Chapter 2 36 Linear Pedagogy When setting up a training program or a single training session, the interviewed law enforcement agencies2 rely on a linear approach, building up a training in sequential stages from simple to complex. One instructor illustrated this approach using arresting techniques as an example: “So far, we’ve set up a lot of trainings from simple to complex. That means if you now want to learn an arrest technique that is a bit more complex, you have to start with the basics first, and then you build it up piece by piece. This means that the movements are sequenced. And at the end you do a learning objective check on this skill. You build up a bit of stress and see what stuck. The reality outside is that the possible suspect [you would use the arresting technique on] may move a little. That means, I won’t always be able to call on this great one technique that I have now trained for 2 h. I will have other stressors around it and maybe I will make other decisions as well.” (I14) While this approach can be considered common practice amongst the interviewed law enforcement agencies, some instructors and training coordinators see the difficulty in this approach. As is demonstrated in the quote above, teaching skills in a linear fashion to achieve the perfect technique is seldom realistic or applicable during on-duty incidents. To this end, one law enforcement agency explicitly mentioned that they aim to part with this approach which allows for more flexibility and realism in their training programs and sessions. Exploratory Learning Although the linear approach of teaching appears to be common practice amongst the interviewed law enforcement agencies, a few instructors approach their training sessions by placing exploration of movements rather than perfect technique at the center. Seven of the interviewed instructors (from four different law enforcement agencies) prefer to set up their training sessions in a way that lets their trainees explore different movements and solutions to problems themselves. One instructor describes his approach to exploration in training as follows: “I like to do it [this way]: I give a case and I’m not going to show you how to do it, you just do it. And then they do it. And it works out okay. But then I put in some input and 2 Four law enforcement agencies explicitly described a linear approach in training, while the remaining two agencies did not explicitly discuss a linear approach to a training program or session during the interviews. Based on the reviewed training-related material from the law enforcement agencies themselves, these two agencies also use a linear approach in their training practices.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw