40 Hour TCOLE course to earn your basic instructor certificate.
Course Goal:
This course aims to develop instructors who can effectively plan, develop, deliver, evaluate, and document law enforcement training while meeting applicable Texas Commission on Law Enforcement requirements and professional standards. The course emphasizes instructor responsibility and liability, adult learning, classroom management, lesson-plan development, assessment, responsible use of artificial intelligence, and effective use of instructional media.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will demonstrate achievement of the following learning objectives.
Unit 1 – Instructor Standards, Responsibilities, and Liability
Learning Objectives
1.1 Identify the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement requirements applicable to instructors and training providers.
1.2 Identify Commission standards regarding instructor responsibilities before, during, and after the delivery of training.
1.3 Describe the instructor’s responsibility for ensuring that course content is accurate, current, relevant, properly documented, and consistent with applicable Commission requirements.
1.4 Identify the instructor’s responsibility for ensuring that established learning objectives are taught and appropriately evaluated.
1.5 Explain the relationship between instructor conduct, course preparation, documentation, student evaluation, and professional accountability.
1.6 Define instructor liability and identify acts or omissions that may expose an instructor or agency to administrative or civil liability.
1.7 Explain the basic legal principles associated with negligence, failure to train, failure to supervise, and deliberate indifference.
1.8 Identify significant United States Supreme Court decisions related to law enforcement training, supervision, and agency liability.
1.9 Explain how applicable Supreme Court decisions have influenced law enforcement training practices and instructor responsibilities.
1.10 Given a training-related scenario, identify potential instructor, supervisory, or agency liability issues and recommend appropriate risk-reduction practices.
Unit 2 – Adult Learning Fundamentals
Learning Objectives
2.1 Define adult learning and identify characteristics commonly associated with adult learners.
2.2 Describe established principles of adult learning and explain their application to law enforcement instruction.
2.3 Examine current research regarding the concept of “learning styles” and distinguish learning preferences from evidence-based instructional practices.
2.4 Identify factors that promote adult learner motivation, participation, comprehension, and retention.
2.5 Explain how an adult learner’s previous knowledge, professional experience, motivation, and perceived relevance of the material can influence learning.
2.6 Describe the role of attention, perception, memory, retrieval, and application in the cognitive learning process.
2.7 Explain how instructional stimuli, including visual, auditory, written, discussion-based, and practical activities, can be appropriately incorporated into instruction.
2.8 Identify instructional strategies that reduce unnecessary cognitive load and improve learner comprehension.
2.9 Differentiate between passive presentation of information and active-learning strategies.
2.10 Given an instructional topic, select appropriate adult-learning strategies designed to improve learner engagement, comprehension, application, and retention.
Unit 3 – Classroom Management and the Learning Environment
Learning Objectives
3.1 Describe the characteristics of a professional adult-learning environment.
3.2 Identify environmental and instructor-controlled factors that may positively or negatively affect student learning.
3.3 Demonstrate appropriate preparation of the physical or virtual classroom before instruction begins.
3.4 Identify classroom preparation considerations involving seating, equipment, instructional materials, technology, lighting, accessibility, and instructor positioning.
3.5 Identify common causes and symptoms of stage fright or presentation anxiety.
3.6 Demonstrate techniques for managing presentation anxiety before and during instruction.
3.7 Demonstrate an effective instructor introduction that establishes credibility, course relevance, expectations, and rapport with learners.
3.8 Demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques during classroom instruction.
3.9 Demonstrate appropriate techniques for providing constructive learner feedback.
3.10 Facilitate a scenario-based learning activity and conduct an appropriate student debrief.
3.11 Identify methods for managing challenging classroom behaviors while maintaining a professional and respectful learning environment.
3.12 Demonstrate effective classroom time-management techniques, including pacing, transitions, breaks, activities, discussions, and assessments.
3.13 Given a classroom-management scenario, select an appropriate instructor response that supports learning while maintaining professionalism and classroom control.
Unit 4 – Lesson Plans, Learning Objectives, and Assessment
Learning Objectives
4.1 Explain the purpose and importance of a complete lesson plan.
4.2 Identify the essential components of an effective law enforcement training lesson plan.
4.3 Describe an organized workflow for researching, developing, reviewing, delivering, and updating a lesson plan.
4.4 Demonstrate how course content should align with identified learning objectives.
4.5 Differentiate between measurable and non-measurable learning objectives.
4.6 Develop learning objectives using observable and measurable performance verbs.
4.7 Develop learning objectives that clearly identify the knowledge, skill, or performance expected from the learner.
4.8 Define assessment and explain its role in determining whether learning objectives have been achieved.
4.9 Differentiate between formative and summative assessments.
4.10 Differentiate between an assessment and a traditional written examination.
4.11 Identify appropriate assessment methods, including written examinations, oral questioning, practical demonstrations, scenarios, projects, and performance evaluations.
