The post on how many repetitions are best in JI resulted in several key learnings for me. I contacted numerous people I have trained as a Master JI Trainer to see if they are using the 3 reps for Present the Operation- 4 reps for Try Out Performance. All of them said it depends. The consensus was that if the task was simple, then 2 reps for learner practice may be sufficient. If the task is difficult, then more demonstrations may be required as well as additional practice repetitions by the learner. In discussions with Mark Warren, who has done an in-depth study of the original TWI materials, he believes the creators of JI felt the most important point was not the number of repetitions, but that the learner was able to give the key points and reasons for those key points as they did the job. My surveying of former students has lead to a similar conclusion. Therefore, we have adjusted our JI card to reflect the 2 repetitions as a minimum during Step 2 – Present the Operation, and 2 repetitions as a minimum for Step 3 – Try Out Perfmance, as stated on the earlier versions of the JI Pocket Card. An additional thing I learned was that the number of repetitions not only depended on the skill of the learner and the complexity of the task, but also on the experience of the trainer. A more experienced trainer may be better able to tell if the learner is capable of being placed on their own with less repetitions, where a new trainer may be required to do the additional repetitions in all cases until they gain greater skill in estimating learner skill transfer. One trainer thought that you might even specify the required number of repetitions on the breakdown depending on its complexity, giving additional guidance to the less experienced trainer. What do you think? Give us your feedback. It’s the best way for us all to learn.