CLC Completion

[mdickinson]

They key to making an SLS, CLC, UCC or TLC course really memorable is finding an outstanding course director.  When I took SLS in '96, CLC in '97, and RSC in '98, I benefited from extremely well-planned and well-run courses.  Since then I've taught at about 20 weekend courses (SLS, CLC, UCC, and TLC) and two RSCs.

To do an outstanding job, the course director does NOT have to be a great public speaker, or even very knowledgeable about the subjects being taught. S/he just has to have the following qualities:

• Be someone who can plan WAY ahead. By "plan way ahead," I mean set the date and location, and publicize the course, four to six months in advance, and have the course fully staffed with instructors by two months in advance.
• Be extremely organized about the logistics of the course
• Communicate with instructors, students, and prospective students frequently, reminding them of the dates of the course and of registration deadlines.
• Be consistent in your communication with your instructors. Don't assign them to a topic they aren't an expert in. Email them the PowerPoint and the Student Guide a month ahead of time. And DON'T suddenly switch them from one topic to another on Saturday morning!

and most of all:

• Get the BEST instructors that you can. Do not choose people because "he needs to teach at an SLS in order to finish level IV" or because they are a friend or a former commander. Ignore state lines and hunt down the most talented presenters you can.

I remember an outstanding course director in a neighboring wing last year. He set the date of the course a full six months ahead of time. He then sent four monthly emails to every squadron commander in the area (using a 60 mile radius, I think, and including the two neighboring wings, since wing boundaries are meaningless when it comes to prof.dev.), asking them to encourage every senior in their unit who hadn't had the course to sign up.

The student sign-up deadline was six to eight weeks prior to the course. By that point he had combed the entire area for the very best instructors, and had assigned each of us to teach an area where we were particularly strong. He ended up using instructors from two wings and from region staff. He selected people who had classroom teaching skills; years of experience with the CAP program they were teaching; and a high-energy positive outlook. 

The venue was a local community center with the necessary tables and chairs. Logistics were well taken care of: lots of coffee and bagels in the morning; a working PowerPoint projector and laptop, and a reasonably sized screen. (Don't you hate when 30 people are trying to squint at the text on someone's tiny 3'x4' home slide-projector screen?) A menu from a local deli was passed around to all students and instructors during the mid-morning break, and everyone's sandwich arrived in time for the lunch break. The cost of the lunches was included in the course fee.

This guy didn't do anything magical. He just did really good planning ahead of time, communicated well, and took care to select the very best teaching staff he could find. The weekend was incredibly productive and the students left energized, excited, and well versed.


As for the alternative... I'm sure many of us have attended (or had the misfortune of teaching at) courses where the course director was a last-minute planner, sloppy, didn't plan adequately, or chose a bunch of mediocre instructors because "they're local" or "he's been in CAP a long time" without regard to their expertise or presenting skills. What a waste of time a weekend like that can be!

Of all these points, though, selecting good instructors, with positive outlook, is the single most important one. The last thing people need when attending a course is to hear from instructors who say "it used to be SO much better in the old days" or "nowaways, we have to follow all these dumb regs" or "back when I learned this stuff, the CAPR 50-15 and 55-1 said..." or "we USED to be able to do barrel rolls during cadet O-flights, but NOW they won't let us... pussies."

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

Get the BEST instructors that you can. Do not choose people because "he needs to teach at an SLS in order to finish level IV" or because they are a friend or a former commander. Ignore state lines and hunt down the most talented presenters you can.

If someone is actively requesting an instructor assignment to further their PD, they should be considered. Not everyone has public speaking / teaching experience and part of the PD program is developing these skills and passing their knowledge on. With the time lines recommended they could be mentored on their presentation skills.

[mdickinson]

Get the BEST instructors that you can. Do not choose people because "he needs to teach at an SLS in order to finish level IV" or because they are a friend or a former commander. Ignore state lines and hunt down the most talented presenters you can.

If someone is actively requesting an instructor assignment to further their PD, they should be considered. Not everyone has public speaking / teaching experience and part of the PD program is developing these skills and passing their knowledge on. With the time lines recommended they could be mentored on their presentation skills.

Agree, they should be considered - just not automatically put on staff simply because they need the requirement to complete Level IV.

It's a judgment call. The Prof.Dev. officer or Course Director has a responsibility to the students to get them the best possible instructors... and also wants to develop instructors, by giving people without classroom instruction experience a chance to get their feet wet. 

I agree it's important to develop new instructors and give a turn at the front of the room to members with CAP experience but who haven't taught before.  But I feel the primary responsibility is to the students.

If the Course Director is considering someone with zero teaching experience, s/he can always ask the person to teach a sample class to the director beforehand. This would serve three purposes: to make sure the person isn't going to freeze up when they step onto the stage; to give them the experience of a "dry run"; and to allow the course director to offer pointers and suggestions (don't pace; speak louder and slower; don't stand between the projector and the screen; give the students the page number in their workbook that you are referring to... that sort of thing)

[EMT-83]

There are other ways to complete the PD requirement for Level 4, but yeah, what Phil said.

The six to eight week cut-off for registrations sounds interesting. I get my chops busted with a one week deadline, and folks still want walk-in registration.

[Private Investigator]

There are other ways to complete the PD requirement for Level 4, but yeah, what Phil said.

+1    :clap:


Professional devealopment is not rocket science. 

[huey]

+ 1  but I would retake these courses (SLS, CLC, UCC) every few years as a refresher.
[/quote]

Even better, teach at some of them.
[/quote]

Yeah, that's the PD, the continuing learning concept!! In their authorities, every wings/groups can open those classes a few times per year so SMs would have more oppotunities to learn/ refresh and more chances to exchange ideas/ successful stories from their own units. That's a real CAP activity.