Portfolio Project

How to give effective tours to prospective parents at

KinderCare Learning Center
EDUC 765: Trends and Issues in Instructional Design
By: Sharika Kurumathur
First Submission in Module 2 [5/14/2015]
Second Submission in Module 3 [5/24/2015]
Third Submission in Module 4 [5/31/2015]
Fourth Submission in Module 5 [6/14/2015]
Final Submission in Module 6 [6/26/2015]

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How to give effective tours to prospective parents at KinderCare Learning Center Sharika Kurumathur

PROJECT PROPOSAL MODULE 2

How to give effective tours to prospective parents at
KinderCare Learning Center
Sponsoring Organization
KinderCare Learning Center located at Dell Road in Eden Prarie of Minnesota
has 23 families and over 50 children. There is one center director, one
assistant director, 10 full time staff and two part time staff.
Knowledge Universe (KU) is one of the worlds leading providers of high
quality child development programs and related services. In 2005, KU
1
acquired KinderCare Learning Centers, making them the largest provider of
child care education.
KinderCares mission is to make a difference for each child, family and
community in order to foster innovative learning experiences that enhance
potential and create meaningful partnerships.

Project Description
Giving effective tours to the prospective parents is an essential part of the
job to both teachers and management staff at KinderCare. With increasing
competition from various other child care centers, decreasing enrollments is
an issue faced by the center.
The tours are hence of utmost importance to translate them into immediate
enrollments.
However the employee trainings do not cover this aspect nor is this focused
during professional development workshops. There is no specific talking
points that employees are told to focus on; each person chooses what they
feel is appropriate to share during an enrollment tour.
Center Director receives a manual which covers guidelines on how to do a
tour and is required to shadow another center director during a tour. There
are a few tips shared in KU Connect employee magazine but there is no
hands-on training available for the staff. There is constant stress on
increasing numbers but employees do not receive any specific training in
touring skills.
Tours are the first impression of the prospective families, in addition to
keeping classrooms clean, the staff needs to provide appropriate details of
the center. Staff also needs to how to market the centers attributes and
strengths in terms of safety, health, food and curriculum.
Based on the goals, opportunities of the trainings include the following:
Better personal service to make the center warm and welcoming.
Reassure new prospective parents concerns.
1 Knowledge Universe
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How to give effective tours to prospective parents at KinderCare Learning Center Sharika Kurumathur

Identify the centers main selling point and sell it to the parents.
Selling the passion for job and children.

Aim
Promote effective tours that translate into immediate enrollment.

Target Audience
Target audience will comprise of the Lead Teachers from each rooms: Infant
room, Toddler room, Pre School room, Pre K and Kindergarten room.
It will also include assistant director and center director of the childcare
center.

Delivery Options
The instruction is aimed to be face-to face as an instructional method which
will be based on problem solving learning and task based approach. The
trainees will be provided with real life simulations. Group discussions,
brainstorming and role plays will be also used which are more effective in
face to face approach. The idea behind using task based approach is to help
the trainees achieve believable targets in terms of chunks of tasks which will
be learned, practiced and performed in the training session allowing them to
be confident to perform it in real life situation.
The training will be conducted twice a year during Professional Development
Day for three hours.

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FRONT-END ANALYSIS: INSTRUCTIONAL NEED MODULE 3

Instructional Need
With increasing competition from New Horizon Academy and Primrose school
in Eden Prairie, KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in
Minnesota has found it difficult to increase enrollments through tours. Loss of
experienced staff has also contributed a setback. The current staff of 15
members are mostly new who have worked less than a year and only one
member has worked for four years at the center. Hence the staff is
inexperienced at conducting tours to the prospective parents. Front End
analysis revealed that staff is unaware of the exact materials to be covered
and what aspects need to be omitted during the tours. The administrative
staff feels a training would help to boost the staffs confidence and morale.
The only enrollments in the past two quarters are due to the shutdown of a
nearby childcare center and the children of the parents who have been
waitlisted at the other centers. Currently, the client has no children on
waitlist which indicates that although financially the center may be surviving,
it is not truly profitable.
The center is also applying for NAEYC (National Association for Education of
Young Children) accreditation and the additional training of the staff will
prove helpful to indicate that staff is experienced and up to date regarding
NAEYC standards. The staff is currently unaware on how to present
accreditation details to both the prospective parents and the current family
members.
The training program on how to conduct effective tours aims to bridge this
gap in knowledge of the employees , better the morale of the employees,
increase the enrollments of the center and improve the financial output of
the center

