Training of Trainers

The Training Business 5 competency areas

The Training Process theory and practice
Workshop organisation 5 design aspects
Training Methods options and examples
Copyright 2000 Seafield Research and Development Services.
All rights reserved
contact clark@srds.co.uk

THE BUSINESS
There are five competency areas to be mastered in becoming an effective Trainer
The Training Business
The Five Competency Areas

The Training Business

Types of Jobs - easy and tough
Some training jobs are easier than others. They can be divided into three basic types:
Tough
You have to identify the training
needs of the organisation and
its individuals and then meet
them

Middling
You are given the overall aims
and objectives and have to
figure out the details of how to
meet them.

Easy
You are presented with a
detailed syllabus and the course
materials and you have to lead
people through them

In the easy and middling cases part of your work as a trainer has been done for you. In what follows,
therefore, we will consider how a professional trainer would deal with a tough job.
Training's Aims - lower and higher
By the end of a training session the knowledge, skills and/or attitudes (KSA) of the trainees will have
changed in some desirable direction. As a professional trainer you may be required and/or may wish to
aim lower or higher in this regard.
The lower level aim is that the trainee will have eaten the fish which was on offer ie they will have learned
something very particular and will have completed the assigned course work.
The higher level aim is that the trainee will have learned how to fish (ie will have learned how to learn) as
part of a fishing crew (ie she will have learned how to work effectively as part of a group).
Various lower level aims will be achieved in the process of achieving the higher level ones, therefore, in
what follows we will consider how the professional trainer would deal with higher level aims in a tough job.
The five main competencies of a professional trainer
A professional trainer is one who earns her living through training - it is her business. As such it is not
enough that she be a good trainer, she must also have a good head for business, especially if she is in
business on her own. The five main competency areas are set out with some elaborations in the following
table:

Competency area

Elaboration

Business skills

Budgeting, bookeeping, office procedures, time management, job pricing,

contract negotiation

Self Development

Keeping up with specific content and evolving training methods. Ensuring

her own Personal Formation and Professional Development on all fronts.

Materials Production

Writing skills, word processing, graphics, editing and layouts,

reprographics, binding

Workshop Organisation

Logistical and Professional considerations

Workplace visiting

This might be for support/ facilitation/ counselling and/or for appraisal/

assessment/ evaluation.

A Trainer's Study Skills

The professional trainer will practice what she preaches - she will have learned how to learn. She will thus
be adept in:

Systematically reflecting on practice (individually or in a group context)

Experimenting and researching (treats all professional actions as 'experiments')
Addressing the literature (written and electronic, published and grey)
Networking - to keep abreast of ongoing developments

The Five competency areas

Given that the training of trainers programme lasts for only one day we cannot cover everything. There
thus follows an explanation of how we will steer a course through the field of possibilities. Note that the
main focus is on the professional aspects of workshop organisation - especially training methods.
Business Skills
It is assumed that the participants in this course do not intend to be full-time, professional trainers. This
area of competence will not therefore be considered. Those with particular interests should address the
relevant literature eg

Daily Telegraph (1983) How to set up and run your own business; Redfern Publishing Services Ltd
Hingston P (1992) The Greatest Little Business Book; Hingston Associates (Tel: 0764 62058)

Self Development
The motto here would be 'Do not unto others unless you have already done it to yourself'. Before using
some of the know-yourself and self-improvement ideas in this book on trainees, try them on yourself.
Look in particular at the section on 'Professional Formation' and fill out the xxx questionnaire.
Materials Production
The participants on this course will be presenting the 6 day course on xxx for which advance materials
have already been prepared. This area of competence will not therefore be considered. Participants may,
however, reflect on the materials which have been prepared for this course and for the 6 day course. Look

in particular at how the content is sequenced and signposted and at how much 'space' has been left on
each page.
The participatory production of materials during the workshops will be considered as part of the
professional aspects of workshop organisation.
Workshop Organisation
It was Napoleon who said that an army marches on its stomach - what are the feeding arrangements for
the workshop? And trainees cannot stick charts on the wall if there is nothing to stick them with - and they
won't even be there is they do not get the invitations on time. Such nitty gritty logistical details can make
or break a workshop. We will be looking at some systematic checklists.
The professional aspects of workshop organisation are the main focus of this one-day course. We will
consider the six main aspects of this ie Contextualisation, Aims, Objectives, Content, Methods &
Materials, and Feedback (Monitoring and Evaluation). Given that the first four of these have already been
designed for the six day course, we will focus mainly on the last two.
Workplace Visiting
There are no definite plans as yet for the trainers to make follow up visits to the trainees. This might,
however, come to pass in the future. We will thus look briefly at what might be involved in terms of
support/ facilitation/ counselling visits on the one hand and/or appraisal/ assessment/ evaluation visits on
the other.
And Study Skills
We will deal with study skills as part of the 'methods' section in the professional aspects of workshop
organisation. Only sloppy, lazy, hypocritical, second-rate trainers will preach them without first having
practised them!

