FairHelm

Checklist for instructor candidates

Four marks by which they look at an instructor candidate on the training.

  1. What you bringQualification, handling, safety
  2. On the trainingFour marks, and how you teach

What you need before the instructor training is written on the How to become an instructor page apart from this list.

Why this checklist is needed

This checklist is needed to see how ready you are for the instructor training. The four marks show what you already do well and what is still missing before you teach a course.

In the end it helps them decide whether to issue you an instructor certificate or to tell you what you still need to do.

How they look on the training

Each point on this checklist is marked with one mark on a scale of four steps. The mark is for the whole point, not for small pieces inside it.

A no pass means this cannot be accepted: the point gets in the way of teaching the course. On the line means you are a little below what is needed: the base is there, but it is still thin. A pass means this is enough to teach a course at your level. Above what is needed means you are clearly stronger than the usual level, and you can show this point to someone else.

The training grows the skill of teaching. It does not build yacht handling again: you bring that with you.

  1. No passThis cannot be accepted.
  2. On the lineA little below what is needed.
  3. PassThis is enough.
  4. Above what is neededClearly stronger than the usual level.

How many "on the line" marks still leave a way to the certificate is not written here as a number. The person who leads the training decides that from the whole picture. Below, each point is written out on this same scale: what they look at, and what each mark looks like.

What you bring with you

A mark is given on these topics, even though the training does not teach them.

Qualification and certificates

They look at whether the qualification is not below the course you will teach, and whether the practice that matches it can be seen. Above what is needed is not a separate paper: the qualification sits above the course, and the practice is broad, in different roles, weather, and conditions.

  1. No passThe qualification is missing, or it is below the course you would teach.
  2. On the lineThe papers show the qualification, but there is little experience, and it is hard to show.
  3. PassThe qualification is there, and the experience fits it.
  4. Above what is neededThe qualification is above the course you would teach, and there is a lot of practice: different roles, different weather, different conditions.

Yacht handling

They look at how you handle the yacht when you do the manoeuvre yourself. The training does not build this practice again. The mark is for whether it comes out sure and safe, and whether you can explain while you do it.

  1. No passYou handle the yacht uncertainly, and the mistakes are dangerous for the people and for the yacht.
  2. On the lineYou handle the yacht, but unevenly: one time it works, the next time it does not.
  3. PassThe manoeuvres are confident and safe.
  4. Above what is neededYou handle the yacht so the manoeuvre comes out evenly, and in the same moment you can tell the learner in plain words what you are doing and why you are doing it that way.

Safety

They look at whether you see the danger before it happens, and what you do with it: you leave it, you notice it late, you close it early, or you also teach it to the people on board.

  1. No passYou do not see the danger, or you leave it without attention.
  2. On the lineYou notice the danger late, or not every time.
  3. PassYou see the main dangers before they happen.
  4. Above what is neededYou watch the safety yourself and teach it to the people on board.

Theory and COLREGS

They look at whether you know the rules and can use them in a situation on the water, not only name them.

  1. No passYou do not know the basic rules, or you apply them wrongly.
  2. On the lineYou know the rules in scraps and get lost in a live situation.
  3. PassYou know the rules solidly and explain them rightly.
  4. Above what is neededYou explain with an example from the water: what is happening and what decision follows.

Answering questions

They do not look only at whether there is an answer. They look at whether it is right, and whether the question becomes the next step of the learning instead of stopping where it was asked.

  1. No passYou do not answer the question, or the answer is wrong.
  2. On the lineThe answer is incomplete or uncertain.
  3. PassThe answer is right and clear.
  4. Above what is neededYou turn the question into the next step of the learning.

Calm under load

They look at what happens to you and to the group when it is hard. This is not the tone of the lesson: tone is what it is like for the learner beside you in the learning itself. Here they look at whether you keep your calm once the load is already there, and whether the strain passes to the people.

  1. No passUnder load you lose your calm, and that passes to the group.
  2. On the lineYou hold, but the strain is visible.
  3. PassIn a difficult situation you stay calm.
  4. Above what is neededYou steady both what is happening with the yacht and the group.

What we will develop during the training

Structure of how the material is delivered

They look at the order of the session: you explained, you let them do it, you took it apart. The mark is for whether that order holds or the session scatters.