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How to give effective tours to prospective parents at KinderCare Learning Center Sharika Kurumathur

FRONT-END ANALYSIS: LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS

MODULE 3
Learner Analysis
Primary Audience
Lead teachers from Infant Room, Toddler Room, Preschool, Pre K and
Kindergarten room
Administrative staff- assistant director and center director
Full time employees of the center
Secondary Audience
Part time employees
Seasonal employees (hired during summer and spring break)
General Learner Characteristics
Age: 20-40 years
Gender: All female.
Education: High school diploma through doctoral degree
Work Experience: Two weeks to four years
Ethnicity: One Asian, One Hispanic, One African American, 11
Caucasian
Entry Characteristics
Prerequisite skill and knowledge
Must have completed the required two day orientation training as a
KinderCare employee and be aware of the company safety
guidelines, cleanliness guidelines of the county and the company,
playground rules and understand the daily schedule of the
classroom.
Must have completed the CPR and First aid training
Must have worked over a month to understand and address the
parental concerns.
Must have worked over a month and understand the state licensing
requirements and various accreditation particulars. Currently
KinderCare has NECPA (National Early Childhood Program
Accreditation) accreditation and is applying for NAEYC (National
Association for Education of Young Children) accreditation. The
knowledge of accreditation need not be comprehensive but fair
enough to inform the parents of its importance and to establish
trust and credibility of the center and how it fares by the national
standards.
Attitudinal and Motivational characteristics
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How to give effective tours to prospective parents at KinderCare Learning Center Sharika Kurumathur

Center Directors and assistant directors are highly motivated about

the training as they bear direct accountability regarding numbers to
the district manager.
Lead teachers are motivated as they are the ones who conduct
tours and would love to perform better and be more confident.
Teachers who have worked longer are likely to be more motivated
as they are loyal to the center and the company.
Few others are motivated as lesser number of kids would give them
fewer working hours which impacts their pay. Thus they are
financially motivated.
Prior Experience.
Seven out of the 15 staff have had the experience of touring with
the families and are familiar with the process.
A staff member working over three years has had informal training
by a former center director.

Contextual Analysis
Orienting Context
The learners choose to attend the course to sound more confident during the
tours and have a clear idea on what to cover during the tours. The
administrative staff have a financial reason of increasing enrollments as a
motivation to join the training. Three hour long training and follow up will
help the learners understand what needs to be covered during a tour to help
them address parental concerns better. The sponsoring organization aims to
have the training mandatory to the primary audience to ensure better
financial returns.
Possible misconceptions:
o The learners may believe that they learn communication skills
overnight not realizing that it takes practice.
o Fear or unwillingness to speak to new people may be a personality
issue of the learner that needs to be worked on, at personal level.
o The learners may believe that they can after one training handle
challenging behaviors of all kinds; including both parents and children,
which may be difficult. It takes experience to handle such behavior and
establish trust with parents and children.

Instructional Context
o The training will occur during Professional Development Day (PDD) in
October and a follow up will be conducted in February. The October PDD
occurs at the district level where teachers from various centers in the
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o
o
o
o
o
o

o
o
o

district will gather for the company mandated training program. In this
training, teachers from different centers will be divided based on the age
group they work with; into groups of 20-25 people. So teachers from
Infant Room will form a group of 20 people, teachers from Toddler Room
will form group of 20 people and so on. The administrative staff which
includes center director and assistant director will form a different group
for the purpose of October training.
The training will be largely problem based learning with several role-plays,
discussions and question answer sessions. Handouts will also be
distributed.
The room needs to be large enough to seat 20-25 people, space large
enough to move around during role plays and discussions.
Seating must be flexible so that groups can be formed easily.
There must be adequate lighting and if needed a mic for a trainer.
The venue for the October training is decided by the district manager of
the company. Since it takes place within the district, trainees will use their
personal transportation to arrive at the venue.
Follow up training will occur in the month of February, during the next
PDD. The follow up training will occur at the sponsoring organization
venue which in this case is KinderCare at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in
Minnesota.
The teachers and administrative staff from the center will work together
as a team to discuss how they can effectively conduct better tours
focusing on their strengths and working on their weaknesses as a team.
Weather may be an issue during the follow up training owing to the
winters in Minnesota. In case of snow storms participants that stay farther
may have trouble reaching on time to the venue.
Heating of the venue must be checked and be at comfortable 70-74 F as
the company standards.

