BY KRISTOFER DeMAURO
As a company officer at training time, you have a variety of choices to meet your training goals: the old drill book that has been there for years, a collection of videos that everybody has seen, or even a new computer-based program that nobody on your crew (including you) knows how to use. The most difficult challenge is bringing a group of diverse individuals together for a productive training session. A way to meet this challenge is to develop a self-directed learning program that empowers the students to find relevance and new meaning for the training issues they face. Self-directed learning is not a new training measure, but it has begun to emerge as a better method for meeting continuing education needs and skills retention.
Self-directed learning is “a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others,” to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes (Knowles, 1975). This translates to the fire service by allowing students to identify the areas of a specific skill/job function/knowledge they feel needs to be addressed.
I once asked one of my crew members, a relief driver, “How do you learn, and how would you like to be taught?” He answered, “When I want a review on apparatus pumping, I know the basic theory. I would feel more comfortable if you would give me a quick overview and then let me connect to a water source and operate the pump for awhile. If I have a problem, question, or issue, I would like to come back and ask you about it but only after I have tried to solve the problem myself.” He finished by saying, “After I have operated the pump, come back and evaluate my performance.”
Ideally, this type of learning is better suited for the experienced firefighter, but new firefighters can use it with more instructor involvement. The instructor takes on the role of a facilitator. A paper published by the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) references various writers in this area. I have reduced their points to the most relevant for the fire service:
- Be a manager of the learning experience rather than an information giver.
- Encourage setting learning objectives that can be met in several ways, and offer evidence of successful performance.
- Make the learners aware of the objectives, learning strategies, resources, and evaluation criteria once they are decided on.
- Match the resources to the learner’s needs.
- Develop positive attitudes and feelings of independence relative to learning.
- Recognize learner personality types and learning styles.
- Use techniques, such as field experiences and problem solving, which take advantage of the student’s experiences.
- Develop high-quality learning guides, including programmed learning kits.
- Incorporate activities, such as seminars.
- Create an atmosphere of openness and trust.
- Promote a code of ethics.
- Obtain the necessary tools to assess a learner’s current performance and to evaluate his expected performance.
- Have learners reflect on what they are learning.
- Reward and recognize learners after they meet their learning objectives.
- Promote learning networks, study circles, and learning exchanges.
You will find that these points are not all that foreign to the fire service; incident management uses the same process. We provide companies and crews with needed resources, ensure their safety, and give them objectives. If problems arise, they use critical thinking skills to solve them. If they cannot, they contact the commander (instructor) for help, input, and guidance. Following the incident, we conduct post-incident analysis and review successes and failures.
As an instructor, you must determine if the learner needs to focus on a specific skill (i.e., donning SCBA) or a group of skills, also called skill sets (i.e., searching a structure), or use past performances at incidents or training sessions to determine the need. For example, crew members who had difficulty searching a structure on their last incident, even because of circumstances beyond their control, would be a great group to use for search training using the self-directed learning. Allow the crew members to set up the incident as close to the actual event as possible, including the problems. Be prepared to give input. Allow the crews plenty of time to review their actions at the incident. This allows for the development of a “collective memory” and a common perception of the event. Also, clearly identify the crew’s objective during the incident.
Allow the learners to find better ways to handle the incident; inform them that there may be several correct ways and that they should devise a consensus on the best way to meet the objectives. Once the best way is developed, the learners should demonstrate the skill set until they all are proficient; this includes working in various parts of the skill set. Conclude by allowing learners to state what they have learned or would like to change about their performance at the end of the training session.
Think of the bulleted items listed earlier. How many did the last paragraph cover? At least 80 percent were identified; as the reader of this article, you have just participated in a self-directed learning session.
Carter McNamara, noted nonprofit organization development expert, wrote, “Probably the most important skill for today’s rapidly changing workforce is skills in self-reflection. The highly motivated, self-directed learner with skills in self-reflection can approach the workplace as a continual classroom from which to learn.”
McNamara continued, “Self-directed learning becomes even more powerful when it’s systematicthat is, when we decide” the following:
- What areas of knowledge and skills we need to gain to get something done (learning needs and goals).
- How we gain the areas of knowledge and skills (learning objectives and activities).
- How we will know that we’ve gained the areas of knowledge and skills (learning evaluation).
If crews use these three items in determining specific training needs, it will greatly help you, as the instructor, move them toward self-directed learning.
Learner motivation will become a big part of the self-directed learning process. I have loosely grouped firefighter motivation into four basic categories:
- Desire: a need to continue education for the satisfaction of doing a better job.
- Promotions: the need to learn a new skill or improve a skill set to score higher on a promotional exam.
- Weakness: an area that has been identified as below a personal or company standard.
- Change: a need to change from one assignment into another area or specialty.
Both the learner and instructor must realize that learner motivation in the fire service is situational; there is no one motivational factor that will work 100 percent of the time. Emphasize the specific skill, skill set, or knowledge being learned; this could be for a firefighter who wants to learn an advanced rope rescue skill. The motivation is his desire to be more proficient in ropes, even if the course is not required for promotions, the learner is not weak in ropes, or the learner does not want to change to a technical rescue company.
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These factors relate to the progressive, motivated firefighter. A firefighter who does not have the desire to train, maintain, or improve his ability or performance is beyond the scope of this article. However, the best way to deal with this type of individual is to discuss the matter with other officers and supervisors who have dealt with this in the past. Be careful not to place yourself in a liable situation.
Using the three items that McNamara stated earlier, along with the four motivating factors I identified, we can develop a learning strategy for a firefighter. For example, Firefighter Smith, a five-year veteran of the department, wants to be promoted to the position of driver. He is self-motivated and has educated himself both formally and informally to better prepare for the job. Smith still feels that his ability to operate a pumping apparatus from a draft is still not up to the standard to pass the promotional exam. He approaches you for assistance in becoming better at the skill by allowing him to practice drafting a pumping apparatus. How can you as an instructor assist Firefighter Smith in meeting his goal?
Smith is motivated by a combination of “promotion” and “weakness.” He wants to learn the new skills to pass promotional exams but also recognizes his weakness in that particular skill set.
Using McNamara’s items, we can identify the following:
- Smith wants to operate a pumping apparatus from a draft (learning needs and goals).
- Smith wants to spend time practicing drafting operations (learning objectives and activities).
- Smith must meet the promotional standards, such as making sure there are no air leaks in the intake system (learning evaluation).
By facilitating the means for Smith to become an active member in his learning process, an instructor must build relevance and practicality into the training session. This aids in “ownership” of the the learner’s experience.
Self-directed learning is best described as a process or strategy, not a technique or method. Techniques and methods tend to lean toward concrete teaching styles that offer little to no flexibility. A process or strategy better describes the journey taken by a learner and an instructor to meet goals and objectives. As the fire service evolves to meet the dynamic needs of its customers, self-directed learning will become a more effective means of delivering training and education to ourselves and those we serve.
Endnotes
Knowles references at http://home.twcny.rr.com/hiemstra/sdlhdbk.html, online.
Education Resources Information Center referenced at www.eric.edu.gov, online.
Carter McNamara referenced at www.managementhelp.org, online.
KRISTOFER DeMAURO is a captain with the Owasso (OK) Fire Department, where he has served for 15 years. DeMauro is a rescue specialist with the Oklahoma Task Force One USAR Team and a nationally registered paramedic. DeMauro has also taught fire and emergency classes at Oklahoma State University, Kansas University, and the Tulsa Technology Center.
