SPAN Certification Exam Prep Instructor: Getting Out of Your Own Way is the Key to Passing the BCSP Exams
Kelley Edmier, CSP, CIT, CHST, STSC, and SPAN product manager, already had 30 years of construction safety experience when she was about to sit for her Associate Safety Professional (ASP) exam, followed by her Certified Safety Professional (CSP) exam shortly thereafter.
“I was 100% convinced I would not pass,” she says. “I was terrified of the math.”
She was not alone. Many have anxiety when it comes down to sitting for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) certification exams. Roughly 76% of test takers passed the ASP exam, and around 78% passed the CSP exam, according to the BCSP 2021 annual report, the last report available publicly.
Edmier added that she suffered from “imposter syndrome,” a condition in which deeply experienced people suffer from feelings of self-doubt of intellect or skills.
Not only did she pass her exams, she now teaches the material.
ClickSafety offers a choice of study methods. As follows:
- A self-paced online prep course with practice questions and/or a workbook,
- A 3-day workshop (in-person or virtual) taught by experienced safety professionals,
- An online course & workbook combination,
- A self-paced workbook, which reduces study time by as much as 50%.
Edmier, who is the Safety, Health, and Environmental Content Manager for ClickSafety teaches SPAN Certification Exam Prep workshops.
Getting to this point was a journey, she says, adding that she needed something to help her get over her fears of her looming exams.
“I needed to get out of my own way,” she said. “The SPAN Certification Exam Prep materials are literally what helped me do it.”
Specifically, SPAN Certification Exam Prep helped Edmier prepare fully, recognize what she needed to focus on, and even showed her the areas where she was prepared. It did not just help her learn the material, but the courses built her confidence, too.
She studied, sat for, and passed ASP, CSP, CHST, STSC, CIT in 8 weeks. All thanks to SPAN Certification Exam Prep. Here’s how she did it, how she teaches the workshops, and why she believes it’s not just about memorization.
Overcoming Perceived Barriers to Test Taking
In teaching the SPAN Certification Exam Prep workshops, Edmier focuses closely on the challenges students face when it comes to taking difficult exams. She calls these “barriers,” which is a label that fits well. These barriers are not necessarily challenges with rote memorization, or with solving math problems found on any given test certification exam, but are something deeper. Barriers, as Edmier defines them, are closer to a mental or emotional hurdle.
“Most of those barriers are just perceived, they’re not real,” she says.
Put another way: the SPAN Certification Exam Prep materials are designed to teach students how to take the test. The materials offer test-taking strategies and incorporate practice of these strategies throughout. Edmier sees this as important skill building, rather than just simply providing answers to practice questions.
This is how students “get out of their own way” so they can pass the test, she says.
“We do break it down in a way that not only do we talk about the actual components of the test, but we break it out by domain, and we pepper in a little training as well,” she says.
Learning From the Best Yields the Best Results
The best part about the SPAN Certification Exam Prep workshop is that students can learn directly from the experts.
ClickSafety offers live workshops both virtual and in-person in cities around the US where students learn from experienced instructors and safety professionals. The workshops last 1-3-days with integrated math skills and include a calculator, workbook and online course, as well as access to professional facilitators such as Edmier, other exam mentors as well as tutoring.
In Edmier’s case, she was once a student herself, so she knows exactly what her students are going through and how to evaluate them from minute one.
“What we focus on is helping people identify what knowledge students bring with them when they arrive to the prep courses,” she says. 
This helps with confidence, but it also helps students understand what they need to know just like Edmier did when she sat for the exams.
Bridging that knowledge gap is where the coursework comes in.
“We have students perform that gap analysis, so they know how to focus and streamline their energies specifically toward what they need to target,” she says.
Again, Edmier knows because she was once assessing her own knowledge gap. This is why she’s so passionate about helping students get to where they need to be to pass certification exams and achieve what they want in their safety careers.
“I love teaching, I always have,” she says.
Temporary Study, Lifelong Connections
Edmier is a collaborative instructor. She insists SPAN Certification Exam Prep is not just about acquisition of new knowledge.
“Along the way I’ve noticed students develop a group cohesiveness,” she says. “That feeling of, ‘We’re all in this together.’”
Edmier has worked to ensure that her workshops, particularly the virtual ones, capture that classroom camaraderie. The coursework is thorough, but students leave confident in their study plan, current knowledge, and ability to successfully sit for the exam and pass.
“My approach is collaborative, working toward group cohesion, having some fun and making sure we cover everything that needs to be covered,” she says.
As for her teaching style, she understands the intensity that comes with preparing for exams, so she takes a balanced, measured, even relaxed approach to teaching.
She not only thoroughly understands what it takes to pass the BCSP exams, she understands people.
“Safety training is what I have done my entire life,” she says. “Training people, educating them, trying to find ways to communicate with them not just to keep themselves and those around them safe is my lifelong mission.”
Learn more about the SPAN Certification Exam Prep approach to learning, study options and more. >>
