Basic Instructor Course Field Evaluation Questionnaire
AETC Instructor Badge (AETC Instructor Bade, n.d.)
BACKGROUND: The current Air Education and Training Command's (AETC) Basic Instructor Course is a 20-day course that provides standardized training for newly assigned instructors. The scope of the training included covering the fundamentals of teaching, policy and procedures, counseling process and how to prepare/deliver academic lessons. NOTE: Prior to the recent course revision, the course was a 25-day course. The Faculty Development Master Instructor Program policy states that the mission of Faculty Development is to "train instructors to manage and be proficient in an interactive learning environment, including skills to transition between traditional and nontraditional methods of instruction" (Faculty Development and Master Instructor Programs, 2012). This is accomplished by integrating teaching and learning technology into the Basic Instructor Course.
AETC's policy on Technical and Basic Military Training Evaluations requires Field Evaluations Questionnaires (FEQ) be developed every two years to solicit supervisor feedback "to determine if graduates were trained as specified in the training standard" (Technical and Basic Military Training Evaluation, 2010). The requirement is mandated for initial skills courses, so it was not required for our faculty development courses. Prior to reducing the course from 25 days to 20 days, we determined there was a need to establish a base-line by soliciting feedback from graduates (and their supervisors) of the 25-day course. Working with Second Air Force and six AETC training bases, I developed an FEQ using SurveyMonkey.
The FEQ provided ratings as displayed in Figure 1, based on a 5-point Likert Scale (Figure 1) on six general topics that form the foundation of the course.
AETC's policy on Technical and Basic Military Training Evaluations requires Field Evaluations Questionnaires (FEQ) be developed every two years to solicit supervisor feedback "to determine if graduates were trained as specified in the training standard" (Technical and Basic Military Training Evaluation, 2010). The requirement is mandated for initial skills courses, so it was not required for our faculty development courses. Prior to reducing the course from 25 days to 20 days, we determined there was a need to establish a base-line by soliciting feedback from graduates (and their supervisors) of the 25-day course. Working with Second Air Force and six AETC training bases, I developed an FEQ using SurveyMonkey.
The FEQ provided ratings as displayed in Figure 1, based on a 5-point Likert Scale (Figure 1) on six general topics that form the foundation of the course.
TIES to AET Program: My initial exposure to the AET Program in EDAE 520 - Adult Education reminded me about the value of professionalism in our respective fields and specifically Adult Education. My experience with technical training for the United States Air Force has exposed me to teaching in classes with enlisted in which the majority are high school graduates to work with officers where they all have a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Being placed in front of a group of students eager to learn their new skill emphasized the need to have an accredited faculty development program. At the same time, work in EDAE 620 - Processes and Methods highlighted a few areas which applied to this project. The need to design an instructor course that touches on different methods of instruction to include lecture, guided instruction, case studies, demonstration/performance and interactive multimedia instruction is key to starting new instructors off on the road to success.
PROJECT STATUS and FUTURE: The current 20-day version of the Basic Instructor Course was fielded in the summer/fall of 2013. Initial graduates from the course have now accumulated six months of practical experience as instructors. I'm in the process of coordinating the follow-up FEQ and will be administering it through SurveyMonkey at the end of the month. The comparison of survey results between graduates of the 25 and 20 day courses will help identify potential training shortfalls which will allow us to modify the course to meet the needs of the Air Force.
REFERENCES:
[AETC Instructor Badge]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://media.cdn.usamilitarymedals.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/i/ air_force_air_education_and_training_command_instructor_badge_mirror_finish_7131_3.jpg
Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. (2010). Technical and basic military training evaluation
(AETCI 36-2201). Retrieved from website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/edref/aetci36-2201.pdf
Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. (2012). Faculty development and master instructor programs
(AETCI 36-2202). Retrieved from website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/edref/aetci36-2202.pdf
United States Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. (2012). Field evaluation questionnaire: Basic instructor course (2012-11).
PROJECT STATUS and FUTURE: The current 20-day version of the Basic Instructor Course was fielded in the summer/fall of 2013. Initial graduates from the course have now accumulated six months of practical experience as instructors. I'm in the process of coordinating the follow-up FEQ and will be administering it through SurveyMonkey at the end of the month. The comparison of survey results between graduates of the 25 and 20 day courses will help identify potential training shortfalls which will allow us to modify the course to meet the needs of the Air Force.
REFERENCES:
[AETC Instructor Badge]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://media.cdn.usamilitarymedals.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/i/ air_force_air_education_and_training_command_instructor_badge_mirror_finish_7131_3.jpg
Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. (2010). Technical and basic military training evaluation
(AETCI 36-2201). Retrieved from website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/edref/aetci36-2201.pdf
Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. (2012). Faculty development and master instructor programs
(AETCI 36-2202). Retrieved from website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/edref/aetci36-2202.pdf
United States Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. (2012). Field evaluation questionnaire: Basic instructor course (2012-11).