I am considering offering a Linux+ certification study group at the community college where I teach Linux+. In class, we use the CompTIA book and CertMaster labs. I don’t have any experience in creating a study group, so I am looking for advice and resources that could help.
Creating a Exam Study Group
- Thread starter Alan Chin
- Start date
Hi Alan, I think there are many options that you could take, but they are mainly dependent on your schedules and the students' interests. Would this be a requirement of the course? Would it be open to everyone? When would you offer it, after school, on weekends, or in the evenings? Where would you host the sessions? It would really come down to what type of students you have at your institution. Are they academic or adult learners?
I am looking forward to seeing everyone's responses. If you are doing this in conjunction with your class, you structure it as a casual, informal group meeting. Depending on when you are offering it and how many sessions you are looking to host prior to the exam, you could do things such as:
I am looking forward to seeing everyone's responses. If you are doing this in conjunction with your class, you structure it as a casual, informal group meeting. Depending on when you are offering it and how many sessions you are looking to host prior to the exam, you could do things such as:
- ask what the students want from the group, where do they need assistance with getting ready the exam
- review key points from your course
- do labs (get them into Linux and practice commands)
- do practice exams with CertMaster Practice (my personal favorite)
- Q&A with demos
- Make it a game like Quiz Bowl or something, where students are in teams or individuals
- Share success stories or your own war stories
This here is key: intrinsic motivation.
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink", as the saying goes.
I have gone out on a limb multiple occasions, to organise extras for my students. I've encouraged them to help each other, to make their own arrangements beyond what we do in class. But in the end, >80% of my students only ever do the work in class with only a minority even turning in their homework. Let alone go beyond classwork + homework.
So if you build a study group, I'd say: don't. Let them start the study group. Let them learn how to help themselves.