State Approved Ten Hour In-Service Activities
Used to Renew Part-Time Approval Certification
Fire Service

(Individual must also have two months of occupational experience)

Current/On-Going

Hours: Twelve (12) hour course taught at all Wisconsin Technical College Districts

Strengths: Course includes concepts of learning, lesson plans and their development, behavioral and performance objectives, organizing the learning environment, communications, methods of instruction, instructional materials, human factors in the teaching/learning environment, teaching techniques, and testing/evaluation.

Considerations: National Fire Academy (NFA) course designed for the purpose of training new fire instructors; or, for upgrading the skills of incumbent fire instructors. This course is used as a first step in meeting the National Professional Qualifications Standards. Fire Education and Training has approved this course for the preparation of individuals interested in working as call-staff instructors for the technical colleges. This course is a prerequisite (along with Fire Fighter II or III certification) to entry into the "Fire and Emergency Services Instructor - Instructor I" course, which prepares individuals for Wisconsin Fire Service Training certification as an NFPA Standard 1041 Fire Instructor I.

International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) "Fire and Emergency Services Instructor - Fire Instructor I"

Hours: Forty (40) classroom hour course taught at several district technical colleges, and also at the Wisconsin Technical College System Fire Instructors Annual Workshop.

Strengths: Course includes performance objectives, lesson planning, training aids, performance testing, training records and reports. Labs within the courses require designing and delivering five and ten minute lesson plans. Course requires the use of a variety of teaching strategies to develop lesson plans and instructional aids based on task analysis.

Considerations: Individuals who produce documentation of at least thirty (30) hours of instruction in the form of lesson plans, class rosters, and student evaluations receive Wisconsin Fire Service Training certification as NFPA Standard 1041 Fire Instructor Is. "Fire and Emergency Services Instructor" - Instructor I replaces the NFA "Fire Instructor" course.

National Fire Academy -- "Fire Service Course Design"

Hours: Course is eighty (80) classroom hours in length and can only be taken at the NFA. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommendation is in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, three (3) semester hours in Education, Public Service Programs or Fire Science. This course will be accepted for requirement 50.

Strengths: This course teaches fire/rescue instructional personnel and allied professionals how to design courses. The process of instructional design is taught from the perspective of designing a course to be used by other instructors. Students must identify a training need prior to the course. During the class, they apply course principles to the creation of a training package that meets a training need for their jurisdiction or organization. In designing their own training package, students conduct a needs assessment, develop a task analysis, establish goals and objectives, design an evaluation plan, determine instructional methods and activities to be used, and plan for media and instructional materials. To successfully complete this course, the final design of the students training package must be submitted for evaluation within six (6) months following attendance. The course exposes students to state-of-the-art technologies including tours of on-campus labs at the NFA.

Considerations: Student selection is targeted toward persons with course design and development responsibilities, and the course prerequisites are successful completion of "Instructional Methodology," "Fire Instructor," "Fire and Emergency Services Instructor-Instructor I" or any instructor training course with a minimum of forty (40) hours. Documentation of such completion must be provided with course application.

Individuals who produce a copy of their certificate for completion of "Fire Service Course Design" along with a copy of the training package they designed and submitted to the NFA will receive Wisconsin Fire Service Training certification as NFPA Standard 1041 Fire Instructor IIs. (This activity is an alternative to completion of the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) "Fire and Emergency Services Instructor-Instructor II" course.)

WTCS Wisconsin Instructional Design System "(WIDS) Professional Development Basic WIDS"

Hours: Course is 4 days in length and can be taken at most institutions of the WTCS.

Strengths: This workshop lays the groundwork for the application of performance-based learning. It focuses on establishing desired performance expectations; specifying performance standards; creating standards-based assessments; planning teaching and learning strategies that work; and aligning standards, assessments and instruction. Participants will design a customized performance-based, learner-centered course of study using the WIDS Instructional Designer Model and Software.

Considerations: Student selection is targeted toward persons with course design and development responsibilities, and the course prerequisites are successful completion of "Instructional Methodology," "Fire Instructor," "Fire and Emergency Services Instructor-Instructor I" or any instructor training course with a minimum of forty (40 hours. Individuals who produce a copy of the course they designed during the workshop will receive Wisconsin Fire Service Training certification as NFPA Standard 1041 Fire Instructor IIs. (This activity is an alternative to completion of the NFA "Fire Service Course Design" course.)

National Fire Academy--"Training Program Management"

Hours: Course is eighty (80) classroom hours in length and can only be taken at the NFA. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommendation is in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in Education, Public Administration, Fire Service Management or Human Resource Management.

Strengths: This course is designed to provide the fire educator/trainer with the essential tools and skills to lead and manage a training function. Its content focuses on the job responsibilities of obtaining and managing personnel, fiscal and facility management, program planning and delivery. Typical students coordinate a training schedule and manage training records, and have responsibility for recruiting and evaluating instructors and evaluating training impact. Training liability and training technology are featured.

Considerations: Student selection is targeted toward persons with management and supervisory responsibility for their organization's training and education function. Course prerequisites include successful completion of "Fire Service Course Design," "WIDS Professional Development Basic WIDS," or similar instructor training program that requires completion of a course design assignment. Individuals who produce a copy of their certificate of completion of "Training Program Management" along with a documented position description indicating they have management and supervisory responsibility for their agency's training function will receive Wisconsin Fire Service Training certification as NFPA Standard 1041 Fire Instructor IIIs.

Prior Year

For more information contact:
barbara.miller@wtcsystem.edu (608) 266-0003

Last modified: September 21, 2000