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Critical Instructor Competencies
The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction has
defined 14 key guidelines for effective classroom training. These guidelines,
commonly known as the ibstpi Standards, provide a set of professional standards
that are recognized throughout the technical training industry. Mastery of these
skills together with expertise in the course subject area will ensure a high quality of
training.
I. Analyze Course Materials and Learner Information
This means reviewing materials and audience information and identifying areas where
adjustments may be needed. Furthermore, you should be able to make the needed adjustments
to the materials to suit your audience. It is also important that you would be able to
judge the appropriateness and adequacy of any adjustment and state a rationale
accordingly.
II. Assure Preparation of the Instructional Site
Assuring preparation means confirming all necessary logistic and physical arrangements
of the instructional site. For instance, are all materials, equipment, and furniture
in place as needed? You exercise as much control over the physical environment as
possible. Plan ways to minimize distractions and judge how well logistical and physical
arrangements support the instruction. You should understand the rationale for
decisions regarding logistics and physical environment.
III. Establish and Maintain Instructor Credibility
To be effective as an instructor, it is important for your students to trust that you
are conveying accurate information. You should cultivate their trust by establishing
and maintain credibility. Nevertheless, a skillful instructor can judge the degree
to which credibility is an issue or a distraction at any time during instruction.
This involves understanding what is needed to recognize a problem in this regard and what
is required to re-establish lost credibility.
IV. Manage the Learning Environment
This standard includes all that is involved in the instructor's strategy for providing
a course that is conducive to "real" learning. Although before starting a
class or presentation you will have a presentation strategy in mind, at the earliest
possible time you should involve the learners in establishing an appropriate level of
learner comfort. This means that to be truly effective you must adapt your delivery
to account for learner needs and characteristics. This flexibility must be balanced
with careful management of the available time. Create an active learning environment
that engages the learner and provide opportunities for learner success. Allow for
group interactions and participation, all the while maintaining control of the class with
the ability to resolve learner behavior problems. Managing the learner environment
means understanding and implementing what it takes to facilitate a successful performance.
V. Effective Communication Skills
This is at the core of classroom instruction. The instructor's knowledge is
absolutely irrelevant if he cannot convey that information to the learner. You
should have a strong command of the language that you use to present. A skillful
instructor will use the appropriate verbal and nonverbal language to convey the meaning of
the material and he will adapt such to fit the needs of the learners. He will use
frames of reference familiar to the students, giving practical relevance to the material.
Furthermore, a skillful instructor is not content to cover material but rather
determines whether learners understand and responds appropriately when they do not.
Effective communication can help to simplify even complex material.
VI. Effective Presentation Skills
There is a reason that audio tape falls short of the classroom in providing an
effective instruction medium. If good presentation skills are used more of the
learner's senses are engaged. The voice can be used to deepen the meaning of what is
said if appropriate sense stress, modulation and well-placed pauses are used. Good
eye contact acts to focus the learner's attention on you and what is being said.
Body language also fits in enhance the impact on the learner's mind. Use gestures
and movement to enliven your presentation and to give an impression of size, direction,
transition or importance. The material itself should not drag, but a progressive
organization of your content will build on past knowledge and point interestingly toward
subsequent information. The use of humor or even props can also help to liven up
those dry spots.
VII. Questioning Skills and Techniques
Questions play quite a significant role in the learning process. Questions
require attention and they focus the mind on resolving a specific point. A skillful
instructor will use questions for a variety of reasons (e.g. to maintain the attention of
learners, to see if they understood, to build their confidence in what they have already
learned). All around questions should promote the learning process, not be an
attempt to "stump" the audience. It may at times be necessary to rephrase
the question several ways to assist the learner in finding the correct answer.
Questions can be an effective tool for leading your audience the to the right conclusion
without "giving" them the answer at all.
VIII. Respond to Learners' Needs
The primary benefit of having an instructor present over a videotape is that the
instructor can interact and respond to the needs of the learner, providing clarification
or feedback. The instructor should avoid generating a "standoffish"
impression. Rather, it is important to create an environment in which individuals
feel comfortable, confident really, about seeking clarification or help as needed.
If a learner has difficulty communicating his/her difficulty, a skillful instructor will
kindly help learner to clarify the request. Responses to such should always specific
and helpful. The instructor should be able to determine when it is best to defer a
question for later consideration.
IX. Positive Reinforcement and Motivational Incentives
An instructor should motivate his audience. This can be done by clearly
presenting the objectives for each part of the course, also explaining how the points
relate to the learners. Introductory activities can be an effective motivational
tool. For this to be the case though, they must be relevant and build anticipation
for the benefits of the course material. Without giving gratuitous praise, the
instructor should also give specific, positive feedback to class participants.
X. Use of Standard Instructional Methods
Well-rounded instruction should consist of a variety of approaches, including but not
limited to lecture, demonstration, group or individual activity, and discussion sessions.
The instructional techniques employed should be appropriate to the situation and
well managed by the instructor. It is important to skillfully use a combination of
active and passive methods with smooth transitions between approaches, seamlessly
adjusting techniques as the circumstances require.
XI. Effective Use of Media
Training media may include software, printed manuals, flip charts, a white board,
handouts, overheads or other projection equipment. The use of such should enhance
the learning experience. They should be used to engage the learners at well-timed
points in the learning process. The media itself should not distract or detract from
the learning experience but by smooth transitions between each medium and the ability to
handle various mishaps the instructor will be effective.
XII. Evalutating Learner Performance
It is also crucial that an instructor be able to monitor learner progress using
evaluation techniques that are effectively linked to content and learners' needs.
The instructor should periodically assess the learners' progress during instruction when
it is appropriate. This can include quizzes or tests throughout a course, but there
should always be some mechanism to evaluate the attainment of end-of-course objectives.
XIII. Evaluating Delivery of Instruction
The instructor should be able to judge how well a course works for a particular group
of learners in a particular situation. There are many variables involved in
producing a good course (e.g. course design, instructor performance, environment, etc.).
A skillful instructor is understands the relevance and importance of each of these
factors in providing an effectual learning experience.
XIV. Reporting Evaluation Information
There is always room for improvement and there will always be something for the
instructor to learn from an engagement that will benefit subsequent classes or
presentations. At the end of a course, the instructor should prepare to report a
"post-course" summary and evaluation recommending revisions and changes to
existing materials and provide suggestions for new programs and activities. It is
also important to report information about the learning and physical environment and their
impact on the overall experience.
The foregoing guidelines lay a basis for developing new trainers and refining the
skills of more experienced trainers so that a consistently high level of educational
services may be provided. These 14 standards also are the compentencies assessed by
the internationally known, cross-industry respected Certified Technical Training Program.
If you are interested in more information on providing outstanding training, please see
our White Papers page.
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