AWWA ACE60018

Activity-based learning is a great methodology to use for operator training. It works well, it's fun, and many operators are starting to use it constructively. These tools are effective for both initial certification training and continuing education. The Montana Water Center has been fortunate to have the funding to develop interactive training tools for water operators over the last 6 to 7 years. These programs have been used in workshop environments and at-home, in remote tribal system locations and in small systems throughout the nation. Over 30,000 products have been distributed and hundreds of training tools are downloaded every month. Activity-based learning simulates an environment that operators understand. They are presented with materials aimed at the appropriate certification level or level of expertise. Interactions such as questions, illustrations, case-studies and simulations are designed to coach and provide intrinsic feedback. These relate directly to tasks an operator performs every day. This focus on appropriate content material minimizes wasted time and energy for the operator. It helps them build confidence in job performance when they can see the correlation between what they really do and what they are being taught. For trainers and training producers, this amounts to respecting the audience and establishing reasonable and worthwhile goals for learning outcomes. As an example, this paper examines the basic structure of the Montana Water Center's flagship training tool in production now and due for release in early 2005. Includes figures.