  1. No passThe lesson has no order. It scatters.
  2. On the lineThere is an order, but it keeps breaking.
  3. PassThe order is clear: you explain, you let them do it, then you take it apart.
  4. Above what is neededThe whole lesson is assembled, and you hold it.

Variety of methods

They look at what you teach with. Talk on its own is not yet a method. There needs to be a question, a demonstration, and practice, and the learner's own decision needs to appear.

  1. No passYou only talk, and people do nothing themselves.
  2. On the lineThere are questions, but people hardly take part.
  3. PassYou ask, you let them do it, and you take it apart together.
  4. Above what is neededYou join questions, showing, and practice, and the learner's own decision appears.

Adaptability and personalization

They look at whom you adjust the way for, not which set of methods you pick. Variety of methods is what you teach with. Here they look at whether the path is one for everyone or chosen for the person in front of you.

  1. No passThere is one way for everyone, and people stop understanding.
  2. On the lineAdapting to the person happens rarely.
  3. PassYou show and explain in the way that is clearer for the person in front of you.
  4. Above what is neededYou choose the way separately for each person.

Clarity

They look at whether you stay on the subject of the lesson and do not wander into extra matter. This is not speech. Speech is whether people understand what to do. Clarity is what the lesson is about, and whether what matters can be seen.

  1. No passYou leave the subject and give far too much extra matter.
  2. On the lineYou sometimes lose the thread of the talk.
  3. PassYou stay on the subject.
  4. Above what is neededYou pick out what matters and make the difficult thing simpler, and the sense stays.

Tone

They look at what it is like for the learner beside you, and whether the learner can go on with the exercise. This is not calm under load. The load is when it is hard with the yacht and with the group. Tone is how you speak in the learning itself.

  1. No passYou press, or you speak so that it is hard for the learner to go on.
  2. On the lineYou speak evenly, but that does not support the learner.
  3. PassYou speak with respect, and the learner can go on with the exercise.
  4. Above what is neededThe learner wants to do the next step.

Showing and debrief

They look at whether you show the move and what you do with the mistake. The debrief is there so the person can see what to put right. If the mistake sounds like a rebuke, the point is not met.

  1. No passYou do not show the move, and you do not correct the mistake.
  2. On the lineYou show the move, and what to put right is unclear.
  3. PassYou show the move and say clearly what to put right.
  4. Above what is neededYou use the mistake so that the learner learns, not as a rebuke.

The group

They look at whether you hold several people at once: whether each person knows their part or people go off into different tasks, and whether you steer that.

  1. No passYou lose the group: people go off into different tasks, and you do not steer that.
  2. On the lineYou hold the group unevenly.
  3. PassYou lead the group with confidence.
  4. Above what is neededYou see what is happening between people, and you steer that.

Speech

They look at whether people understand what to do the first time. What the lesson is about is not looked at here: that is clarity. Speech is whether what to do gets through.

  1. No passPeople do not understand what they should do.
  2. On the lineSometimes it lands, sometimes it does not.
  3. PassPeople understand you the first time.
  4. Above what is neededYou speak in the way that the person listening now can follow.

The final mark

At the end there is one mark for the whole: whether you are ready to teach a course at your level. It is not a sum of the earlier marks.

The final mark

At the end there is one mark for the whole, not a sum of the earlier marks. By it they decide whether you are ready to teach a course at your level or it is still early: teaching would be dangerous, the teaching does not happen, or you still need to grow in practice, in theory, or in the skill of teaching.

  1. No passYou cannot teach the course: it is dangerous, or the teaching does not happen.
  2. On the lineYou still need to grow: in experience, in theory, or in the skill of teaching.
  3. PassYou are ready to teach a course at your level.
  4. Above what is neededYou are a strong instructor, and it is visible that you can grow further, including toward teaching other instructors.

If the mark is a no pass or "on the line", you get a detailed debrief: what already works and what still needs to grow. You are offered further study and a place on a later training.

If you think you will pass this checklist

If these marks suit you, your next step is an application or a question. The training itself opens from the Instructor training page in full.

Leave a request or ask a questionWe reply within 2-3 days.

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