THE PROCESS
The Process of Training
NOTE: items in orange have not yet been added to the site

Overview
(click HERE for details)
The Training Business
Types of jobs - easy and tough;
Training's aims - higher and lower;
The five main competencies of a professional trainer;
A trainer's study skills
The five competency areas
Business skills;
Self Development;
Materials Production;
Workshop Organisation;
Workplace Visiting

Workshop Organisation
(click HERE for details)
The Logistical Aspects
Contracts, Administrative Support, The Venue, Materials & Equipment

Contextualisation
A six point checklist
Making dreams come true
You gotta have a dream (Aims and Objectives)
How you gonna make the dream come true? (Contents, Methods and Assessment)
The Professional Aspects
Aims, Objectives, Content, Methods and Materials, Monitoring and Evaluation
Drawing up the Agenda/ Programme
Attention span and variety
Changing the social arrangements
Three types of action
Eighteen categories of activity

Methods and Materials

Training Methods - some options (click HERE for details)
Methods - help students to better understand what they already know v help the students to
acquire new knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Helping students to better understand what they already know

Interactive Mind Mapping - (click HERE for details)

Brainstorming, categorising, linking

Colloquia (sharing through discussion) (click HERE for details)

The outputs from an effective Colloquium
Discussion rather than Debate
Variation on the Colloquium Process
Guided Self Discovery
Facilitated Self Discovery

A Toobox of Thinking Skills (click HERE for details)

Tell it to your Granny
Write a script for two people discussing the topic
State the History of the Topic
Use Lateral Thinking
Draw a Mindmap
Check your Logic
Straighten the Crooked Thinking

The Social Dimensions of thinking

Learning Styles - Strokes for Folks
Group Types and Group Dynamics - Belbin's Types
Bouncing Ideas - Six Thinking Hats
Effective meetings Chair, secretary, reporter

The Use of Handouts

Purposes, Types and Designs
Prewritten notes Overhead transparencies, flip charts etc
Interactive fill the blanks, guided note taking
Questionnaires and quizzes
Checklists

Monitoring and Evaluation

Predetermined objectives and unexpected outcomes
Workshop Monitoring and Evaluation Techniques - some options
How SVQ does it
Workplace visiting
Support/facilitation/counselling v appraisal/assessment/evaluation
SPUR & GROW
Appendices:
A Good Thinker's Toolbox
Lateral and Vertical Thinking
Techniques of Lateral Thinking
De Bono's Six Thinking Hats

THE DESIGN
Workshop Organisation - 5 key aspects

Logistical aspects
Contextualisation
Making Dreams come True
The Professional Aspects
Drawing up the Agenda/Programme

Logistical Aspects
In preparing for the Logistical aspects of a Workshop you have to think about four things:
Contracts

Negotiated Terms of Reference

Administrative Support

Timetabling; Invitations; Clerical & Purchasing Assistance

The Venue

Utilities, furniture, equipment

Materials and Equipment

For preparation & for workshops

Contracts
Someone will have called for the training to be done. It is useful to know what they are expecting of the
trainer. Are they expecting research, materials production, running workshops and/or follow up? What
time frame is being considered? How much money is available to produce materials, pay for workshop
costs and participants feeding and travel costs and to pay the trainer?
It is useful to negotiate the trainer's Terms of Reference (ToR) which set out in some detail exactly what
the trainer is expected to do and/or produce, to what standard, by when, and at what cost.
Administrative Support
If the trainer is external to the organisation then she will need to know how much administrative support
she can expect.

Who can she call upon for day to day advice and support?

Who is responsible for setting the timetable of events and for sending invitations?
Who deals with feeding and accommodation and with reimbursing travelling expenses of
participants?
Is clerical support available and if so how much and from whom eg stationery supplies, typing,
photocopying, collating and binding, purchasing materials and equipment needed for workshops?

