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Updated: 8 Oct 08
Training Aids (Lesson Plans, PowerPoint Presentations, etc)
1BN Newsletters
2010
7/24/08 1st Battalion Pictures
5 August 2008
NOTE
FROM YOUR TOP SERGEANT
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep the members of our battalion informed of what is going on, what will be happening in the future, and information on how to make our battalion better.
My congratulations to all who participated in the exercise. It was great
success and even your old "Top" found a problem with his stove that
has since been corrected. Even the "GoBag" inspection went very
well and I was very impressed with the dedication of our personnel in being
ready for what ever nature may throw at us. "Good Work & Job Well
Done"
Awards & Ribbons
I am pleased to announce that we have finally gotten a good handle on tracking and submission of paperwork to ensure deserving personnel get what they have earned. Yet we still have some work to do. Crucial to this effort is "paperwork". It is vital that copies of everything be given to the appropriate battalion recorder. Copies of all training diplomas and other training records be given to the battalion S-3 (SFC Richey) and to the battalion assistant S-1 (1SG Mynatt). As paperwork for awards, orders, promotions, etc. come down the Chain of Command, there are supposed to be distribution copies for our files. However, as "the best laid plans of mice and men sometime go astray", they sometimes get lost or misplaced. You can help us by checking with the appropriate contact (indicated above) to ensure we got them. In addition, I will be setting down with each individual to check my computer 201 files to ensure we have everything.
INSTRUCTOR TECHNIQUES AND MANNERISMS
In previous newsletters, we have discussed objectives and lesson plans. In this newsletter, we will talk about how we teach. All of us have set in class where the instructor stood in one place and read the material in dry monotone voice. Yet, we have seen other teachers that seem to hold our attention and were surprised the lesson was over. Not that we learned anything but it was a joy to listen to them speak and move about the room with jokes and funny gestures. Remember, good teachers are the one's that impart knowledge and help the student achieve that new knowledge and/or experience. Students learn not by the instructor giving it to him but rather giving enough information for the student to put the pieces together and on their own (hopefully) coming up with the desired results.
Good teaching is also about style. Should good teaching be entertaining? You bet! Does this mean that it lacks in substance? Not a chance! Effective teaching is not about being locked with both hands glued to a podium or having your eyes fixated on a slide projector while you drone on. Good teachers work the room and every student in it. They realize that they are the conductors and the class is the orchestra. All students play different instruments and at varying proficiencies.
Instructors will often use their experiences to aid in getting something across to the students. Yet when the instructor "goes off tangent" by continually injecting stories into the subject matter then it becomes distracting and takes away precious time from the class. In can also lead students to inject their experiences into the class and often leads to total disarray in which no time is left to teach the material.
Another distracter is our body language. A distracting mannerism is anything you say or do that interferes with your students' learning. The most obvious of these are the overuse of "OK" or "all right" and toying with something in your hand such as a pointer. These mannerisms tend to distract your students' attention. Another distracting mannerism is focusing on only one part of the room or a single person. For the vast majority of us, teaching is a scary thing and we get very nervous. Suddenly, we are now the person in the know or the center of attention (they are all looking at me now) and it is something we are not used to. As we scan the room, we are looking for some sign of acceptance and when we find it in someone's face then we will unconsciously focus on that area. If we find no acceptance then we will look away (at the floor, ceiling, chalkboard, or book) rather than look out into what we mistakenly perceive as a hostile audience. What you see is a look of anticipation at learning something new.
Yet all is not lost. For first time instructors and even some old time instructors, nervousness is natural. The trick is to act natural and that includes hand gestures if that is how you talk to your friends and it is natural. The other trick is to know the material. Prior planning and research is key to a successful teaching session.
In the next newsletter, I will talk about how planning, research, and time to develop an effective and rewarding class of instruction for our soldiers.