Transfer Context
Fall is a high peak time in terms of new enrollments and thus several
tours occur in this season. Training program in September will ensure
that learners can apply their skills in the nearest future thereby giving
an opportunity to use the knowledge acquired. February follow up will
help the learners to review the work during the quarter and examine if
the training has had a visible impact on enrollments.
The management and the administrative staff support the training
during PDD and encourage the staff to apply the knowledge gained.

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How to give effective tours to prospective parents at KinderCare Learning Center Sharika Kurumathur

Impact of a Diverse Audience on Instruction

Culture may have an impact during group discussions. People from Asian and
Hispanic backgrounds may be unwilling or unable to share in large group
discussions. People who are new to the job may also struggle during group
discussions especially when it comes to providing relevant experience. Older
staff and more experienced staff may dominate the discussions not giving
others a chance. The primary audience is motivated and dedicated during
the training as opposed to the secondary audience. Learners who are
parents themselves may prove to be resourceful during the training as
opposed to the ones who are not.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS MODULE 4

Application of Learning Theories
For the purpose of the training, different learning theories will be applied to
meet the objectives. The training will be based on the principles of
Observational learning, Collaborative learning, Functional context and
Experiential learning.
Functional context approach by Tom Sticht stresses on making the learning
relevant to learners experience and work context. With all the learners being
adults and the time available for training being under two hours, it is
essential to make the learning applicable by relating to the already existing
knowledge base. The learner can immediately transfer the newly acquired
knowledge in the upcoming tours making the training pertinent. Front end
analysis revealed that employees wanted the training to be pertinent to their
jobs as some of their previous training had no relevance to their needs. The
objectives in the current training is derived from employee needs, hence
learning tasks need to be more focused and relevant.
Experiential learning by Carl Rogers allows for direct confrontation of
practical, social and personal problem and self-evaluation of learners. This
method is found to be very effective with adult and in a childcare setting; a
humanist approach balances intellectual and emotional components of
learning. The main objective of the training is helping the employees to sell
their passion which involves reflecting on ones experience, sharing feeling
on what may be a blocking ones progress. Learning communication skills
implicates personal change and growth which is brought forth by experiential
learning. Knowles research in the field on Andragogy suggests that adults
having lived longer have a greater amount of experience as opposed to the
youth and it is beneficial in learning new skills. Drawing on experiences as a

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parent or baby sitter or nanny helps the learner to understand prospective

parents expectations.
Adult learners tend to be task oriented and have more to contribute because
of their vast experiences. Collaborative learning will aid in building these
experiences and sharing them in a small group or even larger groups. Since
the childcare setting is comprised of fewer employees, it is essential to work
in a team in order to increase the enrollments of the center. Collaborative
learning helps the learners to capitalize on each others experiences through
discussions and understand how they can work together as a team to
increase their numbers. Through discussions, learners indirectly employ their
communicative skills like listening, persuading, arguing, conveying and such.
It permits the adult learners to take control of the learning process and
allowing them to discover things; making instruction a guiding process.
Front-end analysis revealed that discussions and question answers were a
preferred method of learning which has its basis in collaborative learning.
There may be certain aspects in communication skills which cannot be
conveyed and needs to be observed and learnt. When there is a prototype or
a model tour that can be observed by learners, it helps them to recognize
the areas that they need focus. Observational learning is the learning that
occurs by observing the behavior of others. Observational learning can
happen through peer model or through role plays; learners can observe what
aspects to implement in their tours and mistakes to avoid in the tours. Since
adult learners prefer self-directed learning than teaching instruction, this
method helps in building and discovering new experiences. Cultural
differences can learnt and retained well when observed than when
instructed.