The Venue
The training will take place in a building. Some buildings are more appropriate than others. Here is a
checklist of things to think about:
Heating

does it exist & who is responsible for turning it on?

Lighting

is this adequate and are there blackout facilities if you need to show a film?

Electricity

where are the sockets, will you need an extension cable and adapter?

Furniture

are there enough chairs and tables and is it OK to shift them around?

Walls

is it OK to stick things on the walls or will you have to bring flip chart stands?

Equipment

what equipment is available, is it working, are there spare bulbs? TV aerial?

Kitchen

can food be prepared at the venue (are there cups etc) or will they have to be brought
in?

Toilets

do they exist, are they clean, is there toilet paper, will they be open?

Access

is it easy to find or will participants need a map? Car parking? Disabled access?

Materials and Equipment

The materials and equipment that you need will depend on the methods that you use. Some will be
needed for preparation (eg computer, printer & photocopiers) and others during the workshop itself. No
list of these things would ever be complete but here are some ideas for starters - you can brainstorm and
categorise your own checklist! [Check out a supplier's catalogue for inspiration eg Viking Direct on 0800
424444]
Equipment
Blackboard/ Whiteboard
Flip Chart Stand
Overhead projector
Film/ Slide projector
TV/ Video + remotes
Cassette/ CD Players
Sound System + Mikes
Video Camera
Minibus + Driver

Materials
Chalk
(white/coloured)
Felt pens (water/
spirit)
Flip Charts
Sellotape/ masking
tape
Blutak
Drawing Pins
Post-it pads

Pens/pencils
Rulers/ geometry sets
Calculators
Scissors
Stapler/ staples
Writing paper
Folders/ files

Overhead
Transparencies
Slides/ videos/
cassettes
Storage boxes
Attendance
register
Expense claim
forms

Contextualisation
Contextualisation is a fancy word for the process of making sure that your training programme blends
easily and effortlessly into the local situation.
No two groups of trainees are ever exactly the same so, even if you have dealt with the topic many times
before, your materials will probably need fine tuning - if only to the extent of being able to give local
illustrative examples. The more that you can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the details of
the local situation the more the trainees are likely to value what you say.
You may also discover that what the organisers want is not the same as what the trainees want or what
you feel that they really need - so you might have to act as go-between/ advisor as part of the process of
negotiating your Terms of Reference.
If you have good answers to each of the following questions then you can be confident that you are well
contextualised.
What does the Organisation want?
If there are no official terms of reference are you as the trainer clear about what is expected of you? If
not ask. (See Workshop Organisation - the Logistical Aspects)
What Administrative Support and Materials are already available?
Are you on your own or are there people who can help you?
What do the trainees know?
Has a needs analysis already been done (eg an output from a previous workshop)?
Can you visit some trainees in their workplace to get a better feel for their self defined training needs.
What about their customers? Is serious research required here?
Is there a need to brainstorm and conceptually map at the beginning of the workshop?
What does the trainer know?
What is the trainer's conceptual map before preparing for the workshop?
What reference materials are to be consulted? (Local and National)
Are there previous workshop agendas/outputs or research findings?
What literature should be addressed? (Written/Electronic; published/grey)
What videos & resource materials etc might be consulted
What materials are already available within the organisation?
Which local 'experts' might be usefully consulted?
What is the trainer's conceptual map after preparing for the workshop?
What are the aims and objectives of the workshop in terms of:
the desired changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes of the participants, and how will we know if we
have been successful?
the concepts developed and recorded and materials produced for use at future workshops and/or as
circulars, exemplars, Newsletter or Journal articles etc
Have the logistics been attended to?
Work your way systematically through the logistical aspects at an early stage.
Leaving things to the last minute can be very stressful.

The Effective Trainer - making dreams come true

You gotta have a dream

There is an old Arabic saying that if you do not know where you are going then any road will take your
there.
A good trainer is clear in her mind about what needs to be done and she knows that she will be doing the
right thing.
This means that she will have thought about her aims and objectives and will have written them down.
Sometimes these will have been given to her (for example if she is leading people towards an SVQ
qualification) and sometime she will have to decide for herself what they are. Even when they are given,
however, there is always the possibility of fine tuning them and sharing them with the learners so that
there can be agreement on exactly what a particular course is trying to achieve.
Note that she will have three different types of objectives:
Head

Hand

Heart

Thinking
Knowledge

Doing
Skills

Feeling
Attitudes

How you gonna make the dream come true?

