My classmates were a fun bunch. Sure, they were mostly older folks and some of them said things I would have found cringe-worthy in another setting. Here, I tried to keep an open mind. The group discussions we were put through were insightful. Most of us tried to be nice to each other because we were depending on each other to get through the course. I soon learned that I got on better with some of the others, and even consulted one of them personally on my upcoming marriage.
Assignments
For the most part, I didn't have a problem digesting whatever information was given. A lot of it seemed to be common sense. When handing in a lesson plan, which was one of our assignments, the instructor even commented that I seemed to be getting the gist of it quite handily, and had nothing further to add. He wasn't just saying that, because he had a lot to say when others were handing in their lesson plans. On my part, I was just glad that I seemed to be on the right track.We also had to keep a learning journal of sorts, detailing what we had learned and our reflections on it. I went a step further - I actually blogged about it. (Garry Mitchel's Ten Principles of Adult Learning made quite a nice listicle.) The act of doing so helped me digest the information and cement the principles in my head. Besides, that was actually how I best learned - via repetition and practice. My fellow coursemates thought I was this super student because I did my stuff way in advance.
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| I was a hardworking but woefully untalented kid. |
I'm afraid they were mistaken.
A lot of it isn't intelligence or diligence, but pragmatic time management. Every weekend, I dedicated a certain amount of time keeping the journal up to date so that I would have any problems handing in my work in March. One of the best ways to combat stress, is not to allow yourself to get into any unnecessarily stressful situations. Knowing that I'm not some extraordinarily smart individual that could produce written assignments on demand, it seemed foolhardy to leave everything to last-minute work and hope for the best.
Incidentally, it was the same way for me when I was younger. Study early, study often. I was never an A student. Mostly Bs. But boy, nobody knew how hard I had to slog for those Bs. People just thought I was really clever and shit. Word of advice: very few people are actually that clever. It takes a hell lot of work. And, of course, once again, time management.
Assessment on Classroom Facilitation
Midway through the third month, we all had to conduct lessons as part of the requirement. Each of us would decide on a topic which we would then have to "teach" our fellow coursemates. This was where I started floundering. People thought I wouldn't have a problem because I seemed quite at ease presenting to the class during lessons. What that was different - I mostly wasn't trying to impress anybody and nothing was at stake. Now, we were actually going to be assessed on how well we conducted the lesson plan we had developed, and I'm afraid the pressure got to me. No matter how much I rehearsed for the day, when it was time to actually do the job, my voice trembled.One of the things an instructor is supposed to do, is assure the course participants that he or she is qualified to instruct them, and that they are "in good hands". In practice, if there's a way to say "I have a degree and three diplomas" without sounding like a conceited dickhole, I haven't discovered it yet. Some of my fellow coursemates had a better idea - they merely displayed their credentials on presentation slides to they could toot their horn without sounding like they were, well, tooting their horn. Well damn, why hadn't I thought of that? Because I'm an idiot, that's why.
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| Depending too much on the whiteboard. |
I kept the knowledge transfer small, facilitated group discussions and basically made sure items on the assessment checklist were met. Everyone was watching me because, well, I was the first to be assessed. I had actively chosen to be the first - to get it out of the way, and also, when you're the first to go, expectations are generally lower because you're expected to make a whole bunch of mistakes the others can learn from.
My chosen topic was "web development", and true to form, I had elected to prepare web pages instead of presentation slides. The rest of it, I reasoned, I could use the whiteboards for. Eliminate the chance of being stymied by technical failure. Surprise, surprise. The classroom we ended up in, had whiteboards that were blocked by heavy desks and assorted clutter. And here I thought I was being so clever. What the fuck, right?
As the "lesson" went on, I realized that very little of it was going the way it had played out in my head. I was nervous, my voice cracked, and sometimes I talked too fast and had too many pauses. And then the class, comprised of my fellow coursemates, began to act up.
This wasn't done out of malice - the instructor had told them they were supposed to act up so that he could assess me on how I handled disruptions. So I had people asking me blatantly stupid questions, making small talk loudly, defying instructions and so on.