Application of Motivational Theories

Frederick Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, also known as Motivation-Hygiene
Theory or intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, concludes that the factors that
cause job satisfaction and different from those that cause job dissatisfaction.
There need not be a linear relationship between the two. The extrinsic
motivators refer to the basic needs which can be measured such as wages,
job security, benefits, vacation and other fringe benefits. Things like
company policies, supervisory style, co-worker relationships and working
conditions can also be extrinsic motivators. They are similar to lower levels
of Maslows Hierarchy of needs theory and their absence affect the quality
of performance. Intrinsic motivators refer to the less tangible and emotional
needs and are similar to higher levels of Maslows
Hierarchy of needs
theory. Need for recognition, achievement, growth potential, responsibility
and work itself.
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The employees in KinderCare Learning center are primarily driven by their

love for children and their families, who respect their hard work. Sadly, the
upper management does not value loyalty and experience of the staff and
does not negotiate pay to make the experienced staff stay. Hence the
employees are in flux constantly, however things are different in few other
centers where supervisors are more understanding towards staff problems.
The extrinsic factors that affect performances are pay (ranges between $11 $14 an hour) and unstructured work timings. One major factor that
employees enjoy is discounted childcare which helps working mothers to
come back to work and nurse their babies if needed. This motivates most
working mothers to work harder and serve better. Working mothers of the
group can be a valuable resource during the training. Employees also enjoy
excellent camaraderie which helps them work as a team and this factor can
be utilized while designing instruction to incorporate several group activities.
The intrinsic factors that aid the performance at the workplace are career
advancement in the company. There are opportunities for educational
development and student discounts for continuing education in childcare
made available by the parent company: Knowledge Universe. Thus many
employees have stayed with the company to pursue their education and
increase their wages. District manager does recognize great work by centers
and employees are awarded during Professional Development Day. Each
center also has Shout-Out boards that congratulates teachers by name on
successful enrollments. Teacher Appreciation week was celebrated in the
month of May where the company provided lunch and thank you cards for
every employees. A few parents also showed gratitude in terms of brunch to
the whole staff, gift cards and thank you cards to the employees. These
gestures by parents and the administrative staff make the staff feel special
and motivates them to serve each family better. Fulltime employees are
more motivated and invested in the company than the part time and
summer employees. The center is applying for NAEYC accreditation which is
highly motivating and inspiring all the teachers to decorate their rooms
better, keep it cleaner and meet the higher standards required to achieve
accreditation. Lead teachers are driven by the need to excel and perform
better to prove themselves (especially those who are recently promoted).
Since they conduct the tours, they also desire to learn the skills to excel at
giving effective tours. They are accountable to the administrative staff for
the manner in which the tour is handled and subsequently successful
enrollment. The other staff members are driven by affiliation needs to
develop better relationships with children and their families. Learning how to
give effective tours comes in handy to support the lead teacher in the room
and also if the employee wishes to advance their career; the training will be
beneficial. The administration staff is driven by power to increase center
enrollments, as bigger the number, greater the power in the district. They
are directly accountable to the district manager and hence highly motivated.

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Employees are motivated financially to be a part of the training and also to

fulfill their respective needs.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES MODULE 5

Instructional Goal
Upon completion of this course the learners will learn how to communicate
the main topics effectively to parents during an enrollment tour and answer
their queries efficiently.

INSTRUCTIONAL NEED
With increasing competition from New Horizon Academy and Primrose school
in Eden Prairie, KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in
Minnesota has found it difficult to increase enrollments through tours. Loss of
experienced staff has also added a setback. The current staff of 15 members
are mostly new who have worked less than a year and only one member has
worked for 4 years at the center. Hence the staff is inexperienced at
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conducting tours to the prospective parents. Front End analysis revealed that
staff is unaware of the exact materials to be covered and what aspects need
to be omitted during the tours. The administrative staff feels a training would
help to boost the staffs confidence and morale.
The only enrollments in the past two quarters is due to the shutdown of a
nearby childcare center and the children of the parents who have been
waitlisted at the other centers. Currently, the client has no children on
waitlist which indicates that although financially the center may be surviving,
it is not truly profitable.
The center is also applying for NAEYC (National Association for Education of
Young Children) accreditation and the additional training of the staff will
prove helpful to indicate that staff is experienced and up to date regarding
NAEYC standards. The staff is currently unaware on how to present
accreditation details to both the prospective parents and the current family
members.
The training program on how to conduct effective tours aims to bridge this
gap in knowledge of the employees , better the morale of the employees,
increase the enrollments of the center and improve the financial output of
the center.