Being clear about aims and objectives means being clear about her dream. The next task is to figure out
how to make the dream come true. She is doing the right thing but is she going to do it right?
Muddling through by the seat of your pants might achieve the results sometimes but it is not a
professional way of working. Would you trust a plumber or a brain surgeon that pottered about
unsystematically?
Action planning for a trainer means being systematic about the content, the methods and the monitoring
and assessment techniques that will be used to achieve the aims and objectives.
There are three things to think about regarding content:
Scope

How broad and how deep are you going to go during this course - is it for pre-school or
for university? Who are the learners and what is their level of experience of the topic?

Sequence

Where to begin and where to go to next?

Pace

How fast will you move through the content?

There are thousands of possible methods but it is useful to think of them as falling into two broad types:
Teacher centred

Learner centred

Didactic
Passive student
eg the Lecture

Participatory
Active student
eg project work

When assessment is used to 'grade' students it is a political tool. When assessment is used to give
feedback to the student (or the tutor) on the extent to which the objectives are being achieved so that she
can improve her performance - then it is a training tool.
All good trainers ensure that learners get a lot of feedback during the course of their learning - many small
but detailed corrections along the way are more useful than one big and generalised judgement at the
end!

The Professional Aspects

In preparing for the professional aspects of a Workshop you have to think about three things:

What you intend to do:

Aims & Objectives

How your are going to do it:

Content, Methods and Materials

How you will know if you have succeeded:

Monitoring and Evaluation

AIMS
OBJECTIVES
CONTENT
A sequenced list of topics to be
covered with an indication of the
amount of time to be spent on
each
MONITORING & EVALUATION

A statement of the overall broad

goal(s)
A
list of SMART* objectives
pointing
to the expected outputs
METHODS
A parallel list of methods to be
used in covering the content
topics

MATERIALS
A parallel list of materials and
services that will be required for
each topic given the number of
participants

Determine the extent to which

*= Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Relevant, Timed

As in most other human affairs, motivation makes a difference. It is generally believed that participation
helps to promote ownership and thus motivation. Wherever possible and appropriate the participants
should be consulted about the aims and objectives and also possibly on the contents and methods, and
the monitoring and evaluation strategies.
When participants are well motivated it is easier to get them to engage in pre-Workshop activities by way
of preparing themselves to make optimum contributions to the Workshop, and in post-Workshop activities
for consolidation and elaboration.

Drawing up the Agenda/Programme

Attention span and variety
People stop paying attention when they feel uninterested, bored, tired or ignored. Your task is to draw up
the training agenda or programme so that none of these things happen.
Ideally the trainees will be all eyes and ears and eager to learn. They will be heedful, mindful, alert, on the
ball, and missing nothing. Barring serious medical problems (see opposite)) your trainees can be like this
if you

address their felt needs in a manner which suits their learning styles, and
build in plenty of variety so that you do not expect them to keep paying attention to a particular topic,
in a particular way for more than 20 minutes at a time.

We have looked at aims and objectives and learning styles elsewhere so here we will focus on the idea of
building variety into the programme.
The completely wrong way of doing things would be for the trainer to sit rigid in a chair and talk for four
hours in a monotonous and unexcited voice.
Variety can be added by changing the types of activity and by changing the social arrangements.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ADHD), chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterised by any or all of
three types of behaviour:
hyperactivity,
distractibility, and
impulsivity.
Unlike similar behaviours caused by emotional problems or anxiety, ADHD does not fluctuate with emotional states.
Often diagnosed when a child begins school, ADHD is usually accompanied by learning difficulties and social
inappropriateness.
Treatment may include medication such as methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin), which corrects neuro-chemical
imbalances in the brain; sugar intake is no longer considered to be a factor.

Symptoms may decrease after adolescence, although adults can also have ADHD.

