HVACR Teaching Tips and Strategies

All instructors aspire to effectively prepare our students for success in the HVACR industry. For effective instruction to take place, instructors must have knowledge in the content area, be able to effectively convey this knowledge, and the students must be receptive to this knowledge. A deficiency in any one of these three areas negatively affects the learning process. The key to addressing challenges in the educational process is first identifying where the problem lies. In this session, we will speak about some of the tools that will help you do just that.   HVAC Excellence provides instructors multiple ways of accessing data, allowing an instructor to identify if a problem lies with a single student, a group of students, or if the problem is indicative of an instructional deficiency. If you want to learn how to access and use the data that is readily available to you, this is a must attend session.   To access this free course, create your free account on the HVACR Learni...

Serving the HVAC industry for 50 + years has been a tremendous honor. Having worked as school administrator, instructor, corporate trainer, contractor, and technician has given me the ability to see growth of the industry and its’ needs from different points of view.   Times have changed and we have numerous challenges ahead. Manufacturers want to reduce warranty cost. Contractors seek qualified technicians, technicians need quality training and professional development, the industry continually strives to elevate its’ image, recruitment of qualified individuals is an ongoing project. and consumers want quality work by certified professionals.   With rapid changes in technology, education delivery systems, hours available for training, and a skilled labor shortage, the obvious solution is training, education, networking, and partnerships. Education and training need to become the focal point of our industry. No challenge is impossible to satisfy. The secret is for every se...

  Throughout the HVACR industry, employers continue to struggle to fill open positions with qualified individuals. It is time for us to try a new approach, it’s time for us to talk about COVID. When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, many Americans quickly found themselves ordered to work from home or went from full-time employment to unemployed overnight. During the same time, a small portion of our workforce, which includes HVACR service personnel, were declared essential, and told to maintain their normal work schedule. To provide some context, the Bureau of Labor Statics tracks seven hundred occupations, of which only seventeen were declared essential. This places the HVACR workforce in an elite group of imperative jobs, that must always continue. When discussing the HVACR industry with potential recruits, it is imperative to include the following in any discussion. HVACR Personnel Service and Maintain: Equipment that stores, transports, and protects the nutritional reso...

There are many challenges in making the transition from the field into the classroom. To help instructors understand best practices for the laboratory and classroom, j oin Earl Delatte, CMHE, Patrick Murphy, Lem Palmer, CSME, and Tom Tebbe, CMHE, of ESCO Group for this free class. During the 38 minute course, they discuss classroom and lab best practices based on their years of experience teaching in the HVACR Industry.   To access this free course, create your free account on the HVACR Learning Network. Upon completion of this 25 minute course, a continuing education unit (CEU) certificate is available. https://hvacr.elearn.network/courses/classroom-and-lab-best-practices

Throughout the HVACR industry, employers are struggling to fill open positions with qualified individuals. This video discusses how to better recruit an under-represented demographic in the HVACR industry. Women represent almost 51% of the United States population, yet only represent only 1.5% of the HVACR industry. To solve the workforce shortage, recruitment initiatives must include a program that explains the opportunities for women in the HVACR industry. Join Sarah Hammond, Erica Lenour, and Angie Snow to learn more about ideas for recruiting women into the HVACR industry.

Students work hard to complete assignments on time. What students expect in return is your timely honest expert feedback and an appropriate grade. Students expect a rapid turnaround on their submissions. Returning projects quickly also helps the learning process. By getting feedback early, your students can utilize your constructive criticism more effectively. Notice the term “constructive criticism”. It is your responsibility as a teacher to build up, not break down. There are teachers who never return projects to their students. They might be very knowledgeable, but the impression is that they don’t care. This could be very far from the truth, but perception is reality. If you give your students reason to think you don’t care, that will become their reality. Only you know how busy you really are, so you should only assign projects that you can reasonable expect to return within one week. I always strived to return work within 2 class meetings. Always let your students know when t...