Best Practices for Training Providers
Best practices for training providers accredited EPA to deliver Lead-based Paint Activities Program and Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program certification courses.
This page provides general information and best practices for EPA-accredited training providers and instructors under EPA’s Lead-Based Paint Activities and RRP programs (also referred to as EPA's lead program).
Whether you are a new training provider or have been teaching courses for any of the disciplines under EPA’s lead program (renovator, dust sampling technician, inspector, supervisor, risk assessor, project designer, or abatement worker) for years, we recommend these best practices to increase student engagement, improve knowledge retention and streamline your training(s):
Your job as a lead-based paint course instructor and/or training provider is an important one. You are training workers to work on pre-1978 homes and child care facilities to minimize the risks to their health and the health of building occupants. When workers use safe work practices, they are protecting themselves, other workers and their clients from the dangers of lead exposure. A trained, knowledgeable and certified worker can help prevent young children from experiencing the impacts of lead exposure.
Every training and every group of students is unique, so we recommend you tailor each course to fit your audience. While it is appropriate to customize a course by highlighting the information and exercises that best meet your student’s needs, it is equally important that all required information, including state and local requirements, is covered. In addition, HUD-related material must be covered in the renovator and lead dust sampling technician courses even if the students are not currently working in federally-assisted target housing. Make sure to frequently review and update your training materials to ensure they are consistent with the latest requirements. Read the Planning Your Training section below for a more detail discussion of how to customize your course.
Getting Started
Before developing and offering training, every instructor should become familiar with the information in the course by reading through all course materials, such as the instructor’s manual and presentation slides (available in PowerPoint). As you read through the materials, note your questions and/or if there are any sections or topics you may want assistance with presenting from a more experienced instructor, medical professional, etc.
EPA expects that you have experience conducting trainings and with lead-based paint issues, but does not require instructors and training providers be “lead experts.” If there are topics covered in courses you will be teaching that are too technical for you to cover at first, we recommend bringing in another instructor or outside “expert” to help you cover those topics.
As you start reviewing the course materials for any of the disciplines under EPA’s lead program (renovator, dust sampling technician, inspector, supervisor, risk assessor, project designer, or abatement worker), you should also contact the state or tribal program of where you will be offering training to obtain a copy of their training requirements. The state or locality may require that instruction for some of the sections in a course be given by a medical and/or occupational health professional or a construction expert.
If you have question and/or would like additional information, EPA recommends you use the resources and references included within the course materials, search EPA's lead frequent questions or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD. Other resources could include the local health department, state and tribal lead poisoning prevention and environmental protection programs, building code officials and/or private organizations. The following websites are also good resources:
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard and Quality Control
• U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Training Adults
There are two important factors to remember when training adults: understanding how they learn and remembering that most adults have not been in a classroom for many years. Adults, however, bring significant job and personal experience to the training. Some things to keep in mind when training adults:
- Respect their previous work and experiences. Their expertise and work experience can serve as a valuable resource to you and their fellow students during the course. And remember adult learners are expecting the information provided to be immediately useful in their jobs.
- Make the training active and practical. We learn and remember more when we are hearing, seeing, and doing something.
- Use as many hands-on activities as possible. Adults learn on the job by being shown how to do the task and then by doing it themselves with supervision. The lead program courses depend on the use of hands-on activities.
- If possible, include a field site visit to as part of the training making sure you visit the site in advance to ensure it is safe for a walkthrough. If this isn’t possible, sharing photos is helpful for students to see what you are discussing.
- Using photos is especially helpful if you won’t be able to do a site visit. Older, pre-1978 buildings can help demonstrate which surfaces need attention and how the work could be accomplished.
- Have clear overall objectives for the course and then objectives for each topic, chapter, section, or module and communicate these objectives to your students so they know what information they are expected to learn. You will find objectives in the instructor manuals of all the lead-based paint program courses.
Instructor and Student Manuals
All lead program model courses have an instructor manual, student manual and presentation slides.
Instructor Manuals
Each instructor manual includes the same chapters and modules covered in the student manual with additional information to assist the instructor. The instructor's manual also contains notes to aid instructors in providing the training and steps to follow when planning your training. There are sample course schedules, student evaluations, and hands-on skills assessments.
At the beginning of each chapter and module in the instructor manual, there is helpful information such as an overview, objectives, topics covered, key messages, materials and time needed. In addition, the instructor manual has additional notes and suggestions for instructors. In the abatement worker instructor manual, there are references at the end of each chapter and in both the renovator and dust sampling technician instructor manuals, there are references at the end of the manual. It is helpful to have a copy of these reference documents available in class for the students to see.