Changing the Social Arrangements

Trainees can be asked to work on their own for one activity and then in small groups for another and as
part of a whole class discussion after that.
If the members of a small group work well together you can let them get together for all small group
activities. On the other hand you might find it more useful to regroup the individuals each time there is a
small group activity so that everyone gets a chance to get to know everyone else. A variation on this is to
change the group sizes - some activities might require groups of three and others require groups of five or whatever.
Sometimes it is useful to ask groups to have a structure eg chairperson, secretary and rapporteur. You
could then make it a rule that individuals are not allowed to occupy the same role twice in succession.
This has the advantage of 'stretching' individuals ie of forcing them out of the sorts of role in which they
feel most comfortable.
Three types of Action
Three types of action relate to the three types of objectives which can be set:

Thinking

Doing

Feeling

Knowledge
Head
Thinking involves putting on your
thinking cap and doing headwork. It
requires you to be rational and logical
and to deal with the facts. You will use
your intelligence in a reasonable and
sensible manner such that you can be
pragmatic. You might even have to
crunch numbers.

Skills
Hand
Doing involves thinking on your feet
and walking the talk. You will be
practising what you preach. This may
involve being creative and artistic so
that you can make it look good and set
a mood or so that you can say it with
pictures rather than with words. It may
involve using your social skills during
activities such as games and role
plays. Or it may involve you in actually
making things from raw materials eg
toys for your OOSCC Club.

Attitudes
Heart
Feeling
involves
giving
attention to
your attitudes,
opinions,
beliefs and
values. Are
you clear
about your
passions and
phobias, your
prejudices
and
addictions.
How are your
points of view
influenced by
your urges,
itches,
cravings and
yens. What
drives you into
a rage and
makes you
furious.

18 Categories of Activities
There are three types of action and three basic kinds of social arrangement. These can be lined up on a
matrix to create 9 categories of workshop activity:
Thinking

Doing

Feeling

Individual

Small Group

Whole Class

But there is the concept of ETHOS - the idea of co-operative games where there are no losers. There is a
difference between a debate which forces a win/lose outcome and a discussion which leads to a win/win
outcome. So there are nine possible categories of competitive activities and nine possible categories of
co-operative activities - a total of 18 Categories of Activities.

ACTIVITY:
Put on your creative thinking cap and come up with examples to put in the eighteen boxes - you can

rake around in your experiential memory, look through this handbook for prompts and/or look in
books.
Here are some examples to get you started.

If you ask other people to help you but do not tell them what you are doing and keep the list to
yourself then this remains as a competitive individual thinking activity.
If you ask other people to help you, tell them what you are doing, and then share the results - it
becomes a co-operative small group activity.
If you get the group organised for systematic research and to write up the findings for
distribution to other people then it is a co-operative small group doing activity (- and people will
have feelings about it!)

THE METHODS
This Methods section is in four parts:

Training Methods - the options

How to Brainstorm (Interactive Mindmapping)
How to share ideas through discussion (Colloquia)
And a box of tools for the systematic thinker

Training Methods - some options

Adults have to be taught differently from children because on the one hand they are more mature and set
in their ways (ie they are not so easy to lead) and on the other hand they have more experience of life
and are better able to judge what their learning needs are.
The best training sessions aim not only to put across a certain amount of content knowledge but also to
help develop the professional skills and attitudes of the trainees. This means dealing with the full
Professional Formation of the trainees and this includes the abilities to:

analyse complex issues,

identify the core of a problem and a means of solving it,
synthesise and integrate disparate elements,
clarify values,
make effective use of numerical and other information,
work co-operatively and constructively with others and,
communicate clearly both orally and in writing.

When you are planning a training session you have to decide what methods to use. There are basically
three options:

tell them
help them find out for themselves
ask them

The main options are shown below with some of the techniques which might be used.
Help the students
to better
understand what

Help the students to acquire new knowledge, skills and attitudes

they already
know
By telling them
By asking them

brainstorming
conceptual
mapping
creatively
generating
problem and
solution
options
prioritization
techniques
decison
making skills
action
planning
processes
monitoring and
evaluation
techniques

Lecture

A/v aids
Interactive
handouts
Body posture
Use of voice

Guided
discussion
Present/discus
s
Seminar
Tutorial

By helping them to find out for

themselves
Book research
Field work
Library skills
Internetting
Study skills
Active reading
Note taking

Questions
Methods
Analysis
Reporting
Interviews
Questionnaires

As a general rule people learn better when they are active and are able to participate in the learning
process. This is particularly true of skills (lectures about how to ride a bicycle?), and attitudes which are
notoriously caught rather than taught.
As a trainer you might as well say "Don't do as I say, do as I do", because that is what will happen
anyway!

