Docent Tests

[Mark Sarsfield]

Guys,

  I was wondering if any of you would mind sending me a copy of your boat's docent test(s)?  I'm working on an SI (qualification) test for our living history guys and I'd like to have a large question pool to choose from.  I intend to use the info from School of the Boat and the navy manuals, but no sense in reinventing the wheel. 

  My email is mjs186@-NOSPAM-97vette.com

  Thanks.

[SOB]

Mark - you are definitely on the right track - as I've commented before, not only are our WWII brothers dying off, we are also losing DBFers from post-WWII at an alarming rate. PAMPANITO has been working to recruit nuke submariners as well as truly interested civilians to start coming into the docent pipeline. If we don't, we'll be out of qualified docents in a few more years. Thus, setting up some form of docent exam accomplishes many positive things -- plus, it helps some of our DBFers keep the facts straight as well.

PAMPANITO doesn't have an exam per-se at this point, but we are developing a series of detailed, illustrated manuals for such evolutions as reballasting the boat, starting an engine, raising a scope, as well as several others. Plus we have an extensive docent manual that gives PAMPANITO's history from construction thru becoming a museum boat and provides lots of detailed info on most of the systems.

What we really lack at this point is much detail to answer "what was it like" questions. Our audio tour (iPod based) uses actual WWII crewmembers to narrate each compartment that adds a lot of "color" to the tour because to some extent, they describe conditions on a war patrol. This audio tour is available at our website if you want to give it a listen.

[Mark Sarsfield]

Thanks.  That might actually help.  We're close to 100 questions in our exam pool.  A combination of technical and anecdotal/trivia stuff.  I'd like to get the pool up to about 150 questions and then pick 25 or so random questions for the exam.  They have to study all of it, since they won't know what questions will be asked.  I am getting a little resistance as to the difficulty of the content, but it goes toward making the reenactors "earn" the dolphin patches and it gives everyone more respect for what the sub vets really had to know and go through.

[JTheotonio]

An easy test addition would be to use pictures of equipment and ask what is this and how does it work?  Then how would you design your 25 question test?  Don't you think you'd want to have some questions for each compartment? 

[Tom Bowser]

From personal experience it is most important for the people giving tours to know the accurate history of the boat and correct info on crew size, duration underwater (this changed drastically after the war) length of patrols, what the crew ate, length of watches, temperature in the boat, general living type questions. It is very rare to get questions on how something works, but I do love to show off opening inner and outer tube doors and explaining that normall can't be done at the same time. Being out of the water makes it fun.
Tom

Happy New Year

[Mark Sarsfield]

Our question pool covers each compartment. Pictures with questions is a good idea, though.  The manual has a ton of them and we can take our own, as well.