Thoughts on group courses..........

I have been looking into the idea of group courses, and I have been giving a lot of thought to doing this as a standard thing, as opposed to primarily private courses.

But I am not much for the way a majority of those courses are handled. So what do you all think of the group courses that you have taken? And do you think I should/should not do them as a regular thing?

Why?

Disclosure: I haven't had any training since my Hunters Ed course 20some years ago, which while fun, was almost useless as far as teaching any kind of hands on safety due to the large class sizes. Thankfully I had learned firearm safety years before that from my stepdad.

For what it's worth, to be honest, I think for me it would depend on what kind of course it is. If it's an information session (the "bookish" stuff: current laws, etc) I would say group is fine. However for on range training (safety, shooting, drills, etc.) I would much prefer a one on one (or at most a *small* group...say 3-5) where the student knows s/he is getting your full attention versus having you spread around to a group where something (not necessarily critical) gets by and at the least will probably turn into a bad habit with the potential to turn into a dangerous habit.

I'd rather pay a lil more for a class that I *know* Ill be as competent as I can be with 1-1, than save a little and not feel as confident as I could.

Sam, just my $.02

CalicoJack10 said:

I have been looking into the idea of group courses, and I have been giving a lot of thought to doing this as a standard thing, as opposed to primarily private courses.

But I am not much for the way a majority of those courses are handled. So what do you all think of the group courses that you have taken? And do you think I should/should not do them as a regular thing?

Why?

Click to expand...

When we teach hunter safety, we have lecture type classes with 25 - 30 students. However, we break out into small groups, usually 4 to 6 students, to show them specific gun handling skills (types of actions, carries and holds, simulated hunts, tree stand safety, live firing, etc). The oral exam is an one on one stage. Group courses are ok for certain parts of the material covered, but not all skills can be taught effectively to students if they are always in a large group. The PPA classes that I took, usually had upwards of 20 to 25 students. Classroom setting was appropriate for discussion of legal, civil, and moral issues as well as an introduction to certain skills. When we went to the firing range, which held about 10-12 shooters, Bender and his wife moved around and corrected problems. I think one instructor for 3 to 5 students would work if they were all nearly the same skill level, but if most were novices to gun handling, then one on two would be about the limit. Different instructors could also be used to teach different skills to separate small groups or individuals, and then rotate to make sure all students learned and "owned" all of the skills. For example, the instructor teaching how to clean and care for the gun does not have to be the same instructor that does the living firing part. While one group is waiting to shot, they can also be learning how to care for a firearm.

I used large group techniques in my physics classes for effective transfer of some material, but always allowed for individualized instruction because everybody does not learn at the same rate or the same way.

Same as Wolf1477

Outdoorsman1