Student Manuals
The student manuals are designed to provide the information a student will need to perform their work safely and in compliance with the applicable EPA regulations and should be used throughout the course. This manual is for students to keep and use as a reference manual.
Planning Your Training
While the instructor manual and presentation slides for a particular course provide comprehensive approaches for teaching the material covered in each course, you still have questions to answer, decisions to make and materials to prepare. As you prepare for a training, the following six questions can be your guide to ensure you have thought through every part of the training and will be prepared to teach.
1. Who will you train?
Who will you be training? For the renovator course this includes renovators, remodelers, painters, maintenance personnel and any other workers removing or modify painted surfaces in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978. Be mindful of their work experience. Students in the lead abatement worker course could have previous asbestos abatement experience or could be someone getting training for their first job. Why are they participating in the training? They may be wanting certification to enhance their credentials as private contractors or satisfy HUD requirements for interim controls training in federally-assisted target housing.
Be aware of your student's reading and writing skills. The materials for the model courses are designed for someone with a 5th to 7th grade reading level; however, visual aids and activities can be added to aid in the learning of students with lower reading levels. Consider a student’s English speaking and listening abilities if their primary language is not English. Be aware of how fast you are speaking as well as the vocabulary or idioms and phrases that you are using.
If you know more about your students ahead of the time, you’ll be better able to prepare and tailor the course to their needs while acknowledging their expertise and previous experiences. You may want to get background information about students in advance by including questions about their work experience on your registration form.
Sometimes it is not possible to pre-register participants or to include additional questions in your registration form. In that case, you may assess your students’ reading levels and work experience at the beginning of the course by observing students as they fill out the registration form or by having students share their experiences when they introduce themselves to the group.
2. Where will the training take place?
The more trainees you have, the more space you will need. Many training providers have their own spaces for their instructors to use, while others will use hotel conference rooms, community spaces or classrooms on college campuses.
When training in your own facility, you have more control over the space and may have access to more supplies, tools and equipment than when training in a rented or borrow space. As you make decisions about the types of exercises you plan to do during the training, consider the training facility you plan to use, the space and tools available, any additional health and safety protocols, and plan accordingly. When planning a training in a rented or borrowed space or looking for a training facility you should consider the following:
- Location: Is there parking? Is it close to public transportation? Are there places to purchase lunch? Who manages the facility? Who do you call if there are problems?
- AV Equipment: Can you project your slides onto a screen in the room? How will that work? If you have problems with the facility-furbished equipment, will the facility provide AV assistance?
- Space: Does your facility have sufficient space for the hands-on activities you have planned? What is the minimum space needed for your training?
- Chairs and tables: Are there enough chairs and writing surfaces for the number of students? Set up the tables so students can see and interact with each other. If possible, arrange the tables and chairs in a U-shaped arrangement.
- Temperature: Is the room kept at a comfortable temperature? Before you begin, find out how to control the room’s temperature.
- Noise: Is the room quiet? If you can, try to keep any outside noise to a minimum and test the room beforehand to make sure you can be heard. You may need to use a microphone.
- Lighting: Does the room have enough lighting for students to take notes while viewing the presentation slides? Find out ahead of time how to control the lighting and if possible, find a space with lights that can be dimmed, or with separate perimeter lighting.
- Fire exits: In case of emergency find out the location of the fire exits for your training space and the building’s fire escape plan.
- Emergency phone numbers: What are the phone numbers in case of a fire or health emergency for the training location? Post these numbers so students are aware of who to call in case of an emergency.
The day of your training it is important to make sure your students are comfortable because when they are at ease, they can better concentrate on the information presented. In addition to the items listed above make sure to share the location of bathrooms, water for drinking, phones, refreshments (if providing coffee, tea, etc.) and places to get food for lunch, and the day’s schedule, including breaks.
3. Who will teach with you?
EPA recommends that more than one instructor teach the course. This allows you to divide up the course material ensuring that you meet the course requirement while also providing your students with a change in teaching style and expertise from more than one source. This is especially important for trainings that last more than a day.
In addition to having a co-instructor, you may consider having an outside expert cover specific sections of your course. Which sections require an outside expert will depend on your skills and expertise, the content of that section, and the requirements of your state, tribe or territory. For example, your state, tribe or territory may require a health professional to present the section on health effects and medical surveillance in the lead abatement worker course. When bringing in outside experts encourage them to tailor their presentations for your training, keeping in mind the specific topic and your group of students. Sharing the course materials for the topic can help them prepare.
