Firearms Training: What Makes A Good Instructor?
By: Chris Shoffner
It’s probably unlikely that I could have chosen a more subjective topic to talk about this month, but after a discussion that took place in a recent instructor development course that my training organization conducted, I felt compelled to write about this subject. It seems as though everyone in the class wanted to know just exactly what attributes make for a “good” or “bad” instructor.
In training, as with many things in life, there are a number of things that we can label as being either “true” or “false”, “wrong” or “right”, or perhaps even “black” or “white”. When it comes to labeling an instructor as either “good” or “bad”, on the other hand, it is a much more subjective process. While I might believe a certain instructor is very good, another person might believe him or her to only be average, and perhaps another might even believe him or her to be poor or bad. Having acknowledged this need for subjectivity, I will attempt to shed a little “subjective light” on the subject as I move forward.
First, I think it’s important to understand that there is no “industry standard” by which all firearms instructors can be graded, especially when you take into consideration the numerous accrediting organizations in existence. While most accrediting organizations use an established process for training and considering candidates to either accept or reject as a “Certified Instructor”, those processes vary greatly from one organization to the next. Likewise, many of these organizations use various methods to reward or commend instructors for certain achievements, though recognition and commencements (or the lack thereof) still may not be an accurate indication of how “good” or “bad” an instructor really is. Absent any kind of uniform, consistently applied standard, an instructor’s merit or level of performance comes down to being based entirely on the opinions of his or her students, and in a lot of cases, by additional review from his or her peers.
Having spent numerous years playing the parts of student and instructor, as well as participating as a regular member of a training team that is responsible for training and evaluating instructor candidates for certification recommendations, I submit the following observations based on my experiences.
Intimate Knowledge of Curriculum
As a student, I’ve attended classes with a variety of different instructors covering an even wider variety of subject matter. In my experience, it would be very difficult to argue with the age-old adage of, “not all instructors are created equal”. With that said, I am happy to report that the majority of instructors I’ve taken instruction from were usually pretty well versed on the subject matter they were teaching. It was generally easy to tell that they had “read the book” and put some time into studying the curriculum.
Using Realistic Context and Physical Demonstrations of Skills
Of course, simply knowing the material doesn’t necessarily translate into being able to convey that information in a way that is conducive to a student actually learning and absorbing it. The best of the instructors I’ve trained under in the firearms/defensive shooting fields, at least from my viewpoint as a student, were the one’s who not only knew the subject matter very well, but could also explain in plain English why the subject matter was relevant to the “problem” it was attempting to “solve”. In other words, they had a good mechanical understanding of how the material applied to real-world situations. In addition, in every case, these instructors also possessed the physical ability to properly demonstrate the skills and techniques needed to put the curriculum into action, lending support to the idea that a good instructor generally never asks a student to perform a task that he or she isn’t capable of performing him or herself.
Providing Feedback Needed For Improvement
Just as important as understanding the curriculum and being able to demonstrate the required physical skills, is the ability for the instructor to provide feedback that causes an improvement in the performance of the student. After all, isn’t that what training is all about? If a student shows a marked improvement on a quiz, on a target, or against a timer due to the feedback the instructor provided, then at some level, the instruction was successful. With that said, it’s important for the instructor to recognize what type of feedback or guidance will work best for each student. Different students often require a different approach on the instructor’s part, to achieve the desired result.
Drawing Upon Practical Experience While Remaining Humble
When it comes to firearms training, I think there is a certain segment of students and trainers out there that believe, unless an instructor has multiple years of experience as a law enforcement officer or elite military operator under his or her belt, then the instruction they provide can’t possibly be adequate for the armed citizen interested in the very real business of protecting themselves and their families. I tend to disagree.
While it’s certainly true that practical experience, if properly drawn upon, can be an important piece of the equation, it is definitely not a “be-all” or “end-all” aspect of competent instruction. How that experience is used in relationship to the subject matter, in addition to the attitude of the instructor, usually plays a much larger role in whether the instructor is a success or a failure. If used properly, that experience can provide students with insight that they otherwise may not get from an instructor without it. Conversely, if an instructor allows his accolades and achievements to become the primary focus of his instruction, it is usually a recipe for failure. The students I’ve polled over the years are typically not impressed with an instructor whose primary focus is himself, regardless of his experience or achievements.
