BY GERARD J. NAYLIS
The class is scheduled and you’re ready to go. Or are you? Before you step in front of the class or crew you will be instructing, it is wise to review some basic principles that were (or should have been) covered during your instructor development class.
Appearance. Let’s begin with your grooming and attire. As the instructor, you have a certain image to project that underscores your professional approach to the class. The style of dress will depend on the type of class you are teaching. An indoor lecture, such as a statewide or national conference, usually calls for a shirt and tie or maybe even a suit. On the other hand, for a lecture in the firehouse, a clean open collar or golf shirt might be appropriate. The key is to know what’s appropriate for the audience. Remember, clean clothes are better than dirty, and a well-groomed appearance always pro-jects a better, more professional image than one that is dirty, unshaven, and unkempt.
Objectives. Naturally, you will have your lesson plan complete with learning objectives. This would include the terminal performance objectives (what the student should know or be able to do at the end of the class) and the enabling objectives (steps along the way that help the student to accomplish the terminal performance objectives). How you communicate these objectives to the class is important. One approach that has proven successful is to tell students what you are going to tell them (announce the class objectives), tell them (deliver the class), and then tell them what you’ve told them (summarize what has been covered). This approach communicates and reinforces the objectives to the class. You also need to come prepared to teach. This means knowing the lesson plan and the lesson.
Preparation. If at all possible, determine beforehand what is appropriate for the venue based on available facilities/equipment, [e.g. audiovisual (AV) equipment, dry-erase boards, flip charts]. Examine the delivery site to ascertain the appropriate instruction method. You also have to come with the right tools. This would include AV equipment and support equipment if these are not already on site or provided. I bring along my seminar kit, which is my basic toolbox for instructors. No one would hire a carpenter who showed up to a job without a hammer and saw, or a plumber who arrived without a pipe wrench. So why should an instructor show up in class without the right tools?
The seminar kit includes anything that you think might be needed for the class. For starters, I include at least one 50-foot heavy-duty extension cord and a rated multiple-outlet power strip equipped with a circuit breaker. A roll of duct tape is always handy to secure the extension cord and eliminate any tripping hazard. I use a laser pointer and keep the device and spare battery for it in the kit. It is always a wise choice to have an assortment of fresh dry-erase markers and an eraser to use on a white board as well as an assortment of indelible markers if you plan on writing on a paper flip chart. A couple rolls of masking tape and a box of large pushpins are also useful for hanging those flip chart pages for easy reference during the class.
The seminar kit also has office supplies found in most offices: a pair of scissors, a stapler (filled with staples, of course), paper clips, pads of paper for note taking, some pens, and a supply of sharpened pencils with erasers for the class. If you need AV equipment, confirm that the facility is providing what you need, or bring your own. If bringing your own equipment, don’t forget to include appropriate spare parts (e.g., bulbs and batteries).
Arrive early to make sure everything works the way it should. If something doesn’t work right, I like to have a few extra minutes to get it fixed. But what if it can’t be fixed in time for class? That’s when you have to be prepared for plan B.
I was once scheduled to instruct at a national fire conference. As I ran the setup on my computer for my PowerPoint presentation, I learned to my dismay that my computer and the projector were experiencing “compatibility problems.” As I tried valiantly (but unsuccessfully) to reboot and make it work, a student who attended the previous lecture in the same room blurted out that the instructor before me had the same problem and never got his computer to work either and just gave up. Fortunately for me and the class, I was ready with a set of overhead transparencies. While certainly not as colorful or high-tech as my computer presentation, I was nonetheless able to deliver the class without further delay.
But overhead transparencies won’t be the answer in every situation. You must think in advance of what you could possibly do if your planned instruction format were suddenly unusable and have a plan B ready, just in case.
As an instructor, I want to make sure the learning environment is appropriate. First and foremost, I check every means of egress to ensure that the exitways are clear and unobstructed should my students have to evacuate. If there is a problem, it gets corrected before the class begins. Second, I check the lighting and light switches to determine how to control the lighting. Have you ever tried to take notes, only to have the instructor turn off every light and then remark, “Too bad I don’t know how to just dim the lights”? Third, a quick check of the physical setup is in order. Remove any broken or damaged tables or chairs, and eliminate trip hazards (duct tape on electrical wires works wonders).
