FORT SILL, Okla. (Sept. 8, 2016) -- Before a Soldier, DA civilian or contractor can become an Army instructor, they are required to complete the Army Basic Instructor Course (ABIC). The two-week course covers basic learning theory, adult learning principles, learning styles and motivation theory. It also delves into the mechanics of instruction, such as beginning a class with administrative notes, using visual aids, and evaluating and counseling students.
Four Soldiers and three civilian instructors at the Fires Center of Excellence's Directorate of Training Development and Doctrine (DOTD) Staff and Faculty Division teach the 80-hour ABIC, said Ray Trevino, ABIC registrar. The instructor to student ratio is 1:10, and two classes run concurrently. The ABIC follows the Training and Doctrine Command's Army Learning Concept, which provides guidelines in training Soldiers, and is taught at Army Centers of Excellence.
A focus of the course is instructor performance in 13 areas, ranging from instruction fundamentals to job or combat applications to creating a positive learning environment, said Billy Williams, ABIC instructor. The students learn these 13 competencies as they perform three student led instruction (SLI) blocks during the course.
"The course is designed to give instructors some tools that will help and assist them as they train Soldiers," Williams said. "We don't expect them to become outstanding instructors overnight."
One of the principles used in ABIC is Kolb's learning styles, which recognizes that people learn in different ways, Williams said. Kolb identified four styles: accommodating (feel/do); diverging (feel/watch); converging (think/do); and assimilating (think/watch).
"If you know the different learning styles and how your students learn, that will make you a better instructor because you can prepare for those different learning styles and not try to teach the way you best learn," said Williams, who has been an ABIC instructor since 2010.
LEARNING BY TEACHING
In SLI1, the student is given a method of instruction to teach and provided all the materials to lead the class, Williams said. Method of instruction topics include lecture, demonstration, role playing, scenario-based training, and practical exercise. SLIs run between 40 and 50 minutes.
In SLI2, two students work as a team to provide an instruction block, again in a teaching methodology.
For SLI3, the student teaches a topic that they will instruct at their regular unit. The instruction is student-centered focus, where the instructor places responsibility on learning on students by keeping them motivated, engaged and using a variety of teaching styles. The student-instructor is also required to use at least three of the five teaching methods: brainstorming, lecture, practical exercise, scenario-based training, and conference/discussion, in their SLI3 presentation.
In all the SLIs, the student-instructor is evaluated by the course instructor, as well as by their nine classmates who just received the lesson. They are graded in the 13 instructor performance areas on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a significant shortfall; 3 being satisfactory; and 5 being excellent.
"They must make at least a satisfactory in all 13 areas (to pass the SLI)," said Williams.
Student Sgt. Derrick Smith-Brunner, Northern Warfare Training Center, taught basic knot tying for his SLI3 requirement. He will teach the Basic Military Mountaineering, and Cold Weather Leaders courses at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He said ABIC was academically demanding.
"It's kind of like drinking from a firehose. It's a lot of information in one week that you have to test on," said Smith-Bruner, an infantryman. "Very fast information."
Student Aaron Whitney's SLI3 topic was "Introduction to the Patriot (missile)." He will be a Theater High-Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) instructor at 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery here. He attended ABIC as a Soldier in 2010, when he was a Patriot missile operator/maintainer.
"This course has reiterated a lot of the things that I'd forgotten, so it's allowed me to get back into the Army instructor style," said Whitney, who is a contractor with Leidos. "It was enjoyable and challenging, especially the student-led instruction."
Student Capt. Jonathon Krisko, C Battery, 2nd battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery here, presented his SLI3 topic, "The Soldiers' Load" or how historically U.S. Soldiers carry too much physical weight on them into combat. He said the class was a professionally edifying experience.
"This class has been great and a good check on learning for me on how to get in front of a class, how to get in front of people," said Krisko, an armor officer. "The biggest takeaway really has been how to motivate, encourage and to teach people through different methods."
DISTINGUISHED GRADUATES
The ABIC honors its student with the highest grade average with the Learn, Expect, Achieve and Facilitate (LEAF) award.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Adam Eaton, A Battery, 1st Battalion, 30th Field Artillery here, was the LEAF award recipient for ABIC Class No. 18-16B. He will be an instructor at the Warrant Officer Instruction Branch. He said the ABIC provided him with the groundwork to teach.
"This is the foundation for everything we, as instructors, need to know to do the basics of helping facilitation of learning," he said. "Now I know all these teaching styles and learning styles."
Krisko was the LEAF award recipient for ABIC Class No. 18-16A. He will teach direct commission doctors and nurses about the Army.
ABIC instructor Staff Sgt. Kristopher Golden taught Class No. 18-16B. He said the new instructors will now go back to their duty stations and complete their unit's teaching certifications, then began working first as assistant instructors.
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