An Incomplete Guide For Trainers
For those who are new to training, this may be a good first book, but if you already have some experience you'll be disappointed.
by Warren E Wyrostek
7/17/2001 --
One business that has grown exponentially over the last 10 years is the certification business. It seems that everyone is seeking some sort of certification. Despite the debate that continues to rage over the value of certification, most employers are seeking people who are certified in their specific field. This is particularly true in the ever changing IT world. Certification is important because it is a concrete method of validating a level of knowledge and skill in a given field. This trend has carried over to those who are Technical Trainers. Being knowledgeable in a given field does not make a person a good trainer. In the IT world Technical Trainers are among the masses seeking to be certified, validating their knowledge and skill in front of a classroom. One highly sought after certification for trainers is the CTT, Certified Technical Trainer.
Terrance Keys and Andrew Zeff have written How To Be A Successful Trainer (subtitled Core Skills for Instructor Certification) for these trainers. This book is designedround the 14 Instructor Competencies required by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (ibstpi), which have been adopted by the Chauncey Group, Intl as the basis for the CTT. The CTT is administered in two parts. The first is a written exam. The second is a videotaped performance assessment, presented in a 20-minute time-frame of an actual classroom presentation.
There are 15 chapters in this text. Each chapter focuses on an individual ibstpi competency with the last chapter examining the CTT certification and several other IT Trainer Certifications. The book does a fair job of logically fleshing out the nuances that lie beneath each competency with descriptions and examples. Keys and Zeff have designed this book to revitalize existing training programs, prepare those who want to pursue the CTT and become technical trainers and finally serve as an ongoing reference guide for technical trainers who are in the field. It is a satisfactory study guide for the theoretical points tested on the CTT written examination. It will not revitalize existing training programs.
Some of the highlights of How To Be A Successful Trainer are:
1. The description offered for "The Course Introduction" in chapter 4 is right on the money in describing the importance of the first 15 minutes of any classroom experience.
2. The description of the Bloom Learning Levels in Chapter 7 is a good concise overview of how students learn.
3. Chapter 13 includes a generic course evaluation form that is a good foundation for preparing an evaluation that can be incorporated into most learning environments.
Having been a Successful Technical Trainer for some time, having a graduate degree in Education and having taught on both the Secondary and College levels, I came away from reading this text wanting more. Though the book presents information that may help prospective trainers through the CTT written exam, I did not find it helpful for those preparing for the videotaped presentation. It is too didactic in presentation. It does not have exercises for the reader to practice as s/he prepares for the presentation. One does not learn to teach by reading a book. One learns to teach by practicing in front of live bodies and preparing for that experience. Each chapter of the book ends with a set of multiple-choice questions. There are no practical exercises. For example, if I want to train someone to learn how to use close and open questioning techniques, I would compose a scenario and have the reader write 5 closed questions and 5 open-ended questions that would work within the scenario. In an appendix, offer suggestions on possible questions that would work. The reader can only read this book. There are no practical exercises. As opposed to being called a "How To" book, it would be better titled a "Study Guide."
One other shortfall in this book is the lack of coverage given to trainer certifications other than the CTT. The back cover of How To Be A Successful Trainer states that the Novell CNI, Microsoft’s MCT, the Lotus CLI etc. are covered in this book. These other powerful trainer certifications are barely given 2 and half pages in chapter 15. I realize that the CTT is a cross-vendor certification but the CNI, MCT, CLI, CCI, CCSI and ACE are all viable, marketable trainer options in this marketplace. They should not be glanced over in a book designed to help the reader become a successful trainer.
Overall, I found this text by Keys and Zeff a major disappointment. For folks who have never been a trainer, and have no idea what is involved, it might be considered a first book. Some may find it helpful preparing for the CTT written exam. I was looking forward to reading it and recommending it to my students and friends who want to enter the field of Technical Training. I cannot recommend it to them. It does not live up to its title: How To Be A Successful Trainer. It offers little to no insight into some of the major Trainer certifications and provides negligible practical, hands-on help. Reading over the written exam objectives is just as helpful as reading over this 400 page text. 
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Warren E. Wyrostek, M.Ed., MCNI, MCSE+Internet, MCT, CIW CI is devoted to technology education as reflected by his list of certifications including MCNI, MCNE, MCIWA, A+, Network +, i-Net+ and CCNP. Warrens main joy comes as a contract trainer in Prosoft, Microsoft, Novell and CompTIA technologies. At heart, he is a teacher who loves what education offers. You can reach Warren at
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