Comments on: Editorial: Alex Brown’s PMP Prep Advice

By: Krish

Krish — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:40:02 +0000

I agree with you regarding Rita’s course material. She had contributed a lot in this field but I personally did not like her book. I used Kim Heldman which was easier to understand. I used a combination of self study and prep course (PMTI). There are also excellent free practice questions in the Head First website.

By: Alex Brown

Alex Brown — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:51:14 +0000

Yes, I did know that Rita passed away. It is a sad time. I have disagreed with her teaching methods at times, but I always respected her as an important contributor to the field.

I hope no one takes my comments about RMC Project as disrespectful of Rita herself. She is, was, and always will be an important person in the field.

I know her husband continues to be active in RMC Project, and I wish him the best in all his work. Rita leaves large shoes to fill in the field and in the company. I do not think anyone else will ever truly fill them.

By: Sally

Sally — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:17:26 +0000

Did you know Rita Mulachy passed away earlier this year?

By: Alex Brown

Alex Brown — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:08:25 +0000

I have another great PMP prep course provider to mention: AME Group (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

Brent Richarson — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:35:45 +0000

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.