When do I Start Training?

Start with what people know. Learn from them. Find out what they do, what resources they use, how they communicate, how they solve problems. Build up a picture of how their livelihoods are constructed and how you can help them to pursue their own development agenda. Then, you might be in a position to pass on some useful knowledge of your own. As a volunteer, your role is not to provide solutions. It is to help provide the conditions in which people can develop and implement solutions of their own. Because lasting solutions will only ever come from peoples motivation to create better futures for themselves. As a general principle, therefore, it may be helpful to consider the following ideas: Aim not to train, but to unlock learning Aim not to teach, but to create the conditions in which people can learn.

What is the training cycle? Learning is an ongoing, cyclical process. Questions are raised, we look for answers until we find satisfactory solutions, check that we have understood, and then new questions inevitably arise. And so the cycle turns. The training cycle is a tool used by trainers to help them organize their work. This provides a systematic checklist, to make sure that they consider all the necessary stages in the right order when constructing training programmes or learning experience. A five-stage model of the training cycle The model shown below is just one version of the Training Cycle; you can find other versions in books about training. The basic principles of all these theories are the same. However, some models are more complex than others. The model is cyclical, so it is essential to refer to all the stages. As a trainer, you might enter the cycle at any stage - you may be able to choose at which stage you enter but sometimes, external factors will force you to enter at a particular stage. In a single training activity, you may go round the cycle several times.

A FIVE-STAGE MODEL OF THE TRAINING CYCLE

1 Identify learning needs 2 Set aims and learning objectives

5 Evaluate training

4
Deliver training

3 Design & plan training

1.

Identify learning needs

When? Identifying learning needs is the first stage of the training cycle. Until you have an accurate picture of your learners needs, it is not possible to decide if training is an appropriate response to these or not. A training response will only be effective when it meets a learning need. If it is impossible to have any contact with learners before the training course starts, the early part of the training will involve trying to identify learning needs, and you will have to think on your feet to address these needs during the training session. This is why it is always desirable to assess learning needs in advance, to help you design useful training. How? Consider the gap between things as they are now, and things as they could/should be. In the work situation, a persons learning needs are the gap between the abilities they have now, and the abilities they need to do their job properly. This gap analysis can be used at an individual, group or organizational level.

Steps in Identifying Learning needs Step 1: Look at the job or task. Define the skills, knowledge and attitudes required in order to be able to function effectively. Item A skill Knowledge Definition Something someone can do Something someone knows Example Listen accurately Tie a knot How a tree grows The difference between a vein and an artery Consideration for other people Adaptability

An attitude

Someones viewpoint/opinion which results from their thoughts, feelings and beliefs

Step 2: Step 3: Step 4:

Consider the individual or group and identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes they already possess which are relevant to the job. Compare the results of steps 1 and 2, and identify the gaps. These are the learning needs. Prioritize these learning needs. EXERCISE

For the cases below, decide whether training is the answer. Case 1: A civil servant in Central Government has decided that all health workers in a particular province should receive training in knowledge of HIV/Aids, because action in raising community awareness seems to be slow. Case 2: A manager in a company decides that staff need training in computing skills, because documents are taking far too long to process. Sources of Information Job descriptions, appraisals, annual reports, five year plans, curriculum vitae, accounts and evaluations of previous training can all help the trainer identify learning needs. The learner(s) themselves, colleagues, managers and other trainers can also provide useful information through focused discussion. The trainer can also identify needs themselves through day-to-day informal observation of the learner.

Methods The way that you discuss needs with an individual learner depends on the skills, knowledge and attitudes under question. Also, consider social/cultural considerations when suggesting that people have learning needs. Pride and loss of face are common obstacles. Consider the implications of placing yourself in the role of the expert. This immediately sets up a hierarchy of power. This implies that you are assessing their ability, because you have knowledge that they need to know. According to circumstances, you may wish to use specific tests, or use direct and structured questioning to test knowledge. Remember there may be a difference between what people say they can do and what they actually can do. Open-ended questions are more suitable for testing attitudes. Similarly, there may be a difference between what people say about their behaviour/attitudes and what they do in practice. If learners are not situated nearby, and you have no access to them before the course, they may need to analyse their own learning needs in written form. For analysis of groups of learners, it is often effective to design special activities/games. This is more fun, and can generate group rapport that extends into the subsequent training event. Grids can be useful to record group learning needs. List the specific skills, knowledge and attitudes along one axis, and the names of learners along the other axis. Put a cross where a gap is identified to generate a picture of where the greatest needs lie.

2.

Set Aims and Learning Objectives

If you have successfully identified the learning needs, these will enable you to set: Aims - overall goal of the training; how will learners be different after the training? Learning Objectives - how you propose to achieve this aim.

You may decide that you cannot realistically meet all of the needs. Prioritize and make sure you try to set objectives for the abilities the learners Must have. Make your objectives SMARTER Specific Measurable Achievable/Agreed Relevant/Realistic Time based Evaluated Recorded

Unless your objectives are Measurable, you will not be able to evaluate the training in a meaningful way. By including the need to Evaluate objectives, we ensure that these objectives are not set in stone. Revisit them. Change them if necessary. Always make records so that both trainers and learners are clear about what the training is trying to achieve.

