’ as a more inclusive option. Many in the discussion recognized that the term ‘nurse’ connotes a certain level of professionalism and importantly, specific education beyond a vocational or technical level. Some further noted that human nurses tend to concentrate in particular specialties, whereas a veterinary technician or veterinary nurse often combines many specializations and skillsets in one professional role. Merriam-Webster does define a technician as someone who is skilled in the technique of an art or craft, and a nurse as a person who is formally educated and trained in the care of the sick and infirmed. So by definition there is indeed a distinction that can be appreciated. While reading the online exchange, I recalled one of the defining moments of my professional life. In the days when I worked at the bench as a chemistry technician, running assays in a nutrition lab at Virginia Tech, I was introduced to a professor of animal science. Answering his questions about what I did, I responded that “I’m just a technician in the lab.” Immediately, he fired off a five-minute lecture about the word ‘just’ and that my job was more important than just being ‘just’. To this day, I recite that lesson with my students to emphasize that their role in animal care is more than ‘just’ anything! It should come as no surprise that now, as an educator, I contemplate what all the letters that follow our names—our titles— mean. Academic institutions grant associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees. Credentialing and licensing entities offer licenses, certifications, diplomate statuses In a message last fall on the COMPMED listserv, it was announced that the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America had begun a campaign to unify all veterinary technicians under a single name or title. Their objective was to recognize and standardize the diversity of titles—Registered Veterinary Technician, Certified Veterinary Technician, Licensed Veterinary Technician, Licensed Veterinary Medical Technician and Animal Health Technician—to the title of Registered Veterinary Nurse. This announcement stirred up some controversy in the field of laboratory animal science. I teach veterinary technicians about laboratory animal science as part of a fouryear curriculum by which they earn the title of Registered Veterinary Technologist on their California licenses alongside the title of Bachelor of Science in Animal Health Science. We use the phrases ‘veterinary nursing’ and ‘animal technician’ to describe their training and professional roles. Seldom do I use the term ‘veterinary nurse’—it simply doesn’t come up—so I hadn’t appreciated how passionate some people might be about their titles. It is, in fact, a topic that is worth exploring. In some employment sectors, a technician is believed to be not an ‘educated professional’, but rather one who simply performs tasks. I must protest this understanding, for in laboratory animal science we know this not to be true. Perhaps in a similar sentiment, veterinary technicians have decided that the question of ‘what’s in a title’ merits their campaign. One fundamental point in the online discussion was that titles inform others about what a veterinary technician does. Some participants in the discussion emphasized that laypeople seem not to understand the title of ‘veterinary technician’. Some in the discussion considered clarifying a technician’s role by including within technicians’ titles some What’s in a title?

Outreach: managers need to do it.

airplane, or when I teach veterinary technician students at my university. It is amazing to me that educated people often do not understand how treatments and medicines for themselves and their pets come from biomedical research. How? There is no single answer for how outreach can be accomplished. When doing outreach it is critical that we be creative, innovative and appropriate to the audience. If demonstrations are involved, it might be necessary to rehearse the scenario and have colleagues assist us. This can help us improve the presentation and potentially identify materials that we have forgotten. Outreach is about providing resources and information to people who might not otherwise have access to that information. People who live and work outside our research institutions often do not have the opportunity to learn about what we do. It is important that we educate others through outreach, and managers are critical to this effort. The effort will, in turn, be rewarding to both the managers and the public. describes a wonderful recipe for conducting outreach in a school environment. I would not call it a ‘standard operating procedure’ because outreach is not and should not be ‘standard’. Each opportunity is unique, has different objectives, and depends upon the circumstances. When developing an outreach program, we can draw up its scope, goals and challenges by using one of my favorite training tools: the six ‘Ws’ (who, what, when, where, why and how). Who? Anyone and everyone should do outreach, but here we focus on the managers of animal facilities, because they are uniquely disposed to share their work and resources with the public. What? There are many kinds of outreach. I suggest that managers consult with the folks at one of the many organizations that support biomedical research (Table 1) to make use of their experiences, knowledge, materials and schedules of outreach opportunities. When? Outreach can happen anytime, during dedicated or spontaneous events. Some wonderful opportunities include regional agriculture and science fairs, career days at schools, scouting (I myself taught chemistry and bird study for merit badges with the Boy Scouts), guest classroom presentations and many other occasions. Where? We should do outreach wherever we can. Schools often welcome visitors who can share perspectives on the practical aspects or the scientific elements of animal care and use. Civic organizations for adults, particularly those with a business aspect, often need speakers for breakfast and lunch meetings. The community and everyone in it can be invited for tours and demonstrations within the facility (with proper authorization, of course). Why? Simply put, we need to do outreach because the public doesn’t have access to information about lab animal facilities. I see this when I talk to my seatmate on an This April, at the meeting of the Laboratory Animal Management Association, I will be codirecting a workshop for managers on how to effectively conduct public outreach. Outreach is essential to ensure continuing biomedical progress, and managers of laboratory animal facilities are in a particularly effective position to teach others about the work that they do. This is because they have authority and control over resources that allow them to share the importance of animal research with members of the public. But, point in fact, anyone who is associated with a vivarium should participate in outreach activities. For most managers, many of their professional responsibilities involve working with people and using resources to make things happen. This makes them perfectly positioned to organize outreach opportunities within their institutions and to bring programs to places nearby. For example, managers can clear time for staff to give a presentation offsite. They can procure materials for the presentation, and they can encourage their staff as they prepare for the outreach. Managers can also make suggestions for improvements and ideas, based upon their own experiences. Managers, in turn, can learn and grow through outreach. They can develop other skills that are indirectly related to the job. If giving the presentation, managers can build their résumés by sharing information through public speaking and gaining confidence in different circumstances. When arranging the outreach, managers can network and make new contacts that might be helpful at a later date. Managers can develop and apply many other talents through outreach, and they are likely to learn more about themselves through the process. In a companion “Outreach” column in this issue of Lab Animal, Kim Benjamin, facilities manager at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, recounts her personal story of engaging in outreach with local elementary schools. Kim’s column Outreach: managers need to do it

