Test teach questions...

jamesp1983

I had a phone prescreen with a local IT training school for an instructor position. I did well and the training manager wants me to come in and do a test teach. He and some other instructors will listen to a 15 minute presentation done by me on the physical and logical structure of AD. He said they will ask questions that students will typically ask and then some more in depth questions. Any suggestions for this test teach? I've never done this before so I'm seeking some advice.

jamesp1983

All those views and no suggestions? I know some of you have to of taught or owned training centers...

famosbrown

Well...the only experience I have with this is through my undergrad school when they were hiring a few new CS instructors. They all were given a topic in computer science and had to be prepared to do a 60 minute lecture on the topic. Questions were both basic and advanced due to the differences in backgrounds and knowledge of students sitting in the class. There was then a constructive criticism session, scenario based situations concerning student/instructor interactions, etc. I will say that the school didn't always take the MOST smartest person, but they took the best instructor. How does the instructor explain the material? Can the instructor keep breaking down the information so anyone can learn quickly wihtout going on and on for an hour? Does the instructor use visuals by drawing or forces the students to use their imagination, etc.

I would ask what type of audience you will be teaching to. Will it be advance administrators of AD or will be someone who doesn't even know what AD stands for? Tailor your lecture based on the audience, but be prepared for both advanced and beginner questions.

I can't contribute more than that.

jamesp1983

famosbrown wrote:

I would ask what type of audience you will be teaching to. Will it be advance administrators of AD or will be someone who doesn't even know what AD stands for? Tailor your lecture based on the audience, but be prepared for both advanced and beginner questions.

I can't contribute more than that.

Career changers, people who don't know anything pretty much. Thanks for your input famos!!

jamesp1983

They told me to write the lecture at the 70-270, 290 level. What kind of in depth questions on AD do you think they'll ask?

damsel_in_tha_net

they won't just ask in-depth questions.

think about who career changers are. some will be new to IT, others just new to this side of it. i often got programmers, mainframe folks, recent "computer science' graduates, all of those sorts....

so, for example, when you talk about the AD *database* they may ask questions from their knowledge of databases.......i'm sure some of those sort of questions will be thrown in.
can we open the database in access?
can we use sql to query it?

then the concept of an OU may be another question point. can a user be in more than one OU?

in depth questions could be more on security/permissions, delegation of control, etc.

you're not presenting everything in the test teach, so when you figure out the module or section you're doing, just make sure you know all of the "whys and wherefores" well.

jamesp1983

Thanks Damsel. The other teachers and training managers will be there at the test teach. They said they will have an after class, in depth round of questions. I'm just going to make sure I am prepared for anything, but relaxed.

jamesp1983

Have this today, wish me luck!!

rbutturini

Good luck! I"m sure all of us are interested to know what kinds of things they ask.

jamesp1983

rbutturini wrote:

Good luck! I"m sure all of us are interested to know what kinds of things they ask.

I would have loved to have some insight before hand, but what can I do. damsel_in_tha_net really did help clarify things though.

damsel_in_tha_net

..annnnnnnnnnnnndddddd?

how was it?

sexion8

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

rbutturini wrote:

Good luck! I"m sure all of us are interested to know what kinds of things they ask.

I would have loved to have some insight before hand, but what can I do. damsel_in_tha_net really did help clarify things though.

Here is method to use... "Explain it so your mother would understand". There are a few ways to teach courses, I personally would teach the subject matter in a friendly semi technical, semi analogy based way. Something that is easily graspable and technical for the newer students and for the experienced students.

I don't know your skill level on the subject so don't take this as a judgement call on you or a degrading view of your skills at all, but if you have to ask "what will they ask", then you have no purpose teaching. If someone asked me to teach a course on security, I would teach about the things I know about. I would take a full view of the modules I'm expected to teach students on, and way before I agreed to teaching, I would want to make sure I understood the subject matter at hand. Does this make sense to you? (Made sense thinking it out).

If you're looked upon as an SME (subject matter expert) and you're unsure about your qualifications, put yourself to the test. Have someone you know - coworkers, study partners, etc., get together with you on a pre-configured (for lack of better terms) test class. Teach things your way, teach things in a way you'd want someone to teach you, someone to teach your mom, something that is understandable, practical yet technical. I'm always having to give lectures to clients, partners, etc., on many security related material and have been told my explanations have been eloquent, to the point, and easily understandable.

jamesp1983

damsel_in_tha_net wrote:

..annnnnnnnnnnnndddddd?

how was it?

