WMI’s Instructor Training Course

We’re training 18 new WMI Instructors this week in our annual Instructor Training Course.  These folks are NOLS field instructors, ski patrollers, raft guides, environmental educators and wildland firefighters.  We can hear Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Australian in the classroom.

For the past two days we’ve been working on our skills as educators.  Sessions on setting up your classroom, teaching adult learners, the variety of learning styles and how to teach through lecture, demonstration and scenarios fill our days along with classes on how to use a white board, handle questions, the pitfalls of a/v technology, and the specifics of the content of our curriculum.  We talk about the difference between content and style in education, the what and the how, and the power of intentionally choosing how to best deliver a topic.   This afternoon the participants begin student teaching the curriculum.   We hear, from this cadre of experienced instructors, how effective this course is in developing the skills of an educator.

This morning we listened to Melissa Gray deliver the state of the school speech.  She inspired us by describing our educational environment as one that engages the students and teaches a systematic way to apply their skills.  They leave our programs competent, empowered to act and feeling confident in their ability to make decisions and care for others in remote environments.   This is the ‘WMI Way”.

Right now we’re watching Gates Richards build a peanut butter and jelly sandwich following the instructions of the students.   It’s an exercise to demonstrate the precise and intentional use of language when we teach.   Unfortunately, when we told Gates to open the jelly, we forgot to tell him to hold the jar upright.  Jelly, jelly everywhere except the bread…….