Translational Training Tools™
The Joy of Training with Dr. Wow is committed to sharing affordable and effective training tools for hands-on procedural and technique training. As a passionate educator, I strongly believe that education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background, experience, or resources. I provide innovative training options to animal care programs and educational communities to promote safety, efficacy, and humane treatment of animals in various settings.
What are the 3T's™?
Translational Training Tools™ (The 3Ts) is a hands-on training method designed to implement the 3Rs alternatives (replacement, reduction, refinement) into hands-on training of personnel who work with research animals.
Translational Training Tools TM
The 3 Ts Serving the 3Rs
The foundation for 3Ts is based on 3 key concepts relating to teaching, training, and learning hands-on procedures in live animals.
-
Concept 1: Preventing Training Leaps (TLs) by creating an opportunity to learn using progressive steps towards practicing on live animals.
-
Concept 2: Identifying Key Learning Points (KLPs) to guide training and maximize the chances of trainees achieving competency when learning a new procedure.
-
Concept 3: Using the best tools to limit the TLs and target the KLPs by providing options for practicing steps towards gaining competency on a procedure.
Based on these 3 foundational concepts, The 3Ts method provides options for effective hands-on training through a series of steps, taught using tools that aim to minimize distress in training animals, trainers and trainees while promoting safe and humane handling of teaching and research animals.
The 3Ts method of hands-on training incorporates images, inanimate tools, and training exercises; all of which are carefully designed and selected to convey concepts and steps essential to gain competency in particular hands-on procedures, while incorporating the 3Rs into hands-on training sessions.
The 3Ts offers several options to use affordable, easy-to-make, inanimate training tools, created from readily accessible materials for implementation of the 3Rs into hands-on training programs.
The Joy of Training has incorporated The 3Ts method and concepts into the ongoing development of training tools and resources with the goal of making the use of inanimate training tools accessible to all institutions regardless of budget limitations.
The 3Ts method was conceived, developed, and trademarked at Cornell University (CU) during Dr. WOW’s employment as the Assistant Director Training Services where she led the hands-on training team. Originating from a series of dexterity tools and accompanying exercises created as part of a surgical curriculum, The 3Ts expanded to include several non-surgical training tool options. Under Dr. WOW’s leadership, the training team incorporated Translational Training Tools TM into the training program at CU. The 3Ts method and tools have been shared with other institutions through the creation of The Joy of Training manuals (Volumes 1 and 2) and through presentations at various educational events and symposia.
The 3Ts is a dynamic training method with ongoing development through The Joy of Training with Dr. WOW Incorporated. The Joy of Training manuals, Volumes 1 and 2 provide trainers with ideas and recipes to make their own 3Ts tools using the 3Ts method of training. These manuals are available as PDFs on The Joy of Training with Dr. WOW Inc. website.
PDF Links
Acknowledgements
With tremendous gratitude, I acknowledge Christine Peterson and David Mooneyhan (Training Coordinators from CARE at CU) for their contributions to the development of Translational Training ToolsTM, particularly their role in assisting with the development, testing, and refinement of various 3Ts tools, and for their effort and hard work in helping me share these tools with others during my oversight of the training team at CU. I feel honored to have led such a fabulous team, which I affectionately called, The Dream Team.
I appreciate the support provided by my colleagues at The Center for Animal Resources and Education (CARE) at Cornell University (CU), who assisted with some of the 3 Ts workshops and covered my responsibilities while I presented 3Ts content at conferences and symposia. I acknowledge Dr. Philippe Baneux, DVM, ECLAM, for encouraging me to trademark The 3Ts method and tools with the intention of developing a business that could share these resources more effectively.
I am grateful for the assistance I received from the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) at CU, for processing the licensing, copyrights, and trademarks attached to Translational Training ToolsTM to The Joy of Training with Dr. WOW Inc.; thus, providing a means for me to develop and share The 3 Ts and The Joy of Training more broadly with the laboratory animal training and veterinary education communities.
Finally, I recognize that many individuals have influenced the development of The 3Ts, including veterinarians and technicians who taught me during my veterinary career. I acknowledge the feedback and ideas proposed by my trainees, students, colleagues at CU, and from members of the laboratory animal science and medicine community over many years of teaching and training. The interactions with these groups have resulted in an incredible learning experience for me, which has equipped me to share The Joy of Training and 3Ts content more broadly with other trainers and educators.