Knowledge development for classroom instruction

[RU4SKUBA]

Sorry if this is worded awkwardly --or poorly-- but I will be taking the IDC in November 2010 and was curious what specific resources you utilize to develop classroom instruction skill?

I fully realize I will be getting assistance with my own knowledge development, as well as classroom opportunities to develop teaching skills, but how do you typically develop your lecture material for each type of course?

Or... do most instructors just go through the specific course book, like OW or AOW, and wing it to some extent without support materials, videos, etc?

I have a lot of time prior to my IDC and was hoping to get a head start, any information would be appreciated.

 

[boulderjohn]

I am assuming you are talking PADI, and that is how I will answer.

First of all, there should not be a whole lot of lecture. If students are properly prepared, your role will be helping them understand the knowledge review answers and adding personal experience, tips, etc. For example, there are a couple of questions related to decompression sickness and illness. Even if students answer them correctly, I make sure the issue is well understood by adding some discussion. Another example is that when they talk about the 60 FPM ascent rate, I discuss recent research related to safe ascent rates.

I suggest you ask several of the best instructors you know if you can watch them teach a class. Take notes on the things they stress and don't stress.

You really need to be able to answer probing questions students may have. For example, if a student says, "OK, if I can't hold my breath while ascending because of the potential of a lung injury, why is it all right to inhale?", you have to be able to provide an answer. To be ready for those questions, you need to have a lot of general diving knowledge. read all you can about diving in general between now and then.

The way you will present your instruction during the IDC is something you will be taught. Make sure you are very attentive to what your course director teaches you. When I did my IE, I did it with a friend, and we were very well prepared by our course director. We scored extremely well on our presentations. I don't know how the others did, but we were both squirming in pain during some of the presentations.

 

[AndyNZ]

Following on from John's comments, this might be useful to you - this is taken from my pre-enrolment pack that I give to (assistant) instructor candidates to help them understand the purpose of KD presentations:


The evaluation of knowledge development presentations is to ensure that Assistant Instructor and Instructor candidates can identify and resolve gaps in student knowledge during diver training, whilst ensuring that student divers can get excited about their diving and understand how the knowledge will be applied, either in their current course or future diving activities. In addition to the information here, refer to the “Guidelines for Preparing Knowledge Development Presentations” in the Guide to Teaching.

When dealing with real student divers who do not understand a concept, the instructor must:

1. Identify what concept the student diver does not understand by examining the knowledge review or exam question the student diver got wrong
2. Assist the student diver in understanding by firstly giving a measurable outcome, typically paraphrasing the question they got wrong to explain the concept and then using an appropriate analogy that enables them to relate the concept to something they already understand. To do this, it is often important to give the student diver a reason why they should learn the concept.
3. Elaborate on the concept and use discussion and questions as a means of ensuring that the student diver fully understands the information and has “gained knowledge”. To do this, it is often necessary to explain when the knowledge will be applied – either in some other part of this course, some diving activity in the future or a past event that assists learning
4. Review (summarise) the discussion to reinforce the important points

If you examine the evaluation criteria for Knowledge Development presentations, you will see how they are aligned with what an instructor must do to ensure that a student diver has learned a given piece of knowledge. Evaluation during the Assistant Instructor course is therefore an evaluation of whether the candidate can effectively teach, not whether they can understand the criteria.


The criteria that you will be marked upon will be explained to you during the IDC. Whilst it may seem prudent to focus on the criteria (to pass!), my advice is to take a step back and first check that what you are doing is helping the student learn the concept that they haven't grasped. That sanity check will help you in prepare effective presentations rather than simply ones that help you pass.

 

[Crowley]

Outside of the IDC and the IE presentations, what does an instructor need to have when teaching real students.

1. An excellent knowledge of dive theory, of course
2. Confidence. As a new instructor you will find you don't know a great many things, Confidence does not stem from knowing everything, it also stems from a point where you might have to admit to a class "I don't know the answer to that question but I will find the answer for you" and yet retain their faith in you
3. Personality. You gotta have some enthusiasm and build a rapport with people
4. Sense of humour. Don't have one? Fail.
5. Patience. An infinite amount of patience.

During a PADI IDC, use the lesson guides for what you are presenting, of course. The Instructor Candidate Workbook has copies of both the planning points and the score sheets that your instructor will use to grade you.

