SAAI course

Adult Staff Staff Development
1

I have my SAAI course coming up.

I am very confident with the L98 (7 years infantry) and taught most lessons over the years but that was then not now.

Any tips or things to definitely do/not do for the class room lesson tests etc.

Hopefully I’ll get some serious answers before the idiots wake up and I get the ‘make sure they hold the bang end away from them hahaha….’ (snore)

Thanks in advance.

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3

Explain, Demonstrate, Imitate, Practice.

I did it with experience with you, your own personal SAA is important, but your teaching technique is more important.

I did my SAA Course in 2011, and its still without a doubt the best course I’ve ever done.

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4

Learn the red bits so you can recite them verbatim, as far as possible.

Be clear and confident in delivery.

(And yes bang bits - keep the thing pointing in a safe direction and remember that anything with a pouch needs checking with the NSPs - people have been failed over those!)

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5

When assessing SAAI courses we look for a few things:

  1. PAM correctness. Doesn’t have to be verbatim but should cover the correct content in the right order, no fads. (People saying clear, ease springs, during NSPs to each individual person is one that always makes me laugh)
  2. Lesson/Classroom setup. Make sure your room layout works for you and you don’t make any faux pas like standing infront of weapons during NSPs due to room layout.
  3. Instructor bearing. We don’t expect everyone to be a robot that can recite things, have some personality and manner but always be professional.

The lessons you go through and the demos you see at the start of the course should help you understand a lot of that.

Get confident in your TAMs and make sure you can take a quick glance if needed to understand where you are and what is next. Some teams let you hide queues and some insist you rely on masking to look at your notes. Brecon when running the regular course allow the instructor to have their TAM out and open infront of the assessors but they are only allowed a very limited number of masked glances.

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6

The old EDIP already in the ol’grey mater

7

That’s for the advice. Good to avoid the instant fails

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8

Oh do be serious.

Ive been an instructor for over 20 years now.

Using or teaching from the PAM is how you avoid missing key areas.

Never heard this masked glances nonsense before.

But then this is real world based, not on course.

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9

Teaching from the PAM is awful, shows the instructor has no idea.

Using their lesson plan is fine though.

It’s all about the students have the perception that the instructor knows what they are talking about.

Anyone can read a book

10

Have you attended an SAAI course and have a relevant comment to make to help the OP?

Sitting with the PAM on his lap trying to teach a lesson will be a fail.

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11

As much as I agree with this, I do feel there is too much emphasis on “masking drills”.

As above, having a lesson plan or scanning the book towards the end of the lesson to check everything is covered should be fine (and is what I do in reality), but very much isn’t for assessment for some reason.

You’ve to “take a drink” or wonder behind a lecturn.
Why not just be honest: “let me just check I’ve not missed anything”.

To OP: don’t worry about word for word, but good familiarity with the first 4 lessons will help you out with weekend one.

It is generally a good course.

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12

If you’re doing it at the end of the lesson and you missed an important bit in the middle that then means going back and either re-teaching a whole drill or altering the drill in some way you’re not only wasting time but also confusing the students.

I have no issues at all with people utilising TAMs in the real world, we are volunteers and most don’t teach it enough to remember it entirely. That still shouldn’t detract from instructor credibility or knowledge though.

This is about passing a course though and that means showing a set standard of capability at that point in time.

It’s like a driving test, you do what you need to pass including the prep work and study then once you have passed you can adapt to your own environment.

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13

I have never heard of this nonsense.
I have been instructing on all cadet weapon systems for 20 plus years.

Recertified when we had to be and exercise my quals reguarly.

Hidding if as an inst you have a brain fart, seems completly against logic.

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14

Could that possibly be because you’ve not done any CPD during those 20 years to keep up with current methods and improve your practice?

Just a thought.

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15

I did SAA instructor courses in both regular and cadet forces: my previous qualification lapsed after two years out of regular service.
The course run by the Air Cadet training team is excellent, and the same as being on the regular service course.
We did only Pam 5 L98A2 lessons on my course, so I prepared by learning all the lessons pretty much verbatim - I taught the L85 rifle for eleven years as a JNCO in both operational and training units, so it all came back anyway.
I just made sure I kept it simple: teach exactly by the book, and get the whole book and nothing but the book in your head. Basic weapon drills need to be taught in military moron mode, like CPR or foot drill as far as I’m concerned. :roll_eyes:

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16

Nope.

E.g. Last year, took a weekend out to attend a CPD weekend a SATT one over was running.

No issues.

But i get your point. It just doesnt apply here.

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17

Correct.

Learn what is needed.

But dont stress if you get the PAM out and refer to it.

Just dont read from it verbatim.

Still never heard to hide referring to the PAM.

We arent Frimley ‘Gods’…

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