What is TAGteach and What Will it Do for Me?

TAGteach is Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. It's a revolutionary teaching and coaching method that gives you the tools to simplify your instructions, use fewer words and get better, faster results. You will be able to communicate more effectively with dog owners in class or in one on one in-home training and behavior consultations. TAGteach empowers you to teach the way your students need to be taught, with clear goals, immediate feedback from a sound marker and success at each step.

The Problem: Not Enough Time to Teach Everything

As a dog trainer you only have a short amount of precious time with your students and it is important to make the most of it. You have so much information to give them and you may find yourself talking too much and overwhelming them. You may feel frustrated because some of them don't pay attention, or you have to repeat the same instructions or lessons over and over. There is not always enough time to teach all your students deserve, because of inattention and backtracking over material already covered, or because they just don't learn as fast as you expected.

The Solution: Optimize Your Time Usage with TAGteach

TAGteach provides the solution to these problems by providing a structured way to break down skills (without changing whatever technical teaching approach you currently use), to identify the point of success for your student, to reduce your language to the smallest key point and to reinforce the correct movements or behavior with laser precision. TAGteach lessons are fun and fast-moving, keep students moving forward as quickly as they are able and maintain student attention and retention. The students are engaged in their own learning and they quickly gain confidence and want to learn more.

If you are dog trainer or work in any field where you need to teach people, TAGteach will:

1. Get you results faster, with success at every step
   
2. Give you tools to communicate more effectively with your learners
   
3. Give you a way to avoid nagging and correcting your learners
   
4. Give more value to your clients in less time
   
5. Motivate your dog owners to self-assess, cooperate and try their best
   
6. Increase enjoyment for both you and your learners
   
7. Rescue you from nagging and instructor burn-out
   
8. Re-energize your teaching - you will love your job again!
   

"With TAGteach my dog training students learned faster and remembered better, my classes filled fast and 100% of students came to class for the entire session." 

Fanna Easter CPDT-KA, ACDBC, KPA CTP, ABCDT-L2

"TAGteach is what my father would have wanted for his science" 

Julie Vargas PhD (daughter of B.F. Skinner, the father of modern behavioral science)

Experienced dog trainers around the world have attended TAGteach seminars and have been amazed at the difference it has made in their teaching and in their business. Here is clicker trainer Maggie Ouillette to tell you about how she got started with TAGteach and why she likes it so much for teaching dog training skills:

“TAGteach worked for me because I could mark the exact point I need my students to feel in my lessons. My students quickly associated the tag with what I was trying to get them to understand in their technique. It made my instructions that much more effective.” 

Chad Smith, USPTA Tennis Coach

Certification with TAGteach will enhance your professional reputation and help your business to thrive.

Here is elite level professional golf instructor, Cheryl Anderson, to tell you why TAGteach has forever changed the way she teaches (and she was hugely successful at it already!) and why she recommends TAGteach for everyone:

"TAGteach is going to change the way I teach for the rest of my career. Without a doubt I would recommend this training to everybody. I like that I don’t have to correct them every time. The students are self-correcting because they either hear the tag or they don’t, which is where the true learning happens."

Cheryl Anderson - Director of Instruction, Mike Bender Golf Academy, 2006 National LPGA Teacher of the Year

This is our high jump video which gives you an idea of how TAGteach works, how well and how fast:

“I love everything about what you've taught me. I love the tag, I love the positive reinforcement. I love no negative connotation. I love the focus of what I need to do and I love the focus of what students can do if they are tagging somebody else. I love everything about it, it's fantastic and I plan on using extensively in my teaching in the future.”

Grant Grinnell, USPTA Tennis Coach

What Will TAGteach Do for My Learners?

Every learner we have met in 10 years of TAGteach around the world loves TAGteach. Why?

1. It's fun
2. It lets them focus on their strengths and build on each moment of success
3. No-one yells at them or tells them what they are doing wrong
4. They get to be full partners in their own learning
5. They improve faster than they ever thought possible
6. They feel happy and confident while they are learning
7. They get a ton of approval and positive reinforcement from their teacher/coach/parent

"TAGthinking really transforms the way that you approach situations in life and you really become a better person because of it.” 

University Student - University of Minnesota Duluth

"We've had problems between management and crew... But this whole year, things have changed because they were treated different, they were treated with more positive. They are more patient when they teach now. That's why the relationship is so much better... It taught me to look at myself every time I train. Never blame the person you are training, but look at you and say  - hey, I need to improve my training."

Manager - Cascade Fishing Company

What Will I Learn at a TAGteach Seminar?

You will learn how to be the best teacher/trainer/coach/parent that you can be. We'll show you how to supercharge the entire learning environment with tools that:

1. Optimize instructions
   
2. Provide instant feedback
   
3. Provide instant, meaningful reinforcement
   
4. Fast-track success for you and your learners
   

TAGteach seminars are hands-on and interactive. You will learn new skills step-by-step and have lots of opportunity for practice. You will leave the seminar with the knowledge and confidence you need to put TAGteach into action RIGHT AWAY! 

You will work with people from many different disciplines. This is one of the aspects that people love about our seminars. There could be a dog trainer, a doctor, an autism parent, a speech therapist, a hypnotist, a personal trainer, a classroom teacher, a behavior analyst, a business manager, a sports coach or any number of other fascinating people, each with their own experience, knowledge and challenges. You never know what you might learn! We have had hula lessons, ski lessons, origami, Mandarin, dog handling and so many more cool things taught at our seminars.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.

"I've attended many seminars, and brought home many certificates but the TAGteach certificate is the very first I've chosen to hang on my wall." 

Luca Canever - Trainer, Italy

“I thought this was a great seminar, but I had no idea of how it would change my life."

Anja Rudolf - University of Applied Science, Ingolstadt, Germany

Here is a snippet from a TAGteach Level 1 Certification Seminar with TAGteach co-founder Theresa McKeon:

Here is another clip from a seminar. This is a group demonstrating how to teach teenagers in a dog training program for at-risk youth how to deliver treats safely. This training starts off without the dog so that that they can learn the techniques and perfect their skills before adding the distraction and complication of the dogs. This video shows how TAGteach can be used to manage behaviour as well as to teach specific skills.

What Are People Saying About TAGteach Seminars?

A group of young dance teachers talk about their experiences at a TAGteach seminar:

Paula, a violin/viola teacher from Desmoines tells about her impressions after a TAGteach seminar:

Life Lessons from TAGteach

One of the most common things we hear from seminar is attendees is "this is going to change my life". The TAGteach principles are far-reaching and apply to every aspect of dealing with other people (and even yourself) in daily life. 

Listen to these university students explain how learning and teaching with TAGteach changed the way they look at life:

"And so I introduced the concept of TAG thinking to my students. I think the best part about it is that it has taught the dancers to be very active, thinking learners rather than passive, “teach me, teacher” machines... Since integrating TAGteaching and TAG Thinking, every day in the classroom is exhilarating for me. I have seen so many young people find their confidence and personal voices, not only as artists, but also, more importantly, as human beings."

Ann Bergeron MFA - Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theater and Dance at the University of Minnesota Duluth