The Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy is currently undergoing a scheduled review by the Commission for Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). This includes an opportunity to receive comments from the public.
You may submit comments directly to CALEA at https://cimrs2.calea.org/232

Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy
A Nationally Accredited Law Enforcement Training Academy
General Instructor Development Course
Course length
40
About the course
The General Instructor Development Course is a 40-hour course conducted over the course of five (5) days. The course includes instruction in the following areas:
• The role of the instructor and adult learning concepts.
• The fundamentals of communication.
• Liability and ethics of instructors.
• Research and development of courses and instructional methods.
• Instructional performance objectives.
• The preparation and use of lesson plans.
• Preparation and use of audio-visual aids, computer applications and technology in the classroom.
• Testing and criteria for test construction.
At the end of the course students will present their own topic from a lesson plan they complete during the course.
The focus of this course is to learn to apply 21st Century adult learning concepts in law enforcement training and create comprehensive lesson plans that will meet and exceed Virginia Department of Criminal Justice standards. This will be accomplished by breaking down the creative and instructional process into smaller chunks of material and repeatedly practicing the concepts in different individual and group exercises. Scenario training, use of role playing, technology and other concepts will be delivered and practiced throughout the course in order to provide the most comprehensive experience for new law enforcement instructors.