[Elecraft] K4 Books

[Jim Brown]

On 6/29/2020 7:09 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> Fred addressed 3 different learning methods in his books.  First was 
> those who learn by reading (I am one of those), 2nd is those who learn 
> from examples (expanded reading) and thirdly those who learn from 
> hands-on exercises.  Fred addressed all 3 in his books.
> He did comment that there was nothing in his books that was not in the 
> Elecraft manual, but his approach to presenting the material was 
> different.  That is why his books exceed 200 pages while the Elecraft 
> manuals are usually in the vicinity of 100 pages.

After college, I taught at DeVry in Chicago for five years. Good 
teachers, like good writers, learn to "tell the story" in a manner that 
the targeted audience can understand. I found that I could usually tell 
the story in a manner that 80-90% of the class could follow, but there 
were always a few guys whose mind worked differently enough that they 
didn't. When that happened, I had to first probe to figure out what they 
didn't "get," or what background knowledge was missing, and build the 
story in a different form.

I still give talks regularly at ham events, and spend a LOT of time 
preparing slides, then spend a lot of time rehearsing so that I fit into 
the allotted time. And I ask for a LOT of time for one very important 
reason. I can explain most things to folks well-educated in the topic at 
hand (whether formally or informally) in 5-10 minutes, but if I want 
most of the room to get it, I've got to take my time, build that story 
for the guys with the least background. And for most topics I present, 
that's an hour or so.

I also like to use graphs, simple block diagrams, and photos a lot. I 
think that helps give the listener/reader more to help them understand.

73, Jim K9YC