Technical and Skill Training— Develop a Program for Your Firefighters

Technical and Skill Training— Develop a Program for Your Firefighters

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TRAINING

All fire department training for the administrative officer, line officer, firefighter, or supporting staff involves the transfer of information and technology. Technical and skill training, which is a specified area, attempts to provide more than just the transfer of information and technology. When correctly designed and developed, technical and skill training prepares the officer or firefighter to use his newly acquired skills, knowledge, and attitudes on the job.

This description sounds simple, but technical and skill training is a painstaking process that requires basic research, observation, interviews, and a systematic process to develop effective programs and instructional materials. Fire service trainers who follow this systematic method will be able to focus their attention on the performances of the trainees and help teach them to do their job more efficiently.

There are four major processes that fire service trainers should follow. They must:

  1. Determine if training will solve the problem;
  2. Determine the skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes that need to be learned;
  3. Design and develop appropriate training programs and/or instructional materials for efficient transfer of information or technology;
  4. Evaluate and revise training programs and instructional materials that are already in use. This will maximize firefighter competence and on-the-job performance.

More specifically, fire service trainers are not in the training business to make a profit. Their job is to design ways to improve officer and firefighter skills. To accomplish this, fire service trainers must learn to engineer human performance.

Professional trainers, outside the fire service, prefer to follow an algorithm (see Figure 1 below) during the development of their training programs and instructional materials. This algorithm provides a systematic process for the design and development of training programs and instructional materials. Fire service trainers, however, must be flexible and seek ways to modify this algorithm to meet departmental timelines, budgets, and the complexity of the programs and materials being developed.

FOUR MAJOR PROCESSES

Needs analysis

The first process that fire service trainers must execute is a needs analysis. This is used to determine departmental, fireground procedures, and/or firefighter needs. A firefighter needs analysis is utilized to identify a performance discrepancy. A discrepancy identifies the difference between “what is” and “what should be.”

In addition, it is important to determine if the identified discrepancy represents a deficiency. A deficiency represents a skill that has been lost due to the lack of practice or a skill that never was developed, but is currently needed.

Instructional Development Algorithm Figure 1

The purpose of analyzing work behaviors is to determine instructional content for departmental education, development, or training programs and instructional materials. Once the deficiency is deemed important, specific work behaviors are analyzed to determine instructional content.

If the deficiency represents a skill, knowledge, or attitude “that has been lost,” the instructional content will be utilized in a departmental skill maintenance (inservice) program. The in-service program allows a firefighter an opportunity to practice a critical skill that is infrequently used, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Should the deficiency be the result of a skill, knowledge, or attitude “that was never developed,” the instructional content will be utilized in a formal departmental training program to develop that new skill, knowledge, or attitude. This includes training firefighters to use an infrared heat detector to identify hidden fires during the overhaul of a building.

More importantly, a needs analysis will tell a fire service trainer whether training will solve the identified problem. If training will not solve the problem, identify alternative strategies that could resolve the difficulty. Should training be the answer, identify the job performances (tasks) that need to be analyzed, select appropriate analysis strategies, and begin thinking about designs that will reduce training time and costs without adversely affecting the results of the training program or instructional materials.

Task analysis

Task inventory

A task inventory is a listing of duties and their respective tasks that describe the job performances to be analyzed for a given job assignment. The size of the department will determine if a task inventory exists.

Should a task inventory not be available, contact a local vocational school, a regional instructional materials laboratory, a national curriculum network, a union, or a professional organization for assistance.

Duty statements

A duty statement describes a major subdivision (general job performances/work behaviors) of a job assignment. The identification of a duty statement is accomplished by asking “What major units of work are to be performed by a firefighter with this assignment?”

After all general work behaviors have been identified, review this list with another firefighter (subject matter expert) to determine accuracy. After the general job performances are confirmed, compose a duty statement for each general work behavior. Duty statements begin with a verbal noun followed by the object that receives the action. Verbal nouns of gerunds are verbs that end in “ing,” such as “forcing entry.”

Task statements

After all general work behaviors have been identified and a duty statement composed for each work behavior, identify the tasks (specific job performances/job behaviors) that fall under each duty. This is accomplished by asking the question “What job activities are performed by a firefighter under this duty statement?” After the specific job performances have been identified for each duty area, review them with a subject matter expert.

