Students hate taking tests and instructors hate grading them. So why should you spend more time than necessary dealing with testing?

Many students (and at least a few instructors) might wish they could skip test-taking altogether, but the truth is that tests can be valuable indicators of a student’s progress and skills. They can also help instructors and students identify gaps in knowledge and pinpoint what still needs to be learned. 

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. 

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? 

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. 

From high-performance PC experiences to free mobile apps, video games have become a large market with a wide influence. It’s no wonder, then, that the gaming industry is now looking at new technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to increase its market. 

Service advisors have a unique role as both the face of an automotive shop and the link between customers and technicians. Therefore, it makes sense that classroom training for service advisors should have a good balance between customer focused skills and automotive knowledge.

Instructors play an important role in providing this kind of targeted training. But aside from starting with a good foundation of knowledge, how can you instill the kinds of skills that help service advisors thrive in the classroom and on the job? 

Joseph Barroso teaches at East Providence Area Career & Tech Center in East Providence, Rhode Island. He has used CDX’s Maintenance and Light Repair Online for three years. 

Teaching to the test has become commonplace in classrooms across the U.S. The pressure to achieve excellent grades and pass standardized tests provokes some students to cheat. This means not only that these students receive grades they don’t earn, but also that they miss out on knowledge they will need in the future.

Who recalls the classroom scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in which a room full of blank-faced students stare at their teacher while he explains economics? Much like the sleeping, gum-popping actors, today’s students are often bored out of their minds.