A Training Course for Newly Appointed Erics Managers

Training the Trainers

A training course for newly appointed ERICs Managers

August 1st-12th, 2005

Office of the Basic Education Commission of the Ministry of Education, Thailand in association with British Council

Coordinator:Alan S. Mackenzie

Trainers:Bernard McGuigan

Julie Bray

Course Outline for Training the Trainers, 2005

Course date and duration:

August 1st to 12th 2005; Monday-Friday; 60 hours

Course Aims:

introduce experienced teachers to the theory and practice of teacher training
explore trainer roles and functions
enable participants to develop skills as a professional trainer
design and adapt tasks and activities for a teacher training course
give participants hands-on practice in peer-training
build participant confidence in their ability to train
introduce the concepts of school-based development, community-based development, networking and action research.

/ Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, participants will

be able to state what a good trainer is.
be able to assess their own training skills critically and suggest areas for improvement.
have reflected on each day’s course content and applied what they have learned to their own context through a daily Learning Journal
be able to assess their own presentation skills critically and suggest areas for improvement.
be able to distinguish between course aims and objectives.
be able to set course and session objectives that are SMART.
deliver one poster presentation on course and session design.
deliver one training session to peers.
observe at least three other trainers giving poster presentations
develop a course evaluation for this course and for the course that they plan to deliver
commit to an action plan for course delivery and follow-up report on outcomes of that course.

Course Content:

G:\English Language\People\Training\MoE projects\Eric 05-06\Training the Trainer_ Materials\ERIC_05_06_Trainer_Training_Trainee_Manual.doc

Page 1

Teacher training principles in action
What makes a good teacher/trainer
Needs analysis
Course & Session planning
Presentation skills
Lesson observation instruments

Giving feedback
Assessing training
Networking for Teachers
School-based teacher development
Action research for teacher development

Page 1 of 77

Approach:

Throughout this course, you will be working on designing a course you are likely to deliver in the future. All sessions and activities on the Training the Trainer aim to enable you to better deliver their own courses. The course blends task and project-based approaches, where you examine the structure and content of the courses you develop yourselves and ensure that it meets your own objectives after focussing on training issues that arise through completing a series of tasks.

Throughout the course, you will keep a Learning Journal to focus your thinking on Training the Trainer course content and application of ideas to your self-developed courses. All participants are asked about their experience and their perceptions of previous and current training courses to examine personal/group beliefs and apply your experience to the tasks on the course. Active involvement is encouraged at all times. All opinions are treated with respect. Where possible, attitude adjustments should come from the participants themselves.

Specific session titles and content may change based on our analyses of your needs during the course.

Course Schedule

Day / 9:00-12:00 / 13:00-16:00
Monday Aug 1st /

Orientation: Get to know you, course expectations, needs analysis

What makes a good learner/teacher/trainer?
Setting up Learning Journals

Tuesday Aug 2nd /

Course planning:
Defining the basics
Objective setting
Session content

Session planning 1:
Meeting your objectives
Types of training
Course project introduction

Wednesday Aug 3rd /

Presentation Skills

Poster presentations of course project aims, objectives and session themes.
Feedback, plans for change and issues arising

Thursday Aug 4th /

Materials for training : How to- style vs. discovery-style; inductive vs. deductive
Group dynamics and activity types

Session planning 2: Rethinking your session format and content

Friday Aug 5th /

How to observe teachers in order to support change

Giving constructive feedback

Monday Aug 8th /

Preparation for Peer training

Peer training and feedback

Tuesday Aug 9th /

Networking for language teachers

Peer training and feedback

Wednesday Aug 10th /

School-based teacher development
Community-based learning

Peer training and feedback

Thursday Aug 11th /

Designing course evaluations

Peer training and feedback

Friday Aug 12th /

Action Research for beginners

Action plan for course delivery
Course Evaluation

Session 1: Orientation

Getting to know each other

‘Find someone who…’

We are going to start with a mingle activity. This is quite a common way of opening a training course or workshop.

Walk around the room. Speak to as many other participants as you can. Write a name in each space.

Find someone who…

1. ______has been on a workshop at the British Council before.

2. ______has been the trainer on a workshop in the last 2 months.

3. ______has never conducted a training course before.

______has met the trainer of this workshop before.
______is feeling anxious about this workshop.
______arrived here before you this morning.
______has developed training materials before.
______will be conducting training workshops in the near future.
______likes the way this training room is arranged.
______doesn’t like the way this training room is arranged.

Discussion:

What kind of information did you learn about your co-trainees?
Why is this kind of activity important at the beginning of a course?
What do you think makes a good get-to-know-you activity?
If you were going to conduct a get-to-know-you activity, what would you do?