GOAL ANALYSIS
Set goals:
Cover required topics during the tour

Handling the challenging behavior during the tour

Answer the questions asked by the parents during the tour

Avoid common mistakes made by employees during the tour

How to prepare the room before the tour

Keep the conversation going or ask parents questions when they are in
doubt

Address the cultural difference among families

Know how to handle cultural differences during tours

Know how to communicate effectively with parents during tours

Know what to say/ what not to say during tours

Know how to present accreditation details to prospective parents and

its benefits for them

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Know how to spin information positively

Know how to sell their passion to the prospective parents

Present facts to different families by judging what they value the most

Know how to use non-verbal communication effectively

Know how to greet the parents and the child.

Refine Goals
Cover all the talking points during the tour clearly.

Communicate effectively to the prospective parents both verbally and

non-verbally

Avoid common errors that employees make during tours

Answer all prospective parental queries and concerns effectively.

Prepare the rooms suitably before the tour commences.

Welcome the family and the child warmly and convey the passion for
children and the job.

Anticipate the challenging behavior during the tour and handle them
effectively..

Rank Goals
Prepare the rooms suitably before the tour commences.

Welcome the family and the child warmly and convey the passion for
children and the job.

Cover all the talking points during the tour clearly.

Answer all prospective parental queries and concerns effectively.

Communicate effectively to the prospective parents both verbally and

non-verbally

Avoid common errors that employees make during tours

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Anticipate the challenging behavior during the tour and handle them
effectively.

Second Refinement
Describe clearly how a room should be presented to the prospective
parents during an enrollment tour.

Demonstrate how to welcome a prospective parents and the child

during an enrollment tour.

Identify the main topics to communicate to the prospective parents

during an enrollment tour.

Prepare answers for the commonly asked parental questions during an

enrollment tour.

Demonstrate effective communication skills; both verbal and nonverbal during an enrollment tour

Identify and analyze the common errors that employees make during
an enrollment tour in order to avoid making them.

Anticipate the challenging behavior of the children during the tour and
predict ways of handling them effectively.

GOAL
Demonstrate clearly how a room should be presented during an
enrollment tour
Demonstrate how to welcome the parents and the child during a tour
and convey the required topics of information to the parents
Demonstrate excellent communication skills-verbal and non-verbal
while answering parental queries efficiently
Effectively handling challenging behavior that may occur during a tour
and avoiding any common error that may occur during a tour.

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Terminal Objectives and Enabling Objectives

Terminal Objective 1
Outline at least five essential talking points of an enrollment tour through
group discussions and create a self-checklist of talking points; specific to the
individual classroom. (Cognitive domain: Knowledge-Synthesis)

The learners will come into a consensus and outline at least five
essential topics which should be covered during an enrollment tour.

The learners will be able to create a self checklist of talking points to

cover in upcoming tours specific to the individual classroom.

Learners will be able to dramatize (or demonstrate) at least three of

the topics covered during an enrollment tour in a role-play exercise.

Terminal Objective 2
The learners will conduct a self-analysis of the strengths and weakness of
your communication skills using communication assessment tool and
implement at least two skills during a role play exercise. (Cognitive Domain:
Analysis; Affective Domain: Receiving Phenomena-Responding to
phenomena)

The learners will conduct a self-analysis of the strengths and weakness

of their respective communication skills using a communication
assessment tool.

The learners will discuss their analysis with partner and receive
feedback on at least two areas.

The learners will apply at least two skills during a role playing exercise
and receive feedback from their partners

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ENABLING OBJECTIVES MATRIX & SUPPORTING CONTENT

MODULE 6
Title of the unit/module: Essential topics to cover during an enrollment
tour
Terminal Objective: Outline at least five essential talking points of an
enrollment tour through group discussions and create a self-checklist of
talking points; specific to the individual classroom.
Pre-Instructional Strategy: A scenario is presented followed by open
ended questions to introduce the topic
Enabling Objective

The learners will

come into a
consensus and
outline at least
five essential
topics which
should be covered
during an
enrollment tour.

Level on
Blooms
Taxonomy

Knowledge
-Comprehens
ion

Synthesis
The learners will
be able to create a
self checklist of
talking points to
cover in
upcoming tours
specific to the
individual
classroom.