It wasn't bad. I'm 25 and these guys were probably in their late 40s and had been in IT for about 15-20 years. They were impressed with my knowledge given my age. I'll know within the month if I got it. They asked me if I had problems with traveling around the east coast teaching for awhile to get used to it. I said no. The one question I've never been asked before in an interview was "What did you do to prepare for this presentation and how much time did you put into it?" That caught me off guard. I just told them I made my presentation, tried it on my parents, and just firmed up on the material.

jamesp1983

sexion8 wrote:

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

rbutturini wrote:

Good luck! I"m sure all of us are interested to know what kinds of things they ask.

I would have loved to have some insight before hand, but what can I do. damsel_in_tha_net really did help clarify things though.

I don't know your skill level on the subject so don't take this as a judgement call on you or a degrading view of your skills at all, but if you have to ask "what will they ask", then you have no purpose teaching. If someone asked me to teach a course on security, I would teach about the things I know about. I would take a full view of the modules I'm expected to teach students on, and way before I agreed to teaching, I would want to make sure I understood the subject matter at hand. Does this make sense to you? (Made sense thinking it out).

If you're looked upon as an SME (subject matter expert) and you're unsure about your qualifications, put yourself to the test. Have someone you know - coworkers, study partners, etc., get together with you on a pre-configured (for lack of better terms) test class. Teach things your way, teach things in a way you'd want someone to teach you, someone to teach your mom, something that is understandable, practical yet technical. I'm always having to give lectures to clients, partners, etc., on many security related material and have been told my explanations have been eloquent, to the point, and easily understandable.

My question wasn't really on the material, more on the interview/test teach process. I was wondering if anyone knew what they looked for in a teacher technique wise. For example...

Is he using the white board enough?
Is there a logical flow in his presentation?
Is he asking questions of the audience?
Is he projecting his voice?
That type of thing...

I know the material very well, but I've never taught before. I've trained people on the side, but never a classroom environment.

rfult001

Consider becoming an MCT, assuming you haven't already. It should teach some techniques for presenting the material to a classroom, as I understand it.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mct/default.mspx

jamesp1983

rfult001 wrote:

Consider becoming an MCT, assuming you haven't already. It should teach some techniques for presenting the material to a classroom, as I understand it.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mct/default.mspx

Thank you! I'll have to check that out.

rfult001

Just found another link for you. I am consider going this route myself at some point.

http://certification.comptia.org/ctt/default.aspx

jamesp1983

thanks man!!

damsel_in_tha_net

you know, i had a bigger post drawn up with more "teaching industry" kinds of things, but i thought you were just concerned about material.

here's what people look for in a test teach:

-flow. most of the time youre teaching from prepared material, but its up to you to make everything connect.

-yep, questions....not just asking but the types you use. there are schools of thought on each type, but its best to mix it up: open ended, yes/no, directed at group, directed at a student.

-how much you "read" versus teach


-whiteboard use.....IF you use it, is it clear? are you "talking to the board"? the "train the trainer" classes always advise against this. if you're writing something, take a pause in your lecture until you turn back around.

-classroom management: keeping control of the session. not letting questions take you far off topic.

-catering your lecture to the audience: new-to-IT people vs new-to-Product people vs seasoned engineers doing a review...each of these groups has a different level of comfort with technical terms and concepts, so your lecture should vary accordingly.

-how you handle stuff you don't know....even if a student is inexperienced, they're still adults and can smell bullshyte a mile away . if you don't know something, be honest, and follow up with an answer later.

-preparation. the client can usually tell how prepared you are based on the lecture. i'm sure the question was just a routine one.


a lot of these sort of topics are the same things that students evaluate you for once a class is over. training companies make their money based on having happy students, so most of them try to hire instructors that can earn and maintain high eval scores.


i started training even younger than you and have done it for years. i am also an MCT. yes it's tough because most students will be much older, but that's just another reason to be on top of your game. i've mentioned it in another thread--i look super young--i even had braces for a couple of years--but i made it work. basically, once you open your mouth and show that you know what you're talking about, thats' that.

be careful when you discuss travel. you need to take a look at where you're located and how much various trips would cost. before agreeing to a gig, you must find out who is paying for travel/hotel/car--you or the center. if you're paying it, mae sure that the fee you agree to is fair. if the customer is paying for your travel, you still want to make sure you're getting a fair rate that will make it worth your while.

i hope i'm not getting ahead of myself....if this is for an indie gig, the above applies...if this is for a full time gig, then make sure you negotiate a fair salary and keep those receipts for reimbursement!

jamesp1983

damsel, it would be a salaried position. The training manager said I did well, but I need to ask the audience questions and not talk to the whiteboard. I presented my slides and gave a lot of information on all parts of the topics. I maintained eye contact pretty well except for when it was whiteboard time. Thank you for all of your input!!

damsel_in_tha_net

Hi there! Just curious, how did your training career turn out?

d