I suggest you use the score sheets to make sure you are hitting each point and make sure you understand how the points are scored. (For example, in some cases, you can only get points for doing two or three things at the same time). Don't write essays; know your key points, how you will teach them and how you will integrate your selling into the teaching. You can pass by being a nervous wreck and reading the whole thing from a script, but you'll last about a week in the job.

To pass: Hit the points, be confident and interactive and know your stuff. Also sell something.

To be an instructor: Love it.

Happy diving, good luck with the IDC,

C.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Outside of the IDC and the IE presentations, what does an instructor need to have when teaching real students.

1. An excellent knowledge of dive theory, of course
2. Confidence. As a new instructor you will find you don't know a great many things, Confidence does not stem from knowing everything, it also stems from a point where you might have to admit to a class "I don't know the answer to that question but I will find the answer for you" and yet retain their faith in you
3. Personality. You gotta have some enthusiasm and build a rapport with people
4. Sense of humour. Don't have one? Fail.
5. Patience. An infinite amount of patience.

During a PADI IDC, use the lesson guides for what you are presenting, of course. The Instructor Candidate Workbook has copies of both the planning points and the score sheets that your instructor will use to grade you.

I suggest you use the score sheets to make sure you are hitting each point and make sure you understand how the points are scored. (For example, in some cases, you can only get points for doing two or three things at the same time). Don't write essays; know your key points, how you will teach them and how you will integrate your selling into the teaching. You can pass by being a nervous wreck and reading the whole thing from a script, but you'll last about a week in the job.

To pass: Hit the points, be confident and interactive and know your stuff. Also sell something.

To be an instructor: Love it.

Happy diving, good luck with the IDC,

C.

... and don't have expensive taste?

 

[knotical]

Crowley hit the key for the best way to get high marks during your IDC:

I suggest you use the score sheets to make sure you are hitting each point and make sure you understand how the points are scored.

And have fun with it. For example, the contact and non-diving training aid can often be combined for some quite amusing results.

 

[AndyNZ]

Crowley hit the key for the best way to get high marks during your IDC:

It's not about scoring high marks in the IDC, though..... it's about learning to instruct!

Ticking the boxes for the sake of it is rather irrelevant, much more important is understanding why thy are there and what the instructor should be doing.

 

[RU4SKUBA]

Very helpful, thank you

 

[Crowley]

It's not about scoring high marks in the IDC, though..... it's about learning to instruct!

Ticking the boxes for the sake of it is rather irrelevant, much more important is understanding why thy are there and what the instructor should be doing.

I do not disagree in the slightest, however to pass an IDC/IE, there are some boxes that inevitably need to be ticked.

I think it it very important that candidates understand why points are allocated and why the presentations are constructed in the manner they are. 30 points are allocated to a classroom presentation, for example, and yet if you look closely, only 1 of those is given to teaching the subject matter. If you don't know the material, you shouldn't be in an IDC in the first place. Apart from the inevitable sales pitch, the other points are given to a candidate's ability to make a logically constructed presentation, with learning aids, in a confident manner, which brings the point home to students who might otherwise not have understood.

It feels a bit artificial sometimes, but read between the lines and have a very close look at what you are actually learning.

Cheers

C.

 

[AndyNZ]

I do not disagree in the slightest, however to pass an IDC/IE, there are some boxes that inevitably need to be ticked.

I remain unconvinced that you have to tick the boxes, to be honest.

I think it it very important that candidates understand why points are allocated and why the presentations are constructed in the manner they are. 30 points are allocated to a classroom presentation, for example, and yet if you look closely, only 1 of those is given to teaching the subject matter. If you don't know the material, you shouldn't be in an IDC in the first place. Apart from the inevitable sales pitch, the other points are given to a candidate's ability to make a logically constructed presentation, with learning aids, in a confident manner, which brings the point home to students who might otherwise not have understood.

This is my point, if you drop out the "inevitable sales pitch" and instead just learn how to put together a well constructed *dialogue based* presentation that aids student learning - then you will pass the IE. Far too many people focus on , for example, having a non-diving training aid.... to the point where they lose sight of why they are doing the presentation in the first place.

When teaching AI courses, I now tend to teach people how to identify a shortcoming in a students learning and rectify it - before introducing the marking criteria, and then fine tuning presentations to suit. It helps people understand what they are doing and why, rather than ticking boxes.

I don't think we are disagreeing, Crowley - I think we are saying the same thing, just in two different ways.