CMM Operator Training

I tried something similar, with the tests. Problem was, our training system was set up to where a score of less than 80% was a failure nd required corrective actions and such. You either passed an assessment or there was an issue with the training that had to be addressed. We started writing multiple choice questions with obvious answers i.e.:

What are the key parts of an alignment:
A) Level, rotate, and origin
B) Wash, rinse, repeat
C) Only management is allowed to alignment
D) All the above

Best part was, management couldn't figure out how people never knew anything but passed training tests with 100%.

LOL!
thought about going to a test based system but I think I would really want the tests to be more like practice than an actual test.

I never liked tests. It always made people nervous. I would give my trainees a simple Go/NoGo gage and have them measure it or write a program to measure it. Then I would start giving them simple parts. It made them think, it allowed me to see how they wrote code, and created a more fluid way of learning. Now, everyone I trained had experience checking parts to a print without a CMM. So once I explained features, it turned into more or less knowing what needed to be done and just showing how to do it with the software. I also use non technical terms at first and work in the technical as we progress i.e.: In the beginning, how are you looking at the part, from which direction, when you are measuring that? Later on, what workplane are you in when you are dimensioning those features?

Sounds like a great approach. Especially the part about "...once I explained features, it turned into more or less knowing what needed to be done and just showing how to do it with the software". It is easy for someone getting started to worry too much about the process more than the goals and objectives. I always hated that part of learning many things in school. The teachers would drill and drill on how to do something long before they explained why you would do it in the first place.

Once you have a general idea of what you want to accomplish and the steps you would take to get there, then you can worry about the best way to go about it. Plus in this day and age, you can look up a lot of technical stuff on your own. Maybe even on a online forum!