The Instructor Development Unit prepares newly assigned personnel for their role as Department instructors.  The staff of the Instructor Development Unit strives for academic excellence and assists students to help them reach the high level of professionalism required of all Department instructors.

The unit offers four courses to members of the service that help them achieve career goals in their selected positions as instructors within the Department.  The following courses with their associated pre-requisites are currently being offered by the Instructor Development Unit:

Methods of Instruction: Eleven -days course for new instructors (MOI).  This course is presented and certified by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety.  All participants are required to complete 77 hours of intense instruction.  In return, they will receive New York State certification and three undergraduate college credits issued from the National Program on Non-Collegiate Sponsored Instruction (P.O.N.S.I.).  The certification of General Topics Instructor is valid for five years and each student must recertify before their fifth year expires.

Pre-requisite:  One must be in a training position or capacity on a continuous basis to attend this course.

Fundamentals of Instruction: Three-day course (FOI) which focuses on effective presentation skills. This course is an abbreviated session of the "Methods of Instruction" course.  This 21 hour block of instruction focuses on public speaking skills at all levels.  This course is designed to assist those members of the service, staffing positions within the Department required to offer the occasional presentation. (Such as Community Affairs, Crime Prevention and Domestic Violence Prevention Officers)

Pre-requisite:  None.

Evaluators Workshop: One-day course certifies instructors to perform the necessary assessment and evaluation of trainers.  Participants learn how to complete this task without bias, and give them the opportunity to re-certify other Department Instructors before their state certification expires.

Pre-requisite:  This course is offered to veteran instructors who have successfully completed the "Methods of Instruction" course, hold the title of General Topics Instructor for at least three years, and have been recommended by their supervisors.

Recertification Course: One-day course offered to those members of the service who have successfully completed the "Methods of Instruction" course, and are six months away from the expiration of their General Topics Instructor Certification.  After making an appointment, each instructor is required to prepare and present a fifty-minute oral presentation utilizing a proper lesson plan and a minimum of three training aids to an evaluator.  Once this phase of the course is successfully completed, the member of the service will be recertified as a General Topics Instructor for the next five years.

Pre-requisite:  The member of the service must be at least six-months away from the expiration of their General Topics certification.  One fifty-minute lesson plan must be submitted to the Instructor Development Unit at least two-weeks prior to their scheduled appointment for approval prior to the presentation.