The Means to Achieve Fairness, Safety, and Consistency

1
The Means to Achieve Fairness, Safety, and
Consistency
2
Why clinicians??

• IOP 1 The Mission of USRowing Referees (Corps)
  is to serve the sport of rowing by protecting and
  advancing the highest standards of safety,
  fairness and ethical conduct within the rowing
  community
• IOP 45
• Clinicians are a key element in the Committees
  mission of training and education
• Clinicians are appointed by the Committee and are
  reviewed on an annual basis

Clinicians not only provide the means through
which USRowing trains and licenses its corps of
officials they also serve to actively maintain
the quality and consistency of the corps by
providing constructive feedback arising from
observation and evaluation of working officials
3
Clinicians must fulfill two primary roles

• training
• off the water classroom clinics
• on the water working with individuals
• evaluation
• formal
• written test to obtain an Assistants license
• advancement in rank (Assistant to Referee)
• regional ranking of officials
• informal
• on the water, working with individuals
• as a consultant to the chief referee

4
Clinicians have comprehensive knowledge and
skills gained through experience

• IOP 45 expectations for clinicians
• Expert level familiarity with the Rules of Rowing
  with special emphasis on the ability to
  illustrate more complex rules with concrete
  examples
• Demonstrate ability to communicate balanced
  judgment in application of the rules
• Exceed the minimum requirements for maintaining a
  license
• Have extensive regatta experience at multiple
  regatta levels

5
Clinicians agree to volunteer their time and to
share their experience

• IOP 45 expectations for clinicians
• Assist with creating, maintaining, and
  distributing the highest quality training
  materials
• Use effective teaching skills that go beyond
  anecdotal narration
• Present or assist at a minimum of one clinic per
  year
• Be available for clinics throughout his/her home
  region
• Coordinate clinics with the Regional
  Representative
• Serve as a mentor

6
Clinicians also fulfill an evaluative and
administrative role for the Committee

• IOP 45 expectations for clinicians
• Provide expert consultation outside of the clinic
  context as requested by referees, regatta
  directors, and coaches
• Administer referee examinations, with the
  approval of the Regional Representative
• Provide prompt and accurate reports to the
  designated Committee member, indicating the
  level, subject matter, and participants of each
  clinic delivered

7
Clinicians have an expert-level familiarity with
the Rules, and can communicate balanced judgment
in application of the Rules

• factual recall of individual rules (Articles II
  IV)
• familiarity to readily and efficiently reference
  clarification of individual details stemming from
  regatta incidents
• understands and can articulate the intent
  (fairness safety) of individual rules

Expert-level familiarity and understanding are
exercised through habitual self-assessment and
reflection, in addition to peer evaluations and
discussion, stemming from real life experiences
as case studies
8
Clinicians assist with creating, maintaining, and
distributing the highest quality training
materials

• proper use of Committee approved clinic
  presentations
• updates and edits, deletions or additions, should
  always reflect a consistent national standard, as
  opposed to regional or local customs and
  practices
• creation of new material generally, always
  start with the Rules and/or written procedures
  (e.g. the Committee IOPs)
• when the clinic focus is upon particular skills
  and/or procedures (floating starts, control
  commission, etc.) the presentation should develop
  from specific applicable Rules, and their intent
• when teaching procedures that are not
  specifically delineated through the Rules,
  consult with the Regional Representative to
  ensure consistency and adherence to a national
  procedural standard
• enhancements to existing material are to be
  encouraged, e.g.
• focused case studies with a clear learning
  objective
• use of photos or videos
• interactive media

9
Clinicians use effective teaching skills that go
beyond anecdotal narratives

• regarding pedagogy, and teaching teachers how to
  teach There are numerous schools of thought,
  and no one ever agrees!
• regardless of method, effective teaching is built
  upon a foundation of clearly articulated
  learning objectives e.g.
• consider
• active learning techniques, versus traditional
  classroom passive learning
• your role as a facilitator for learning by
  others, rather than just a dispenser of knowledge
  and information
• the use of war stories as good case examples
  and learning opportunities, versus entertainment
  and gossip (or, self-aggrandizement)

10
Clinicians coordinate clinics with the Regional
Representatives

• when is the best time to give a clinic?
• before, during, or after the racing season
• in conjunction with a regatta, or not
• what topic or topics will the clinic include?
• how will the clinic be advertised, and is there a
  target audience?
• where will the clinic be held, and is the
  location and facility suitable for the purpose?

Clinicians are not autonomous free agents, and
they should not be burdened with having to solve
all of the above on their own the Regional
Representatives have an obligation to oversee and
coordinate clinics and the Clinicians who work in
their respective regions
11
Clinicians are also called upon to evaluate
officials as they work at regattas

• for what purpose?
• to ensure that the officials are conforming to
  procedural standards that are consistent and
  proper
• to ensure that the officials are properly
  applying and interpreting the Rules
• what are the standards for evaluation?
• take into account both the rank and the level of
  experience of the individual official
• consider the competitive expectations of the
  regatta participants
• suggestions and guidelines for effective and
  supportive evaluations
• critical feedback should include not only what
  needs to be improved, but also what was done
  competently and well
• consider the pros and cons regarding immediate
  reactive feedback of a summative nature, vs. a
  more reflective and formative provision of
  feedback

12
Summary

• Clinicians must prepare themselves to contribute
  to, and participate in, two primary activities
• training officials, both new and experienced, via
  classroom clinics and one-on-one interactions
  during regattas
• evaluating officials, both new and experienced,
  for both formative and summative purposes

Becoming an effective Clinician begins with a
commitment to meeting the expectations listed
within the IOPs of the Referee Committee. One
should then reflect to assess how to best apply
ones experience to assist in the mission of
training and evaluating the corps of USRowing
officials.
13
Writing effective learning objectives

• learning objectives
• summarize for the learners the relevance and
  meaningfulness of the intended instruction
• clarify for the instructor the intended outcomes
  of the teaching
• current educational thinking learning
  objectives should be specific and measurable
• each objective should describe one or more
  intended results of instruction, and not the
  process of instruction itself
• good objectives are written using action verbs,
  e.g. state, list, describe, explain, compare,
  plan, evaluate, etc.
• words such as know or understand should not
  be used for writing objectives, as they are too
  ambiguous and open-ended

14
Todays learning objectives By the conclusion
of this clinic, the participants should be able
to

• recite the Mission of USRowing Referees, and then
  justify the need for standardized training and
  evaluation by Clinicians in support of this
  Mission
• state the two primary roles that Clinicians are
  called upon to fulfill
• summarize the three main categories of
  expectations for Clinicians as set forth through
  the Referee Committee IOPs
• explain how to properly access and utilize the
  standardized training material made available by
  the Referee Committee
• describe the steps a Clinician should take to
  ensure that new training material and
  presentations that they develop adhere to
  national procedural standards
• etc.

back