Planning and Design

Once you have identified learning needs and set your objectives, you now need to decide how to meet them. Not all learning objectives can be met by training. EXERCISE What alternative methods can you think of that might address learning need?

If you have decided that training is the best way of meeting a learning objective, you can then move on to the next stage of the training cycle - Planning and Design. Planning and design is a continual process of making arrangements - from the big issues (training site, length of training programme and overall aims) to the small practicalities (tea breaks, toilet facilities etc.). Managing Different Interests Sometimes, at the planning and design stage, you become aware of different interest groups with different and sometimes conflicting aims/needs. The employer/funder might: Want the training done on an unrealistically small budget, or over too short a time scale. Prioritize their organizational objectives over the identified learning needs - even if this prevents the desired learning taking place. Prevent certain individuals from attending. Cancel the training. The trainer might: Feel lacking in the required training skills and confidence. Have scheduled a holiday immediately before the course starts. Have domestic worries. Feel overloaded with other work. Have insufficient resources to cover the course budget. Have differences with the organization The learner might: Feel s/he doesnt need training. Be demotivated or dissatisfied with the organization. Have previously had bad experiences of training. Have domestic worries.

Can you think of any other factors?

The trainer needs to balance different demands and interest groups and to maximize learning opportunities for the learners. Trainers invariably need to make compromises that are acceptable to the different interest groups. Long Term Planning A calendar format can be used for the coming year with factors marked in which could have an impact on your training: national holidays/events, monsoons (transport disruption), personal holidays, closure of training site for repairs, dates for sending out joining instructions to learners, dates when training will take place etc. Course Planning One way of doing this is to divide a large sheet of paper into the number of allotted days or hours. Put in the fixed times, lunch, start and finish times etc. and have your session headings on separate small pieces of paper. You can then change the sequence of the sessions as many times as you need to achieve a logical order. Session Planning Most trainers use a session plan that outlines the objectives, what the trainer and the learners should be doing, timings and necessary materials. Each trainer tends to develop their own format. Design Considerations The trainer needs to consider the following when designing a course and/or individual sessions: 1. Content: What do you need to include in the course and what can you leave out? Is there a must know, might be useful to know and nice to know distinction? 2. Sequence: Is there a natural/logical progression to the material? What do learners need to know first? Last? 3. Methods: Which methods will best enable the learners to learn effectively? Are the methods appropriate considering the learners previous learning experiences, gender, age, culture and status? Is there a variety of methods to accommodate different learning styles and to prevent the learners and the trainer from becoming bored? Are you making the learning active by using practical exercises? 4. Timing: Have you allowed enough time for each section? Time for practical exercises and for learners to try out newly acquired skills? Is the sequencing logical? Do some sessions need special consideration because of the time of day/week/year? Is there time for food, drink, toilet breaks, domestic/work chores, and prayers? Are there other cultural dimensions to consider? 5. Personal skills: Have you considered your personal presentation skills? Time management? 6. Appearance: Have you considered your own appearance and presentation? What will set the tone for participants respect for you? What will help the participants to relax? Are there cultural dimensions to these issues? 7. Location: Is the venue accessible to everyone? Do you need to help people arrange childcare? Does everyone know where the venue is? Is it a suitable environment for learning? Will people be stimulated, relaxed?

Deliver Training

Once you have planned your training sessions and given your learners the training schedule, you then need to implement your planning. In other words, you need to deliver the training! Consider the following checklist: Physical Environment Is there anything that needs to be modified? Seating, furniture, lighting? If you are outside, is there enough shade? Are all the required materials available and in working order? (e.g. writing materials, tools of the trade, saws, seeds etc.)

The Learners Do they understand what you want them to learn and why? Can they all see and hear you? How can you check? Do they ask questions? Are they enjoying themselves? How much do they interact (with each other and with you?) The Trainer Have you planned effectively? Do you need to modify your session plan? How about timing? Do you keep to time (starting? finishing?) Could you cover all the points you had planned to cover in the time available? Have the learners met your objectives? How about your presentation skills - are they clear?

Evaluation

Evaluation is presented as the final stage of the training cycle. Good training practice, however, involves planning for evaluation at all stages of the training cycle. Key questions: 1. What am I trying to find out? 2. How could I go about finding it out? 3. When is the best time to find out? 4. What am I going to do with the information? 1. What am I trying to find out? . How much learning took place in each session? How successful were the methods used in each session? Were the course objectives appropriate, and were they met? Did the learners enjoy themselves? Can they apply the learning back on the job? Were the training facilities satisfactory?

2.

How could I go about finding out? EXERCISE

What kind of evaluation tools can you think of? What is the timescale involved in their use? How might learner characteristics influence the type of tool you choose?

3. When is the best time to find out? Different methods have different uses. An immediate evaluation will gauge the success of a course; 3 month evaluation shows whether it has influenced longer term work practices. 4. What am I going to do with the evaluation? The evaluation is vital for you to reflect in a logical and coherent way on the training you have done. In this way, you start to develop your skills and confidence as a trainer. Also offer information on the value and benefits of the training to the course funders, the trainers and the learners employers. The method and results of the evaluation will affect future decisions on course design, and choice of trainers/facilities.