This is another one of those “sticky” questions. How far should I, as an, instructor help prepare a student for a certification test? Depending on the student – they might feel that we should take the test for them…just kidding. But it is a valid question that needs to be addressed.
I believe most trainers take a great deal of pride in their “work” delivering quality training and helping their students take and pass certification tests. It is a huge investment of time on our part learning new products and maintain our skill set with existing products. But when it comes to assisting students with their certification tests – then there is definite separation with instructors.
Presenting the material is something we all do as instructors – but how we help students pass certification tests is quite another. I know of some trainers who take the approach that ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force them to drink.” The instructors just tell them to work with the product, read the course curriculum material and white papers and if possible, get some hands-on experience and that is the end of their responsibility. This is the nice, safe approach – but doesn’t really help the student that much. This is where our experience and knowledge becomes paramount. I believe in helping the students out as much as possible – pointing out legitimate testing software programs, working with them after class, helping them with their questions – from the course and with their testing software packages. All of these things HELP the student learn. True, there are some students who want the shortcut approach to certification – which is actively discouraged – doesn’t help them learn the product and devalues the test anyway.
Everyone once in awhile I hear stories from students about an instructor someplace who gave out links to braindumps or even the braindumps themselves. But what does that say to the student who paid for the class out of their own pocket? I, as a student have paid several thousand dollars for a class to help me further my career or improve my skill set and the instructor hands out a braindump? I certainly hope that many of the stories are fictitious, but there must be some element of truth somewhere to these. I hope no instructor gives out braindumps – ever. What relevance do we have as instructors if a student shows up and is given a braindump – told to go memorize it and come back on Friday to take the test? This is bad for everyone: trainers, students and the IT companies who pay to have students trained.
There is a fine-line between helping students learn a product and become more competent IT personnel and crossing that line where we devalue ourselves and the students.