4.12 Select an assessment method that appropriately measures a specified learning objective.
4.13 Develop a grading rubric containing observable performance criteria and clearly defined performance standards.
4.14 Evaluate assessment questions and activities for clarity, relevance, fairness, and alignment with established learning objectives.
4.15 Develop a complete lesson plan in which learning objectives, instructional content, learning activities, and assessments are appropriately aligned.
Unit 5 – Artificial Intelligence in Instructor Development
Learning Objectives
5.1 Define generative artificial intelligence and describe common applications relevant to instructors and course developers.
5.2 Identify appropriate uses of AI in research, brainstorming, lesson-plan development, instructional activities, assessment development, and instructional-media creation.
5.3 Identify limitations and risks associated with AI-generated information, including inaccurate information, fabricated information, bias, outdated information, and incomplete context.
5.4 Explain why instructors remain responsible for verifying the accuracy, relevance, legality, and appropriateness of AI-assisted instructional content.
5.5 Differentiate between appropriate AI-assisted course development and inappropriate dependence on AI-generated content.
5.6 Identify circumstances in which the use of AI may create concerns involving plagiarism, attribution, intellectual property, confidentiality, privacy, or agency-sensitive information.
5.7 Differentiate between appropriate attribution, plagiarism, and responsible use of AI-assisted content.
5.8 Compare the capabilities of selected AI platforms for instructional research, writing, brainstorming, document development, presentation support, and graphic creation.
5.9 Demonstrate effective prompting techniques for generating useful instructional content.
5.10 Evaluate AI-generated instructional content for accuracy, relevance, bias, completeness, and alignment with established learning objectives.
5.11 Demonstrate the use of an AI-assisted graphic or visual-development tool to create instructional media that supports a specific learning objective.
5.12 Given an AI-generated instructional product, identify information requiring independent verification before the material is used in training.
5.13 Apply responsible AI practices to the development of instructional materials while maintaining instructor ownership and accountability for the final product.
Unit 6 – PowerPoint, Video, and Instructional Media
Learning Objectives
6.1 Explain the role of instructional media in supporting adult learning.
6.2 Identify appropriate and inappropriate uses of PowerPoint during classroom instruction.
6.3 Identify common PowerPoint design practices that may interfere with attention, comprehension, or retention.
6.4 Apply effective presentation-design principles involving text, graphics, readability, consistency, slide organization, and visual simplicity.
6.5 Differentiate between presentation slides designed to support instruction and slides that merely duplicate the instructor’s spoken content.
6.6 Develop instructional slides that directly support identified learning objectives.
6.7 Explain when video is an appropriate instructional tool and when its use may distract from or unnecessarily extend instruction.
6.8 Select video content based on relevance, length, accuracy, instructional purpose, and alignment with learning objectives.
6.9 Demonstrate appropriate techniques for introducing, presenting, pausing, discussing, and debriefing instructional video.
6.10 Explain the importance of providing learners with a specific instructional purpose or task before presenting video content.
6.11 Evaluate graphics, videos, PowerPoint slides, and other instructional media for educational value, professionalism, accessibility, and relevance.
6.12 Develop and deliver a brief instructional presentation that integrates PowerPoint, video, graphics, or other media in a manner that supports measurable learning objectives.
Course-Level Performance Objectives
Upon successful completion of all six units, the student will be able to:
7.1 Develop a complete instructor-led lesson plan containing measurable learning objectives, organized instructional content, appropriate adult-learning activities, supporting instructional media, and valid assessment methods.
7.2 Demonstrate effective instructor communication, classroom management, time management, and facilitation techniques during an instructional presentation.
7.3 Demonstrate responsible use of artificial intelligence and other instructional technologies during the course-development process.
7.4 Deliver an instructional presentation that demonstrates application of adult-learning principles, professional instructor standards, appropriate instructional media, and effective assessment practices.
7.5 Evaluate the effectiveness of an instructional presentation and identify opportunities for improvement based on learner performance, assessment results, instructor self-evaluation, and student feedback.