Traffic Incident Management Training Post-Course Assessment Tool Final Evaluation Report
CHAPTER 3. LEVEL 1 TRAIN-THE-TRAINER AND RESPONDER COURSE EVALUATIONS
From inception of the tool through August 15, 2017, a total of 381 individuals had completed the Train-the-Trainer (TtT) Course Level 1 survey and 290 individuals had completed the Responder Course Level 1 survey. The responder discipline mix for both the TtT and Responder courses is shown below in Figures 5 and 6.
Figure 6. Graph. Responder discipline mix.
The States where training participants (both TtT and Responder) are based is shown in Figure 7 below.
The Level 1 surveys, for TtT and Responder participants, have open-ended responses which allow participants to provide additional feedback on the overall training and content, instructors and for the TtT participants, training materials are provided.
Train-the-Trainer Course Open-Ended Responses
The open-ended responses validated the choice of master instructors for the TtT course, both in terms of their subject matter expertise and their passion for traffic incident management. Of the three sections of questions in the TtT evaluation, the six questions pertaining to course instructor performance averaged the highest percentage of positive responses (98.6%), with 72.3 percent Strongly Agree.
A number of comments point to the value of the instructors keeping the class on time and not allowing too much deviation from the curriculum. Given the amount of content to cover, this is important for all instructors to keep in mind. Other comments highlight the value of student activities as well as tabletop exercises.
The two questions receiving the lowest average percentage of Strongly Agree responses relate to the ability of course participants to serve as trainers after taking the TtT course.
Question 4: I believe that the time dedicated to each lesson was appropriate (56.5% Strongly Agree).
Question 16: Based on the training and materials I received, I am confident that I can setup and conduct the National TIM Responder course (55.2% Strongly Agree).
These scores may reflect several of the open-ended responses which point to the need for more time to be spent on how to teach the course rather than the curriculum. Additionally, several comments focused on which lessons should be covered in less detail (Lesson 1, Lesson 8, content on Traffic Management Centers) while others specifically cite the need to spend more time on the practical application of teaching the curriculum including more hands-on exercises. Comments were also focused on the value of having access to training materials and updated training content.
Despite receiving lower average percentages of strongly agree responses, both question 4 and question 16 averaged 95+ percent Strongly Agree and Agree responses respectively.
Appendix A contains the TtT Level 1 detailed responses from inception of the tool through August 15, 2017.
Responder Course Open-Ended Responses
Participants in the Responder Course are overwhelmingly positive about their course instructors (96.4% positive responses) with slightly less enthusiasm for the training content (92.8% positive responses). There were significantly fewer open-ended responses submitted by responder participants than by TtT participants, so identifying specific causes of the lower scores is challenging. However, the two questions receiving the lowest average percentage of positive responses by responder course participants may provide some indication.
Question 4: I believe that the time dedicated to the training was appropriate (86.9% positive responses).
Question 11: The trainer's pace of presenting the material was appropriate (91.7% positive responses).
Among the open-ended responses, responders corroborate the lower scores on the amount of time spent on the training:
"The course was too short to cover the information needed."
"Maybe a little more time, it was a lot of information for the amount of time allotted."
"I don't think going to one class is going to teach everything you need to know. It is too quick paced. If we had a manual of the slides and demo it would help us a lot."
Appendix B contains the Responder Level 1 detailed responses from inception of the tool through August 15, 2017.
