'New e-learning module is a powerful educational tool and prepares students well for policing in practice'

Recently, students at the Netherlands Police Academy were provided with a new learning instrument to expand their knowledge on dealing with persons with mental health needs. Together with a team of educational specialists, Bauke Koekkoek, lecturer in Behaviour resulting from Mental Health Needs, Safety and Society, developed an e-learning module on the basis of the existing handbook ‘Omgaan met onbegrepen gedrag’ (Dealing with persons with mental health needs). The module, which provides a clear and interactive summary of the handbook, has now been incorporated into the teaching materials of the foundational police training.

The handbook ‘Omgaan met onbegrepen gedrag’ has been part of foundational police training for several years now, as was the educational instrument on Enforcing and Providing Assistance. The latter was a 6-hour module provided to police officers and care professionals in which they could select thematic videos containing practical information on working with persons with mental health needs.

‘It is a well-developed instrument, but the information offered was too in-depth for our purposes’, explains Peter Roosenstein, lecturer in Behaviour & Communication at the Netherlands Police Academy. ‘It was more geared towards experts in social and psychiatric care, rather than students who need to become proficient police officers who can work in frontline teams. For a while now, we have wanted to amend the instrument to make it more accessible for our target audience: Police Academy students.’

Less is more

The book ‘Omgaan met onbegrepen gedrag’ by Bauke Koekkoek contains various models that are applicable to police students. Bauke Koekkoek, educational specialists Ronald Neef and Estell Grootenhuis, and lecturers Ingrid Muurman and Peter Roosenstein together developed an e-learning based on the handbook.

Peter: ‘The handbook offers a lot of in-depth information on many different topics. This is very useful for us as teachers, as it allows the students to see examples of how things work in practice. For Bauke, it was important that his theory was incorporated correctly. At the same time, the e-learning does not allow for the same level of detail as the handbook. We had many discussions to find the right way to put this e-learning together. We significantly abbreviated the material, our guiding principle being ‘less is more.’

Powerful educational instrument

This collaboration ultimately resulted in the new e-learning. Peter: ‘The e-learning uses questions, statements, videos and quizzes to explain the various topics in a way that is clear and accessible for the students. The students are asked to complete the e-learning before taking part in the simulations. That way they can apply what they learnt in the e-learning during the exercises with the actors.

The students are given feedback on their performance during the simulations. This means that the e-learning has not only been incorporated into the teaching materials, but is also used for the simulation classes with actors. This makes it a very powerful educational instrument that prepares students well for policing in practice. Applying theoretical knowledge requires reflection and awareness, which is an important learning process.’

More attractive than the handbook

‘The educational specialists and lecturers were the driving force behind this e-learning’, Bauke says. ‘Our collaboration went very smoothly. Educational specialists think about the learning objectives for each section, what requirements it should meet, and which steps should be included to ensure that students can attain the objective. That thorough and systematic approach was really beneficial to the project.'

'I am very pleased with the entire process. Students now have an easily accessible e-learning that they can complete at their own pace, whenever and wherever they want. Other police colleagues have also shown interest in the e-learning. It really is a powerful summary of the handbook. Many students have indicated they find the interactive e-learning a more attractive learning tool than the handbook. That’s a positive development, of course. But if you want in-depth knowledge on the subject, you do still need the book.’

Direct feedback loop

‘I really like the videos that are part of the e-learning, Bauke says. ‘We used existing, publicly available footage. Unfortunately, we had to blur faces and use voice distortion to comply with the Police Data Act. I do find that a bit frustrating, as it’s pretty important to see the facial expression when someone is responding to a police officer. But a lot of thought was put into what video footage was incorporated.'

'Sections from the book, such as verbal and non-verbal communication, are really well illustrated by the videos. The same is true for asking question to figure out what is going on with someone. From a didactic standpoint this is very good: students are given a model and there are things they can do. They watch a video and then indicate what elements of the theory they did and did not see in the interaction, for example. Then there’s a response to this, which makes for a very immediate feedback loop.’

Convincing

Behaviour caused by mental health needs is part of approximately 70 percent of all frontline policing. There is no clear course of action for dealing with persons with mental health needs. Bauke: ‘There is no procedure that guarantees a successful outcome.'

'If a video shows police officers trying certain things in practice, but also that these things may not work, it’s all much more realistic. The same goes for showing that certain things do work, while others don’t. It’s much more convincing than simply telling students the theory.'

'When it comes to gaining experience in dealing with persons with mental health needs, practising scenarios with the help of actors is more valuable than this e-learning. And of course it’s even more valuable to experience real-life situations in practice and get feedback on them. During training, we try to create situations on a manageable scale in which students become involved more in real policing practice. This often works better than just reading the theory.'

'That’s the good thing about this e-learning: it helps students cross the threshold from theory to practice. It helps them become more involved and to reflect on how someone might behave in a real-life situation and how they would respond.’