RYA PB2 instructor advise

[andyjcox1]

Hi all, I am hoping to do my Power boat level 2 instructor course soon, having had a good few seasons on 30ft and below power boats, and done all courses up to and including dayskipper practical/theory and now commercially endorsed.

I am reading the handbooks, and boning up on theory, but is there anything anyone could suggest makes a good instructor, areas an assessor will focus on, things I should know etc..

Any tips gratefully received

 

[rafiki_]

What is your location? Instructors tend to be regional, but will travel if necessary.

 

[Skylark]

I did it a while back, sadly I've not been able to renew it after 5 years because I didn't use it enough.

My experience was that the last day assessor was brilliant. He didn't use the day as a stressful "exam" but rather, quickly went through the entire syllabus to seek our weaknesses (easily done ) then spent time coaching us with the benefit of his experience.

As with all such courses & assessments, the assessor is sufficently wise to find any area of weakness against the entire syllabus. You're expected to be well rounded at everything aren't you? If you can't "do" it, how can you "teach" it?

 

[ribrage]

Hi all, I am hoping to do my Power boat level 2 instructor course soon, having had a good few seasons on 30ft and below power boats, and done all courses up to and including dayskipper practical/theory and now commercially endorsed.

I am reading the handbooks, and boning up on theory, but is there anything anyone could suggest makes a good instructor, areas an assessor will focus on, things I should know etc..

Any tips gratefully received

All based on what you would want from an instructor yourself:

good knowledge, Patience , ability to helm the boat , know when to step in, good people skills, good listener , feed back is mainly what we look for, so good communications and always giving encouragement, confident, smart appearance.... etc etc

where are you doing the instructor course ?

 

[andyjcox1]

Thanks for the advise so far, I was trying to think what I have enjoyed/looked for when being a student on the courses so thanks Ribrage for putting this in a more organised form, that was very usefull.

I am hoping to do the course in Poole, and then see if I can get some experience, maybe sit in on a few courses being delivered and then do one myself providing it all goes well.

 

[rafiki_]

There are several instructors who visit this forum who will cover the Poole area. I'm sure they will be along soon. If they were not good, they would be drummed off the forum.

 

[Doug_Stormforce]

Andy

Speaking first hand as a Powerboat Trainer.

A lot of candidates for the course do not have any teaching experience before they join us, what they do have is experience of, and a passion for small powered craft. During the course we teach you how to instruct and explain how to run the RYA powerboat Level 2 Course.

The RYA Powerboat Instructor Handbook is essential pre course reading, if you have not already got it, get yourself a copy.

Your comment that you would like to shadow someone else after your Instructor Course makes a lot of sense. There is of course no reason why you can not shadow a level 2 course before your Instructor Course. The guys on our Internship programme shadow a course both before and after Instructor Training regardless of how well they do on the Instructor Course itself.

Prior to booking the Instructor Skills Assessment and the PBI course itself make sure you are up to speed with all of the hard skills. The vast majority of schools do most of their training in single engine wheel steered RIBs. An instructor who has experience of other craft (jet drive, twin set up, hard boats, tiller steered, displacement and so on) will be diverse and able to take on specialised jobs but you do not need to have all of these skills now.

Have you done the RYA Advanced Powerboat Course? While its not required as a pre requisite to the PBI it will help you raise your game to a higher standard.

When it comes time to choose a school to take the course with, have a good look around at the options. While on the face of it all of the school may seem to offer the same product, if you ask a few questions (why should I take this course with you?) you will start to see some of the differences and be able to pick the one that suits you

Once you have passed the PBI Skills Test and move onto the PBI itself, the most important things to ensure is that everything you do is safe. Ribrage is correct, in that you need to emulate the qualities you have seen in other good instructors/teachers. Most people who want to become Instructors have many of these qualities already.The two trainers that run your course are not looking for rock star Instructors, they recognise that you will develop your own teaching style once you actually get out there and start teaching the course. They will however be looking for someone that feel confident in from a safety point of view. A trainer has no discretion with a candidate who demonstrates unsafe behaviour.

Best of luck with your training

 

[PaulGlatzel]

Andy

Hi, I agree with what Doug says and would suggest that in the first instance you do two things:

1) Contact a range of centres and glean information from them as to how they run their courses, how often, opportunities to sit in on Level 2 courses before undertaking your PBI Course, opportunities to assist on Level 2 courses post qualification etc
2) Arrange to sit in as an observer on a Level 2 course. Whilst this is not obligatory I would strongly advise doing so as in a very relaxed way you can sit at the back of a Level 2 course and watch as an experienced Instructor runs the course, you can see first hand the techniques they use and the teaching points that they are trying to get across. There is no reason that a school should charge for this. I would always advise potential Instructors to take this option (if time allows) as it tends to reassure them that they have the knowledge and skills needed and even before the course starts they can start to think about how they will run the various sessions in a course.

After sitting in on a Level 2 course I think (given what you say your experience and qualification levels are) that you will feel ready for your skills assessment.

For the pre-assessment (which is mandatory) ensure you can very competently demonstrate all on water manouvres in the level 2 courses. As you already possess Dayskipper Theory ensure you just brush up back to that level – as that is the ideal level of theory knowledge.

I suggest that you undertake the assessment 3 – 6 weeks before your PBI course but if it is less (as often it is for many) this is okay.

The Instructor course will then focus on a few things:

• Instructing you in some teaching methodologies that are proven to work well in teaching powerboating.
• Working through the various on water sessions of the Level 2 course ensuring you are aware of the structure of these sessions, the key teaching points, common mistakes and of course giving you the chance to practice teaching them
• Working with you to ensure that you able to teach the non-afloat (charts, tides, buoyage, pilotage, col regs etc etc) sessions – and again giving you the chance to teach them/see them being taught
• The administrative side of being an instructor, running a centre, child protection etc

Ideally the course should give you the opportunity to teach ‘real’ people – by which I mean individuals who have not been afloat before. This is a massively beneficial part of the course.

Good luck and please do not hesitate to raise questions – I will do my best to answer them.

Regards, Paul Glatzel

 

[Kawasaki]

Andy
As per Doug and Paul
Plus I too suggest the ideas of completing your Advanced course and sitting in on a PB2 Course are very good points of advice
Here is hoping you will complete the Instructor course successfully, I,m sure you will!
Having done so here is a tip, although you will be guided/instructed on how to instruct and construct the the day's sessions.
You will find at first that it can be somewhat challenging to pack all the content in!
Timing and not wasting time is the key
You will find that your pupils will have different levels of skills and experiences and this is where you will develop your skills as an Instructor
Your Instructor/trainer will be able to guide you in this area.
Instructing, water based or shorebased can be very rewarding and great fun.
Good luck
K

 

[timgriffin]

Hi Andy
As others have said and if you are in Poole area give Paul a bell to sit in on a course.
Remember it is meant to be fun so relax and enjoy and learn.
Tim

 

[andyjcox1]

Thanks everyone for the great advise, I know I need to swat up on certain topics to be able to teach, but I guess you only learn by doing, and I'm all for continuous learing and improvement.

I have done most of my courses with Paul so will give you a call asap and also get booked on an advanced course.

Andy