4. Characteristics of Effective Instructors
‣ Training and education are provided by
‣ Fire and emergency services organizations’
training divisions
‣ State/provincial, regional, or national training
academies
‣ Vocational/technical schools, community colleges,
and universities
‣ Professional organizations
‣ Private training providers
5. ‣ Desire to teach
‣ Motivation
‣ Subject and teaching competencies
‣ Leadership abilities
‣ Strong interpersonal skills
‣ Preparation and organization
‣ Ingenuity, creativity, and flexibility
Characteristics of Effective
Instructors
6. ‣ Empathy
‣ Conflict-resolution skills
‣ Fairness
‣ Personal integrity
‣ Honesty
‣ Sincerity
Characteristics of Effective
Instructors
7. Desire to Teach
‣ Lively and varied
vocal delivery
‣ High energy levels
‣ Obvious love of
teaching and the
subject matter
‣ Instructors can foster and maintain student interest
and engagement with
8. Motivation: Ways Instructors can Motivate
Others
‣ Clearly communicating what action must be
performed and how it must be performed
‣ Showing students the importance of the presented
information
‣ Making the knowledge and skills easy to understand
and learn
9. Motivation: Ways Instructors can Motivate
Others
‣ Allowing for mistakes as students practice and
improve
‣ Encouraging students during the learning process
‣ Using positive reinforcement
‣ Using constructive criticism as necessary
11.
Subject and Teaching Competencies
‣ Instructors
‣ Must continually seek to increase their knowledge
and skills in technical subject matter and
educational methodology
‣ Must be open-minded and attempt to learn and
understand alternative methods and ideas
‣ Should maintain and improve their teaching skills
and mastery of their subject matter
13. Leadership Abilities
‣ Guiding students through the requirements,
knowledge, and skills of a class
‣ Ensuring each student’s needs are met
‣ Providing opportunities for students to think,
discuss, and develop conclusions
‣ Providing opportunities for students to foster their
own leadership skills
‣ Evidence of good leadership includes
14. Leadership Abilities
‣ Set an example for students by following rules and
policies, applying them fairly
‣ Should study leadership models to determine most
appropriate model and methods
‣ Know when to exhibit characteristics of different
leadership models
‣ Lead by example
‣ Effective leaders
17. Strong Interpersonal Skills
‣ Apply interpersonal skills when dealing with
other instructors, staff members, supervisors,
and the public
‣ Develop relationships that are built on mutual
respect, rapport, and confidence.
‣ Instructors must be able to
18. Preparation and Organization
‣ Preparation and
organization are
accomplished through
detailed course outlines,
established course
objectives, defined
evaluation procedures, and
class preparation
19. Preparation and Organization
‣ Immediately before a class
session, instructors prepare in the
following ways
‣ Practice presentations to
determine whether sufficient
time and materials have been
allocated for the topic
‣ Arrive early to the class session
area
20. Preparation and Organization
‣ Assemble and arrange all materials, handouts, audio
or visual materials, props, and equipment in the
classroom or training area
‣ Test equipment for proper operation, ensure that
replacement parts (as needed) are available, and
prepare alternative plans
‣ Eliminate learning barriers such as audible and visual
distractions, uncomfortable environmental
temperatures, and poor lighting
23. ‣ Instructors may have to
resolve disputes
‣ In the training environment
‣ On evaluations and tests
‣ With many types of
personalities and
responsibilities
‣ On a variety of other issues
Conflict-Resolution Skills
24. Fairness
‣ Treat all students equally and provide them with
the same learning opportunities
‣ Evaluate student performance against an
established objective standard and not against a
subjective set of expectations
‣ Instructors must
25. Fairness
‣ Instructors must be
‣ Fair and impartial to all students
‣ Open-minded
‣ Willing to hear, consider, and discuss ideas
‣ Willing to listen and understand students’ needs
26. Personal Integrity
‣ Based on the individual’s values and morals
‣ Personal code of ethics
‣ Provides instructor with specific guidelines for actions
and decisions
‣ Personal integrity must be consistently applied to all
situations and people
27. Honesty
‣ Students realize instructors may not know all the
answers.
‣ Instructors do not need to be embarrassed when they
cannot answer a question — say “I don’t know but I
will find out for you” or “does someone in class
know?”
‣ Instructors should not bluff — will cost credibility
28. Sincerity
‣ Sincerity is the personal quality of being open and
truthful
‣ Sincere attitudes and responses that show an
interest in helping students to learn are important
traits for instructors to possess
‣ Students react, respond, and cooperate more
positively and willingly with instructors who
demonstrate a concern for them
29. Sincerity
‣ Most instruction is based upon the instructor’s ability to
communicate information, both verbally and nonverbally,
to students
‣ Communications that are not sincere, such as sarcastic
remarks or offensive jokes, undermine an instructor’s
educational message and distract students from their
learning or put them on defensive
‣ Emotional reactions of class may hinder effective
communication
30. ‣ Describe the duties and responsibilities
of an Instructor I.
Learning Objective 2
39. ‣ OSHA regulations do not apply as law
to all states in the U.S., but may still
be cited in criminal proceedings. That
said, even in non-OSHA states, many
local agencies follow OSHA regulations
because they are nationally recognized
safety standards.
Note
40. Codes and Standards
‣ Codes and standards are not laws unless adopted by
Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ); they are, however,
recognized, developed by subject matter experts
‣ Just because the AHJ has not adopted a code or
standard as law does not mean that an instructor may
not be held accountable under that standard in a court
of law
‣ Legal precedent has been established that, because
these codes and standards are developed by an
instructor’s peers, the code or standard should be taken
under consideration even when it does not rise to the
level of law