Ironically, I was feeling like an utter failure by then and decided, to heck with it, I was just gonna do my thing and to hell with impressing the instructor. I totally forgot my fear in that instant. Have I mentioned that I've taught classes before? Well, when my fellow coursemates acted up that evening, I simply reacted, as if by instinct, the same way I did all those years ago. Blatantly stupid questions were shrugged off or waved away. When people made small talk loudly, I upped the volume of my voice for about two seconds, jolting them back to attention without missing a beat. When people attempted to start an argument, I told them I acknowledged their point and we could revisit this after the class. Basically, I came on strong, and backed the hell off when I needed to. The iron-fist-sheathed-in-silk-glove approach.
And I smiled. A lot.
When it was over, I went over the checklist and discovered, to my amazement, that I had covered a ton of items under "Handling Disruptions" without even trying. I hadn't even been consciously attempting to do it by the book! That was an epiphany for me - I do best when I don't try so goddamn hard.
Then it was over, and during the course of the next few weeks, I sat back and watched my fellow coursemates go through their own assessment. It was of small comfort that many of them faced the same problems I did, and some even had to repeat their assessment. It was my turn to conduct a peer assessment for some of them, and in those instances, I opted to be kind. After all, my remarks would make no difference at all to their final score, and overdoing the criticism seemed unnecessary.
E-Learning
The next module dealt with understanding the WSQ system. To that end, we were put through an E-learning program which was supplemented by webinar sessions. This was pretty dry, and the E-learning system absolutely sucked. To go into full detail about how much it sucked would be devoting too many words to it, so I won't. Again, I supplemented my learning with more blog entries, such as one about Five Elements of Competency and using WSQ Competency Standards.My ex-boss from the startup had also completed his ACTA, and his advice and supplementary reading were invaluable. Another case for not burning bridges you don't have to. Never know when someone in your network can help you.
I was suffering from serious burnout by this time, and it was all I could do to keep my journal entries up to date. Also, the then-girlfriend and I were going through the arduous process of getting married. Let me assure you that nothing about it was fun, and mostly involved the logistics of making space for one more person in the house. More about that another time, though...
Assessment on Assessing
After the last excruciatingly boring module was the one on being an Assessor. We were trained on how to deliver an Assessment to a test candidate in a fair, empathetic and diplomatic manner. How to provide an optimal environment for Assessment. Things like that. |
| Assessing... |
And then came the assessment... on our Assessment abilities. This involved live-action roleplaying with a prepared background scenario. We were divided into groups for this, and my group aced the entire thing without any do-overs. I can't claim any credit for this one - one of my team members was a right pain in the arse where details were concerned. He was also meticulous and not one to leave anything to chance. He prepared scripts for us to follow, and even had the bright idea of having them vetted by our instructor.
So, after we had made the changes recommended by our instructor, all we had to do was follow the script... and viola, another module out of the way.
Some drama occurred during the Assessment, things that made me come to new realizations. One of our team members lost his temper at another member. Harsh words were exchanged. To be fair, the guy being raged at, was slow to grasp the material and seemed to be going off half-cocked in the wrong direction... and this wasn't the first time either.
However, being a WSQ instructor is not just about having the skills and knowledge in facilitation of learning. Like many other professions, it is also about having the correct temperament. Often, instructors don't get a choice as to what kind of people are being allowed in the courses they are teaching. They are going to get people who are merely doing this on a whim. They are going to get the ones who think they already know everything. They are going to get the ones who aren't actually interested in the subject matter. Basically, those who are all but impossible to teach. And if we're going to lose our shit everytime someone like that shows up, maybe we should consider another line of work.
The Final Assessment
The day of the Final Assessment arrived. By then, my nervousness was gone and all I really wanted to do was get it over with. My time studying the WSQ Assessment System had all but assured me I wouldn't be failing this one (unless, of course, I failed to show up). After all, in order to justify a failure, a lot of paperwork had to be done by the Assessor. And honestly, I'd done the work. I had blog entries in addition to journal entries. And I had passed all previous modules. I can say with no false modesty that failing me at this point would require one hell of a justification.I walked out of the assessment room with my ACTA...
Epilogue
... and on the very next day, I put that ring on my girlfriend's finger, and made her my wife. What have I done with that ACTA? Nothing to date, sadly. But it's there if I ever need it, and the experience proved enriching. Exhausting, yes, but enriching.My fellow coursemates still hang out. Most of us are still in the original WhatsApp group we used during the course. Sometimes, we meet up to catch up. Yep, even if I never get to use that ACTA, I definitely don't regret taking that course. It was a blast. I don't know that it actually made me a better software developer, but it sure as hell rounded out my resume nicely.
Your certified Trainer and Assessor,
T___T
T___T
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