With the specific job performance confirmed, compose a task statement for each specific job behavior. A task statement begins with a present tense action verb followed by the object that receives the action, such as “cut bolt.”

In a follow-up interview with a subject matter expert, ask the question “Is this activity performed for its own sake?” Then ask “Does this activity result in a meaningful service?” Should either of these questions receive a “No” response, modify the task statement until an affirmative response is received. The next question that needs to be asked is “Is this task observable?” If a “No” is received, edit the statement until an affirmative response is offered.

Technical and skill training is a painstaking process that requires basic research, observation, interviews, and a systematic process.

Training emphasis

Thus far, an important deficiency has been identified and a verified task inventory has been developed through the use of subject matter experts. This step will utilize the verified task list to determine the training emphasis to be placed on each task. A training emphasis identifies:

  • Those tasks on which firefighters will be overtrained,
  • Those tasks for which indepth training will be offered,
  • Those tasks to which firefighters will be introduced,
  • Those tasks that will not be included in a training program.

The training emphasis scale (see Figure 2 on page 26) typically utilizes district chiefs and line officers (supervisors) instead of firefighters. The supervisors are asked questions regarding importance, difficulty, and frequency of performance. The results of the three questions identify the training emphasis to be placed on each task statement. This process is easy to visualize and use. Figure 2 represents the scale used to determine the degree of emphasis placed on each task in a training program.

To utilize the scale in Figure 2 during an interview, show it to the supervisor and ask the question “Which level of difficulty depicts the performance of this task?” The next question is “Is this task important?” The last question is “How frequently is this task performed in respect to the total job?” The response to the last question will indicate the amount of emphasis the task will receive in the training program.

For example, one task performed by a firefighter is administering CPR. The response to the first question regarding difficulty might be “Very.” When the supervisor is asked “Is this task important?” his response might be “Yes.” The last question asked is “How frequently is this task performed?” The supervisor might answer “Seldom.”

Training Emphasis Scale for Firefighters Figure 2

The training emphasis placed on CPR during training is therefore “overtrain.” This means that if the firefighters were just “trained” on this procedure, their performance could decay to the point where they were no longer proficient. But, if they were “overtrained,” their decay of performance would not be as great for the same period of time.

In the previous paragraphs, the analysis process has identified and verified a new important deficiency, verified our task inventory, and determined the emphasis that each task will receive in our training program. The next step is to analyze the specific job performances that compose each task that will be covered during the training program. The analysis of specific job performances utilizes five different analysis strategies to determine instructional content.

The purpose of any analysis strategy is to divide the whole object, action, process, or decision into smaller parts. By dividing the whole into its respective parts, order is determined. The structure of the identified parts reveals how the object, action, process, or L is organized. The orga nization identified through analysis will then describe the whole.

An underlying principle of any analysis strategy, used to deter mine instructional content, is to identify, relate, separate, and limit the specific work behaviors to th task under investigation. Figure 3 (below) represents an analysis strategy selection scale used to select an appropriate analysis strategy for the task under investigation.

Object analysis

Object analysis is used to describ tne relationship between parts, subsections, or subassemblies and the entire object. This strategy is very useful when a tool, pump panel, radio control head, diagram, or picture needs to be explained to a firefighter.

For purposes of instructional analysis, an object is defined as any twoor three-dimensional graphic or any three-dimensional physical thing that can be seen, felt, and/or disassembled mentally or physically.

Action analysis

Action (procedure) analysis is a strategy used to identify and record simple motions or operations a firefighter makes when interacting with a piece of equipment or a machine.

This analysis strategy is used when the firefighter does not have to wait for a response from the equipment or machine and with specific tasks that require minimal decisions to be made, such as the reassembly of a breathing regulator. Action analysis is extremely useful for assembly type job performance.

Task analysis

Task analysis is a strategy used to identify and record the steps of procedure of a basic task; basic decisions made during or before the execution of each step; the cues used to make each decision; important safety and hazard information; the tools, equipment, supplies, and personnel used to accomplish the task; and critical knowledge used during task execution, such as “raise an extension ladder on its beam.”

