Ken Harmel (above left photo), and Michelle Johnson (above right photo), from UFV Teaching and Learning Centre, recently facilitated an Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) for the Abbotsford Police Department.
Written by Ken Harmel
Last week I was reminded that even excellent educators find areas of improvement that enhance the learning experience of their students. I had the privilege of facilitating an Instructor Skills Workshop (ISW) with the Abbotsford Police Department. The participants had many years of training under their (duty) belts, and it showed in their first mini-lesson. I thought, what tools did they need to enhance their training? Nothing was “broken” so nothing needed “fixing”. It wasn’t long before the participants began to experience and adopt alternative teaching methods, which their peers demonstrated and introduced in theme sessions. For example, although you can’t use task-based, flipped classroom teaching methods to learn how to shoot a gun, a clearly written outcome and objectives alignment would keep training more focused. The participants entered with open minds and were motivated to improve their training even though I felt they were very proficient trainers to begin with. This experience was very inspiring and a reminder that we all can keep honing our teaching skills.