Education is becoming

To simply “know stuff,” Prensky writes, is an “old sense” of school learning and “hardly today’s ambition for most of us or our kids.” Prensky ponders what it would mean for school teachers to “think about what each of their students is becoming. It would be far more useful and interesting to a parent or a potential employer.” And we, as members of the lab animal profession, can contribute to this kind of education by participating in outreach with our local school systems. School kids enjoy learning about lab animal science, and those of us who have experienced that moment of ‘becoming’ know how rewarding it is. I believe that Prensky would see this kind of outreach as an investment in the workforce of vivaria. And, to school kids, this kind of learning experience makes knowledge “funto-know,” and encourages them to learn subjects like math and science that are so important to our field. The context of Prensky’s writing is the school environment of grades K–12, and he reflects on the Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards and support of ‘STEM’ subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) which are being implemented in most schools across America. We trainers need to be paying attention to these movements because those young students will soon be our adult trainees in the lab, learning and training on laboratory animal technology. We have an obligation and should be contributing to, in his words, the “goal of education” and the process of becoming. to know, to learn and to be trained about, how can we possibly and realistically prioritize which material to learn? I argue that it depends upon the circumstance and the purpose of our learning. Obviously, we must know the regulations that relate to lab animals, but it is not always necessary to understand the details of PCR analysis when delivering tissue samples for genotyping. Of course, if after learning about animal care, someone hopes to educate herself to become a biochemistry technician, these details are very relevant. This is what Dr. Malcolm Knowles, the father of adult learning, would have us bear in mind when working with trainees, as I covered in a previous Fruits of Education column (Lab Anim. (NY) 43, 251; 2014). What is it that our trainees want to become through the education that we provide? What are the experiences, needs and motivations that urge them on to both learning and becoming? The vivarium is a veritable classroom in which members of the lab animal community can become. Animal rooms are full of technology for measuring environmental parameters, with smart chips inside animals, which are, themselves, sophisticated models for research studies. Cage-washing is no longer an entry-level task, as many facilities now have computer-controlled washing machines that are operated by robots. The equipment in the core centers of facilities is specialized for imaging, genetic technology, surgery and other advanced research. In other words, there are many, many opportunities to learn and become. A while ago I was reading Education Week, a trade journal geared towards teachers of grades K–12, when I encountered a commentary entitled “The goal of education is becoming” (May 2014). This caught my eye because I thought the title had been printed wrong, as if words were missing. Should it have been titled “The goal of education is becoming more difficult” or “more elusive” or even something else? I decided to read on to find out. The author, Marc Prensky, has written five books about education and spends his time thinking about future educative processes. Prensky argued that today’s schools are focusing largely on ‘learning’ with the goal of students becoming ‘learned’, just like we once did in schools: amassing great amounts of information and then regurgitating it on tests. But Prensky didn’t title his commentary “The goal of education is becoming learned.” Instead he wrote to express that schooling should be about ‘becoming’ with the goal of creating yourself as you want to be, learning your strengths and interests, pursuing what you find appealing, realizing how to make the world a better place, and so on. Prensky means that education is about fulfillment because there are many reasons for needing to be trained or learned. As I wrote in my chapter of Management of Laboratory Animal Care and Use Programs (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2001), training material can be “offered on a need-to-know, good-to-know, or fun-toknow basis.” With so much information Education is becoming!

Compliance training within an institution, but not for direct users.

In my experience, the laws, guidance, and best practices associated with conducting animal research are largely unknown, not only to the general public but even to those with whom we work. Many institutions struggle to inform personnel about ongoing activities and efforts conducted internally, such as what happens in the lab animal facility and the different facets of regulatory compliance. Special events that highlight interdisciplinary activities can be great opportunities to engage staff across an institution about issues that they might not normally encounter in their own day-to-day duties. This month’s column showcases one group’s efforts to plan an event at their university about research compliance. Donna Pulkrabek and Crysta Mendes are colleagues at Prairie View A&M University’s Office of Research Compliance. Their posting on the IACUC administrators list (IACUC-ADMIN@LIST.MSU. EDU) in search of compliance-related quiz questions caught my attention and I invited them to share their experience. The following is how they put it all together.