Knowing the subject is not the same as knowing how to teach the subject.
What matters is not what the trainer has taught (input)
but rather what the trainee has learned (outcome).
The best teachers teach people rather than subjects.

Brainstorming: Interactive Mind Mapping

Most people know something about brainstorming but they don't always appreciate how it can fit
systematically into an larger picture of 'communicating in groups'. This page contains four short articles
which map out the bigger picture and give some hints for trainers on how to best organise and facilitate
the process.
Helping people to better understand what they already know
Any individual Care Worker in Highland Region might know one or two good playcare activities but
different individuals will know of different activities.
If a list was made of all these activities it would help everybody to put more tools in their toolbox
If the activities were sorted into categories then individuals might realise that they had been missing
out on a whole area of activities and/or they might be stimulated to think up some new types of
activities for particular categories.

If linkages were made between the categories (ie those best suited for younger children and those
for older ones etc) then the Care Worker would be better able to choose particular activities to match
the needs of particular children.

Helping people to better understand what they already know is the mental equivalent of tidying up a
playroom after a gang of kids has been in. There should be a place for everything and everything should
be in its place. The process of designing the storage system for the playroom is the equivalent of what is
called Interactive Mind Mapping. The following table maps the concept of Interactive Mind Mapping.

Brainstorming
Make a list of items surrounding
a 'seed' word

Interactive Mind Mapping

Categorising
Group the items into categories
and give the categories names

Linking
Describe how the categories link
to each other

The map, however, describes the process in much too tidy a way. In real life the stages blend together (eg
when a 'category' is brainstormed as an 'item') and there is much moving backwards and forwards (a
process called iteration) eg having invented a new category you may be reminded of items that you did
not think of earlier - no problem, add them: when you begin to map linkages you may realise that a
category is missing - no problem, add it - and then maybe reshuffle the items and/or add new ones.
In the pure 'emergent' form of concept mapping a Trainer would act simply as a process facilitator ie she
would not be interested in the content and structure of the eventual concept map. Her task would simply
be to help organise the brainstorming, categorising and linking processes.
Sometimes the intention of the Trainer will be to have the trainees understand the structure of a preexisting Concept Map eg Health and Safety regulations for Child Care facilities. In this case the same
technique can be used but the trainer would play a more active role in ensuring that the categories and
linkages which the class decides to use are the 'correct' ones. This need not be seen as cheating so long
as the trainer is honest about what she is trying to do. Hopefully most regulations do in fact 'make sense'
and it helps to promote understanding and ownership of them to have the trainees actively 'guess' what
they are rather than being expected to passively absorb them.
In the second case the end product is known in advance and a hand-out can be prepared before the
activity begins. In the first case the end product will remain a mystery until after the event and the task of
preparing the handout can be delegated to one of the trainees.

Brainstorming
The output from a brainstorm activity is a list of ideas related to a given seed word.
Results of a good brainstorm

Results of a bad brainstorm

A long list of unusual, thought-provoking and exciting

ideas which represent many different points of view

A short list of the same old ideas from a very narrow

point of view.

Bad brainstorms are those which are locked into limited points of view. This can happen for various
reasons:

Nature

age, sex, IQ
social class, religion, language, rural/urban, level of education, experience
of life and work, hobbies and interests, occupation
happy/sad, relaxed/harassed, outgoing/shy, friendly or bossy chairperson
and/or participants

Nurture
Mood & Motivation
Invitations

specialist group or mixed stakeholders; voluntary/compulsory

There is no single correct composition for a brainstorm group as it could be called for many different
purposes. But the general principle would be to make it as mixed as practicable so as to avoid getting
trapped in a limited point of view.
There are many different ways to organise a brainstorm and the options are set out in the following table:
By post or Email

Pre-workshop activity
or homework

At a workshop

Individual

Sub groups

Whole group

The most common way is Type 7 where the Trainer supplies the seed word, participants shout out ideas
and somebody writes them on a flip chart. This has its uses but the table points to other ways of
brainstorming and you are invited to think through what would be involved in situations 1 to 6.
A useful variation is to have individuals make a personal list (eg a minimum of three items) to share with a
small group and then for the groups to report in plenary to generate a master list. This system has the
advantage of forcing everyone to make a contribution.
Given that Brainstorming often leads on to Categorising it is useful to have individual ideas written on
individual pieces of paper so that they can be sorted quite easily. Everyone in the room should be able to
read what is written on the sheets so think about the size of the paper and the thickness of the felt pens
that are to be used. Think also of how the pieces of paper are to be attached and reattached - drawing
pins, sellotape, blu-tak, post-it sheets?
How to get plenty of good ideas

