The educational value of disaster victim identification (DVI) missions—transfer of knowledge

Transfer of knowledge is the cornerstone of any educational organisation, with senior staff expected to participate in the training of less experienced colleagues and students. Teaching in the field is, however, slightly different, and a less theoretical approach is usually recommended. In terms of Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) activities, practical work under supervision of a field team stimulates tactile memory. A more practical approach is also useful when multiple organizations from a variety of countries are involved, as language barriers make it easier to manually show someone how to solve a problem, instead of attempting to explain complex concepts verbally. “See one, do one, teach one” is an approach that can be used to ensure that teaching is undertaken with the teacher grasping the essentials of a situation before passing on the information to someone else. The key principles of adult learning that need to be applied to DVI situations include the following: participants need to know why they are learning and to be motivated to learn by the need to solve problems; previous experience must be respected and built upon and learning approaches should match participants’ background and diversity; and finally participants need to be actively involved in the learning process. Active learning involves the active acquisition of knowledge and/or skills during the performance of a task and characterizes DVI activities. Learning about DVI structure, activities and responsibilities incorporates both the learning of facts (“declarative knowledge”) and practical skills (“procedural knowledge”). A fundamental requirement of all DVI exercises should be succession planning with involvement of less experienced colleagues at every opportunity so that essential teaching and learning opportunities are maximized. DVI missions provide excellent teaching opportunities and international agencies have a responsibility to teach less experienced colleagues and local staff during deployment.