80th Training Command launches new staff and faculty development academy
Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Darlington, senior noncommissioned officer 80th Training Command, addresses students attending the inaugural class of the command’s Staff and Faculty Development Academy at Grand Prairie, Texas, March 7, 2016. The academy’s first class was the Foundation Instructor Facilitator Course which is designed to have instructors modify their traditional lecture styled teaching method to a more facilitative approach. The FIFC, which will eventually replace the Army Basic Instructor course, implements principles of adult learning and is meant for established Soldiers looking to learn an additional Military Occupational Specialty. “You’re gonna be training the future of the Army,” Darlington told the students. “Drill Sergeants turn civilians into Soldiers and we turn Soldiers into War fighters.” Other classes taught at the academy will include a Small Group Instruction course and eventually The Army School System Leader course, taught quarterly.