The BRATS
Even before the RSGB considered running its, voluntary attendance,
training courses for instructors, the BRATS' principle Lead Instructor had
been in many hours of consultation with teachers, who are in main stream
education, who train teachers to be good teachers and their conclusion is
that the BRATS training methods and course study materials are the embodiment
of all current good educational practise. The RSGB have confirmed (Jan 2005)
that trainers from the BRATS do not have to attend the RSGB Train the Trainer
course in order to provide good training.
The BRATS have been running training courses since the start of the FLC in
Jan 2002 and this website has been the back bone of the training since then
and completely re-written in early 2003 due to syllabus changes and the web
site continues to be updated as fresh ways of expressing the information
come to light.
All BRATS Club courses are run by tutors who have detailed
knowledge of their subject, and who are coached by the Brats Lead instructor
as to their presentation. At the BRATS Club there is not just one tutor running
all the course(s) whether it is at Foundation, Intermediate or Advanced level.
Successful courses
For a training course to be successful not only must it achieve passes by
the students but the students must know that the course is being run for
their benefit and is tailored to their needs and not just one presentation
after another by the instructors without consideration of the mixed abilities
of students.
The structure of the BRATS courses and the WEB site has been discussed with
educational professionals (those who teach teachers to be teachers) and they
consider that the BRATS method of teaching takes into account the most modern
methods of teaching to small groups and with simplified and practical
explanations for a hobby topic. All this goes down well with the students.
The goal of all courses is for the students to pass the exam and to enjoy
the learning of the knowledge to enable them to pass.
As an instructor you must know your limitations
As in all walks of life you cannot expect to be good at all things. If you
have the misfortune to be the one and only instructor in your club, make
it your business to change that immediately. You need several helpers who
you can rely upon, even if they do not want to deliver the information to
students, at least you can ensure that you have back up from others.
Students like a variety of tutors teaching them. Think back to your school
or college days - how often did you have a teacher / lecturer that you did
not like and thus you did not enjoy the topic. By having several instructors
in your team, who can deliver presentations, the success rate of your courses
could increase. The BRATS consistently achieve 100% and have a team of two
main presenters and several assistant presenters.
You will have areas of amateur radio that may be you enjoy and those that
you find a bit of a bind or where you know your knowledge is more limited.
The best courses are provided by those who enjoy not only giving a presentations
but who enjoy the topic that they are presenting.
Practical demonstrations
Students like practical demonstrations. There is no easier way to put a point
across than by finding a way to explain the topic than by a practical application
/ demonstration.
Field day / weekends are ideal opportunities to do just that - whether it
is showing the changes in propagation, operating practice, EMC or even the
simple things like putting a wire aerial together and attaching the feeder.
For students of the Advanced course we have just started (July 2004) the
explanation and the construction of a 14MHz SSB transceiver in modular
form - BITX see info on our links from here.
Student participation
Ensure that your students enjoy participation -- the hobby is all about
participation / conversation and exchange of opinions on principally technical
topics. Sometimes a student will be able to explain a topic, which they have
just grasped, to another student - encourage this but do check that the
information is correct.
Make it fun
Make your presentations fun. There is also nothing wrong in making a mistake
in your presentation - so long as it was intentional to check student
understanding but do give the correct information prior to the end of the
presentation - students like to pick up a tutor on points of accuracy. By
doing this they are ensuring that they do know and fully understand the points
that you are raising.
Amateur Radio is a hobby and not a way of life. If your presentations are
not fun then the students will not see the fun side of the hobby.
Intensity of courses
You must properly judge how much information your students are capable of
digesting before the next presentation comes along. This is not difficult
at Foundation level as about 12 hour study should see a student well on the
way to a pass but at Intermediate level it is suggested that a minimum of
36 hour study would be needed to be on tract for a pass - but the good instructor
will judge what time interval must elapse between training presentations.
For the FLC the BRATS have in the past adopted a two day study course but
now it is found that students can do most of their study at home and then
seek inspiration from tutors at club meetings where any difficult points
can be talked through. Further the practical tests ensure that many of the
technical topics can be touched upon to give the student confidence.
As far as the ILC goes we found that students wanted a very slow approach
- one presentation per month on a different topics backed up by questions
asked over the internet email so that the student got one to one training
to their needs. A total of 36 hours tutoring achieve a 100% pass rate at
a recent exam. A few students wanted to accelerate their learning which is
the second option.
The study can be at presentations or by home study. Those students who want
to move on with the course can do so at their own pace via the web site course.
The students who need your greatest attention are those for whom the hobby
is totally new to them and they may have great difficulty being able to remember
what technical "words" mean.
When you are looking at setting up a course for the ALC then we consider
that you will probably need of the order of 90 to 100 hours tutoring / home
study so a course of 9 month would be considered a nice easy pace for students
- remember they will all be to Intermediate Licence exam level and assuming
that they have taken out an Intermediate licence can be putting into their
amateur radio hobby much that they learn on the course (except the Advanced
licence condition) and thus learn by doing.
Length of a course
Whilst a course can have an anticipated start date, the finish date should
only be a goal date for an exam and the course expanded in time or reduced
in time according to the needs of students.
Patience
Whilst you may have students who want to rush on with the course they can
achieve this via this web information but the other students may well find
that they need several different explanations of the same point until the
"light" shines.
Are you a good instructor ?
So what makes good instructor :-
-
one who can see the needs of the student and adapt the delivery of the
information into a form the student can grasp
-
one who does not have a goal other than successful students - in other words
this is not a platform to show how good you are and that you know everything
and disregard the needs of students
-
one who has the time explain to a student any point that they do not understand
-
one who can accept ideas from students and implement them
-
one who has a passion about the hobby and not just about teaching it
Can you be a good instructor ?
Yes but :-
-
know your limitations
-
be understanding of students who are not as quick as you are on the up take
-
ensure that you have the full backing of your club to provide the training
that the students need
-
know how to have fun with the hobby and presentations.
Best of luck from all at the BRATS
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