PSI Curriculum Development & Design 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When applying backward design to a public safety curriculum, what is the FIRST step an instructor should take?
- Select instructional activities and materials
- Identify desired learning outcomes and competencies (Correct answer)
- Create formative assessment tools
- Determine the delivery method and schedule
Correct answer: Identify desired learning outcomes and competencies
Backward design begins with identifying desired results before planning assessments or instruction.
Question 2: A fire service instructor needs to teach hazardous materials response. Which domain of Bloom's Taxonomy is BEST addressed when trainees correctly don PPE in a timed scenario?
- Cognitive
- Affective
- Psychomotor (Correct answer)
- Metacognitive
Correct answer: Psychomotor
Donning PPE is a physical skill performance, which falls under the psychomotor domain of Bloom's Taxonomy.
Question 3: Which curriculum model is MOST commonly used in public safety training because it emphasizes systematic instructional design through analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation?
- Taba Model
- Tyler Rationale
- ADDIE Model (Correct answer)
- Spiral Curriculum
Correct answer: ADDIE Model
The ADDIE model is the standard instructional design framework widely used in public safety and military training.
Question 4: An EMS instructor discovers that recruits consistently fail the venipuncture skill station. What curriculum revision approach is MOST appropriate?
- Remove the skill from the course objectives
- Increase practice repetitions and add prerequisite anatomy review (Correct answer)
- Replace the skill with a written knowledge test
- Shorten the overall course to focus on other skills
Correct answer: Increase practice repetitions and add prerequisite anatomy review
Consistent failure points indicate a need for more practice time and possibly strengthening prerequisite knowledge before skill performance.
Question 5: A terminal objective in a law enforcement curriculum states: 'The recruit will demonstrate proper use-of-force escalation.' What type of supporting objectives should accompany this?
- Terminal objectives from other courses
- Enabling objectives that build toward the terminal skill (Correct answer)
- Program-level goals for the entire academy
- Administrative objectives for attendance and conduct
Correct answer: Enabling objectives that build toward the terminal skill
Enabling objectives are subordinate learning steps that collectively support achievement of the terminal objective.
Question 6: When sequencing curriculum content for a wildland firefighter course, which approach BEST supports skill transfer to field operations?
- Alphabetical ordering of topics
- Simple-to-complex sequencing progressing toward realistic scenarios (Correct answer)
- Random topic rotation to maintain engagement
- Theory-only instruction followed by all practical work in the final week
Correct answer: Simple-to-complex sequencing progressing toward realistic scenarios
Simple-to-complex sequencing builds competency incrementally and culminates in realistic scenarios that mirror actual field conditions.
Question 7: Which element is ESSENTIAL when writing a measurable learning objective for a public safety certification course?
- A philosophical statement about public service
- A performance verb, conditions, and criterion standard (Correct answer)
- The instructor's biographical credentials
- A list of all textbook chapters covered
Correct answer: A performance verb, conditions, and criterion standard
Well-written objectives include a performance verb (what the learner does), conditions (under what circumstances), and a criterion (to what standard).
PSI Curriculum Development & Design 2
When applying backward design to a public safety curriculum, what is the FIRST step an instructor should take?