Interesting article on firearm instruction in the police academy

[Lon]

I’ll leave this here without comment for the time being. Thought?

https://www.policemag.com/641943/fir...238i2894912e4v

[Horseman]

From the article:

When she first became an instructor, students would spend eight hours a day for five days on the range early in the academy. She said that was too much for them to absorb and there were no sleep cycles for them to encode and solidify what they learned into their brains.

I know of a police academy that got dramatically positive and consistent results when they changed from the old "Get your act together in five days or you aren't making house payments anymore" model and moved to four-hour weekly sessions spread over the whole academy cycle.

[Lon]

From the article:



I know of a police academy that got dramatically positive and consistent results when they changed from the old "Get your act together in five days or you aren't making house payments anymore" model and moved to four-hour weekly sessions spread over the whole academy cycle.

I can believe that. We do a two week straight block. But then they never fire their duty pistols again during the academy. Not a fan of that and would change that if I were in a position to do so.

[HCM]

From the article:



I know of a police academy that got dramatically positive and consistent results when they changed from the old "Get your act together in five days or you aren't making house payments anymore" model and moved to four-hour weekly sessions spread over the whole academy cycle.

Our Academy classes have firearms and DT alternate every other day throughout the Academy.

[Totem Polar]

I’ll need to re-read the article to comment more cogently, but the whole discussion on block instruction is spot on.

In motor learning, it’s “frequency, recency, and isolation.” Period.

[DDTSGM]

I thought the article was very good... but she hit one of my pet peeves:

Davis encountered a Phase 1 malfunction. She promptly and efficiently cleared it, but the instructor’s encouragement sticks with her to this day. "After I cleared it, I heard him say ‘Beautiful, the gun did not move in your hand when you hit that Phase 1’,” she says. “I kind of felt like I had arrived at that moment.”

Right after she talked about intimidation/feeling lost because she didn't know the lingo. I think many instructors try to be too technical. By using cool guy codes such as 'Phase 1' the shooter has to go through a whole other step of encoding/decoding. Call them what they are: fail to feed, fail to fire, fail to extract, fail to eject and eliminate one thing the shooter has to remember - the cool guy name.

I totally agree with her approach to coaching.

[TGS]

I can believe that. We do a two week straight block. But then they never fire their duty pistols again during the academy. Not a fan of that and would change that if I were in a position to do so.

We went to this model as well during a big overhaul of our post-FLETC agency schoolhouse. Dramatic difference.

The FLETC basic courses (CITP and UPTP) are run this way, as well. A bunch of the federal agencies in the DC area still do blocks at their agency-specific training because of the difficulties with scheduling at FLETC Cheltenham, where many of them do their own little mini post-FLETC coursework. Cheltenham is a lot smaller than Artesia and Glynco, and to be honest is really more purposed for refresher training and qual shoots on an intermittent basis rather than extended classes.

Did you guys ever move to the SME-guest instructor model that you were asking for feedback about a year or so ago, or am I conflating you with someone else?

[Lon]

Did you guys ever move to the SME-guest instructor model that you were asking for feedback about a year or so ago, or am I conflating you with someone else?

If I did ask that question, I don’t remember it.

[jnc36rcpd]

Her program seems pretty solid from the article. I definitely agree that we can use cool terms that confuse everyone, including ourselves. I confess I'm never sure what numeric condition a malfunction or a weapon's condition is. I can understand a failure to extract or cocked-and-locked, but I'd be guessing what number either is.

Coaching is an unknown skill for some instructors. I recall an FI wandering up and down the firing line, looking at my target, and ordering me to "Concentrate!". Thanks! When I was trying to qualify, I was thinking about other things entirely, Good advice.

Even when not stressing a trainee out, one has to be sure you're understood. I attended a class primarily made up of fairly switched on troops. Included was a detective from an allied agency. She was going back to patrol and attended the class to upgrade her street skills. She confessed to me that she was completely befuddled by being told to "stuff mags". She was, of course, quick enough to realize she should refill her magazines when the rest of us did so.

[BN]

I had to Google "Phase 1 Malfunction".

I get confused about Condition 1, 2 etc.

The other day I was wandering around unaware and I wondered if there was a condition even lighter than white.

Plain English is a good thing.