Improving Student Outcomes

One of the goals of any HVACR instructor is to properly prepare students to obtain challenging and rewarding positions within our ever-changing industry. To meet this goal, instructors must provide their students with the technical knowledge and skills that the industry requires of its workers. 

All instructors aspire to effectively prepare their students for success in the HVACR industry. However, data indicates that there is significant room for improvement. Data from multiple equipment manufacturers, for example, indicates that bench tested items returned to them had no fault found in 82.1% of residential components, 67.9% of light commercial components, 28.6% of industrial components and 10.7% of chiller components.

Looking at this data, we can see that false warranty claims go down as the level of training required increases. A similar comparison can show that, as training is increased, warranty claims and callbacks are reduced, while system efficiency improves. 

Properly preparing our students requires teaching the skills and competencies that a student will be required to perform on the job. Although programs try to teach these skills and competencies, instructors do not know if their students are truly prepared to enter, or remain in, the workforce without properly assessing their students’ mastery of the required skills. Without such assessments, teachers simply have no way of knowing what their students don’t know! 

One challenge that is faced, especially by new instructors, is that not enough time is spent teaching the basics, which collectively form the solid foundation on which all future learning, both in the classroom and in the field, is based. A student’s retained depth of knowledge will help determine how far they will advance in the HVACR industry. There is a large knowledge gap between a parts changer and a master technician. 

There is also a strong correlation between the knowledge base of the instructors and their students. While specific questions differ on student-level, technician-level and instructor-level examinations, the competency areas covered on all three are the same. In comparing test results of instructors and their students, for example, the subject area questions that are missed are, for the most part, similar for both teacher and student. This clearly indicates that instructor strengths translate into student strengths, and instructor weaknesses translate into student weaknesses. 

The amount of class time dedicated to a specific topic also affects student performance on national examinations. While technologies change and new products reach the market, schools encourage instructors to incorporate these new concepts into the training they offer. This poses a daunting challenge, especially when many educational systems and programs are cutting program hours. The result of covering more and more material in less and less time becomes evident once student examination performance is gauged. 

The goal of sharing this information is to help HVACR instructors become more effective. In the coming weeks, we will share further articles, each dedicated to Improving Student Outcomes in its own way. 

For more information on how HVAC Excellence can help you become a more effective instructor, visit https://www.escogroup.org/hvac/.