Fact,
Learner
concept,
Activity
principle,
rule,
procedure,
interpersonal
or attitude
Fact
Brainstorm
ideas and
arrive at
consensus

Delivery
Method

Fact

Small group ,

Create selfchecklist

Small group
sharing,

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Application
Learners will be
able to dramatize
(or demonstrate)
at least three of
the topics covered
during an
enrollment tour in
a role-play
exercise.

Interpersona
l

Participate
in role plays
of different
scenarios

Scenario
handouts,
Small group

Title of the unit/module: Importance of communication skills during an

enrollment tour
Terminal Objective: Conduct a self-analysis of strengths and weakness of
your communication skills and implement at least two skills in a role playing
exercise
Pre-Instructional Strategy: A scenario is presented followed by open
ended questions to introduce the topic
Enabling
Level on
Fact,
Learner
Delivery
Objective
Blooms
concept,
Activity
Method
Taxonomy
principle,
rule,
procedure,
interpersonal
or attitude
Analysis
Attitude
Learners self- Communicati
The learners
analyze the
on
will conduct
strengths
assessment
a selfand
tool, selfanalysis of
weaknesses
paced
the strengths
of their
and
communicati
weakness of
on skills
their
respective
communicati
on skills
using a
communicati
on
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assessment
tool.
The learners
will discuss
their analysis
with partner
and receive
feedback on
at least two
areas
The learners
will apply at
least two
skills during
a role playing
exercise and
receive
feedback
from their
partners

Synthesis

Interpersonal

Listen to
partners
analysis and
provide
feedback

Handout, Pair
work

Application

Interpersonal

Learners
participate in
role plays of
different
scenarios
and receive
feedback

Handout,
Small group

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Fig 1. Pre instructional Strategy for terminal Objective 1

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Fig 2: Self Checklist to be used to write down essential talking points of an

enrollment tour
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REFERENCES
1. Knowles M. Modern practice of adult education: from pedagogy to
andragogy. Revised. Englewood Cliftts NJ: prentice Hall, 1980.
2. Boundless. Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory. Boundless Management.
Boundless.. Retrieved May 31, 2015 from
https://www.boundless.com/management/ textbooks/boundlessmanagement-textbook/organizational-behavior-5/employee-needs-andmotivation-46/herzberg-s-two-factor-theory-239-6609

3. Instructional Design. Adult Learning (KP Cross) (n.d).

InnovativeLearning. Richard Culatta 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2015 from
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/ theories/adult-learning.html
4. Collaborative Learning. (n.d.) In Wikipedia Retrieved May 30, 2015 from
http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Collaborative_learning

5. Observational Learning. (n.d) In wikipedia. Retrieved May 30, 2015

from http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observational_learning
6. Keese S, Gayla (2011) Andragogy Adult Learning Theory Teaching
Learning Resources PBworks. Retrieved from
http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com
/w/page/30310516/Andragogy--Adult%20Learning%20Theory
7. Instructional design: Experiential Learning-Carl Rogers (n.d.). Retrieved
May 31, 2015 from the Instructional design Wiki:
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/experiental-learning.html
8. Instructional design: Functional Context-Tom Sticht (n.d.). Retrieved
May 31, 2015 from the Instructional design Wiki:
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/functional-context.html

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APPENDIX I
Sample interview questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

What is your age?

How long have you been working in the center?
Have you conducted a tour before?
Do you think a training in how to conduct effective tours will help you?
How do you think the training will help you?
Do you think the training will have an impact on the centers
enrollments?
7. When do you think trainings should be conducted and how often?
8. Which is your preferred method of training? Role plays/ Group
discussions/ Video lectures/ Handouts/ Question and answer session
9. Who do you think should be a part of this training? Lead Teachers Only/
Center Director and Assistant Directors Only/ Lead Teachers and other
Teachers Only/ Everybody in the center.
10.
Do you think the training must be separate for the
administrative staff (Director and Assistant Director) and teachers?
11.
Do you think people with childcare education background do
better in tours than the others?
12.
What topics do you think the training should cover?
13.
Do you think a section on communication skills in the training will
help you with the tours?
14.
Do you think cultural sensitivity should be a part of this training
as well? How to handle parents/prospective parents from different
cultural background?

