"There are six factors that contribute to the quality of your
learning environment"
There are six factors that contribute to the quality of your learning
environment. First and foremost is motivation. Students must be highly
motivated to learn and (if using them) instructors must be highly motivated to
teach. In fact, almost any other deficiency in the learning environment can be
overcome if motivation is high enough. A highly motivated student will, for
example, stick with it until the subject matter is mastered.
Aptitude will determine how quickly learning takes place. Students with a
degree of CNC aptitude make it easy for the instructor to teach. Instructors
with high CNC and teaching aptitude make it easy to learn.
Presentation is at the heart of training. The better the instructor prepares
and delivers the presentation, the easier it will be for students to learn.
Presentations can take many forms, including lectures, demonstrations,
simulations, overhead and projector slides, videos, and any other medium that
helps get a point across. Our CNC curriculum for machining center programming
and operation, for example, includes a computer slide show with over 1,500
colorful slides. Visuals will help hold attention and make it easier to make
points (a picture is worth a thousand words).
Repetition ensures retention. No one will completely retain complex material
by only hearing it once. Most experienced instructors would agree that at least
ten percent of each training session should be spent reviewing previously
presented information. Reviews provide the secondary benefit that instructors
can limit the amount of new information presented the first time. Knowing that
a review is coming, they can minimize complex discussions, saving them for the
time when students have a good grasp of the basics.
Concentration is essential to learning. Regardless of how well presentations
are made, students must be able to concentrate on the presented material. For
this reason, the place of learning should be comfortable, and free of
distractions and interruptions.
Practice with reinforcement acts as the measuring stick for training.
Practice should be designed to simulate exactly what will be expected of the
student when the course is completed. If students are doing well with the
practice, they will do well when the course is completed. On the other hand, if
students are not doing well, it should be taken as a signal that more review is
necessary.
Two related points. First, instructors must understand that learning is a
two-way street. If the student is not learning, at least half of the
responsibility must go to the instructor. Different presentations, logical
analogies, and better designed practice may be necessary. Second, industrial
training differs from academic training. In academic training, success is
gauged by the students grade. If they fail an academic course, pride may be
hurt, but nothing else. In industrial training, success is gauged by how well
the worker can perform their assigned duties. Failure can result in scrap
workpieces, damaged machines, and injuries to personnel. Again, if students are
not performing well on practice exercises, and eventually fail the course, they
cannot be allowed to operate equipment that puts their health in danger.
Selecting the instructor
As stated, many companies rely heavily on outside training resources. Even
if this is the case in your company, you still need a person that can field
questions and explain specific differences between generic training programs
and your own specific operational procedures. While it is commonly believed
that the person with the most CNC experience will make the best choice (and it
often does), this cannot be taken for granted. Many times the person with the
most CNC experience will have no desire to teach, or they may not have time to
make the required explanations.
Especially if you are going to implement full, live CNC courses, your
instructor must be cautiously chosen. Here we list the four most important
instructor attributes.
It should almost go without saying that the instructor must be well versed
with the subject matter. The more experience an instructor has, the easier it
will be to draw upon past experiences when making points. However, experience
by itself does not a good instructor make.
Patience is actually the most important instructor attribute. It can be
quite frustrating when students are having trouble understanding material that
the instructor feels is quite simple. Additionally, what one group of students
quickly catches on to in one course will cause problems for other students in
another course. Regardless of how many times the instructor presents the
information, he or she must be on the constant look-out for more and better
ways of making points.
People skills is another important attribute. An instructor must be able to
get along with everyone in the class and cannot exhibit signs of favoritism.
The instructor must enjoy working with others.
Desire and ability to relate knowledge is yet another important attribute.
The instructor must be willing to freely offer information to the limits of
their ability. They must also eventually become good at it.
The classroom
While training can take place just about anywhere, a good classroom should
be free of distractions (having a closing door). It should also be equipped
with equipment to help with presentations. Most include at the very least, a
blackboard (or white board) for making notes and drawings. Many instructors
like to show videos, so a VCR and TV will also be necessary. Overhead
projectors, slide projectors, and computer presentation equipment are also
among common classroom equipment.
Lesson plans
While instructors vary with regard to how much they prepare to give
presentations, they must have a clear objective for what must be achieved
during each session or lesson. Many instructors like to feel their way in this
regard, and eventually get comfortable with their own training style (though it
is not documented). If you expect to repeat your successes, however, you must
document the key points of what must be related during training. This is
especially important when more than one instructor is involved. The lesson
plans that accompany our CNC curriculums, for example, express the key points
students must understand, simple analogies to relate, and further points to
make as students begin catching on.
Course materials
Good training courses provide students with a way to read up on presented
material on their own between sessions. Ideally, the support materials should
actually include more than just what the instructor says to let students go
further toward understanding the subject matter.
Note taking materials (pencil and paper) as well as an electronic calculator
are commonly needed in CNC courses. A course text (manual) should also
compliment the course. The machining
center manual and turning center
manual that accompany our course curriculums and CD-rom courses include
presentations that parallel the oral presentations.
When to train
Different people have different learning habits. Some people find that they
are freshest in the morning. Others in the afternoon. Yet others in the
evening. Regardless of when you train, remember that all students will have
saturation points. Long sessions lead to minimal retention. Ideally the session
length should not exceed two hours at a sitting, with substantial breaks at
least every hour. Also remember that at least ten percent of each session
should be spent reviewing previous information.
