Instructional Delivery and Presentation
Teach the way the skill is performed
Instructor I delivery centers on the four-step method: preparation (motivation, relevance, objectives, safety brief), presentation (explain and demonstrate), application (students practice with coaching), and evaluation (did each student meet the standard?). Skipping application is the most common failure - students who only watch a demonstration cannot perform the skill. For psychomotor skills, demonstrate at the speed and standard the student must achieve, then slow down or break the skill into steps, then return to real speed.
Mix methods deliberately: short lecture for facts, discussion and guided questioning for judgment, demonstration and hands-on practice for skills, and scenario work for decision-making. Ask questions by name, pause for an answer, and redirect; “Any questions?” is a weak check for understanding. Give specific, timely, corrective feedback (“seat the mask, then tighten the straps”) instead of vague praise. Adult learners need relevance and respect, so keep the pace active and manage side conversations and dominant personalities early.
NFPA 1041 expects you to adapt delivery to the audience without changing the objective, and to stop an evolution when it becomes unsafe.
Trap: items confuse the preparation step (the motivation and attention-getting phase) with pre-class room setup. Also, “tell–show–do” is a psychomotor teaching sequence, not a synonym for the whole four-step method.
Rule of thumb: if the student has not performed the skill under your observation, you have presented it, not taught it.