Accept any idea that comes up without judging it in the initial stages - smile a lot!
Encourage people to be different and exciting - make appreciative noises!
Make it happen quickly so that people have gut reactions and thus liberate sub-conscious ideas
If none of that works try using prompts eg
How did they do it in the old days?
How would old or young people see it?
How would a macho male react?
How is technology changing things?
How is it different in Nigg?

If you were blind or deaf how would it be

different?
If you were a fly on the wall what would you
see?
What if it was cats rather than people?
What if you had to do it without speaking?
What if Jesus (or Santa) was the boss?

Categorising
The output from a categorising session is a list of generally acceptable categories which is shorter than
the list of brainstorm items on which it is based.
Results of a good categorisation session

Results of a bad categorisation session

A short list of categories (less than 7*) about which

A long list of categories which participants have not
all participants agree and whose usefulness is
really agreed to and which has not helped to clarify
apparent to all
the issue for most of the participants
* Few people can hold more than seven ideas in mind at the same time
Ideally the items from the brainstorm will have been written on separate sheets of paper. The task now is
to shift these around so as to group them into categories and to give each category a name or label - this
can be written on a different sheet of paper using a different colour.
Categorising is best done as a sub group or whole group exercise because this will involve conversations
about why items belong in particular categories ie people will have to think about the criteria (or
characteristics) for putting items here rather than there. These conversations can lead to some healthy
changes of mind (eg when two categories are merged into one or one is split into two etc).
If the trainer already knows what the 'correct' system of categories is then she should intervene at this
stage to make sure that the groups are going in the 'correct' direction.
JARGON BUSTING
If the mechanic says that your car has a problem with its 'electrical system' this will not mean much to you unless you
can unpack his jargon phrase - 'electrical system'.
It is important for people to have participated in drawing up the short list of categories and labels because they will
then know the details which lie behind the jargon which eventually appears.

How to get a good set of categories

Some people and groups are better at seeing how items can be fitted into categories than others. If the
categorisation session is not going well the trainer can jog it with broad categorisation prompts. These
would obviously vary depending on the topic but the following prompts are applicable to most topics:
PROMPT
When does it happen?
Where does it happen?
What resources are involved?
Whose point of view?
What attitudes?

POSSIBILITIES
Past/present/future; day/night; summer/winter;
weekday/weekend
Indoor/outdoor; town/country; seaside/inland;
safe/dangerous
Buildings/equipment; budgeting/bookkeeping; staff
development
Old/young; male/female; special needs;
staff/customers/regulators
Positive/negative; rational/emotional; old fashioned/
innovative

Linking
The output from a linking session is a concept map showing how all the individual items and categories fit
together to make up the 'big picture' ie everybody has a good grasp of the overall situation such that there
are no loose pieces in the jigsaw; ie everybody is enlightened about the topic and will not thus be groping
around in the dark.
Results of a good linking session
All participants feel that (a) they have a good
understanding of the various parts of the issue/
topic/ system and of how they fit together and
interact and (b) can see possibilities for improving
the situation.

Results of a bad linking session

Participants are still confused about the issue possibly more confused than they were before.
They still do not understand the issue/ topic/
system and cannot therefore see how it might be
changed for the better.

So far we have items which have been grouped into categories. The task now is to draw a picture or map
of how these are interrelated or linked. This involves arranging the categories in some kind of order and
then drawing lines between them to show the linkages.
Given that you might be mapping issues, topics or systems which have physical, biological, psychological,
sociological, administrative, financial, legal or whatever components, there is no single correct way of
linking them but some common patterns with examples are listed below:
Principle
Input/ process/ output
Before/ during/ after
Feedback loop - self regulation
procedure
Cause/ effect chain
Critical path
Catalytic input - small input has large
impact
Opportunity cost
Boundaries & autonomy
Purpose & goal directedness

Example
Efficient & effective procedures? - Remember GIGO garbage in, garbage out. If it's not broken don't fix it.
PIME - Plan, Implement, Monitor & Evaluate. