1. Methods of Instruction
Chapter 3
Methods of Instruction

2. Knowledge Objectives (1 of 2) Instructor I
Describe motivational techniques.
Describe how to adjust the classroom presentation and still meet the objectives of the lesson plan.
Describe the laws and principles of adult learning.
Describe methods of instruction typically used in adult and fire service education.

3. Knowledge Objectives (2 of 2) Instructor I
Identify characteristics of Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, and the baby boomers.
Describe communication techniques that will improve your presentation.
Explain how to deal with disruptive and unsafe behaviors in the classroom.

4. Skills Objectives Instructor I
Demonstrate basic coaching and motivational techniques.
Deliver an instructional session utilizing prepared course material.
Demonstrate professionalism during the learning process.
Manage disruptive and unsafe behaviors in the classroom.

5. Knowledge Objectives Instructor II
Explain how to adjust the classroom presentation and still meet the objectives of the lesson plan.
Describe methods of instruction typically used in adult and fire service education.
Describe communication techniques that will improve your presentation

6. Skills Objectives Instructor II
Demonstrate basic coaching and motivational techniques.
Demonstrate professionalism during the learning process.
Demonstrate transitioning between methods of instruction to facilitate effective learning.
Manage disruptive and unsafe behaviors in the classroom.

7. How Can I Best Help My Students to Learn?
It is the instructor’s responsibility to:
Present accurate information
Understand course objectives
Instruction is a key factor in students’ success.
Teaching can have a greater impact on achievement than all other factors combined.

8. Starting Off Well
Students decide early whether they will like class, contents, instructor, other students
Remember, fire fighters are adults!
There are differences in the way adults and children learn.

9. Motivation and Learning (1 of 2)
Motivational factors make students enthusiastic and eager to learn.
Motivation affects:
How students practice
What they observe
What they do

10. Motivation and Learning (2 of 2)
Learning is the potential behavior.
Motivation is the behavior activator.
Learning and motivation combine to determine performance.
Without motivation, learning will not take place.

11. Motivation of Adult Learners
Three types of adult learners:
Learner-oriented
Goal-oriented
Activity-oriented
Each type has different motivational issues.
Affects how learning takes place
Adjusting learning style is not always successful or possible.

12. Factors That Influence Success (1 of 4)
Learner’s grasp of how material relates to real world and can be beneficial
Theory into practice can work to an instructor’s advantage in this sense.
Learner’s psychological state
Mild anxiety can help learner focus.
Intense negative emotions may detract.
Make your students feel welcome.

13. Factors That Influence Success (2 of 4)
Position of learners in the life cycle
Each phase of life requires certain behaviors and skills.
Adults want to be autonomous, independent.
Geographical changes
Physical changes

14. Factors That Influence Success (3 of 4)
Visual and auditory acuity
Intellectual functioning
Learner’s internal world of ideas, beliefs, goals, and expectations
Attitudes about ability to learn
Judgment as to whether learning is an important life goal

15. Factors That Influence Success (4 of 4)
Quality of thinking
Information processing
Learning environment

16. Motivation As a Factor in Class Design (1 of 2)
Motivation is the primary learning component for adult learning.
Why is the adult learner in the class?
Why does the adult learner want to take (or not want to take) this class?
Identify why to find out how.
The precise motivation and techniques that will help the adult learner learn

17. Motivation As a Factor in Class Design (2 of 2)
Find out why students are in your class and what they expect.
This information will allow you to:
Design lesson plans to meet every student’s needs.
Generate self-motivation in every student.
Use a variety of motivational techniques to stimulate students.

18. Motivated Instructors
Enthusiasm is contagious.
When you are dynamic, outgoing, charismatic, and interested in the topic, you will teach with energy.
Your personality serves as a motivational factor for your students.

19. Additional Motivational Factors
Additional factors include:
Audiovisual aids
Teaching strategies
Teaching methods
The classroom itself
Motivational factors are part of each level of instruction.
Take time to consider ways to engage your learners.

20. The Learning Process (1 of 3)
Learning is interactive.
Learner encounters and reacts to a specific learning environment.
Each adult learner has a learning style.
Distinct and preferred way of perceiving, organizing, and retaining experiences

21. The Learning Process (2 of 3)
Learning takes place in three domains:
Cognitive (knowledge)
Psychomotor (physical use of knowledge)
Affective (attitudes, emotions, or values)

22. The Learning Process (3 of 3)
Effective learning follows a process.
Learners begin with what they know, feel, or need.
Seeing how new information connects to real life prepares learners to learn.
Learners use new content, practicing for applying it to real life.
Learners apply material learned to the real world.

23. What Is Adult Learning? (1 of 2)
Fire service training is designed for the adult learner.
An adult learner is someone who has passed adolescence and is out of secondary school.
Self-motivation is rarely a problem.
Advance career
Better self

24. What Is Adult Learning? (2 of 2)
Adult learning is the integration of new information into existing values, beliefs, and behaviors.
Adult students need:
Realistic, practical, and informative lessons
Information delivered in a variety of ways to accommodate differing learning styles

25. Learning Process Realm
There are two general lines of thought in the realm of the learning process:
Pedagogy
Andragogy

26. Pedagogy Art of teaching children Teacher has full responsibility.
Student is in a submissive role.
Process may occur in:
Young adults who are members of an entry-level fire academy
Young volunteer fire fighters who have not entered the workforce or higher learning environments

27. Similarities and Differences Among Adult Learners
The theory of andragogy attempts to identify how adults learn.
Although adult learners differ, there are some commonalities.

28. Similarities Among Adult Learners
Need to know why they need to know something
Need to know how they can use it
Focus on practical tasks and activities
Learn at their own pace
Use preferred learning style
Use rich history of life experiences

29. Differences Among Adult Learners (1 of 3)
Stage of life directly affects adult learner.
Young adults
Developing sense of identity
Establishing a career
Pursuing a life dream
Having a relationship, getting married
Achieving parenthood

30. Differences Among Adult Learners (2 of 3)
Middle-aged adults
Caregiving for children or older family members
Career changes
Physical and mental changes
Role changes
Planning for retirement

31. Differences Among Adult Learners (3 of 3)
Older adults face a series of upheavals.
Loss of their jobs (via retirement)
Transition from parent to grandparent
Age-related physical and mental changes
Deaths of friends or spouses
Acceptance of their own mortality

32. Three Types of Adult Learners
Learner-oriented adults
Content is less important than the act of learning.
Goal-oriented learners
Goal is improving job prospects or learning new skills.
Instructor is responsible for disseminating knowledge.
Activity-oriented learners
Learn by doing

33. Influences on Adult Learners (1 of 3)
Adult learning theories are based on the premise that:
Adults have had different experiences than children and adolescents.
These differences are relevant to learning.

34. Influences on Adult Learners (2 of 3)
Motivation
Prior knowledge
Learning context
Influences exerted by situational and social conditions
Information meaningful to life

35. Influences on Adult Learners (3 of 3)
Cope with life events
May affect behavior in the classroom
Social and cultural perspectives
Social roles
Race
Gender
Self-directed learners want to direct their own learning.
Instructor must keep on track.

36. Critical Reflection (1 of 2)
The ability to reflect back on prior learning to determine whether what was learned is justified under present circumstances.
Unique advantage with adult learners
Key asset for instructor

37. Critical Reflection (2 of 2)
Occurs when learners compare their ideas to those of mentors or classmates
May reflect critically on assumptions and attitudes that underlie their knowledge
As instructor, part of job is to motivate students to learn information presented.

38. Traditional Learning Skills As a Factor in Learning
Prior participation in formal educational programs or training programs will also affect adult learners’ ability to learn.
Traditional learning skills forgotten or never developed
Reading textbook, taking notes, studying
Challenge to learn or unlearn

39. Audience Analysis Factors considered in an audience analysis include:
Age and experience in subject matter of students
Who the lesson is intended for and how students will use the material
Number of students in class
Level of previous knowledge of the class material

40. Lenny Laskowski’s “AUDIENCE” Analysis Acronym
A – Analysis
U – Understanding
D – Demographics
I – Interest
E – Environment
N – Needs
C – Customization
E – Expectations

41. Today’s Adult Learners: Baby Boomers
Born between 1946 and 1964
Raised on television, rock and roll
High standards, work, education, expectations
Spoke out against social injustice
Independent, confident, self-reliant
© Courtesy of Fire Chief Gordon J. Nord Jr.

42. Teaching Baby Boomers
Earn their trust through demonstrated competence.
Show respect for their experiences.
Have them assist in teaching.
Have them share experiences and knowledge.
They are known for both accepting and resisting change.
Group activities can be effective.

