In the previous post in our strategy-based instruction blog series, we walked through some best practices for coaching students to help them learn more effectively. In this step, we’ll focus on how you can help students apply and practice new skills without hindering their self-learning. 

During the previous parts of our strategy-based instruction series, you’ve established that your customer is the employer and verified the skills your students need to learn. You’ve also explored the best way to teach with the resources you have. Now, it’s time to actually teach those skills.

Even if you don’t have a strong education background, there are a few simple strategies you can rely on to make sure your students do well. 

In the first two parts of our strategy-based instruction blog series, we explained the basis of this teaching method and explored how to verify the job skills that students need before entering the workforce.  

Once you’ve determined what skills and behaviors your students need to learn based on what employers need, it’s time to figure out the best way to teach them. This is where both new and experienced instructors encounter a common problem. How do you cover all the material students should learn with limited time and resources? 

In part one of the strategy-based instruction series, we talked about the basics of this technique. We also noted how, when it comes to education, the employer is the customer, not the student. Once this is understood, there is a simple way of tackling the first step of strategy-based instruction: verifying the job skill. 

When did you first become an automotive or diesel instructor?

If you’re like many other instructors in the field, you probably spent time as a technician before turning to education and, like any good instructor, did your best to improve your teaching skills. Between a variety of instructor guides to professional development workshops, it can seem like there’s a lot to figure out. But instead of trying to learn all kinds of new processes and terms when it comes to teaching, it can often be just as effective to work with what you already know. 

When it comes to supporting automotive programs, students, and instructors, it’s easy enough to think of large foundations, such as the ASE Family of Organizations. But there are many more organizations with the goal of providing support, scholarships, training, and other resources in the hopes of engaging youth and providing the necessary tools to help the automotive industry address skills gaps and technician shortages. 

What are some of the most important skills an automotive tech needs to learn?

The first things that come to mind might be safety procedures or understanding the basics, but what about the ability to properly use the tools of the trade? 

Most people know that manufacturers are continuously incorporating more technology and electronics in new vehicles. As a result, there is a need for higher level electrical and electronics training. 

Todd Kessler, an automotive instructor at York County School of Technology in Pennsylvania, uses multiple CDX resources to give his students a personal classroom experience with a variety of materials.