Whilst monitoring the feedback which we receive from students in recent months we have identified a trend of negative comments regarding the Pre-Certification lab classes run for students after they complete the video class and prior to taking the full ECS certification examination.
Student feedback shows that some of them either expect technical training to be given in the class or have not completed the videos. Additionally some others expect more guidance in the class.
The lab classes are there to fill in holes for some topics that either could not be shown in video or simply not included so as to reduce the video time. The Pre-Certification lab class gives the students the opportunity to have hands on practice and to discuss this with instructors, expanding upon and complementing the principles learned from the video with practical examples.
To help here is a brief DO and DON’T rundown to help guide you with any lab class:
- DO – Check with each student when they register that they have completed or will complete the video training prior to attending the lab class. The lab class is useless without the background learning from the video
- DO – Double check with the students on the opening day of the class that they understand the basics as taught in the video class
- DO – Discuss each exercise that they are about to perform and what they are going to see to reinforce their understanding from the video
- DON’T – Just give the students the lab guide and allow them to work through unsupervised
- DO – Keep checking in with individual students on their progress and introduce stop points
- DO – Discuss the lab exercises at logical points, either at the end of each lab or at stopping points, either with the whole class or individual students
- DON’T – Let a student blast through the labs and leave without checking their understanding of the lab topics
- DON’T – Finish a class without making sure each student knows the Class Name, Class Dates, Instructor Name
- DO – Encourage and allow students to question you in a private chat on any aspect of the video learning they may not have grasped
- DON’T – Treat this class as a formality step to opening up the exam, it’s still a learning experience and one that you need to facilitate.
If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please do not hesitate in contacting Learn@extremenetworks.com where we will be glad to discuss them with you.
