The Ultimate Guide to Excellent Teaching and Training

About the Book

This book is for anyone interested or involved in teaching, training, or instructing, whether you are just getting into the field or thinking about it or you have been teaching for decades. It is for those who administer teaching, training, or instructing. The book was written for academics and those who teach in academies and other professional adult learning environments. The book’s contents are applicable to all types of colleges, be they community colleges, four-year colleges, or universities, both private and public, for-profit or nonprofit. Most professional practitioner-type instructors go through some sort of instructor school, teachers earn degrees in teaching, but many who teach or instruct are never trained or taught how to teach or train. Few professors are taught how to teach. They have been taught, so this is where they often draw their own teaching styles. Regardless of where you teach, train, or instruct, this book and its contents are for you. The book goes into great detail regarding face-to-face classes as well as online and other delivery methods. The lessons found in this book can be applied to new students, undergraduate, or graduate students. The lessons apply equally to basic, in-service, and specialized training. My hope is that no matter how great of an instructor you are, you will find many new nuggets of information that will add to your teaching toolbox. One of my goals in life is to leave a positive lasting impact. I want to help students and other instructors recognize and reach their full potential. I want you to be the best instructor you can be. I strongly believe we impact people all the time whether we know it or not. You can and will make a big difference in your students’ lives.

About the Author

Dr. Jeff Fox served for twenty-seven years in the field of criminal justice, twenty-one of which were with the VA State Police (VSP). He began his law enforcement career as a military policeman in the US Army and served as a town police officer, trooper, sergeant, first sergeant, and lieutenant. He served as a field lieutenant with the state police and served as the assistant training officer where he managed the daily operations of the training academy. He also served as the statewide incident management program manager for the VA Department of Transportation in the operations and security division. Jeff earned an AAS degree in police science from Germanna Community College, a BLS degree in criminal psychology and sociology from Mary Washington College, and an MS degree in criminal justice administration from VA Commonwealth University. He earned an MBA degree with a specialization in criminal justice, and he earned a PhD in business administration with a specialization in homeland security from Northcentral University. He is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute Administrative Officers Course and the VA Commonwealth Management Institute. Jeff completed the VA State Police Basic Academy, Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy, and Military Police School. Jeff has been teaching at various colleges and universities since 2001. He retired from state service as the program coordinator and assistant professor for the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Criminal Justice Cohort Programs for VA Commonwealth University in Martinsville, Virginia. Jeff served as an assistant professor and chair of the Public Safety Adult Degree Completion Programs (bachelor’s, criminal justice and homeland security and emergency management) for a private college in Virginia. While the assistant training officer for the VSP, he collaborated with the University of Virginia, and together, they created the National Criminal Justice Command College (NCJCC). Jeff’s full-time job now is as public safety trainer/educator/consultant for his company called Fox—Public Safety Training, Educating, and Consulting LLC. He has been an associate dean, program chair, program coordinator, associate and assistant professor, lecturer, and adjunct. He has been responsible for building online programs and online courses, as well as redevelopment of courses. Jeff was instrumental in the development of distance learning with the VSP. He has developed policies and procedures for online programs in both academic and professional environments. Jeff spent twenty years instructing over four thousand hours at various criminal justice academies in a variety of criminal justice, leadership, ethics, and instructor development courses as a certified instructor. Jeff has taught hundreds of academically based criminal justice and homeland security / emergency preparedness classes, which included over 16,500 classroom hours. Jeff has spent over twenty thousand hours instructing. Approximately 80 percent of these courses have been online. He has taught over eighty-five criminal justice topics in police academies. He has built and rebuilt entire field training officer programs, as well as served as an FTO for many years. He has served on over thirty-six boards or committees relating to criminal justice, homeland security, or training issues. Jeff completed the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services General Instructor School as well as an advance instructor school, along with other advanced training programs dealing with academy operations. Jeff serves as a dissertation chair and committee member for doctoral candidates. For more information about Jeff’s training, education, and consulting services through Fox Public Safety LLC, contact him at https://www.fox-publicsafety.com/home.html or info@fox-publicsafety.com.