Completed all 6 sessions on-demand. Nice series

Completed all 6 sessions on-demand. Nice series

Mitch, thank you for sharing this reflective and candid blog post. Your evolution regarding instructor humility and the critical importance of active listening in the classroom resonates deeply. The transition from acting as a strict authoritative figure to a collaborative facilitator is a professional milestone that elevates the entire learning experience.

However, I would like to offer a respectful counter-perspective regarding the initial premise: "...I think we can all agree that the best way to pass an exam is to know the material." While subject matter mastery is the undeniable foundation of our profession, I have found that "knowing the material" and "passing the exam" often require two distinct cognitive frameworks, and this is where the context of the student's question becomes critical. In the classroom, a student asking, "What is the best way to pass?" is rarely asking for a deeper understanding of the technology; they are asking for the decryption key to the vendor's testing logic.

In my experience navigating and teaching within the Microsoft ecosystem and CompTIA ecosystem, particularly with foundational security frameworks like the SC-900, Security+ or complex enterprise deployments, a deep well of real-world consulting experience may actually become a liability for a "new" student during an exam. When architecting solutions for a client, the "best" approach might involve a cost-effective workaround, a hybrid open-source integration, or acknowledging a known bug in a vendor platform. Exam environments, however, exist in a pristine, theoretical vacuum. Passing requires the student to suspend their practical, real-world troubleshooting instincts and temporarily adopt the strict, proprietary mindset of the vendor. They must learn to identify the "vendor-correct" answer, which is often heavily influenced by the vendor's current marketing push or preferred administrative pathway (e.g., utilizing a specific PowerShell module over a GUI, or vice versa, regardless of what a seasoned admin might do in the field).

Therefore, when teaching a certification-aligned course, the pedagogical approach must bifurcate. We must absolutely deliver the deep, real-world experience you rightly champion to ensure they are competent practitioners once they leave the classroom. But we must also teach the specific psychometrics of the exam itself, e.g. how to parse poorly worded questions, how to eliminate technically viable but vendor-incorrect distractors, and how to manage time under the pressure of a summative assessment.

Your points on listening to students and admitting knowledge gaps are 100. When a student throws a "stump the instructor" technical curveball that deviates from the official courseware, exploring that tangent builds tremendous rapport and technical depth. But as instructors, we also have a responsibility to pull them back into the strict parameters of the syllabus and explicitly define the boundary between "Here is how we deploy this in a live environment" and "Here is the rigid answer CompTIA or Microsoft expects you to select on the exam."

Thank you again for sparking this nuanced conversation. The willingness to continually refine our pedagogical approach is what separates a good trainer from an exceptional one.

Best regards,
Carnegie

Well said Greg. I have not been kicking the CompTIA can as long as you have been, but I have already been asked to take the latest version of certain exams. Ironically, it is the training companies that a) pay the least, and b) do not provide vouchers that have the 'latest version of the exam' policy. I was told recently by one such company that my Security+ from 2022 was out of date, and to continue teaching for them I would need to take the new exam. I politely explained to them that my SecurityX, CySA+, CISSP, and CISM are all current, but that I will gladly re-sit any exam that they like... provided they pay my hourly rate for exam prep and provide me an exam voucher.

I like that Microsoft makes me spend an hour every year proving that I am still current on my certifications, and that those renewal tests (not proctored exams) focus on newer aspects of the technology in question. For Security+... what is new since 2022 that was not covered in CySA and SecX? for Network+... until there is an IPv7 or cables made out of chili peppers I think we are good. A+? NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN OVER A DECADE. 'New versions' of the exams are important for companies because they check a box... but you and I have been doing this long enough to tell those people where to place that checkmark. (As a pop culture reference, that conversation makes me feel like Red in Shawshank Redemption telling the parole board that I don't know what the hell the word rehabilitated means.)

I tell my students to maintain their CEs religiously so that they will not be required to re-sit the exams. If they don't have to then why do we?

(Now get off of my lawn, sonny! Darned kids...)

I registered for this found it Insightful also

I would, again, start with your Business Development Manager and perhaps look into becoming an Authorized Partner. (https://partners.comptia.org). It might be more difficult if you're just a single person doing something, vs perhaps being a business entity, but that's perhaps how I would get started.

/r

Rick Butler said:

Well, there are groups out there, such as the Network of Experts and SME's that develop all their native content.

Did you get a direct notification about the use of your material from CompTIA or are you saying this from a general perspective?

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Just general, they did not send me a notification. I am just curious how some sites show as approved and others do not.

Well, there are groups out there, such as the Network of Experts and SME's that develop all their native content.

Did you get a direct notification about the use of your material from CompTIA or are you saying this from a general perspective?

Insightful!

I always develop analogies I use to drive home difficult topics that students often have a lot of confusion around, like encryption, for example.

I am just an instructor making stuff in my spare time based on what my students struggle with the most. I was thinking CompTIA would have a Business Resource Liason or something. Even if I had someone in my org they would still need to talk to someone at CompTIA.

I would like to open up to a larger base but hard to convince people to use my site when https://www.comptia.org/en-us/resources/test-policies/unauthorized-training-materials/ says "CompTIA has evaluated the resource but could not confirm its validity and do NOT recommend that you use this training resource at this time. The supplied URL may not generate a valid website, the content may be inaccessible, or the resource could be too broad to assess its validity." About it.

Perhaps the way to go about this is to discuss it with a Business Development Manager. Not sure who that might be for you or your business but that would be the best liaison for that soft of thing.

/r

Wish happy birthday weshall From Florida

wish Brian Edwards happy birthday

shaify said:

Congratulations

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shaify said:

Congratulations

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congratulations

Yann Espanet said:

I’m happy to share that I passed the CompTIA SecAI+ certification yesterday. The TTT webinar and all the training materials provided was great for the preparation. Thanks!

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Congratulations

Pretty exciting about this course. When will CompTIA AI Fundamentals launch?

Already registered!! =)

Registered

peter hanwith-horden #1 said:

My name's Peter and I live in Johannesburg and South Africa I'm looking for some advice on the Pen test version 3 I have now written it a couple of times and I'm just not getting anywhere near the postmark I am obviously have labs and the books now I don't know why .Any advice Please have all the other certs done just this.

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This is a thread about Linux+, not PenTest+.

If you are reading this today - this takes place tomorrow :')

peter hanwith-horden #1 said:

I am a member of the CIN. I have a number certs I was wandering if some one could give me advice. I am not working out trying to the Pentest3. I spent time and lots of time to pass the time exam and I keep coming up short. I get close the pass mark but miss it. Do I need to do more book work and lots of labs?



Peter Hanwith-Horden

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On your score report from the exam, it should list the topics where you missed one more more questions. I would start your studies there.