Have You SODOTO’d Lately?

EDGE (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable) is simply an acronym for the common-sense way humans have been teaching skills for tens of thousands of years.   Many of us refer to this method as the “See One, Do One, Teach One” or the SODOTO method.

This method is the basis for skills instruction in scouting and in many other areas of life.   Here are the steps of the EDGE or SODOTO Method:

Explain — Tell the learners about the skill and talk about how it is done.

Demonstrate — Explain again how to do it, while demonstrating it slowly, step-by-step, then putting it all together.

Guide — Have the learner go through it slowly step-by-step; observe him/her closely while you explain it again and help the learner correct any errors.

Enable — Have the learner practice it on his/her own, but check on progress and be available to answer questions, fine-tune learner’s actions, or help when the learner gets stuck.   Review the learner’s ability and let the learner know when you think he/she has become competent.

It is this method (and the scout oath and law) that allow a scout who has earned the rank of First Class and above to work with scouts who are working on the requirements of ranks lower than Star to sign completed requirements off in those scout’s books when the scouts successfully complete a requirement.   These requirements don’t always have to be checked off by a Scoutmaster or his assistants.

So go forth and SODOTO!

EDGE (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable)