Training Question

[Bri Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bri]

I have to teach an Awareness and Operations course later this month. I have sat through some really boring haz mat classes. Does anyone have any suggestions to jazz things up a little and keep the educational benefits?
Thanks
Brian

[Capt2-9-2 Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Capt2-9-2]

hands on, hands on, hands on. Tell a few stories of your experience. Maybe have a second person with you to assist...maybe toss in a comment and help you out. It's a subject that can be boring to people just "have" to be there. Have fun with it.

[pokeyfd12 Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close pokeyfd12]

I totally agree with the Capt. about having hands-on over classroom activities.

Keep it simple. Get a couple of empty drums and put some placards on them. Have teams identify the products using resources like the NAERG or any other books.

Show some interesting pictures if you can and make your students try to analyze the scene in the picture. I usually show a slide picture of a Haz-Mat scene and narrow it down so you only see a small portion of the scene, have the class tell me what they see and then show the next picture with the same scene widened for a better view (as if you backed up and looked through binoculars or something).

Get some actual MSDS sheets for some chemicals, hand them out randomly and have the class answer some basic questions about the chemicals.

Be creative, make it interesting and they might learn something.

Hope this helps.

Lt. Kevin C. (aka Pokey)

[Fire5510 Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fire5510]

The last operations class I assisted teaching we went through the "have to" classroom part and strictly hands on from then on. We used scenarios for daming and diking streams and ditches, liquid flow diversions using a pumper booster hose as the leak running toward a storm drain. A patching and plugging exercise with a 55gal drum, several holes and splits premade. We also used up to level B protection and set up a full decon line.

Final pratical exercised included all elements beginning with ICS to containment, mitigation and decon.

The more hands-on the better and the more students remember.