Practical Experience Not A Substitute For Teaching Ability
On the other hand, using the polling results from these same students, they have pointed to many firearms trainers who have had little or no “practical” (combat or law enforcement) experience that they found to be very capable instructors. By and large, these instructors generally share the common traits of sticking strictly to their curriculum, teaching in a way that is conducive to learning, they are humble, and they don’t try to delve into topics that are outside their area(s) of expertise. These folks are good TEACHERS, by all accounts.
Looking at this from the angle of being an instructor myself, I feel I can add another perspective on the subject. Just to give some background, I’ve accumulated around 650 - 700 hours of time in front of a classroom as an instructor over the past several years. I am an NRA Certified Instructor in the Pistol, Personal Protection In The Home, and Personal Protection Outside The Home disciplines. My organization averages between 200 - 250 students per year, so while we maintain a regular schedule of training courses, we’re not full-timers. Myself and the other two instructors that are part of my organization all have full-time jobs that we maintain in addition to providing firearms instruction.
Always Remaining Professional and In Control
In a lot of ways, a large portion of the burden for learning falls on the student’s shoulders. No instructor can overcome a poor attitude or a lack of motivation on the student’s part to be a willing participant in the learning process. If a student comes into a class with a bad attitude or a chip on his shoulder, then it’s unlikely he will be very happy with the instruction he received at the end of the day. While, as an instructor, I try to “adjust” any bad attitudes in a professional, tactful way early in the class, it’s still up to the student to accept the “adjustment”. Since we can probably all agree that it only takes one problematic student to ruin a class for everyone else in attendance, I believe we can also agree that a good instructor must learn to recognize students with bad attitudes or other problems, develop tactful and effective techniques for dealing with them, and realize that at some point, it may be necessary to excuse a student from a class if their problem has the potential to be a detriment to the safety and learning experience of the other students in the class.
Listening To Your Students and Seeking Out Feedback
In addition, I cannot stress enough just how important it is to get real, honest, and consistent feedback from your students. I believe it is nearly impossible to improve your performance as an instructor to any significant degree if you don’t have reliable feedback from your students to draw upon. My organization provides each student in every class an evaluation form on which we ask them for their feedback. The students then have the option of either leaving their thoughts and comments in an anonymous manner, or they can fill in their name on the form if they so choose. By allowing the student to remain anonymous on the form, we have found that they sometimes feel more at ease about leaving any critical comments in addition to any positive comments they might have, and trust me, if you teach long enough and deal with any significant number of students, you will receive feedback that is of a critical nature at some point (which is sometimes the most beneficial feedback to receive). We also make ourselves available during breaks and after the class for any student who wishes to speak to us outside of the classroom environment.
Being Open To Peer Review
In conjunction with student feedback, myself and the other instructors in my group take part in a debriefing session after each and every class. We discuss the conduct of any classroom instruction and any range session that took place, performance of the students in the classroom and on the range, and we evaluate each other’s performance as instructors. This gives all of us an opportunity to point out any issues that may need addressed while they are still fresh in our minds and allows us the chance to provide positive reinforcement to each other for a job well done. This evaluation process, in my opinion, is a very important part of becoming a good instructor. Using the data I gather from student feedback and peer review allows me try to constantly hone and attempt to “perfect” my style of teaching.
So I ask again, what is it that really makes a good firearms instructor? Cleary, it is still a very subjective topic. Every instructor has a different teaching style and every student will have a slightly different take on learning. And we can’t dismiss the fact that sometimes, two different personality types just don’t work well with each other. In the end, if the instructor can demonstrate an intimate knowledge of the subject matter, a good mechanical understanding of how the material solves real-world problems, the physical skills needed to put the knowledge into practice, the ability to provide fair and proper feedback to the student in an efficient manner, and convey it in a professional and easy to understand manner, then he or she will probably make a lot of students very happy.
I believe, until you teach, it’s really hard to understand just how much it involves. Being a GOOD instructor takes a person who is willing to be self-critical, willing to admit when he or she is wrong, willing to take ridicule with a grain of salt, willing to adapt and change as needed, and willing to resist the urge to try to be something he or she is not. Ultimately, your students will let you know, in more ways than one, if you are a failure or a success, and in the end, that is the only grade that really counts.
As always, Be Safe!
Chris is an NRA Certified Instructor in the Pistol, Personal Protection In The Home, and Personal Protection Outside The Home disciplines, in addition to being a Certified Range Safety Officer. His organization, Armed Missouri, Inc., has been providing state compliant Firearms Safety Training since February 2004, in addition to providing NRA Sanctioned student and instructor courses year round. For more information, you can visit his website at www.armedmissouri.com