It is just as important to inspect outdoor drill areas to ensure that these areas are appropriate for the class. Is the lighting adequate for evening exercises? If the drill involves pumping water, how will it run off and where will it go? What’s the weather forecast? Will the temperature drop through the floor and create freezing conditions that make discharging water unwise? If pumping water from the public system, will it create water quality issues for the surrounding area and create a public relations nightmare for you and your fire department? Will the noise that the class creates cause a neighborhood disturbance? Some departments announce to the public when they plan to hold training exercises on acquired structures and invite the general public to observe them in action. It is a great public relations tool and diffuses objections in advance.
Student safety. Student safety is paramount and should be an integral part of how you teach and operate. As such, before the class starts, instructors need to ensure that the necessary safety equipment is on hand and available for use. Depending on the lesson, venue, and tools to be used, the requisite safety equipment could vary greatly. A lecture about a particular practice or tool may require no specific safety equipment (e.g., a discussion about a gas-powered saw to perform roof ventilation wouldn’t necessitate donning safety equipment). But change that to a practical exercise, and now you need to consider head, hand, foot, eye, and hearing protection at a minimum, and probably full personal protective equipment as well (depending on weather conditions and the intent of the lesson).
Merely providing safety equipment without requiring its use is just as much a violation of safety regulations as not providing it at all. Our job as instructors is to instill the discipline necessary that makes safe practices a way of life in the fire service.
While we are discussing personal protection, please don’t overlook weather conditions and their impact on firefighters. If you will be working outdoors in direct sunlight (even in mild temperatures), make sure that you provide sunscreen for protecting exposed skin. Hydration and rehabilitation are other considerations, especially during hot and humid conditions. How will you provide cool drinking water for your students? Bring a case of bottled water or an insulated jug and disposable cups.
Alternatively, in cold temperatures take appropriate safeguards. One of my favorites in cold weather is to use thin latex gloves under my regular firefighting gloves. They help to keep my hands and fingers warm for extended periods in the coldest weather. The trick is to put them on before your hands get cold. If you or your students are allergic to latex, use one of the alternative products available on the market.
When I begin each class, I make sure I have a roster, a sign-in sheet, or an accountability tag for each student, depending on the type and venue of the class. I also make it a point to announce where the exits are, what to do in case of an emergency, and the location of the class meeting place (predetermined, of course) should an evacuation become necessary. This is true not only for a lecture hall or meeting room but for a drill tower, a burn building, or an acquired structure. As an instructor, you are responsible for the safety and well-being of every one of your students.
Finally, as you get ready to begin, be sure to cover the basics. Tell the class how long the lesson will be and when breaks, if appropriate, will be taken. Mention the locations of restrooms and personal care facilities. Let all the students know right up front what the policy is for radios, pagers, and cell phones. Obviously, the policy will depend on whom and where you are teaching. In a classroom setting, particularly away from the firefighters’ response area, radios, pagers, and cell phones should be off so as not to disturb the class. On the other hand, if you are drilling at your fire department’s local training facility, it’s probably prudent to have the students set their pagers to the alert tone mode and have portable radios on the channel on which the drill is being conducted. Make sure everyone knows the policy from the very beginning.
As fire instructors, each of us has a responsibility to our students. This includes not only knowing and presenting the lesson’s subject matter but also delivering that lesson in such a way that the student is led from the unknown to the known. This includes looking and acting the part. We accomplish this through a professional and appropriate style and manner of dress, using the appropriate teaching tools, establishing clear student expectations, and delivering the lesson in a way that the student readily recognizes that as fire instructors we have left no stone unturned in our preparation for class.
GERARD J. NAYLIS has served more than 31 years as a firefighter, company officer, chief officer, and training officer in career and volunteer departments. He has written and lectured extensively on fire-related topics. Naylis is the acquisitions editor for Fire Engineering Books & Videos. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire safety from Jersey City State College and is a member of the New Jersey State Fire Safety Commission.
