Teaching product knowledge to students can be daunting for both the educator and students. Typically, we find ourselves in the front of the room holding up a product and talking about the features and benefits. After a few minutes, all students hear is “Wah Wah Wah…”
To avoid sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher, the next time you teach product knowledge try to use the Product Knowledge Carousel Activity. This is a fun way to get your students to learn the features and benefits of products, build their confidence when educating guests, and get them up and moving around.
To picture the concept of this activity, simply think of a carousel in motion and how it goes around in a circle. You will divide your students into two groups; one group will create an inner circle and the other group will form an outer circle. The outer circle of students will rotate around the inner circle as they share their assigned products. See below for specific instructions on how to complete the activity.
Product Knowledge Carousel Activity:
- Provide each student with an index card and a product.
- Instruct students to research and write down on the index card the “What, Why, and How” for their assigned product (i.e. What the product is, Why the guests need the product, and How the guest will use the product at home).
- Divide the class in half. Instruct half of the students to take their index cards and their assigned product and stand in a small circle back to back.
- Instruct the other half of the students to bring their index card and assigned product and stand in front of and face to face with the students that are already in a circle.
- Instruct students that when you say “begin” they will take turns sharing their assigned product with the person in front of them. They can use their index card to educate their partner on the “What, Why, and How.” They can also let their partner hold, smell and feel the product. Give students a few minutes to share. Then, tell students to rotate by having the outside circle of students rotate over one to their right.
- Once again, you will say “begin” and they will then educate their new partner about the product.
- You will continue to follow this pattern of rotating until students have gone around in a complete circle.
At the end of this activity, students will not only have mastered their assigned product, they will receive product knowledge on their classmate’s product, and increase their confidence and comfort level with educating guests about the “What, Why, and How” of take home care products.