IAAI-CI cheat sheet

Gagné's nine events of instruction: gain attention → state objectives → recall prior knowledge → present content → guide learning → elicit performance → provide feedback → assess performance → enhance retention and transfer.

Knowles' adult learning assumptions: adults are self-directed, experience-rich, relevance- and goal-oriented, and problem-centered; instruction must connect to the learner's actual job tasks.

Demonstration-performance method, four steps: (1) explain the skill and its standard, (2) demonstrate it, (3) have the student perform it with coaching, (4) evaluate the performance against the standard.

Questioning technique: pose the question, wait 3–5 seconds, then name the respondent; use open questions to probe reasoning and distribute questions across the whole room rather than one side.

Visual aid rule of thumb: no more than six words per line and six lines per slide, minimum 24-point font, high contrast; slides support the instructor and are not the lesson itself.

Change the mode of activity every 15–20 minutes - lecture, demonstration, practice, discussion - because attention to passive lecture decays within roughly that window.

In psychomotor instruction, correct errors immediately; repeated uncorrected performance builds a habit that is harder to change than a first-time correct repetition.

NFPA 1041 is the professional qualifications standard for fire and emergency services instructors; its job performance requirements define what an instructor must be able to do at each level.

Feedback rule: describe the observed behavior and the gap to the standard - for example, 'the line was advanced before the backup was charged' - rather than describing the person.

Kirkpatrick's four levels: 1 Reaction, 2 Learning, 3 Behavior, 4 Results; each level needs different evidence, and a positive result at a lower level does not prove a higher one.

Difficulty index p = number answering correctly ÷ number tested; p near 0.50 maximizes discrimination, while p above 0.90 or below 0.20 usually warrants item review.

Discrimination index D = (proportion correct in the upper 27%) − (proportion correct in the lower 27%); 0.30 or higher is acceptable, and a negative D indicates a defective item or a key error.

Criterion-referenced tests compare each learner to a fixed standard or cut score; norm-referenced tests compare learners to one another. Fire and arson certification testing is criterion-referenced.

Reliability is consistency or repeatability of scores; validity is whether the test measures the intended knowledge or skill. Reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity.

Content validity for a certification test is documented through a blueprint that weights items to objectives or JPRs and is reviewed by subject-matter experts before use.

Distractor analysis: a distractor selected by no one contributes nothing, and a distractor selected more often than the key signals a miskeyed or ambiguous item.

Bloom's three domains are cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skill), and affective (attitude); the verb in the objective and the test method must both match the domain.

Records to retain: rosters, test forms and answer sheets, scores, remediation and retest documentation, skills checklists, certification dates, and instructor qualification files.

ADDIE: Analysis → Design → Development → Implementation → Evaluation; evaluation results feed back into analysis and design, so the model is iterative rather than linear.

Front-end analysis sequence: needs assessment → task/job analysis → target-audience analysis → identify the performance gap → decide whether training is the correct solution.

Objective format ABCD: Audience, Behavior (observable verb), Condition (tools, references, environment), Degree (time, accuracy, or published standard).

Non-measurable verbs to avoid in objectives: know, understand, appreciate, be aware of, learn. Replace them with identify, describe, demonstrate, calculate, or inspect.

Terminal objectives describe course-level outcomes; enabling objectives describe lesson-level building blocks, and each enabling objective must itself be measurable.

Minimum lesson plan components: title, target audience, prerequisites, time, objectives, references, materials, safety notes, content outline, application activity, and evaluation method.

Sequencing rules: simple to complex, known to unknown, prerequisite knowledge before dependent knowledge, and whole-part-whole for psychomotor skills.

Time allocation guide: roughly 10% introduction and motivation, 60–70% presentation and application, 15–20% summary and evaluation.

Design the evaluation before delivery: select test items, skills checklists, and performance standards during the design phase so that instruction and assessment stay aligned.

Negligence elements: duty, breach, proximate cause, and damages - all four must be shown; a signed waiver does not remove the duty to avoid unreasonable risk.

The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent instructor with similar training would do in similar circumstances; published standards and AHJ policy are evidence of that standard.

NFPA 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions, requires a safety officer, pre-burn briefing, PPE, water supply, accountability, and compliance with applicable air-quality and environmental rules.

The safety officer holds stop authority: any participant or instructor may halt an unsafe activity, and training resumes only after the hazard is corrected and the decision is documented.

Pre-evolution site survey items: access and egress, utilities, structural stability, ventilation, communications, EMS access, and designated staging and rehabilitation areas.

Confidentiality: grades, test scores, medical information, and accommodation records are shared on a need-to-know basis; aggregate data may be released, individual data requires consent or legal authority.

Ethical red lines: never alter scores or attendance records, never preview live test items to a group, never teach beyond documented competence, and disclose any conflict of interest.

Document during training: record safety briefings, equipment checks, injuries and near-misses, and remediation as they occur; contemporaneous records carry far more weight than later reconstruction.

Accommodations change the method of delivery or assessment, not the performance standard; safety-related requirements may not be waived as an accommodation.