Training and Instructional Methodology
Training and instructional methodology
Training questions test how adults learn and how instruction is designed, delivered, and evaluated. Know andragogy (adult learning): adults need relevance, problem-centered learning, and respect for experience. Learning domains are cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitude), and psychomotor (skills). A good objective is measurable and uses the ABCD format: Audience, Behavior, Condition, Degree.
A lesson plan typically includes performance objectives, materials, instructor and student activities, time allotments, and evaluation. Evaluation has two faces: validation (did the training solve the performance problem?) and evaluation (did students meet objectives?). Kirkpatrick levels (reaction, learning, behavior, results) are a useful frame.
Safety and documentation are high-yield: training records, skill sheets, qualifications, and live-fire standards. NFPA 1403 governs live-fire training and requires a safety officer, a planned evolution, and adequate instructor control; live fire is not improvisation. NFPA 1041 covers fire instructor professional qualifications.
Worked example: Objective: 'Given a 1.75-inch handline and a simulated room, the firefighter will advance and control the line within 60 seconds with no safety violations.' That is measurable (behavior, condition, degree). 'Understand hose advancement' is not.
Rule of thumb: If you cannot observe and measure it, it is not a performance objective.