43. Today’s Adult Learners: Generation X
Generation whose teenaged years were touched by the 1980s
Both parents worked outside home.
Abandoned traditional family models
Divorce/single-parent families is norm.
Many stay childless.
Grew up with instant gratification

44. Generation X Characteristics
Independent problem solvers and self-starters
Technologically literate
Expect immediate gratification
Skeptical of society and its institutions
Lifelong learners
Ambitious and fearless

45. Teaching Generation X
Often clash with baby boomer or traditionalist instructors
Both generations place a high priority on learning and developing new skills.
Instructors must continually raise the bar and adapt to cross-generational training.
Promote learning that has applications in school, work, and community.

46. Today’s Adult Learners: Generation Y
Born immediately after Generation X
Wide-ranging opinions on political and social issues
More tolerant of alternative lifestyles and unconventional gender roles
More spiritual and religious
Disagreement common between liberal and conservative members

47. Generation Y Characteristics
Considered young, smart, and brash
Do not want work to be their entire life
Both high performers and high maintenance
Considered multitaskers

48. Teaching Generation Y Ideal for learning in virtual classrooms
Like teaching by technical professionals
Hands-on experiences
Challenge boomer or Gen X instructors

49. Today’s Adult Learners: Generation Z
Also called Generation Next
May bring their own set of values and learning styles
Instructors will need to adjust and adapt to their needs as well.

50. Generation Z Characteristics
Many Generation Z students:
Have taken online classes
Have had computer access most of their academic life
Prefer quick and very visually-oriented types of learning
Prefer to work around their personal schedules
Would find a smart board and flat panel recognizable

51. Teaching Generation Z
Learning disconnects can occur when moving from a high-tech environment into a traditional fire service classroom.
May easily become bored and not engaged
Instructors will have to adapt the learning environment to varied generations of students.

52. Methods of Instruction (1 of 2)
The method of instruction is the process of teaching material to students.
Instructor I: The method of instruction will be identified on your lesson plan by the lesson plan developer.
Instructor II: You choose the method of instruction most appropriate to deliver the material in the lesson plan.

53. Methods of Instruction (2 of 2)
Method of instruction determination factors:
The experience and educational level of the students
The classroom setting or training environment
The objectives of the material to be taught
The number of students to be taught

54. Audience Analysis Review the demographics of the audience, including:
Age
Learning level
Previous experience
Other factors
Adapt the lesson plan accordingly.

55. Common Teaching Techniques
Lecture
Primary source of information
Demonstration/skill drill
Used for skills or hands-on learning
Effective with fire fighters
Discussion
Two-way open forum
Fosters interaction
Instructor is facilitator.

56. Enhanced Instructional Methods
Role play
Students “act out” a scenario.
Labs/simulations
Student is placed in “real life” situation.
Case studies
Examples are from real world.
Out-of-classroom assignments
Course work is completed prior to class.
Courtesy of Orland Fire Protection District

57. Online Learning: Synchronous
The entire class meets at the same time.
Instructor delivers the course material in real time by voice and/or video.
Students interact with the instructor and class verbally or with instant messaging.

58. Online Learning: Asynchronous
The course material is provided in the online classroom.
Students enter and exit it on their own schedule.
Discussion boards are used to access discussion questions or assignments.

59. Independent Study
Entails registering for a course, receiving course material in the mail, completing assignments, and submitting them back to an instructor for evaluation.

60. Blended Learning
Combines online/independent study with a face-to-face meeting with the instructor.

61. Professionalism (1 of 2) Dress professionally. Welcome each student.
Call students by name.
Use eye contact.
Use your normal speaking voice.
Speak with respect.
Use pauses when you speak.

62. Professionalism (2 of 2) Communicate information appropriately.
Use gestures sparingly, for emphasis.
Use posture and movement to signal transitions.
Practice positive mannerisms.
Choose appropriate teaching aids.
Know how to use chosen teaching aids.
Utilize transition techniques during presentations.

63. Effective Communication Ensures Students Learn
We remember:
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we say
90% of what we say while doing

64. Questioning Techniques
Important to assess the learning process
Lesson plans will include questions.
It is important to ask the correct question at the correct time.
A question can be used to challenge a disruptive student.

65. Common Question Types Direct Rhetorical Open-ended Closed-ended
Who, What, Where, When, Why, How
Rhetorical
Stimulate discussion, new topic, no or multiple answers
Open-ended
Varying correct answers
Closed-ended
Seeks a specific answer

66. Question Basics (1 of 3)
Knowing which question to ask and when to ask the question is very important.
Dealing with a student’s response to a question is important.

67. Question Basics (2 of 3)
Instructors are there to teach students and to foster a positive learning environment, so responding to a student’s answer is critical to maintaining a good learning environment.