For the hands-on activities, you should break the class into small groups, so everyone has a chance to practice. EPA recommends that you have no more than six students per instructor for the hands-on skills assessments for each course. With experience, an accredited training provider can reach out to their EPA contact and request a higher ratio, but under no circumstances will a student to instructor ratios in excess of ten to one be allowed.
4. What training methods will you use?
Be aware that each lead program course is designed to include a minimum number of hours of overall instruction time and minimum of hours of hands-on instruction. Throughout each instructor manual, you will find options and suggestion for how to teach the materials. We recommend you avoid using just passive teaching methods, such as lecturing and slide presentations, and instead vary the methods you use and make them as active as possible. You are provided presentation slides with scripts for each section of the courses, and while the presentations are very helpful in planning out your training, the instructor manuals also include group exercises, discussion questions and quizzes to aid in designing a training with active participation. In the end, the training methods you use are your choice.
5. What training materials and equipment will you need?
You will find a list of recommended materials and supplies in the instructor manuals for each of the lead program courses. As you read through the instructor’s manual and begin planning your course, keep a list of all the materials and supplies you will need.
In addition to the supplies and tools needed for each of the hands-on activities you plan to incorporate into your training, some other materials you will want to gather are:
- Appropriate chairs and tables/desks;
- Nametags, registration forms, student manuals, course outline, additional handouts, and extra pens and pencils;
- Blackboard, whiteboard and/or a flip chart;
- Chalk, whiteboard marker, colored markers and/or a chalk or white board eraser;
- Laptop, projector, extension cord, and presentation slides; and
- Videos and speakers.
- Before your training, make sure you have all the materials necessary to perform the activities and demonstrations you have planned.
6. How will you evaluate your training?
There are two main ways to evaluate any training. The first is by evaluating how much your students learned in the course, which allows you to know if your students learned the information and if they can put it into practice. The second method for evaluating a training is to get verbal or written feedback from your students and fellow instructors on how the training went and what did and did not work. You may even want to do an evaluation mid-training. Getting feedback can allow you to adjust the rest of the training if needed to ensure your students are learning as much as possible.
The goal of each lead program course is to train students to perform work under EPA’s Lead-based Paint Activities and RRP regulations. Course tests and skills assessments reinforce participant learning and help evaluate their understanding. EPA requires students pass a course test and skills assessment in order to receive their final course certificate.
Course completion exams must be based off the course test blueprint submitted during the training provider accreditation process or in the case of the initial and refresher renovator course you can use the course completion exam developed by EPA (available upon request to accredited training providers from the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD).
Hands-on Activities
Most of the lead program courses have a minimum required number of hours of hands-on instruction. We recommended you consider the following factors when planning for and conducting the hands-on portions of your training:
- Have the right kind of supplies available. Use the lists provided within the instructor’s manual to create a list of materials needed and ensure you bring the right sorts of supplies for the training. For example, household garbage bags are not the same as heavy-duty disposal bags.
- Have supplies in adequate quantities. Depending on how you structure each hands-on activity, you may need varying numbers of supplies. For example, if you demonstrate how to seal and gooseneck a disposal bag, you will only need one bag. However, if you have each student practice this you will need at least one bag per student. Plan ahead so you have enough supplies.
- Have an adequate number of instructors. Depending on the class size, some hands-on activities require more than one instructor to properly supervise and provide feedback. Make sure you have enough instructors available to deliver the course to the number of students attending. This is important because each student is evaluated individually. You can structure your training so the extra instructors only have to be there during the hands-on activities. We recommend that you have no more than six students per instructor for the hands-on activities. Even with a six to one ratio, instructors should expect to be kept busy during the hands-on activities.
- Carefully estimate the time you will need to conduct the hands-on activities. Each lead-based paint course contains a large amount of content that you need to cover so be mindful of class size and time constraints when planning which hands-on activities to include in your training.
- Make sure your equipment is clean and in working order before the training. Test your equipment before the training begins. You cannot conduct training with lead-contaminated equipment or dirty respirators.
- The use of actual lead-based paint for training purposes is NOT allowed. Students are in your class to learn the skills to safely work around lead-based paint. Since they are still learning they should not be placed at risk of being exposed to lead.
- The training facility must be appropriate for this course. For example, some locations prohibit the use of water inside their facility. Know what is required for this course, and whether the materials and hands-on exercises are allowed in the facility to be used. Match course requirements to the facility to be used.
- Coach participants through the hands-on activities and document their proficiency. Hands-on activities included in each of the courses list specific tasks students must perform correctly during that particular activity. It is your job as the instructor to document their achievements and progress and becomes part of a student’s official training record.
Have a Question?
If you have questions about applying for accreditation and/or maintaining your RRP training provider accreditation, please visit: