The Ultimate Guide to Excellent Teaching and Training: Face-To-Face and Online

By Dr. Jeffrey C. Fox

This book is for anyone interested or involved in teaching, training, or instructing, whether you are just getting into the field or thinking about it or you have been teaching for decades. It is for those who administer teaching, training, or instructing. The book was written for academics and those who teach in academies and other professional adult learning environments. The books contents are applicable to all types of colleges, be they community colleges, four-year colleges, or universities, both private and public, for-profit or nonprofit.

Most professional practitioner-type instructors go through some sort of instructor school, teachers earn degrees in teaching, but many who teach or instruct are never trained or taught how to teach or train. Few professors are taught how to teach. They have been taught, so this is where they often draw their own teaching styles. Regardless of where you teach, train, or instruct, this book and its contents are for you. The book goes into great detail regarding face-to-face classes as well as online and other delivery methods. The lessons found in this book can be applied to new students, undergraduate, or graduate students. The lessons apply equally to basic, in-service, and specialized training.
My hope is that no matter how great of an instructor you are, you will find many new nuggets of information that will add to your teaching toolbox. One of my goals in life is to leave a positive lasting impact. I want to help students and other instructors recognize and reach their full potential. I want you to be the best instructor you can be. I strongly believe we impact people all the time whether we know it or not. You can and will make a big difference in your students lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503577695

Dr. Jeffrey C. Fox

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Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Jeffrey C. Fox.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by the Zondervan Corporation.

Rev. date: 07/02/2015

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Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter One Teaching and Training

Chapter Two The Domains of Learning (Teaching and Training the Whole Person)

Chapter Three Pedagogy and Andragogy

Chapter Four Principles of Learning

Chapter Five The Student

Chapter Six The Instructor

Chapter Seven Teaching and Training Strategies

Chapter Eight Program, Course, and Lesson Development

Chapter Nine Field Training, Mentoring, and Coaching

Chapter Ten Managing Teaching and Training

Chapter Eleven Considering Online

Chapter Twelve Online Teaching and Training

Chapter Thirteen Other Delivery Methods

Glossary

References

About the Author

Preface

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know

what you are going to get.

—Forrest Gump

For many years, I appeared before promotion panels, seeking to advance in my police career. Almost without exception, there was a professor on the panel. And, almost without exception, the same question was asked each year. The question was and remains, which is more important, education or training? As is my habit, I always do my best to be honest. Sometimes this has benefited me, and others times, not so much. My answer was, within the police context of working the road and so forth, both were important. I would go on to explain that a person having earned a college degree can just not step out onto the street in uniform and start enforcing the law or the many other duties a police officer has. Conversely, and ideally, an officer would have a degree or seek a degree to go along with the training he or she would receive. This would make for a well-rounded officer in most cases. As I wrote this book, I pondered how I could merge two what may seem distinct topics together, those being teaching (educating) and training. There are certain things in both activities that are somewhat unique to each task, but there are more things that are similar, and I would argue germane to both activities.

My first career was in law enforcement. I was an officer, a leader, and a trainer in this profession. So if you will allow me, I will borrow from almost three decades of experience and use my first profession as a springboard and often as examples to help illustrate and to bring to life my points. In my profession, good training and teaching can and did make the difference between life and death, making sure the right person was arrested and convicted and ensuring the public was treated fairly.

This book is for anyone who is interested or involved in teaching, training, or instructing, whether you are just getting into the field or thinking about it or you have been teaching for decades. It is for those who administer teaching, training, or instructing. The book was written for academics and those who teach in academies and other professional adult learning environments. The book’s contents are applicable to all types of colleges, be they community colleges, four-year colleges, or universities or be they private or public for profit or nonprofit. Most professional practitioner–type instructors go through some sort of instructor school, teachers earn degrees in teaching, but many who teach or instruct are never trained or taught how to teach or train. Actually, few professors are taught how to teach. They have been taught, so this is where they bring their teaching knowledge from. Regardless of where you teach, train, or instruct, this book and its contents are for you. The book goes into great detail regarding face-to-face classes as well as online and other delivery methods. The lessons found in this book can be applied to new students, undergraduate students, or graduate students. Also, the lessons apply equally to basic, in-service, and specialized training. I ask that as you read the book, you highlight, underline, and write in it. You may be leery of online training. You may prefer only lecturing. Whatever your likes or dislikes, keep an open mind to new ideas.

