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03-12-2007, 12:41 PM
This seems like it could be a loaded topic 
Larry hit the nail on the head of when the student must exhibit the skills/awareness to be considered for promotion.
However, that doesn't answer what we look for to be considered for promotion.
I know there is some variability among our instructors when it comes to promotion criteria today.
One thing Brian Smith did a few years back was identify a couple of "checkout" instructors per event. I happened to be one of them on a regular basis. It was my job to decide who was promoted, and who wasn't. That certainly reduced the variability as you only had a couple of people deciding who was promoted. We moved away from this as it became a bit of a bottleneck and it took a couple of senior instructors out of the mix from an instructing standpoint.
Unless we reinstate a policy like this (which we will discuss), there will always be some variability in the decision process as the criteria entails individual judgement and subjectivity. However, it is my goal to reduce the variability as much as we can so students know what's expected of them. This will be one of the main topics at our upcoming pre-season Instructors Seminar.
The criteria is more stringent for instructors. Instructors have to exhibit all the appropriate advanced driving skills, knowledge and track awareness. They also have to be incredibly effective communicators and be able to express complex information & instructions simply & clearly. They must be calm under pressure and be patient. They must be willing to give freely of themselves & their time and be able to take charge of a situation immediately. They also must project the appropriate attitude, maturity & demeanor we want associated with our DE program and club.
All of the above gets them an invitation to attend a PCA National Instructor Training Class. They must successfully complete (not everybody does) this comprehensive instructor training program that includes multiple hours of classroom work, a written test, and multiple role play exercises. This may happen over the course of a weekend, but in many cases, the role play, coaching and mentoring continues over several events.
Take care,
Jack
Larry hit the nail on the head of when the student must exhibit the skills/awareness to be considered for promotion.
However, that doesn't answer what we look for to be considered for promotion.
I know there is some variability among our instructors when it comes to promotion criteria today.
One thing Brian Smith did a few years back was identify a couple of "checkout" instructors per event. I happened to be one of them on a regular basis. It was my job to decide who was promoted, and who wasn't. That certainly reduced the variability as you only had a couple of people deciding who was promoted. We moved away from this as it became a bit of a bottleneck and it took a couple of senior instructors out of the mix from an instructing standpoint.
Unless we reinstate a policy like this (which we will discuss), there will always be some variability in the decision process as the criteria entails individual judgement and subjectivity. However, it is my goal to reduce the variability as much as we can so students know what's expected of them. This will be one of the main topics at our upcoming pre-season Instructors Seminar.
The criteria is more stringent for instructors. Instructors have to exhibit all the appropriate advanced driving skills, knowledge and track awareness. They also have to be incredibly effective communicators and be able to express complex information & instructions simply & clearly. They must be calm under pressure and be patient. They must be willing to give freely of themselves & their time and be able to take charge of a situation immediately. They also must project the appropriate attitude, maturity & demeanor we want associated with our DE program and club.
All of the above gets them an invitation to attend a PCA National Instructor Training Class. They must successfully complete (not everybody does) this comprehensive instructor training program that includes multiple hours of classroom work, a written test, and multiple role play exercises. This may happen over the course of a weekend, but in many cases, the role play, coaching and mentoring continues over several events.
Take care,
Jack
Jack Kramer
'95 993 Black - Track (for sale)
'97 993 Arena Red - Street
'05 M3 Imola Red
'03 Chevy SS Black
'08 Audi A3 Misano Red Pearl
'95 993 Black - Track (for sale)
'97 993 Arena Red - Street
'05 M3 Imola Red
'03 Chevy SS Black
'08 Audi A3 Misano Red Pearl