Share your ideas with the others in your group.
Decide who has the best idea and why.
Have that person explain their idea to the whole class.
While you are listening to the other groups’ best ideas, take notes on the activities as you may want to use them on training courses in the future.

Great Expectations?

In groups of three or four, discuss the following:

1.A list of rules for this course:

Do’s / Don’ts

What areas should this course cover?
What are your expectations for this course?
What do you think the course outcomes should be?
What questions do you have about being an ERIC Manager that you think this course will answer?

Session 2: What makes a good learner/teacher?

Learning Styles

This questionnaire (©Honey and Mumford, 1986) is to help you know about your “learning style(s)”. We all have a learning style. What it means is that over the years you have probably developed learning “habits” that help you benefit more from some experiences than others. Most of the time we don’t think about our style. This questionnaire will help you know about how you learn now and in the past so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that are suitable to your style.

If you agree more than you disagree with a statement put a tick (√) by it.

If you disagree more than you agree, put a cross ( x ) by it.

— Be sure to mark each item with either a tick or a cross.

1I always know what’s right and wrong, good and bad.

2I often act without thinking first.

3I like to solve problems carefully, step-by-step.

4I don’t like rules, regulations, procedures and policies.

5I say what I think, simply and directly.

6I listen to my feelings when I make a decision..

7I like to prepare and have a lot of time to do things.

8I usually ask people about why they think the way they do.

9I care if something works, not WHY it works.

10I always like to do new things.

11When I hear about a new idea I immediately start working out how to do it.

12I am self-disciplined. For example, I watch my diet, I take regular exercise, I keep to regular routines etc.

13I take pride in doing a complete job. I don’t like leaving things incomplete.

14I think people should be logical and analytical, not spontaneous and unthinking.

15I usually like to think things over before deciding.

16I like to reach a decision carefully after weighing up many alternatives.

17I’m attracted more to new, unusual ideas than practical ones.

18I don’t like disorganised things. I think every thing should be done in the “right” way.

19I like procedures, rules and policies especially if they help to get the job done.

20I like to relate what I do to general principles, agreed ways of doing things.

21In discussions I like to get straight to the point.

22I tend to have distant relationships with people at work. I don’t believe in being too friendly.

23I like the challenge of doing new and different things.

24I enjoy ‘fun-loving’, spontaneous people.

25I pay a lot of attention to detail before coming to a conclusion.

26I find it difficult to produce ideas quickly, without thinking.

27I believe in coming to the point immediately.

28I am careful not to jump to conclusions too quickly.

29I prefer to have lots of sources of information. The more I have the better I think.

30People who don’t take things seriously at work, always joking for example, usually irritate me.

31I listen to other people’s points of view before putting my own forward.

32I tend to be open about how I’m feeling. I don’t hide my feelings.

33When I’m talking to people, I enjoy “watching” how they think and how they explain what they are thinking.

34I prefer to deal with things “NOW”. I don’t like planning things out in advance.

35I like working with diagrams, tables, flow charts, plans etc more than with words.

36It worries me if I have to rush out a piece of work to meet a tight deadline.

37I tend to judge other people’s ideas on how practical or useful they are. If they aren’t useful, I don’t like them.

38Quiet, thoughtful people who don’t say much make me feel uncomfortable.

39I often get angry with people who want to rush things.

40It is more important to enjoy the present moment than to think about the past or future.

41I often find that actions based on careful thinking and analysis. are as reliable as those based on feelings.

42I like what I do to be perfect. That’s always my aim.

43When I am talking to people, I usually have lots of spontaneous ideas, without planning or thinking too much.

44When I am talking to my supervisor I like to give him/her practical realistic ideas.

45More often than not, rules are there to be broken.

46I prefer to “stand back” from a situation and consider all the perspectives or possibilities.

47I can often see weaknesses in other people’s arguments.

48On balance, I talk more than I listen.

49I can often see better, more practical ways to get things done.

50I think written reports should be short and to the point.

51I believe that logical thinking should always win.

52I tend to discuss specific things with people rather than chit-chat about nothing in particular.

53I like people who approach things realistically rather than theoretically.

54When I am talking to people, I get impatient when they talk about other things that have nothing to do with the subject. We should always keep to the point.

55If I have to write something, I usually write it many times, changing and changing, before I feel happy about it and think it’s finished.

56I like to try things out to see if they work in practice.

57I like to reach answers by thinking carefully and logically.

58I enjoy being the one that talks a lot.

59When talking to people, I like to keep them to the point and stop them imaging wild or unusual ideas.

60I like to think about lots of alternatives before making up my mind or deciding about something .

61When talking with people I find I am the one who is cool and calm, when they are ‘hot’ and bothered.

