TL;DR

In our previous post, we explained that to become a passionate software tester, we should become a mentor. The best mentoring is to be part of the course teaching process. This post will elaborate on how to become a BBST Instructor and what are hidden benefits of being a BBST Instructor.

How To Become AST BBST Instructor

To become an AST BBST instructor, you first need to successfully complete the BBST Foundation course. After that, you must pass the AST Instructor course. It is not hard as BBST Foundations, because you will get skills on how to transfer your knowledge to students.

After that, you are ready to become a BBST foundations co-instructor. You will get access to the BBST Instructor manual book about the BBST course philosophy and how to teach all BBST software testing courses to students. To be honest, that book was a mind opener for me. It consists of state of the art proven and advanced teaching techniques. Those techniques could be applied to teaching other areas, not just software testing. Just reading it will make you a better tester.

As BBST Instructor, you will get access to private AST site, Foundations Fieldstones. It is a wiki site with fieldstones that are used in previous BBST foundation classes.

Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point, it began to be used as a construction material.

And what fieldstone has to do with software testing? Jerry Weinberg explained it in his book, Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method:

Drawing an analogy to the stone-by-stone method of building fieldstone walls, Weinberg shows writers how to construct fiction and nonfiction manuscripts from key insights, stories, and quotes. The elements, or stones, are collected nonsequentially, over time, and eventually, find logical places in larger pieces.

What Is Here For Me?

First, AST Instructor Honorarium: We want to reward those instructors who dedicate their time to teach others. We call this reward an Honorarium, and it includes the following:

For 1 class taught in a year:

• Free membership renewal for 1 year
• Additional AST-BBST courses for free
• 25% off any Conference Package (CAST or TiCCA) for this calendar year or next

For 2+ classes taught in a year:

• All the above
• 100% off any Conference Package (CAST or TiCCA) for this calendar year or next
• When an AST-BBST instructor has taught 8 times in total, (s)he will receive a lifetime membership.

The second will be visible after you finish BBST foundations. By beeing a co-instructor, you will deepen your BBST Foundation knowledge by understanding the Instructor manual and interacting with other students. Every experience becomes more in-depth when you can explain the concept to students. Also, students would ask follow up questions in the most unpredictable ways, challenging your BBST Foundation understanding by answering those questions.

As I am currently co-instructor for BBST Foundations, in following blogs, I will explain the actual teaching process.