At FDIC on Tuesday, March 22, Pleasantview (IL) Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Forest Reeder lead an attentitive class on the methods and obstacles a training officer must recognize to engage students and gain the maximum impact of the information being presented on the subject at hand.
Reeder said, “The training officer’s boot camp will be an intensive solution-based program aimed at helping every instructor continually develop their skills and learn to deal with the new challenges that our profession brings to us each day. This boot camp is a workshop that will help you develop and refine your professional skills in many useful areas.”
“This is a do-it-yourself workshop with loads of practical experience in the areas of objective writing, using and developing job performance requirements, conducting training needs assessments, and adult learning principles.”
All three levels of instructor responsibility defined in NFPA 1041, Standard for Fire Service Instructor Professional Qualifications, 2007 edition, were examined in this fast-moving session, which included a take-home skill practice assignment covering more than 40 real case problems and knowledge areas. Reeder also discussed the “Rules of Engagement” a training officer follow so he can maintain class control while holding the students’ attention. These rules follow:
- Know the value of the opening statement
- Expect feedback
- Don’t be a control freak
- Learn the importance of timing
- Realize that you will not reach all students
Reeder gave the floor special guest McHenry Township (IL) Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Rudy Horist, who spoke to the class about the best practices for engaging students.
He also gave specific examples of the types of problem students a training officer will encounter in his classes and their dispositions, such as “monopolizors,” “the disengaged,” “the timid,” and “the daydreamers,” the names of which all speak for themselves. He also looked at the types of domains of learning, which included cognitive, psychometer, and affective, and the importance of mentorship for transferring authority to future training officers.
Reeder concluded, “You’ll be challenged to find ways to improve yourself as an instructor and as a result, you emerge with new skills to help you do your job better. You’ll take away resources and will be creating a ‘punch list’ of things to do based on class discussion and information presented throughout the afternoon.”