Figure 3 Analysis Selection Scale for FirefightingFigure 4 Selecting Training Aids

Process/troubleshooting analysis

Process/troubleshooting analysis is a strategy that identifies the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and decisions used to make decisions, monitor processes, or troubleshoot complex, abstract tasks that involve firefighter-machine or firefighter-system interactions.

A process/troubleshooting analysis is very similar to a task analysis, but it expands the decision and cue sections of a task description worksheet to include error patterns or decision-making logic, such as “identify hazardous building conditions.”

Subject-matter analysis

A subject-matter (content) analysis is a strategy used to analyze abstract skills that typically takes place between firefighters or firefighter-idea interactions. Subjectmatter analysis involves the analysis of the work environment through analysis strategies previously discussed and an analysis of books, manuals, and documents. A subject-matter analysis is very difficult and time consuming.

After each analysis strategy is completed, synthesize the data. When the work behavior analysis and the analysis of the literature are completed, the data is synthesized into one set of data, such as “high-rise fireground procedures.”

The analysis of job performances is one of the most powerful processes available to fire service trainers for determining instructional content of observable tasks. To execute each of these analysis strategies, fire service trainers will utilize interview skills and observation skills. Interview skills are typically used to identify content, whereas observation skills are used to validate the information and technology identified.

Selecting instructional media

Thus far, tasks to be included within the training program were identified through a training emphasis and analyzed to determine instructional content. The next problem faced by the fire service trainer is “What type of delivery system should be used?”

Fire service trainers must remember that most technical and skill training involves the application of skills in addition to the use of technical information. Therefore, no amount of lecture-discussion instruction will teach firefighters “how to” apply the information and master the skills to be performed. Figure 4 (above) helps fire service trainers to select the most appropriate delivery strategy.

By answering the applicable questions for the type of skill, knowledge, or attitude to be developed, the trainer can identify the most appropriate strategy. The next step in the development process is to tie each of the selected strategies into an easy-to-use unit of instruction. Some instructional units will require a minimum amount of lecture-discussion to introduce the topic and tie each of the individual strategies together.

Remember that people, in general, appreciate a variety of stimuli. You should therefore use different strategies to stimulate the eyes, ears, and other body senses. This helps to create an exciting atmosphere for learning the new skills, knowledge, and attitudes.

After the instructional units are developed, the trainer must establish evaluation instruments to measure and/or record firefighter performance. The fire service trainer must again remember that technical and skill training emphasizes firefighter performance. Therefore, the traditional paperpencil test is not appropriate.

Instead, the trainer must return to the information obtained during the analysis of the tasks and determine key steps, behaviors, or performances that must be demonstrated. Assemble the key performances and behaviors into an observable and measurable checklist that an evaluator can use in assessing firefighter performance.

The checklist provides the evaluator with two options for each performance or behavior: “Yes” or “No.” If the firefighter executes the necessary performance or behavior, “Yes” is checked for that step. Should a firefighter not execute the desired performance or behavior, a “No” is checked.

Evaluation

Immediately following the performance evaluation, the evaluator and firefighter discuss the results. The evaluator will identify areas where the firefighter must improve, alternative ways of reaching the desired results, and when the retest will be scheduled. This completes the cycle for engineering human performance.

In order to make future fire service training programs more effective and potentially efficient, you should also critique the training program itself. Identify areas of weakness, what needs to be modified, added, or even deleted to improve the quality of training.

Most technical and skill training involves the application of skills in addition to the use of technical information. No amount of lecturediscussion instruction will teach the firefighter “how to” apply the information.

During the evaluation of the training program, the fire service trainer must remember that nothing destroys a fire service training program faster than inaccurate information, unfair paper-pencil evaluations, or a performance review being more rigorous than acceptable job performance.

Therefore, district and company supervisors must be informed of the minimum acceptable standards of the training program and encouraged to use equivalent standards in their critiques of different emergency scenes.

The evaluation/revision process should not only be used to improve the quality of the fire service training program, but to improve the quality of fire service instructors and firefighter performance. The process should also inform district and administrative officers of the benefit (return) to the department. District and line officers should also be encouraged to identify ways in which the fire service training program has made their operation more efficient.

SUMMARY

The design and development of technical and skill training programs is one of the most powerful processes available to fire service trainers for improving firefighter performance. The procedures will not weaken with time, but will become more sophisticated to address new firefighting information and technologies of the future.

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