Overview
The Instructor Course, one of two courses that comprise the Common Faculty Development Program, is a ten-day/80 hour course designed for new faculty (e.g. instructors, trainers, and facilitators).
CFD-IC is a competency-based course: the learning objectives are based on internationally recognized instructor competencies published by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI). The course prepares new faculty to teach, train, and facilitate learning in an adult learning environment. It introduces new faculty to Army instructor roles and responsibilities, teaching and learning models, and professional and ethical requirements. The course also introduces classroom management techniques, the process for building learning objectives and lesson plans, and characteristics of effective communication.
Throughout the course, new faculty will have an opportunity to practice teaching, working from short, simple practicum exercises to increasingly longer and more complex ones, culminating in an end of course lesson presentation. The first half of the course focuses on characteristics of effective instructors, self-awareness—of differences in teaching and learning style preferences—and fundamentals of teaching and learning as they apply to adults. The second week focuses more on application of those fundamentals in various teaching and learning practicums, with both instructor, peer, and self-assessment in a collaborative learning environment. The summative assessment will occur at the end of the course and consist of an individual 30- to 50-minute practicum.