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Vinton, B. (2002) Topography Training Within The Fire Service: ‘From Visualisation To
Total Recall’, www.fitting-in.com/vinton.htm.
BILL VINTON BA(HONS)
EDUCATION AND TRAINING EPDM 341 – 29TH JUNE 2002 TUTOR – MAGGIE GREGSON. |
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Abstract: ‘How come I knew all the street names but
couldn’t direct the driver to the fire’. The problem of recall under
stress in the fire service has become evident in the context of emergency
calls and requires further investigation. I have criticised the style of
topography training both past and present and will support this criticism
with relevant examples, this will progress towards a literature search, not
only to understand why this problem has appeared but also how to improve the
present situation. By researching Situated Learning, Culture, Fire Service
Culture, Stress and Memorizing Techniques I hope to produce enough academic
and scientific evidence to challenge the present teaching format. My main aim
as a beginner researcher is to understand what in general action research is
all about. I want to concentrate my attention on certain specifics, which in
my view seemed important in constructing a quality research project, these
are methods & strategies, values, validity, quality, presentation,
perspective, meaning, interpretation, awareness, consistency, structure,
quality indicators, data collection, ethics, systematic inquiry, reflection
and principles of procedure.
Development of the project began with collaboration with co-workers
forming a workgroup, which decided a systematic enquiry and data collection
was required, consisting of questionnaires, interviews, event log and
observation (Ethical consideration applied). The objective will be to look
for keywords and issues from all interviews and then categorize these into
both negative and positive statements, the aim then to eradicate the negative
and implement the positive if possible. The basic use of triangulation will
be used to analyse the results, firstly the researcher, then secondly an
experienced fire appliance driver and finally a selected fire station watch
as a workgroup. Hopefully this process will move topography teaching towards
the concept of ‘visualisation’ striving ultimately for total recall. |
FIREFIGHTERS
Most firefighters develop skills/qualities/attributes in
common. Generally, these associate with
what firefighters recognize as their main job, firefighting. Moreover, because firefighters are mostly
men, they form up in an informal hierarchy through which older firefighters
pass down to younger firefighters their knowledge about the skills/qualities/attributes
necessary for firefighting. Apart from
firefighters being mostly men, the organization in which they work is also
predominantly white, working class, heterosexual, able-bodied and
pseudo/para-military (Baigent 2001).
Research question
Imagine as a fire fighter you knew all the answers to all the questions
and filled every street name on the board in the lecture room, leaving you with
a final picture of a board full of street names within a network of lines, all
logged in your memory. A day or a week later you are turned out to a fire at
SMITH ST, NUMBER 21, nearest main road – JONES ROAD, NEWCASTLE AREA, PERSONS
REPORTED (Persons trapped in house).
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You are moving as you think.
·
You have to visualize where it is in your
head.
·
But first you must direct the Detached / Guest Driver from another
Fire station who is unfamiliar with this area, he/she must be told left or
right out the station.
·
You have to don fire kit and breathing
apparatus.
·
Think of nearest main road *FIRST to give
yourself more thinking time.
·
Try and visualize where it is.
The whiteboard full of lines and names, bear no resemblance to houses,
buildings and roads, but the street name does sound familiar.
An older hand on the back say’s “Its second right after the Co-op, I shop
there all the time”. When you get there you realize you knew the street and the
names of all the surrounding streets but couldn’t visualize where it was.
‘How come you knew the streets
but couldn’t direct the driver’?
This is the problem fire fighters
face everyday; a new training package was required for topography to replace
the old style, of trying to remember hundreds of street names.
Introduction
I am an operational fire-fighter with over 25
years service, as my research is specifically about topography training within
the fire service, I wanted to develop a methodology that would make best use of
my operational experiences concerning topography, supported by other
fire-fighters views and experiences. I will be investigating appropriate
literature dealing with subjects such as situated learning, culture, stress,
success patterns, memory and personality. As a beginner researcher I will
enquire about the basics of action research and apply the most appropriate
qualities to my own action research. I will discuss the implications of the
research findings and analyse the results, to come to some sort of conclusion.
Why is topography important?
Fire-fighters knowledge of the station area
is a vital part of the job description of an operational firefighter and it is
this very area of training, which has become the subject of my research. My
main areas of concern have been the training environment/atmosphere and the
teaching techniques used in the past and present concerning this topic.
Aims
and Objectives
The main objective of the investigation will be to devise a different
approach to topography training, using research to study the different theories
of thinking and learning, to assist in both theoretical and practical
situations. I believe the problem of recall under stress has become evident in
the context of emergency calls and needs further study. This study will
hopefully assist firefighters in finding their destinations, by applying and
researching memory techniques in real life emergency call situations also
examining the recall capabilities of fire fighters under stressful situations.
Initially the first task was to try and eradicate a stressful learning
atmosphere of an antiquated, authoritarian, didactic style of teaching.
Secondly taking a broad look at learning senses and applying certain strategies
to a specific problem of topography teaching, with the aid of discussion groups
with other firefighters.
I wanted to apply a curriculum model with the firefighters learning needs as a priority, working together as a group, but allowing each individual to progress independently, with the student having control over their own learning. I wanted to adopt a learner –centred approach to the design of this curriculum, because it is evident at fire station level, how each professional fire-fighter is at a different stage or knowledge level concerning topography, and one single approach that has been used in the past seemed to be neglecting so many fire-fighters differing learning styles. To understand the reasons for this oversight, a short look into the history and makeup of the fire service is essential. The fire service also has a culture unique to itself and this goes a long way in explaining the reasons behind their teaching methods. Topography training in summary would be looking to take Rote learning to Visualization, looking to strive for total recall for the student. The audience is operational fire fi