Exam fever has taken over our association. Flush from successes in the Basic some of us decided to join the County study group for Module One (Honeybee Management). Another group decided to move on to Module Two (Honeybee Products and Forage) supported by each other in our own study group.
Why study? I asked people from the study groups what their motivation was for taking the exams. Answers ranged from wanting to plug knowledge gaps, a desire to learn enough to be competent and confident bee keepers to ensure the best for the bees and an eye on the prize of becoming master beekeepers. Some of the reasons for doing Module Two included improving their own honey and other product production as well as assisting with preparation and running of honey shows and the encouragement and support of exhibitors.
The County study group met fortnightly over Zoom, led ably by Dave Bonner. People felt part of the group and supported both by peers and experts. The approach was to be given guidance on a topic and set assignments to be completed individually. These were then reviewed as a group and feedback provided. The whole syllabus was covered in detail as well as exam techniques.
The ‘homegrown’ study group met weekly for a study and social catch up. The approach here was to look at past papers (and answers!) and discuss and share reliable sources for research. Everyone contributed to the resources and also to talking through the papers so that we could feel confident in a well rounded approach. The final countdown of study was to review the syllabus to ensure that all areas had been covered and to work out what each individual wanted to revise some more.
With both groups, the collective support seems to have been the positive influence to provide motivation and confidence to proceed. It must have worked as more modules are already being planned!
If you are interested in taking a module please speak with Jitesh who is our education secretary or email him on jiteshkcpatel@googlemail.com
