1. Presented By Worldwide Emergency Services Institute, LLC Instructor : Nick Coutsouvanos WWW.WWESI.ORG V1.3.09
2. Introductions Nick Coutsouvanos 15 year veteran of the Emergency Services, serving the last 13 years with the City of Boynton Beach as a Lieutenant, Paramedic, Rescue Diver, and USAR Technician. Member of BBFR Dive Rescue and Special Operations teams. Member of FLUSAR regional Type IV team. State Certified Fire Officer I, Fire Investigator I, Fire Instructor II, Live Fire training Instructor I, and Paramedic. National Pro Board certified Fire Officer II & Fire Instructor II. Earned dual Associates in EMS and Fire Science, working on Bachelors in Emergency Management. WWW.WWESI.ORG V1.3.09
3.
4. The Role of the Instructors WWW.WWESI.ORG V1.3.09
Note: The 1041 references are not the most current. The most current version is 2007 and it is recommended you have a copy available.
Note: They are not necessarily the same person.
Discuss the potentials of being an instructor.
Each is covered in more detail on following slides.
Can we make them the Incident Commander?
Think about how you get information out to the students about upcoming classes.
Be careful using the term counselor because of the potential legal implications. If you are not one, it may be a good term to avoid all together. Instructors need to remember active listening from Company Officer classes. Defined: “The deliberate and apparent process by which one focuses his or her attention on the communications of another”.
Note semantics when talking discipline. Words have more than one meaning determined by the listeners Age Gender Race Nationality Experiences Education Geography Be familiar with different definitions of discipline. Picture was when HE was with that school out west.
The question to ask is “does the performance meet the objectives”? Evaluations will discussed in detail in a later chapter.
Many times a class will run itself and the instructor acts more as a traffic cop than anything. The instructor will keep the discussions moving, in line, and on track.
Don’t forget that motivation is part of mentoring. Naturally, people prefer positive motivation rather than negative.
Sometimes it is difficult; however, maintain a high level of energy. Picture is from a Fire and Life Safety Educator I class.
Sometimes overused clichés; however, when you look at the list they all fit.
A point for discussion: Just what does being responsible for the students really mean? Student safety should be part of the discussion.
Small groups and easel charts work best for this activity. Compare and discuss with the author’s thoughts on pages 10, 11 & 12.
Picture is from a recent Fire and Life Safety Educator Class at FSFC.
These next few slides just barely touch the surface of ethical issues. There are entire courses devoted to the study of ethics. It appears if you do these three things, you will be on the right track.
Clinton Smoke in Company Officer, second edition indicates ethics take over where the law leaves off. A lot of directions that you can go with this. The next several slides deserve “mention only”. This is not an ethics class. Don’t spend a lot of time with the theories.
An understanding of where a student, co-worker, or employee may base their ethics, can be a help for you to understand that person. Point for discussion: If your beliefs are different than mine, are you not ethical?
Virtue – “conformity to a standard of right”. The definition from the Merriam-Webster on line dictionary.
Point of discussion: Which of these theories do you think “most” people tend to follow. Could it actually be egoism? Which do you think most should follow or is there some middle ground?
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s work as yours. Falsifying documents – did you give that officer credit for an unattended class?
Remember, you are in charge of the class.
You need to let this person know that their contributions are worthwhile and important.
Author of the text discusses one other tactic. Administer a test that is difficult but at the level the student claims to be. Essentially making it clear where this student really is. Keep in mind this could have a negative effect when given to all the students.
This may be a good point to discuss the use of laptops in the classroom. Typically, we allow laptops to be used; however, a disclaimer is usually made about keeping it tuned into the subject at hand. It is also noted that at no time in the classroom should offensive material be brought up.
Be careful what you ask for because you may just get more than you want to hear or have time for. Be prepared to cut them off at some point. If the negativity is warranted, “I understand” might be in order.
Adults may be more inclined to challenge something like a grade because it could stand in the way of promotion or achieving some goal. Generally, each agency has a procedure to follow in that case and strict adherence should be maintained. If multiple agencies represented in your class, you may wish to discuss what some of these policies are.
Understand that inappropriate humor can easily be offensive and should not be tolerated in any form. Remember, your agency has some sort of policy or guide if this happens. You need to follow it.
This person may be the most difficult for you to deal with. Do you slow down the entire class until they get it or do you just pass them by? Do they pass because they showed up? These may well be ethical type questions you need to answer in your own mind.
