Yesterday, I held another in a series of one-day Tech classes. While five students will soon get ham licenses, the results were disappointing.
First, I was disappointed that several of the students phoned or e-mailed at the last minute that they wouldn’t be able to attend. They all had good excuses, but it was still disappointing. I’d had this problem in the past, and this time, I required students to send in their donations prior to the class, thinking that would motivate them to show up, but that didn’t work quite as well as I’d hoped. Perhaps the donation of $10 was too little.
Next, I was disappointed that four of the nine that did show up failed the test. As with previous classes, I think that I can point to the lack of preparation as the reason these folks failed. Even though I stress that preparation is required, it was clear that several of them failed to do that. One of them noted, “I just picked up the study guide less than 48 hours ago.” She missed passing by two questions.
Another contacted me Friday afternoon about signing up for the class, and even though I told her that I was concerned that she was getting started very late on this, she decided to try it. She was one of the ones that failed.
Scott, W1BIC, who assisted me yesterday, said that I should be more forceful when telling prospective students about the need to study. Scott said that rather than saying that studying beforehand will “greatly enhance the chances of passing the test,” I should tell them that if they don’t study or don’t take any practice tests, coming to the class will be a waste of time. I think I just might do that next time. Another thought that just hit me is that perhaps I could come up with some kind of questionnaire that would identify those that are likely to pass with little preparation and those that will need more extensive preparation.
After the exam, Scott and the VE team all consoled me, pointing out that five students will soon get their Tech licenses. That is a good point, but I can do better.
Omigosh, I feel even worse now :( I was really sick…my friend didn’t feel well and didn’t want to go without me. We WILL come to the hands on museum, I promise!! I’m so sorry, again!!
PS: I even missed Oktoberfest, if that tells you how sick I was ;)
Well, don’t worry, Patti. Getting sick is certainly not your fault. We’ll get you sooner or later.
Do not despair. We have found a lower pass level at our recent hamcram. Notice that it is a CRAM and requires students study before hand. We had only 19 of 28 pass last time and it was due to lack of study on their part. I think the students all feel it is no big deal to take the TECH test, but it really is!
And you should get the PRO membership in that other site for all you do in amateur radio teaching!
jim/w4qo
Interesting information. We are starting up a 2 1/2 day class, spread across 3 Saturdays, based on your study guide. I guess we should make sure the students get the guide ahead of time so it’s not such a cram session and hopefully more of a Q&A review.