As we did last year for Italy. EPRC conducted, for the second time, its Academic Phase of the Instructors Certification Program for the EDA Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course (JPRSC).
The Instructor Certification Program, proposed by EPRC, combines the mentoring of instructors with an academic phase, including different steps that can be summarised as follows:
- Attend PRCPC/JPRSC as student
- Participate in the JPRSC as an observer
- Pass the ICP Academic Phase
- Act in the JPRSC as a white cell member
- Shadow an instructor (MIME) in a JPRSC edition
- Present a lecture in a JPRSC
- Mentor / monitor (alone) a syndicate during the role plays
The final aim of this project is to standardise the instruction when the course is delivered in the different Nations once the project is over in next May 2019.
At the last meeting of the European Defence Agency (EDA) PR Controllers & Planners Course (PRCPC) Project Coordination Group (PCG), held last April 2018 in Berlin (Germany), this academic phase was acknowledged as a valid complementary way to the mentoring system of instructors to standardise the teaching techniques among instructors.
This second edition of the academic phase, as part of the EDA Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course (JPRSC) Instructors Certification Program (ICP), was delivered during week 40/2018 (1-5 Oct 2018) in the premises of the Italian Air Operations Training Centre in Poggio Renatico (Italy). A total of 8 PR Subject Matter Experts from EPRC and ITA Airforce attended the event, which was led by the EPRC Education branch. Some of the participants, students and instructors, will form the cadre of instructors for the next iteration of the course in Italy.
This phase is focused in adult’s learning principles. The students practised the role as an instructor, applying teaching and facilitation skills when delivering PR lectures, and learnt the best practises to teach in the course, how to achieve specific learning objectives, and how to keep students engaged and motivated.
Moreover, this academic phase enabled the future instructors to:
- describe the specific aspects to consider whilst being an instructor;
- identify the most suitable teaching and facilitation skills for the lessons;
- prepare and present a lesson;
- prepare the Role Plays;
- provide feedback and assessment to students.
- recognise his/her role in the Lesson Identified / Lesson Learned process for improving the course.
Italy has conducted its JPRSC iteration in October 2018 (16-25), and it was again an outstanding opportunity for EPRC to test the effects of the improvement of the interactivity with the students learnt during this academic phase. Moreover, the lessons the students presented, offered a first approach for the creation of new lectures for another EPRC project: A course for the PRCC chiefs, JPRC Directors and their deputies as was identified as a requirement by both EDA and NATO.