IGNITE: Treat Them Well

 

“Train them well enough so that they can leave, treat them well enough so that they won't want to leave.” - Sir Richard Branson

[Photo: Lassen IHC]

Best Practice #22: Recognize Individual Differences

 

Some people learn at a slower pace than others and some require different stimuli to become motivated to learn. The leader must establish an effective student-teacher trust relationship. It is important that the teacher does not create barriers, but builds a rapport with the students and shows empathy and genuine concern for their learning.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #43 - 2022 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #43: Leaders/teachers are effective storytellers.

• Read Hold and Improve – collection of fire stories edited by Bre Ocrasitas.
• Click here for more storytelling references on our blog.

IGNITE: Elevate Your Actions

The best leaders never need to raise their voices. They instead elevate their actions. - The Daily Coach blog

[Photo: Midewin IHC]

Best Practice #21: Provide Examples and Analogies

 

Providing a variety of examples and analogies when teaching concepts or skills will help solidify the key elements of the material and can further motivate students to learn. “The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” Metaphors matter because they are memorable. Alliteration helps, too.

 [Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Tough Transitions

(Photo: Pam McDonald)

Transitions are one of the most critical moments during fire operations. The same can be said about our personal lives. One of the toughest transitions I have ever made was returning to the office environment after two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing could have prepared me for the difficulties I experienced.

IGNITE: Think Well - Write Well

“Clear writing gives poor thinking nowhere to hide, making a lack of understanding visible.” - Shane Parrish, Farnam Street e-newsletter

[Photo: Jay Kurth/USFS]

Best Practice #20: Recognize Potential in Students

 

Behavioral scientists have concluded that humans function at 10 percent or less of their potential. Negative views of self certainly stand in the way of releasing the potential of learners.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #42 - 2022 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #42: Effective leaders/teachers express their intentions.

• Watch “Leader’s Intent” with Mark Smith. 
• Click here for more “intent” references in our Toolbox

IGNITE: The End Result of Learning

 

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” - Leo Buscaglia, author

[Photo: USFS]

Best Practice #19: Have High but Reasonable Expectations for Learners

There is a considerable amount of research that suggests that learners perform up to the expectations that leaders have for them. Learners grow, flourish, and develop better in a relationship with someone who projects an inherent trust and belief in their capacity to become what they have the potential to become.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Leadership Self-Study Courses on the WFLP

 

(Image by Pixaline from Pixabay)

The wildland fire leadership levels illustrate the standard for desired leaderships skills and knowledge needed at various levels of the organization. These levels reference information found in Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, PMS 494-2; the NWCG Standards for Course Delivery, PMS 901-1; the Individual Development Plan Guide; and OPM’s Proficiency Levels for Leadership Competencies.

Learn about the different levels of leadership and self-study learning opportunities within the Wildland Fire Learning Portal:

IGNITE: Kindle the Mind

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.”

Plutarch, Greek philosopher

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Best Practice #18: Consider Mastery Learning

Mastery is defined in terms of a specific set of major objectives that students are expected to exhibit by subject completion. Using this approach, a learner’s performance is measured against objectives rather than against the performance of other students. Students learn at different rates, therefore the teacher sets expectations for each individual. This allows time for learning to vary, so all—or almost all—students achieve the desired level of mastery. 

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #41 - 2022 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #41: Effective leaders/teachers stimulate cooperation among team members/students.

• Facilitate a pre-mortem exercise.
• See the TDGs Library at https://www.nwcg.gov/wfldp/toolbox/tdgs.
• Role play the response to a serious accident or incident.
• Conduct a team building session.
• See https://www.nwcg.gov/wfldp/toolbox/flac.

IGNITE: Never Stop Learning

Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.- Unknown

[Photo: Nathan Knowles/BLM]

 

Best Practice #17: Stimulate Cooperation Among Students

Modern society places a lot of emphasis on competition. While competition with the self can lead to improved performance as students strive to do their best, competition against others can result in negative perceptions of the self, especially if it isolates a person. With cooperation, everyone can experience the success of the group and no one is viewed as the “winner” or the "loser."

 [Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

IGNITE: Leaving a Legacy

 

“Legacy is not leaving something "for" people.

It is about leaving something "in" people.”

The Daily Coach blog

[Photo: Cheri Ausgotharp/BLM]

Best Practice #15: Give Recognition

When students do something worthy of recognition, leaders need to give positive feedback to the student. Such recognition makes the student feel alive, important, and significant.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #40 - 2022 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #40: Effective leaders/teachers give recognition.

• Give each of your students/team members positive reinforcement.
• Set up a method of recognizing your people doing "good"/well in the field and in the classroom.

IGNITE: Learning Lessons

 

Lessons in life will be repeated until they are learned. - Frank Sonnenberg, author

[Photo: Midewin IHC]

Best Practice #15: Positive Reinforcement

When learners perform or behave as we expect or desire, the leader should provide positive reinforcement such as incentives or appreciative praise. This makes learners more interested in doing the right thing. In essence, we need to “catch” adult learners “being good.”

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

The Art of a Positivity

Photo: Aaron Bartz

If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problem and find you are ready for greater challenges. – Pat Riley

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results. – Wade Boggs

IGNITE: Exercising the Mind

 

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. - Joseph Addison, English essayist

[Photo: Steven Bunt/USFS]

Best Practice #14: Adaptive Execution

 

Effective leaders are adaptive in their ability to adjust instruction to best support the learners. If learners are approaching satiation on a topic, the leader adapts the plan to transition to a new topic while being sure to follow-up on the part missed later in the lesson. Adaptive execution is not about changing the curriculum for the needs of the learner, it is about changing the instruction to meet the needs of the learner. Such changes are departures from the norm and may take the form of additional questions to the learners, analogies, examples, in the moment sequencing changes, etc.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]