Comments on: Editorial: Alex Brown’s PMP Prep Advice http://www.alexsbrown.com/asb-pmp-prep-advice.html The online home of Alex Brown, project management expert Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:29:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Alex Brown http://www.alexsbrown.com/asb-pmp-prep-advice.html/comment-page-1#comment-3166 Alex Brown Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:08:25 +0000 http://www.alexsbrown.com/asb-pmp-prep-advice.html#comment-3166 I have another great PMP prep course provider to mention: AME Group (<a href="http://www.amegroupinc.com/" rel="nofollow">www.amegroupinc.com</a>). Aileen Ellis is a creative and compelling trainer. Her group offers in-person training, some books, and some on-line question banks. She also offers PgMP and CAPM preparation classes. She is honest and straightforward, and someone I can recommend without hesitation. Her courses and books are reasonably priced and provide good value, in my opinion. (Full disclosure: Aileen is also a good friend.) I have another great PMP prep course provider to mention: AME Group (http://www.amegroupinc.com). Aileen Ellis is a creative and compelling trainer. Her group offers in-person training, some books, and some on-line question banks. She also offers PgMP and CAPM preparation classes. She is honest and straightforward, and someone I can recommend without hesitation. Her courses and books are reasonably priced and provide good value, in my opinion. (Full disclosure: Aileen is also a good friend.)

]]> By: Brent Richarson http://www.alexsbrown.com/asb-pmp-prep-advice.html/comment-page-1#comment-3128 Brent Richarson Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:35:45 +0000 http://www.alexsbrown.com/asb-pmp-prep-advice.html#comment-3128 As a part of picking a study style, it is very helpful to know your most natural learning style. One approach to learning styles breaks it down into 3 groups: passive receptive (learn by listening to a lecture or reading a book), kinesthetic (must be involved, moving, touching and fooling around with the item that you are learning about) and auditory (think out loud types. They need to discuss the topic with the instructor, and repeat back what they just heard, or take a book and teach it to someone in order to actually grasp it for themselves.) Being largely an auditory learner, I consciously sought out the instructor (or other students) when in the classroom and talked over various concepts. Since I don't really learn until I teach, I also taught to the wall, so to speak by lecturing to an imaginary audience until I grasped a concept. Because I have a strong kinesthetic side as well, I do lots of typing during lectures. I also develop learning tools, like hand written flash cards or Photoshopped pictures. I learn more as I make the tool than when I use the tool later. If someone is primarily a passive receptive learner, then a lecture or a recording or a self study program probably works well for them. But alas, according to the experts, only about 1/4 of us are passive receptive learners. That means that in a world were most education and training is designed for passive receptivity (large lecture halls are the most economical way to disseminate information), then most of us need to find ways to compensate. As a part of picking a study style, it is very helpful to know your most natural learning style. One approach to learning styles breaks it down into 3 groups: passive receptive (learn by listening to a lecture or reading a book), kinesthetic (must be involved, moving, touching and fooling around with the item that you are learning about) and auditory (think out loud types. They need to discuss the topic with the instructor, and repeat back what they just heard, or take a book and teach it to someone in order to actually grasp it for themselves.)

Being largely an auditory learner, I consciously sought out the instructor (or other students) when in the classroom and talked over various concepts. Since I don’t really learn until I teach, I also taught to the wall, so to speak by lecturing to an imaginary audience until I grasped a concept.

Because I have a strong kinesthetic side as well, I do lots of typing during lectures. I also develop learning tools, like hand written flash cards or Photoshopped pictures. I learn more as I make the tool than when I use the tool later.

If someone is primarily a passive receptive learner, then a lecture or a recording or a self study program probably works well for them. But alas, according to the experts, only about 1/4 of us are passive receptive learners. That means that in a world were most education and training is designed for passive receptivity (large lecture halls are the most economical way to disseminate information), then most of us need to find ways to compensate.

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