Leave it alone – First time incident or isolated incident may be the way to handle it. Someone may just be trying to get some attention. If you do anything, it may justify the actions in their mind and they will continue. Eye contact – If it happens again, maybe a disapproving look but make direct eye contact with the student. Don’t be condescending or overreacting, especially with the rest of the class watching. Action steps – If it persists, stay close to the student if you can. Student may understand that the disruptions are a problem because you are in “their space”. Stop the class – Time to take a break and speak directly to the student. This is actually a form of discipline so do it privately. Terminate – If it becomes necessary, get rid of the disrupting student. Be sure to know your agency policy and follow it to the letter. Notify your supervisor immediately.
The legal issues are discussed in much more detail in chapter 4. Remember that bad language could cross the line and be sexual harassment. Being loud might indicate that the student, in fact, has a hearing problem of their own. Focus questions to the nonparticipation student. Maybe it won’t be an unacceptable behavior at all.
Career stress is listed as the most common cause of teachers leaving the profession.
As an instructor, you need to dig into some of the various theories on life to discuss these. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can fit into some of them. Herzberg’s Hygiene Factors would be a source for some. Dr. Morris Massey has a video called “Just Get It” which has good thoughts on how people are value programmed. The text Company Officer by Clinton Smoke discusses several of these theories. By the way, that is the text we all use for the Company Officer class.
You have all seen examples of people seeking attention. That student seeking power may be quite argumentative. They often lie or refuse to follow directions. Students that are cruel to others and even appear to be daring the instructor to punish them are often seeking revenge for something. Ask your class if they know this person and if they have any examples. You should have one of your own incase the class does not. The inadequate student usually will not participate, may sit by themselves, and they may even ask not to be included in class projects and discussions. Have you felt inadequate in a class before? Sometimes you feel like you are just in over your head.
The text author even suggests having the student sign a copy of the rules. How far do we go? Should the individual instructor have to do this or should facility or agency rules cover most situations.
Behavior rewards can be special assignments or may be as simple as a pat on the back. In front of the class, of course. Be sure you are able to laugh at yourself if (or should we say when) you make a mistake. If you cannot get control of the class, it may be time for someone else to take over.
Guidance should come from administration, fire chief, or other faculty. Essentially, they can be YOUR mentor. Progressive discipline – reminder, verbal reprimand, counseling session, removal of privilege, written warning, suspension and last resort, removal. Instructors should discuss each level. Remember the earlier note on counseling – basically, be sure you are qualified or consider calling it something else. If there are illegal acts, it is likely that the steps in progressive discipline will be skipped. Discipline, should be done as soon as possible, done in private, and focus on the problem and not necessarily the individual. Any discipline process should be documented. Said to say but you are creating that paper trail. Discuss the content listed in the book and the potential of other information the class feels is important. Hey, don’t forget if you are disciplining someone of the opposite sex, you should have a witness with you. CYA. Remember, whatever you do, it must follow the guidelines and policies of your agency.
The next few slides deal with feedback but we must have at least a basic understanding of communications first. Communications is a two-way street. A sender and a receiver of the message. The medium can be verbal or nonverbal. The important thing is that you are sending a message. Ultimately, what you get back (feedback) is likely the most important issue. Feedback can come in the form of verbal and nonverbal also. It might be a good idea to review Chapter 2 in Company Officer.
As you read this, you should realize that the positive feedback is actually coming from the sender. In turn, the sender should get feedback indicating some of what is listed. The last statement is actually attributed to Dr. Ken Blanchard in his program The One Minute Manager. If you catch someone doing something right, give them a one minute praise: Do it now Be specific Tell them how you feel Encourage them to keep up the positive behavior or work. If it is approximately right, assist them in doing it totally right. Blanchard is just one of many excellent resources available.
Be specific Don’t exaggerate Don’t be judgmental Use “I feel” - Did you look at the One Minute Manager ? Blanchard uses this wisely. Let them know the circumstances and do so in a clam manner.
Be timely. Be specific and descriptive. Do it in private. Be positive.
Instructors may wish to review some of the deaths and injuries that have actually happened during training.
There are several roles where testing can be an issue but according to this author, the primary is Evaluator.
While in essence, and all of the above could be a correct response here, the instructor bears the ultimate responsibility for student safety in his/her class.
There could be a valid argument for most of these; however, eye contact with a disapproving look may solve your problem
Negative is the correct response; however, don’t forget you can in fact have negative feedback. This text uses it primarily in the context of the instructor giving feedback to the student. When we learn about making test questions, it will be suggested that we not use negative questions.
It is done in an attempt to refocus this student to what is happening in class.
