Instructional Plan Outline

Sean Strong

CUR/516

27 March 2017

Professor Joan Beckner

 Phase 1
Course Name: Effective Air Force Counseling

Description

o The goal of this training session is to expose cadets to various points to of consider in
counseling scenarios as well modeling and participation. The training will consist of a
blend of lecture, facilitated discussion and practical application of counseling concepts
through role play and questioning. For the practical portion the instructor will provide
scenarios that involve issues which may be encountered in real-life military contexts. The
instructor, as well as fellow cadets, may offer feedback, encouragement, and
recommendations for improvements.

Target Audience

o Age – 18-26
o Gender – mixed but predominately male
o Education – top graduates from high school, academically ahead of their civilian peers.
All involved in sports and somewhat accustomed to a disciplined lifestyle. All pursuing a
bachelors degree in various disciplines from engineering to business.
o Experience – because of their age most cadets have had little exposure or opportunity to
lead. Some, however, may currently hold a position of leadership amongst their fellow
cadets.
o Cadets attend college free of charge in exchange for a service comittment following
graduation. There is a high level of comittment to succeed but it is matched with
pressure from an extremely heavy course load of 21 – 24 hours per semester in addition
to sports and other volunteer requirements.

Delivery modality and length of course or training session

o Instruction is delivered by lecture and facilitated discussion. Practical application and
demonstration of synthesis of learning occurs through role play & feedback
o Course length is two hours

Goals
o Raise awareness of the role of critical thinkng and communication in counseling settings
o Provide cadets with a context through which to identify both good and bad examples of
counseling
o Ensure cadets understand the intent and nature of counseling in the Air Force
Phase 2
Learning Objectives
o Raise awareness of the role and importance of critical thinkng and thoughtful
communication in counseling settings
o Provide cadets with a context through which to identify both good and bad examples of
counseling
o Ensure cadets understand the intent and nature of counseling in the Air Force

Project-based learning, collaborative learning, critical thinking skills

o These objectives employ a combination of collaborative learning and critical thinking.
Collaborative learning was chosen in part because of the group nature of the learning
setting as well as to create a lively, fun, and energetic atmosphere. Critical thinking was
employed because it is an integral part of cultivating intuitive interpersonal skills which
are needed in effective counseling
 Instructional strategies and activities
o At the beginning of the course the instructor will begin by showing a video montage of
movie clips that show characters in a variety of counseling settings. The videos will
include humorous scenes as well as serious, and will focus on less than ideal examples
of counseling. This creates the opportunity for the instructor to segue into the motivation
for the Effective Counseling course using the movie clips as the reasoning why
counseling strategies must be defined in order to meet the Air Force’s philosophy on
such
o Activities will include role play, faciliated discussion, questioning and feedback

Instructional technologies you will use in the course or training session

o Video and audio will be used to show movie clips

Phase 3

Timelines
o 3 hours of instructional time
o Anticipated start date Spring 2018

Participants
o The primary facilitator must be a seasoned professional capable of speaking with
confidence and conviction regarding AF philosophies of leadrship as well as the practical
application thereof. Additionally, because of the large group size, other facilitators will be
required to conduct practical exercises, role play and discussions. These individuals
need to be experienced professionals.

Resources and needed

o Audio/visual equipment with projection and sound capability to serve a large audience is
critical. Poor audio or visual quality will have significant negative impact on student
engagement
o The learning facility must be large enough to accommodate a group of 100-150 learners
with additional space where smaller groups can gather to conduct counseling scenario
role play
o A refreshment area should be accessible for students to access during breaks

Implementation details
o Communication plan
o A meeting with the Director of Curriculum will be requested to present the idea. The
motivation and rationale and the plan will be presented and discussed
o Building interest and commitment
o A case for how societal changes are eroding individual’s abilities to communicate
effectively face-to-face will be built using statistical data
o Use the training introduction video and facilitator motivational sequence to illustrate
how student motivation and engagement will be activated
o Identify the benefits to the Air Force enterprise by equipping cadets (future AF
officers) with practical toolsets and concepts for counseling. Conversely, identify the
impacts of not providing this training
o How you will select your participants
o Two ideas will be proposed. Either this training is incorporated in an already existing
mandatory leadership development program or, it will be targeted toward cadet
leader nominees as part of a preparation to assume leadership

Formative assessments
o Cadets will complete a pre-assessement to serve as a gage for learning after the
summative evaluation is completed.
o To check for understanding during instruction the facilitator will ask questions such as:
 o What might the impacts be of not starting with the end in mind when preparing to
conduct counseling? Here the student should cite the potential problems with
lack of planning as cited by the facilitator.
o An appropriate formative assessment would be asking students to identify
appropriate/innappropriate or effective/inneffective counseling practices as
viewed in video or instructor demonstrated scenarios.
o Students’ ability to identify best/worst practices in counseling, as well as offering
corrective actions or better choices, indicate a synthesis of learning

Phase 4

Criteria for determining whether the goals, objectives, and overall outcomes of the course or
training session will be met.
o Cadets should be able to explain what critical thinking is and why it is important for
effective counseling
o Cadets should be able to identify good and bad counseling examples and also identify
preferred techniques
o Cadets should be able to clearly cite the intent and nature of counseling in the Air
Force

Evaluation instruments
o There are a few factors that affect the way formative assessments are both conducted
and measured. This is a large group and the objective domains are largely cognitive and
attitudinal thus, knowledge level i.e., recall of facts are not necessarily an effective
measure of learning
o A pre-test and post test that will include an attitudinal survey will be used

Evaluation overview, future decisions

o Gaging knowledge transfer as well as changes in attitudes will come in the form of written
pre and post test which will include an attitudinal survey. If the testing did not reveal
marked change, formative assessments may need to be increased and scrutinized to
ensure the facilitator is getting an accurate feel for whether they are effectively helping
cadets make learning connections with the material and concepts during instruction.