National Park Service

Trail Safe Lesson 6 - Situational Awareness

Summary

Here in Lesson 6, we'll discuss the concept of mental models, and the importance of having a shared mental model when working with others.

Overview

TRAIL SAFE! is a unique safety training program designed specifically for National Park Service (NPS) Trail Volunteers but is useful to everyone! It's based upon NPS Operational Leadership Training, where the Human Factor of safety is explored. Trail Safe! captures the core learning objectives of the 16 hour Operational Leadership course while allowing volunteers to learn from their own homes on-line.

The Trail Safe! series is found below in eight video lessons, each ranging in length from 18 to 40 minutes long. Viewing the entire eight lesson series will take approximately three hours. Watch them over the course of multiple days, or "binge watch" the entire series in three hours—it's up to you—but please watch them in numeric order from Lesson 1 through Lesson 8.

Lesson 6

Situational Awareness involves being aware of what is happening around you in order to understand how information, events, and your own actions will impact your goals and objectives, both now and in the near future. Here in Lesson 6, we'll discuss the concept of mental models, and the importance of having a shared mental model when working with others. We'll identify and list individual and team strategies to maintain situational awareness, and we'll describe skill and complacency errors and list personal strategies to combat them.

Trail Types Covered

General. All trail types are relevant.