62When talking to people, I usually let them do most of the talking. I prefer to listen more.

63I like to be able to see what is happening now as part of a longer term bigger picture.

64When things go wrong I don’t mind too much. “That’s life!” I say.

65I don’t like ideas that are not immediately practical or useful.

66It’s best to think carefully before taking action.

67On balance, I do the listening rather than the talking.

68I tend to be tough on people who find it difficult to adopt a logical approach.

69Most times, I believe getting the job done is more important than worrying about how you do it.

70I don’t mind hurting other people’s feelings so long as the job gets done.

71I don’t have plans or objectives. I deal with things as they happen.

72I’m usually one of the people who puts life into a party, making sure everyone is happy and having a good time.

73I do whatever is necessary to get the job done.

74I quickly get bored with routine, detailed work.

75I like to know how things work and why things happen the way they do. I like to know the reason for things

76I’m always interested to find out what people think.

77I like meetings to have a plan, an agenda, so I know what’s happening and we keep to the topic.

78I don’t like topics that are abstract. I prefer every day, solid things.

79I enjoy the drama and excitement of a crisis situation.

80People often find me insensitive to their feelings.

Learning styles questionnaire: scoring

You score one point for each item you ticked. There are no points for items you crossed. Simply indicate on the list below which items were ticked.

Activist(does) / Reflector(reflects) / Theorist
(makes conclusions) / Pragmatist (plans)
2
4
6
10
17
23
24
32
34
38
40
43
45
48
58
64
71
72
74
79 / 7
13
15
16
25
28
29
31
33
36
39
41
46
52
55
60
62
66
67
76 / 1
3
8
12
14
18
20
22
26
30
42
47
51
57
61
63
68
75
77
78 / 5
9
11
19
21
27
35
37
44
49
50
53
54
56
59
65
69
70
73
80
Total

Of course, we are all a combination of all types. But there are usually one or two types that we are most like.

Activists /

Love new experiences
Love to get involved in things
Are most concerned with what is happening now – they don’t think so much about the future or past
Open minded and enthusiastic about new things
Always want to be busy
Get bored easily
Need to be challenged
Get bored with details and fixing things
Friendly and gregarious

Reflectors /

Like to stand back and think about things
Like to watch
Collect information before making a decision
Analyse information carefully
Very cautious and like to know the whole story
Tend not to speak in meetings or discussions
Listen to others before speaking
Calm and cool
Consider the past and future when making a decision

Theorists/
Concluders /

Make theories about what they see
Logical
Think problems through systematically
Like things to be perfect
Like to analyse
Ask questions like: “Does it make sense?”, “Why is that so?” “Why do you think so?”
More interested in facts than people
Believe “If its logical it is good!”

Pragmatists/
Planners /

Like to try out new ideas and techniques
Like to experiment with new things
Act quickly and confidently
Impatient with conversations without a purpose
Practical, down-to-earth
Like to solve problems and make decisions
Believe “There is always a better way. If it works, good!”

Try out your understanding

Tell your partner how to make a cup of real coffee

Theorist to pragmatist
Activist to reflector

Then swap.

The Active Learner, the Reluctant Learner and the Passive Learner

Your attitude to learning: are you a tourist, a prisoner or an explorer?

People have different attitudes to learning. Complete the questionnaire below to determine your own attitude to learning.

Section A: ______learner

Do you . . .

1never say “I don’t know”?

2think “I’m too old to learn anything new”?

3leave your handphone or pager on even when your in a course?

4choose not to do course assignments?

5come late to a course?

6think that all training will be boring and useless?

7think “I already know enough to do my job”?

8avoid taking on new responsibilities?

Section B: ______learner

Do you . . .

1take training because your boss (or your company) tells you to?

2sometimes complain about the training and sometimes enjoy it?

3see teamwork activities (in and outside of the classroom) as chances to relax?

4find only certain things interesting to learn about?

5only do what is necessary to get by?

6feel happy with your present level of knowledge and skill?

7expect nothing important would come from training?

8forget about the course content within a couple of days of the course?

Section C: ______learner

Do you . . .

1read a lot of books and articles relevant to your work?

2ask a lot of questions in general?

3talk to others to learn what they’re doing and thinking?

4imagine changes in the workplace and in the world in general?

5look for courses you can take?

6take risks, even though you know that you might make mistakes?

7try new ideas and ways of doing things?

8say “I don’t know”, when you don’t know something?

1How can we use questionnaires like this in our training?

2Do such questionnaires have any drawbacks?

What makes a good learner?

Ranking activity. Can you rank the ‘top ten’ good learning habits. You must reach consensus with your group.

Good Learning Habits Top Ten

10.

Others: