Last week I took a handgun safety/permit class. My husband had accidentally let his permit expire, so we decided to take the class together this time around. I wasn’t super sure it was something I wanted to do, but I accepted the challenge. While I was taking the class, it dawned on me that I really hadn’t been a student in a really, really long time, so I’m glad that I had this opportunity. As a result, after the second day of class, which was the performance test, my head was swimming with ideas for this blog post – super fitting for this test-prep-time-of-year. Thus, I’m writing this blog post from the point of view of a student, but I’m going to throw in a few teacher take-aways regarding test prep strategies and ideology along the way.
TEST-PREP PRACTICE
Prior to the class, my husband prepped me at home with the firearm. We practiced what I needed to know for the performance part of the test because that was the hardest part. He set up a target in the backyard and gave me a quick tutorial on what I needed to know about loading the gun and shooting at the target. The whole time we were shooting the wind was blowing, and the teeny, tiny target he set on the ground fifteen yards away kept moving. Honestly, it wasn’t doing much for my confidence level. He assured me I would be fine, and we wrapped up the practice session. It wouldn’t be until the performance piece of the test that I would realize the value of the level of “hardness” of that practice session. The instructors of the class also provided a run-through of the performance segment of the test, too, and in that exercise, we learned that we would be shooting a target much closer than what my husband and I had practiced at home, which was actually good news. And when we got to the range, we saw the targets were posted high and steadily on a board.
VOCABULARY FOR TEST PREP
During the lecture segment of the course, one of the main components the instructors focused on was vocabulary. As a student, this was really important for me because I didn’t really know all the terminology I needed. It may be odd to consider that I would even need vocabulary words to be able to handle and shoot a gun properly, but it really is key. For example, during the performance test, the instructor told us to load our magazines and hold them up. In my domain, a magazine is something you read. In this very different domain, a magazine is what holds the ammo. Without an understanding of the vocabulary for this domain, I wouldn’t have known what to do. The vocabulary also showed up throughout the standardized test, as well, and it either helped me choose the right answer or eliminate the wrong ones.
SCENARIOS IN TEST PREP
For someone who hasn’t been in a situation to use a handgun or need one (and hope I never am), it would have been really hard to work through some of the questions on the test since all this was pretty foreign to me. A key component of the course, along with the vocabulary and hands-on demonstrations, was the use of scenarios. They not only gave scenarios for when to use a firearm but also when not to use a firearm. For me, it helped me not to just memorize the information, but I was truly able to internalize it, and I still remember those scenarios/stories days after the test.
Teacher Take-away: Brain research says that teaching strategies such as role-playing and storytelling are effective because we remember what we are involved in, and the brain remembers stories because they are connected together with a beginning, middle, and end. When I give examples and demonstrations to my students as well, I try to bring in examples and non-examples to show the actual target.
THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR TEST PREP
During practice at home, we used a semi-automatic. I wore protective eye and ear gear. I practiced my stance and how to hold my hands. I loaded the gun myself. When we got to the class, some people shared they had practiced with revolvers, and some shared they hadn’t previously practiced at all. The latter wasn’t really as big of an issue as the first. The instructors wanted everyone to qualify with a semi-automatic because they can shoot more rounds, and it was faster since we had so many people in the class. So, the people who had practiced with a revolver prior or who had already been shooting and developed bad habits struggled quite a bit during the exam.
ENCOURAGEMENT
My instructors and husband were so encouraging and uplifting the entire time. They weren’t worried about failure, but rather so confident of success. I needed that because I just wasn’t so sure of myself. I tend to fear failure, and I can let it get the best of me – to the point I shut down and won’t keep trying. Thankfully, their positivity and confidence helped me do my best.
Going into the class, I knew there would be a standardized test and a performance test. So, I had to concentrate and focus, even if it was at the end of a long day and even if it was going to be a lot of new material that I had to learn quickly. Honestly, I was nervous; in fact, a wave of anxiety hit me when the instructors were handing out the test. I thought, “This is exactly what my students must feel like.” I hadn’t been in this scenario in YEARS. I am really glad that I had this opportunity if for nothing else than that reason alone.
Sometimes we forget to put ourselves in our students’ shoes -for any scenario- and that paradigm shift was just what I needed to help me help my students through this testing season.
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