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AGENDA ITEM REPORT

Title: Report on Request to Contract for Critical Thinking Training Course Project for Oakland Police Department
REPORT PROFILE
MEETING DATE
2/28/2013		 BUREAU SUBMITTING THIS REPORT
Training Program Services Bureau
RESEARCHED BY (PRINT NAME)
Anne E. Brewer		 REVIEWED BY (PRINT NAME)
Robert A. Stresak
REPORT DATE
01/28/2013		 APPROVED BY
Robert A. Stresak		 DATE APPROVED
02/07/13
PURPOSE
Decision Requested		 FINANCIAL IMPACT
Yes

ISSUE:
Should the Commission authorize the Executive Director to enter into a contract with Napa Valley College or another entity to provide critical thinking training for public safety in an amount not to exceed $150,000?
BACKGROUND:
Since 2007, the Instructor Development Institute (IDI) Program has incorporated the essential elements of critical thinking as both an instructional methodology and as a specific instructor development course. The IDI Critical Thinking Courses have been offered as both an 8-hour and 24-hour module within the intermediate level of the Program. The 24-hour module is also a prerequisite to the Master Instructor Certification Course (MICC).

IDI staff recently explored the possibility of developing additional critical thinking programs that could be infused statewide throughout public safety curricula. This approach has the potential of being a highly valuable and effective method toward enhancing the overall thinking skills of public safety professionals.
ANALYSIS:

The dynamics of a public safety career necessitates the ability to think critically. Individuals holding positions in public safety must have minds trained to quickly and rationally reason during times of crisis, and think comprehensively considering multiple options to make effective decisions that result in the best possible outcome for everyone impacted by the decision. Moreover, a by-product of being an effective critical thinker is the development of key virtues and characteristics such as empathy, courage, integrity, fair-mindedness and humility enough to know one’s limitations during the decision making process.   Infusing critical thinking within a teaching curriculum will allow students to:  

  • Be aware of and evaluate the quality of their own thinking
  • Ask essential questions
  • Reflect and internalize concepts
  • Recognize their own limitations
  • Distinguish between fact and opinion
  • Identify and evaluate alternatives
  • Become lifelong critical thinkers
  • Enhance relationships with loved ones, co-workers and the communities they serve  

As a first step toward expanding critical thinking programs across public safety curriculum, IDI staff will collaborate with the Oakland Police Department (OPD) and facilitate critical thinking training of staff and academy students as a pilot project. This project will include the training and development of an OPD Critical Thinking Instructional Team that will be able to sustain critical thinking training in other curriculum provided by the Team.

The OPD has been faced with numerous challenges such as high profile crimes, spikes in violence, large protests, strained staffing levels, high profile police force incidents and drain on public safety staffing. They are committed to ensuring their instructors focus on increasing the critical thinking abilities and skills of their staff and trainees and have identified this training in a needs assessment of their department. OPD has agreed to match funding for the expenses necessary to sustain a budget for this pilot project.

The effectiveness of this training project will be evaluated by POST to assess its value. Thereafter the data will be used to assess the value of adding critical thinking training to other public safety curricula. A breakdown of training course costs in included in Attachment A.

RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Commission authorize the Executive Director to enter into a contract with Napa Valley College or another entity to provide critical thinking training for public safety in an amount not to exceed $150,000.
 
ATTACHMENT(S):
Name: Type:
Attachment_A_-_Critical_Thinking.docx Backup Material