Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

No! You do not need to create a presentation or present anything to the group.

The idea is we're getting together to brainstorm, share ideas, compare how we teach, and begin developing our classes as a team.

Come ready to talk about what works at your training center, listen to what others are doing, and work together to develop the best approach.

Please bring:

• Your laptop and a tablet from your training center.
• Any materials you currently use to teach your assigned classes, including SOIs, PowerPoints, handouts, worksheets, quizzes, activities, projects, and other resources.
• Any helpful pictures, videos, examples, or teaching tools you've developed or collected.
• An open mind, creative ideas, and a willingness to work together!

Your materials can be digital or printed. They don't need to be cleaned up, reformatted, or turned into anything new beforehand.

Absolutely! In fact, I encourage it.

If you've developed a great activity, worksheet, project, or teaching method that could benefit another group, please bring it!

During Office Hours, we heard about some great teaching ideas. Those are exactly the kinds of things we want to share.

Even if you're not assigned to that class, someone else may benefit from your experience. The more we bring to the table, the better our classes will be.

The biggest goal is to get everyone working together and start building a plan for their assigned classes.

Nobody is expected to finish an entire class or SOI during the Nashville meeting.

This is the beginning of the development process, not the deadline for completing it.

Not necessarily! Many of our classes already have CITF materials, SOIs, PowerPoints, tests, and other resources. We're not trying to throw all that work away.

Instead, we'll review what's already available, identify what's working, and determine what might be missing or could be improved.

Think of it as taking the best resources and teaching methods we already have and bringing them together into one organized standard.

That's one of the main reasons we're doing this. We know that some centers teach certain subjects in a different order, spend more time on particular topics, or divide classes differently.

Each instructor brings a different perspective, and we want to hear those perspectives.

As a group, you'll discuss what's working, what isn't, and what makes the most sense for our members. There will probably be some compromises along the way, and that's okay!

We're looking for the best ideas to make something that works for everyone.

The goal isn't to take away your experience or your ability to be a good instructor.

We want to establish a consistent structure so members across the Southern District receive the same quality of education, cover the same important material, and meet the same expectations.

For example, if an instructor is out sick, another instructor should be able to step into the class, open the LMS, and know exactly where to pick up.

That doesn't mean every instructor has to speak the same way, spend the exact same number of minutes explaining something, or lose their personality in the classroom.

We're standardizing the class content, structure, and expectations, while still recognizing that teaching requires experience and flexibility.

Yes! That's one of the most important parts of this process.

We want more than just PowerPoints and chapter reviews. We want to hear about the activities, demonstrations, games, projects, and real-world examples that help your members understand the material.

If you've found a great way to explain something or an activity that really works, share it!

We'll work on organizing these resources so instructors throughout the Southern District can benefit from them.

Yes. We know that some training centers teach the same subjects across different numbers of classes or in different sequences.

These are exactly the kinds of things your groups should discuss.

We'll work together to determine the best way to organize the material, what should be covered, and how much time should be dedicated to each subject.

Some changes may need additional review or approval, especially when certification requirements are involved.

The goal is to find a consistent approach that works for our instructors, members, and training centers.

Not necessarily. The Class Development Blueprints will help us organize the material by day and estimate how much time should be spent on each subject, activity, or break.

These are planning guidelines, not exact minute-by-minute scripts.

Different classes and training centers may have different scheduling needs, including four 10-hour days versus five 8-hour days. So we will account for all of that.

No. I'll be handling the LMS and the technology side of this process, with help from Candice.

I want you to focus on what you do best: teaching.

Your responsibility is to work with your group to develop the class content, structure, activities, questions, and teaching methods.

You tell me how you want to teach it, and I'll work on making the technology do what you need it to do.

I'm not expecting everyone to become an LMS expert or spend hours trying to build digital classes.

That's what I'm here for! 😁

My goal is to make them as close to plug-and-play as possible.

Imagine opening your class in the LMS and already having everything organized for you by day.

Your PowerPoints, eBooks, videos, activities, quizzes, instructor resources, and other materials will be available in one organized location.

Instead of hunting down files, rebuilding a course, or trying to figure out what comes next, you'll be able to focus on actually teaching.

We're also looking at ways to keep instructor-only materials available to instructors without displaying them to students.

I want the LMS to be a tool that makes your job easier, not something that creates more work.

That's completely fine!

You don't need to be a computer expert to contribute to this process.

Your knowledge of the trade, your teaching experience, and your ideas are what we need most.

Candice and I will work on building and organizing the digital templates. We'll also help instructors understand how to use the finished classes.

You shouldn't have to worry about coding, databases, or building complicated LMS activities.

Let us handle the technical side so you can focus on your members.

That's the goal!

We're working on organizing our question banks and connecting them to the LMS so quizzes can be automatically graded.

This should reduce the time instructors spend grading and help us provide more consistent testing across the Southern District.

Your groups will help review questions to make sure they match what is actually being taught.

For non-certification classes, we'll have opportunities to review and recommend changes. However, certification tests that must follow CITF requirements will need to remain consistent with those requirements.

We're also looking at ways to evaluate how well questions are working so we can identify confusing or problematic questions and improve them through the proper process.

Yes! One of the goals is to create an organized collection of approved resources that can continue to improve over time.

Books change, technology changes, and instructors discover new and better ways of teaching.

We want a system where we can review those changes, make necessary updates, and keep our classes current without every training center having to rebuild everything independently.

We'll need a review and approval process for shared changes, but the classes shouldn't stop improving once a Class Blueprint is complete.

No. Class development will continue after the meeting.

Nashville is our opportunity to bring everyone together, compare materials, establish a common direction, and begin filling out our Class Development Blueprints.

Once everyone returns to their training centers, the groups will continue working together virtually.

The expectation discussed during yesterday's Office Hours is for groups to meet at least every two weeks while developing their classes.

We'll establish a timeline for completing the work, but the overall deadline has not yet been finalized.

You're still an important part of the process!

Please gather any materials, activities, or resources you have that could help your assigned group.

We'll work to include you through Teams or other communication methods so you have opportunities to share your ideas and contribute.

Your experience matters whether you're attending in person or not.

Please share it!

We want this to be a collaborative process, not a bunch of separate groups working in isolation.

If you have something that could help another team, reach out to them or send it to me, and we'll work on getting it to the right people.

Even a small idea from one training center could become something that helps instructors throughout the Southern District.