Ok, our imaginary certification candidate has looked into schools and decided what classes to take to get the certification they want. They have spent a lot of money and now they want to make sure that they can get everything possible out of their classes. What do they need to do? I have a few suggestions.
The first and what should be most obvious is to GO TO CLASS! I am constantly amazed by the numbers of students that sign up and then aren’t around for every minute of training that they are entitled to. They skip parts of classes, they are late or they just blow off whole days. Don’t get me wrong…life happens and sometimes work or your personal life interferes with being able to attend when you should. What I don’t get is why someone would sign up, go to class for a day or two and then skip out. I know it can’t be because of the trainer (that would be the ego talking).
Along those same lines, when you are there PAY ATTENTION! There is always break time or lunch time for emails and surfing. I know it is hard to concentrate for long periods or time which is why the better teachers throw curveballs and go off on tangents. It allows you to “take a break” from focusing on JUST the material. Also most classes have practice work or labs to allow the brain to recharge.
The most important thing though for any student to get what they need is to ASK FOR HELP! Students seem to have an inherent fear of looking like they don’t know what they are doing during labs or practices and they will struggle with something and waste too much time rather than just ask. Trust me…you are not the only one who is having that same problem. Step up and ask…others may thank you for it.
The related idea is to ASK QUESTIONS! Any good trainer loves questions. It shows them that the students are listening and trying to understand. It serves as a check for us so we know if we are making sense. Trainers are only as good as the feedback they get. The amount and type of questions is one of the best tools for us to know if we are effective at what we do. I don’t know any teacher that doesn’t like good questions.
How do you know if it is a good question? Easy. If you have been paying attention and the information isn’t clear…ask for a clarification. If you think you missed something…ask for it to be repeated. To be honest, the only thing that I can define as a bad question is when someone asks about something that was gone over when they weren’t listening because they were playing solitaire or reading email or watching YouTube….unless the video is really cool. If it is, ask the instructor if they’ve seen it yet because maybe it’s time for a tangent.
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