10 Steps to Evaluate a Fire Instructor's Program - Part 1

Spanning nearly three decades as a fire and rescue instructor, I have listened to a common sentiment over the years about how difficult it is to get the “message” through to the members of the emergency services. Truth be told, I have been guilty of echoing that same frustration from time to time. In reality, both the student and instructor share the responsibility for the success of the learning environment.

As instructors, we have the responsibility of updating our teaching methods so that we can effectively communicate the information in our lesson plans to our audiences. As years pass, the learning methods vary as wide as the backgrounds of our student rosters. But some instructors not only hold tightly to the methods of years ago, they do not work on what needs to be updated to stay current. This month, we will look at how we as instructors perform, both the good and the bad, and talk about ways of improving each.

Step 1—The Instructor’s Portfolio: The portfolio of the instructor may contain trainer classes on many formal topics, on a wide variety of skills and abilities. Of paramount importance is the actual application of the topics in real-world situations. I am talking about practical application experience. The instructor needs to have a thorough balance between the two.

First we will discuss the actual educational process that allows the instructor to land in front of the room. No matter the topic, there must be formal instruction on the skill set that goes along with the performance of the skills being taught; this means the instructor has to serve the time as the STUDENT in order to confirm a working knowledge of the topic at hand. This can be achieved through a variety of methods—formal trainer classes that provide evaluation for both classroom delivery and “hands-on” skills sessions work well to prepare the instructor to deliver the materials (see Photo 1).

Potential instructors must complete the training program with a successful passing grade on the examination to confirm knowledge of the base materials. Following that, the instructor should be assigned a series of materials within the program to review and deliver the material to subject matter experts (trainers) for evaluation of classroom skills.

Lastly, a session of hands-on skill competencies is delivered by potential instructors to evaluators to confirm working knowledge, skills and abilities of the topic. The focus here is the instructor is able to bridge the gap between theory and application of the information, and be able to deliver the material so the learner can bridge the gap as well.

While the trainer courses are critical to measure instructor capabilities, a significant amount of experience in the real-life applications of the skills is beneficial for the instructor to be able to deliver the material. Experience levels of instructors go hand-in-hand with the formal education side of the portfolio. An instructor stands in front of a class of learners, and without saying a word, already has power over the learners in two forms (see Photo 2):

Expert power: The instructor is perceived as an expert in the field of study that is being presented. Adult learners are expecting the instructor to have the application experience along with the education to back it up.

Information power: Learners attend training classes and seminars under the desire to improve their own working knowledge of a topic. The instructor is seen as holding all of the answers to the learner’s questions; an instructor’s credibility can be affirmed or destroyed by falling short.

These “powers” come from a combination of education and real-world experience, and the fire service is not the only field where this is significant. Consider this; a person decides that they are finally going to fulfill their dream and go sky-diving. Answer this question: would a person rather take lessons from an experienced, educated trainer, or would they prefer an instructor who never jumped out of a plane? (See Photo 3)

Step 2—Self-Realization of Performance: This step is a considerable measure of comfort to an instructor. This involves participating in an honest evaluation in front of a peer review panel. To confirm an arbitrary opinion, it is best to reach out to instructors from other similar settings (academies, schools, etc.) and perform in front of them and be graded on the performance. Many times, both strengths and weaknesses are identified by peer review, and members of the panel can offer solutions and methods to improve the weaknesses that come to light.

A simpler method can involve recording a 10-minute snippet of a presentation that the instructor has delivered. The instructor watches the playback three times, but each time, the focus changes on the video. The first review would be an overall evaluation of the presentation, identifying the good and the not-so-good. The next review, turn the screen facing away from the instructor, and let them focus on how they SOUND during the presentation. (This author was presenting for a peer review as a candidate to teach CPR, and it was reported that I said the word “ok” 67 times in one hour.) Lastly, turn the screen back to view the performance, but turn the sound off; let them focus on how they look during the presentation. Odd habits can be identified when the focus is directed on a specific measure of performance.

Step 3—Identification of Capabilities: After reviewing the evaluation, there will likely be skills that work very well for the instructor. While this is positive, it should be noted that room for improvement in these areas may still exist. This improvement may include furthering the knowledge of the topic at hand, or increasing the methods that are available for the instructor to deliver the material. Either way, the positive attributes that are brought to the table should serve as a springboard for improvement for the instructor.

Step 4—Identification of Limitations: This can be a difficult part of the process for the instructor to embrace. The instructor may hold dearly to the methodology that they use for presentation, but the reality may be that it is time to move forward with a more successful method that, while it works well for the learner, can be difficult for the instructor to embrace (see Photo 4). The solution is two-fold: Acceptance, and Continuing Education. There are many instructors who do not take responsibility for their limitations, and use different ways to deflect it:

• Displacing responsibility: Blaming one’s behavior on others—Example: “I didn’t rob the bank, I just drove the getaway car!”
• Diffusing responsibility: The group using behavior with no one person being accountable—Example: “We never wear our turnout gear for this!”
• Advantageous comparison: Compare oneself to others who are worse—Example: “I may be late, but Dave is always late!”
• Disregard and distortion of consequences: Minimizing the harm caused by the behavior—Example: “It is only a little bit of gasoline/diesel/fuel/naphtha. I will just be told to not do it again.”
• Attribution of blame: The practice was caused by someone else’s behavior—Example: “He called me a name, so I hit him. He started it!”
• Euphemistic labeling: Using “cosmetic” words to make the behavior more acceptable—Example: “Terrorist Group vs. Freedom Fighter!”

This requires the instructor to “get uncomfortable”, so to speak, and put themselves back in the role as the adult learner. This process has to take place to confirm the baseline knowledge that the instructor must possess to be efficient in delivering training materials.

Step 5—Transformational Leadership: The instructor should be seen as an agent of change and as a positive example for the learners to view. Too many times we see transactional leaders serving in roles as educators and that can lead to a stagnation of service from the organization; whereas an instructor should serve in the capacity of a transformational leader.

Addressing leadership in general, transactional leadership focuses on the role of the members of the group to achieve compliance through rewards and discipline, and how maintaining the day-to-day status quo can progress towards goals. Transformational leadership is focused on enhancing the motivation of the group members by sharing the goal, or vision, of where the department should be, not where it is at, and encourages the members to reach the SMART objective (Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Time-Driven).

A transformational leader has a clear vision about what the objectives are, is self-motivated to assure the group will reach the objective, sets a standard to be mirrored by the members, and follows through with what needs to be done to reach the objective (see Photo 5). The early years of the learner’s career are the most influential, and the learner will tend to follow the example presented to them that they can relate to the most. That being said, it is vital that the transformational type of leadership is embraced by the instructor.

Conclusion

It can be easy to become complacent and apathetic towards the responsibility of training the future leaders of the fire service. The bottom line is that as instructors, we have both the honor and the obligation to set the example for the future fire service leaders to follow, and to take the reins and guide the next generation of firefighters in the right direction. Next month, we will discuss Continuing Education, new skill development, mentoring and supportive alliances, and mastering new skills as an instructor.

Until next time, stay focused and stay safe. 

Next month's article will include Steps 6-10.