68. Question Basics (3 of 3)
For correct responses, the instructor can build on the response and move on with the lesson.
For any incorrect answers given, highlight the positive and downplay any negatives.

69. Disruptive and Unsafe Behaviors in the Classroom
You are in charge of the classroom.
If you don’t keep control, you may be perceived as less competent.
Disruption
Can reduce or limit learning time
Can lead to unsafe conditions and negative learning

70. Disruptive Students: The Monopolizer
Takes control of class discussions
Monopolizes class time
To deal with Monopolizers:
Call on other students during classroom discussions.

71. Disruptive Students: The Historian (1 of 2)
Has experience and wants to make sure everyone is aware of it
Real Historians
Years of experience
Share experiences to help instructor
Can be disruptive if stories are distracting

72. Disruptive Students: The Historian (2 of 2)
Artificial Historians
Focus on themselves
Try to show how much they know
Almost always distracting
To deal with Historians:
Guide discussion back to the main topic.
Pair with struggling students.
Speak to student individually.

73. Disruptive Students: The Daydreamer
May not directly disrupt students
More of a distraction to instructor
To deal with Daydreamers:
Try to draw back to the lesson.
Use direct questioning techniques.
Make maximum eye contact.

74. Disruptive Students: The Expert
May become confrontational
Shows off brainpower, expertise
Provides information, factoids, applications, case information
May subvert instructor’s authority
To deal with Experts:
Discuss contributions privately.

75. Disruptive Students: The Class Clown
Seeks attention by acting out or making jokes
To deal with Class Clowns:
Ignore the Class Clown.
Engage him or her with a direct question.
Use a stern look.
During a break,
Engage the Class Clown in conversation.
Seek the individual’s help in setting an example for others in the class.

76. Disruptive Students: The Gifted Learner
May be a challenge in the classroom
Is usually not disruptive
May seem to be disengaged in the learning process
Might appear to be shy or daydreaming
Have the gifted learner assist you as an instructor during the course.

77. Unsafe or Illegal Behavior
Harassment
Discrimination
Actions or words
Threatening
Offensive
Create risks
Deal with inappropriate behavior immediately!

78. Dealing with Behavior Problems
Must deal with behaviors resulting from situations outside of the classroom
First priority is to create a positive learning environment for whole class.
Second priority is to create a positive learning environment for individual.

79. Behavior Problems and Causes
Seeking attention from class or instructor
Calling out
Asking irrelevant questions
Giving excessive examples

80. Transitioning Between Methods of Instruction
Problem-solving techniques are used to:
Facilitate and lead conferences
Employ discussion methods during presentations

81. Problem-Solving Techniques
These techniques are frequently used to conduct small-group sessions where:
Participants have advanced knowledge and experience in the subject matter
The goal is to reach a group solution to a problem or issue

82. Transitioning Between Methods of Instruction
When students become engaged and actively participate, the instructor can shift from a lecture format to a guided discussion.
When a student has adapted to a basic skill level in a hands-on training session, instructors can allow the student to perform simultaneous actions and progressive skills.

83. Building Your Lesson Plan (1 of 2)
The Instructor II will have to adjust certain elements of a lesson plan to accommodate students with special needs by:
Using different visual aids
Varying voice and tone inflections
Breaking class sessions down to smaller units

84. Building Your Lesson Plan (2 of 2)
What are the goals of the lesson?
How will you achieve those goals?
How will you know when those goals are achieved?
Use assessments.
Provide opportunities to practice skills.

85. Adjusting Lesson Plans
All students have unique needs.
Plan should be:
Detailed and complete to meet goals
Flexible to meet students’ needs
Repeat information in different ways.

86. Demonstrating a Skill
Perform demonstrations more than once in different ways.
Follow a detailed, sequential plan.
Explain and outline information.
Discuss the results.

87. Summary (1 of 3)
Students are motivated to learn in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons.
Understanding how adult learning takes place and how different generations learn will help instructors.
Adult learners can be divided into three types.
Learning is an interactive process affected by the learning environment.
Effective learning requires the instructor to step outside the realm of personal experience.

88. Summary (2 of 3)
Students’ requirements differ because their experiences differ.
Instructors must behave professionally, control the classroom, and address problem behaviors.
Lesson plans should be detailed, complete, and flexible to meet all students’ needs.
Multiple factors are used to determine which method of instruction should be used to deliver information.

89. Summary (3 of 3)
Several types of questions are available to the instructor in assessing the student knowledge gained in the learning process.
Disruptive students can reduce learning time for the class and lead to unsafe conditions.