Effective Learning

By Lance Zhou, Principal Technical Training Instructor

Different people learn differently.

Some people can learn about a subject by simply reading a book. Others require a live demonstration of the subject combined with discussions of real-life applications on the topic. Some others have to have hands-on exercises to be able to learn. And then there are the ones that need a little bit of everything.

Wonderware technical training courses are designed as a 4-step learning experience:

1. Instructor-delivered lecture on the topic
2. Instructor demonstration of the software feature or capability (often using a different example than the one given in the hands-on exercises - or as we call them, labs)
3. Instructor answers questions surrounding the subject
4. Participants practice the discussed feature by performing the associated lab(s)

Part of the design of a new course (being a brand new course or a revision of an existing one) includes the length of the class. In other words, the definition of the number of days required to successfully execute the 4 steps mentioned above and to meet the learning objective of the class. Once the course has been layed out and all the labs have been defined, a preliminary number of days is set and a BETA class is scheduled to test the new course and verify that the allocated number of days is the right match to effectively meet the learning objectives.

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Lance Zhou is a Principal Technical Training Instructor for Wonderware products at Invensys Operations Management.