I would like to offer a few caveats before we get into the book. First, you will see, there is little difference, in many ways, between the verbs training and teaching. There are differences, in some ways, between education and training. For the purposes of this book and what I hope to accomplish by you reading and implementing what you read, the terms training and teaching are synonymous. I will use the words training, teaching, and instructing interchangeably. Professors or educators reading this may disagree that they are training. Practitioners who teach skills in academics or training programs may say they are not teaching. I hope by the time you are done reading this book, you will agree or at least be okay with my use of these words being used interchangeably. Do not get hung up on the semantics of these words. While we may have different methods, we are all trying to impart knowledge or skills to our students.

The second caveat deals with brick-and-mortar, or face-to-face, and online. The vast majority of what is to be discussed in this book applies equally to either venue or mode of delivery. Yes, there are some unique differences. I believe you can distinguish between what applies to only online or only a face-to-face course. Unless otherwise noted, when we are discussing teaching or training, we will be considering and talking about either mode of delivery. In fact, the more the teacher can make online seem as if it is face-to-face, the better. Likewise, online is here to stay and can and shall be made part of many or most face-to-face classrooms in various ways.

What difference does it all make?

I love to teach and train. I wrote this book to share the things I have learned, and my hope is that no matter how great of an instructor you are, you will find many new nuggets of information that you will add to your teaching toolbox. One of my goals in life is to leave a positive lasting impact. I want to help everyone I can be the best person he or she can be. I want to help them recognize and reach their full potential. Likewise, I want you to be the best instructor you can be. Conversely, I do not want to do any harm. I strongly believe we impact people all the time whether we know it or not. The question is, are our impacts for better or worse, and are they big or small impacts? You can and will make a big difference.

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.

—Proverbs 1:5

Acknowledgments

The completion of this book would not have been possible without the support, patience, and love of my wife, Pam. Without her, I could not have accomplished this work. Most important, I owe any success I have had in my life to God. In Him, all things are possible.

I am grateful to all those who teach, train, mentor, and coach. I am grateful to those who taught, trained, mentored, coached, and encouraged me throughout my life.

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Chapter One

Teaching and Training

I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an Honest Man.

—George Washington

Why are you reading this book? Is it because you are already a teacher or trainer and want some tips? Is it because you want to become a teacher or trainer and want tips? Do you want to enhance your teaching skills? Maybe you had a teacher or trainer who impacted you positively or negatively and you are seeking answers as to why or how that happened. Whatever the reason(s), I want to thank you for your interest and your valuable time. I hope you have been positively impacted many times by great teachers or trainers. Maybe you were impacted by a person who was just okay at teaching or training but he or she cared or showed interest in you. They left you with a positive future outlook. I have a real simple philosophy about life and my role as a teacher or trainer and my role when I was a leader of police and as a police officer. I want to leave everyone I come into contact with better than when I found them. That does not mean they were not great to begin with. First, I want to do no harm. Second, I want to help them be the very best they can be. I want them to achieve and succeed.

Like you, I had many teachers and trainers over the years. Most I do not recall, not so much because they were bad at what they did, but much time has passed and they did not impact me significantly for better or worse. Then there are those who did stick out, so to speak. Some stuck out because of how poorly they did their jobs. Others stuck out because of the lasting positive impact they had on me. I want to thank all of them though. Yes, even the ones who performed poorly. They taught me valuable lessons of how not to be. However, I want to especially thank the many who encouraged me, saw something worthwhile in me, and took the time to tell me they saw it, and the ones who shared their knowledge and wisdom with me. Many of these were formal teachers and trainers, but others were teachers in a subliminal fashion. They were not formally teaching, but they still shared knowledge and wisdom and acted in ways worthy of emulation. The good news is that I am sure I am not the only one these great role models impacted. Theirs is and will be a legacy wherein they left the world and me better than they found it. I hope one day that will be my legacy as well as yours. Not that I deserve it, because I do not, but I hope one day to reach the pearly gates and hear these words, Well done, good and faithful servant.

Before we delve further into this chapter, let us look at what Washington said in the aforementioned quote. Firmness and virtue are what Washington sought in the hopes of being thought of as an honest person. Being honest, firm, and fair must be the foundation of your teaching and training. Further, these qualities are what we should hope to instill in our students. Throughout this book, you will see me write repeatedly that we must ensure we teach the whole person. The whole person means the cognitive, psychomotor, and attitudinal or affective domains. In each chapter, I will include quotes at the start and at the end. You will notice that these quotes often speak of leadership and wisdom. Part of teaching and training is about leadership. As the teacher or trainer, you are the leader of the class. Hopefully, your teaching will be grounded in wisdom as well.

There is a wonderful story told of a little boy named Teddy Stallard. To hear this story online, just type in Teddy Stallard Story in a search. The story is told from one of Teddy’s teachers who did not care for him because he was not a particularly good student and was not pleasant. After she read Teddy’s file, she found that he had been a loving, caring little boy until his mother died. Each year he got worse. Now this teacher was dealing with him. After she learned more about Teddy, her heart softened and she paid more attention to him, and he responded. He actually gave her Christmas gifts. The gifts had been items that belonged to his mother. Because of her caring for Teddy, he turned around. He never forgot her. He stayed in touch with her. She had impacted him in such a way that it literally changed his life. The troubled little boy went on to become a doctor. Years later, when Teddy got married, he asked this teacher to come to the wedding and take the place where his mother would have been. I encourage you to look this story up. This is what teaching is all about. This world is filled with Teddy Stallards. The question is, what kind of teacher are you or will you be?

What is teaching and/or training?

Teaching, as a verb, is defined as the act, practice, or profession of a teacher, also something taught; especially doctrine (Merriam-Webster 2015). Teach, train, and instruct are all verbs and require action. Teaching, as a noun, is defined as the job or profession of a teacher, also something that is taught: the ideas and beliefs that are taught by a person, religion, etc. Training, as a verb, is defined as the act, process, or method of one that trains, also the skill, knowledge, or experience acquired by one that trains, and/or the state of being trained. Training, as a noun, is defined as a process by which someone is taught the skills that are needed for an art, profession, or job, also the process by which an athlete prepares for competition by exercising, practicing, etc. (Merriam-Webster 2015). Train means to teach and form by practice or to educate (Merriam-Webster 2015). Learning is described as the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, techniques, and applications which will enable the individual to do something that he/she could not do before (Merriam-Webster 2015). Educate means to teach someone especially in a school, college, or university. It also means to give someone information about something or to train someone to do something (Merriam-Webster 2015). As you can see, teaching, training, learning, train, and educate are not so different, are they? They are actually very similar and almost interchangeable.

We have been teaching and training one another since the beginning of time. In hunter societies, older males taught younger males how to hunt. Likewise, in agrarian societies, older members of the tribe or village taught younger ones skills such as farming, planting, and harvesting. Then as time went on, the trades began to develop. We see apprentices learning how to use iron and other minerals. I would imagine it kind of went like this. They told them, they showed them, they did it, they critiqued them, and they continued to do it until they honed the craft or skill. Some things never change, do they? Of course, all this was verbal or oral. With time, writing and reading entered the equation. Knowledge advanced, and formal education developed.

Whom do we teach or train?

We teach and train people every day whether we know it or not and whether we want to or not. We teach beginners and seasoned veterans. We teach young and old, rich and poor, black and white, just to name a few categories. We teach novices and experts. We teach one another. We teach those who are willing and want to learn.

What do we train?

We train on the basics and fundamentals. We train new skills and refresh old skills. We train occupational skills and theoretical ideas. We train individuals and groups. We train the mind, heart, and muscular systems.

Why do we train?

We train because we want to share knowledge. We train because we care. We train because we are paid to or we volunteer. We train to pass on to the next generations what we know. So why do we teach or train, or put another way, why is either important? There are several reasons to teach and/or train. The answer is for ethical and legal reasons, along with good business practices. Whether as the deliverer of the training or teaching or the recipient, the answers remain the same. Someone has paid for the training to be delivered and received. Ultimately, someone else, maybe even you or me, will be the recipient of what is taught. I will emphatically and brazenly state that you must care about your students. If you do not care about your students, then you should not instruct. I know this sounds harsh, but this point is at the core of great teaching.

When do we train?

We train all the time. We train when we speak and when we do not speak. We train when we listen. We train when the time is right and sometimes when the time is not right. We do basic, in-service, remedial, and specialized training.

How do we train?

We train using various learning methods and through as many senses as possible. We engage when we train. We train through verbs and action.

Training gives narrow, specific, and one best way approach or information that can be used on the job. Education promotes understanding rather than merely mastering a range of skills or techniques. Cognitive, psychomotor, and affective or attitudinal skills must all be developed. Training and education are similar, as we have seen, and both matter tremendously.

There are various reasons why teaching or training someone is important. At the macro level, hopefully the teaching and training that take place help the student become better at whatever he or she is doing or will do and, as a result, help to form and enhance society or at least some segment of society. At the micro level, we learn when we teach. Our reputation is also at stake. You may even say it is part of your legacy.