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APPENDIX II
A brief summary of the information derived from the interviews conducted at
KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in Minneapolis.
All the working staff at KinderCare Learning center is female and age range is
20 years to 40 years. The education background varies from cosmetology,
associate degree, bachelors in social work to a degree in childcare education.
The Center Director has a double masters and PhD in Educational Leadership
as does the assistant director. Staff members work experience at the center
varies from 2 weeks to 4 years.

Age distribution
31-40; 13%
20-25; 47%

20-25
26-30
31-40

26-30; 40%

Fig 1.1 Showing the age distribution of the staff at KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in
Minnesota

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Ethnicity distribution
Caucasian

7%
13%

Asian
African American

7%

Hispanic

73%

Fig 1.2 Showing the ethiniticy of the staff at KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in Minnesota.

Education
High School

7% 13%
13%
27%

Associate
Bachelors
Masters
PhD

40%

Fig 1.3 Showing the educational qualification of the staff at KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie in
Minnesota.

Seven out of ten staff have conducted tours before. All of the staff agree that
a training in conducting tours will benefit them, their reasons however vary.
One staff believes that training will make her sound more confident as she
will then know what to talk. One staff believes training will help her deal with
questions better. Center Director believes training will make staff more
prepared and answer parents concerns better. All the staff believe training
will have an impact on the enrollments and help them make a better
impression on parents so that they dont look like they are shooting darts in
the dark.
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All of the staff agree that training should be a part of Professional

Development Day since fall is when children register more in childcare
centers and PDD is usually scheduled in September and February every year.
The staff also believes that training should be held every year since the staff
at the center are constantly changing due to poor pay. The guidelines of the
company and the county rules on childcare vary often as the leadership
changes. Assistant Director and two other staff believe that the training in
September should be with the other centers so that they can learn how the
other centers handle tours and February training should be in the client
center so that the staff can work as a team on how to handle tours in their
individual centers. Most of the staff agreed that one hour is enough to cover
the topics the involved in training. The center director believes that allotting
an hour and half for training and extra half an hour for additional question is
a more appropriate way.

Preferred method of learning

Staff preferance in numbers

4
2

3
1

Fig. 1.4 Showing preferred method of learning by the staff at KinderCare Learning Center at Dell Road, Eden Prairie,
in Minneapolis.

All the staff believes that training must be for all. If the lead teacher is out
sick then another teacher in the room may have to conduct the tour and
communication skills is for everyone.
The center director is of the opinion that since the information covered is
different by teachers and directors; the training can be separate initially and
later combined. The rest of the staff agreed that training may need to be
separate but they preferred having a handout to know what information is
covered by the director in case the parent does ask the question. Therefore
actual hands-on training for the material covered by the staff and handouts
for the information covered by the administration staff is desired by the staff.
The staff believes that childcare education background may help to
establish credibility with the family and provide more experience to the staff.
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There are opportunities for educational development and student discounts

for continuing education in childcare made available by the parent company:
Knowledge Universe. The center director believes that educational
background is important to establish credibility with parents but only at the
administrative level. The teachers need to show their love for each child and
that is what a parent values more in a teacher.
The topics to be covered in the training varied a lot. Few of the topics
suggested were:
1. Talking points to cover during the tours
2. Questions to ask a parent if he/she is unsure or not comfortable
3. Accreditation details
4. What to say/not say to a parent during a tour
5. Mistakes to avoid during tour
6. Common questions asked by a parent during tour and how to answer
them.
7. How to prepare a room before tour
8. Handling challenging behaviors during tours
9. Communication skills like warm greeting , looking into the eyes, firm
handshake and such
10.
Presenting things positively and selling their passion to the
parents than mere information sharing.
11.
The center director also believes that her personal training was
inadequate. She received a manual and was required to shadow her
trainer in one of the tour. She thinks that each family is to be
approached differently and emphasis must be based on what is
relevant to that particular family instead of set protocol. This is a fact
that must be included in the administrative training. How to present
facts to the families differently for instance accreditation details or
safety guidelines, curriculum standards each to be presented based on
family needs.
All the staff agreed that addressing cultural sensitivity will be beneficial.
Instead of mere statement be sensitive to cultural difference if the staff is
made aware of cultural differences and expectations from parents of
different cultural background is more beneficial.

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