People tend to avoid duties they do not agree with or feel uncomfortable performing. In most cases, neither of these is acceptable in that we must perform our duties and hopefully to a high level. The agreeing part can be a little tricky. A student should be well-informed as to the reasoning and rationale as well as the legal and ethical reasons to perform a duty as well as to not do other things while performing duties. Ultimately, a person must decide if, in good conscience, they can do what they have been called upon to do. If not, he or she should seek other employment.

On to the performance-related part, which is not feeling comfortable with the task at hand. We will explore this in different ways throughout the book.

If training is done correctly, a person given whatever job they have should be able to say, I have been here before and have done this successfully. If a person cannot say this, they are likely to avoid the task, improvise, and try to work their way through it, or maybe even freeze. None of these choices is a good option. We owe it to our employees and our students to prepare them to succeed. It may be a simple task where the worst case may be a customer is ignored or unhappy with the final outcome. However, it may be a much more serious issue involving a life-or-death decision to act or not act.

While I do not wish to focus on the legal aspects of training, it is prudent to at least touch on this very real and unpleasant topic. First, pretty much every person and/or agency or company he or she represents is subject to some level or form of liability. Good training will help reduce and/or protect from liability. My first career was policing, which had great liability, but as I said, every occupation or profession has liability.

Proper and enhanced training will decrease liability and increase professionalism. Successful litigation and significant judgments can have a serious impact on fiscal governmental stability, devastate agency reputation, destroy employees’ careers and lives, and damage community/customer relations.

Chronology of Training and Selected Municipal Liability

1956—Meistinsky v. City of New York (State)

State tort claim for negligent training—firearms and deadly force.

1961—Monroe v. Pape

Court rule municipality is not a person. Yet state officer acting under color of law (even if unlawful under state law) can be sued.

1978—Monell v. Department of Social Services

Local government officials are persons under 42 USC 1983. Must implement or execute policy, ordinance, regulation, or official decision.

1979—Popow v. City of Margate (State, NJ)

Officer accidentally shot a person. Initial training was ten years earlier, and the only other training shooting was every six months at range. Court said yes, minimum training, yet not lifelike or realistic. Needed moving targets, night shooting, and residential topic covered.

1979—Owens v. Haas (US Second Circular)

Court ruled duty for administration and supervisor to train. Failure to do so can result in liability.

1988—Burnham v. West (US District, Eastern.)

Under official capacity, sovereign immunity is alive and well in Virginia. This is at state level.

1989—Will v. Michigan Department of State Police

State not a person under 42 USC 1983. However, the federal government and most, if not all, states allow for some level of compensable liability by statute.

1989—City of Canton v. Harris

Municipality can be held liable for inadequate training of its employees. Liability occurs when failure to train amounts to deliberate indifference.

1989—Bordanaro v. McLeod (US First Circular)

Department was found to be operating off of rules from the 1960s. No training beyond basic academy. Leaders actively discouraged officers from seeking training. Discipline was haphazard. It all amounted to deliberate indifference.

1991—Hafer v. Melo

Municipality in reality is defendant when suit filed against individual officer in official capacity.

1993—Zuchel v. City and County of Denver (US Tenth Circular)

Failure to have shoot, don’t shoot and no street conditions amounted to deliberate indifference.

As you can see, over the years, sovereign immunity has lost much of its strength. Section 42 USC 1983 has increased in usage with the watering down of immunity and the wider interpretation of who a person is. Training has become more of a focus for several reasons—one, deeper pockets, and it can attach this way. More and better training is examined. Contextual based, lifelike, and realistic training is sought after.

In Canton v. Harris, the Supreme Court laid out four elements for liability to attach:

1. Focus must be on adequacy of the training in relation to the task the person, in this case officer, must perform.

2. Person’s, in this case officer’s, individual shortcomings may be from something other than the training.

3. Must show more than the need for more or better training.

4. The identified training deficiency must be closely related to the injury or proximate cause. In other words, failure to train must be linked to some specific policy related to training.

In essence, Canton does not just require more training; it requires better training. It requires employees to know the things they can be expected to do on the job. To not meet the training standards set forth in Canton invites liability.

Three links are required for successful litigation for failure to train:

1. There must be a constitutional violation.

2. Establish that the training was deficient and that the deficiency was due to department policy or custom. The design and administration of the program must be so lacking that they demonstrate deliberate indifference on the agency’s part.

3. The third link requires a causal connection. Plaintiff must prove that the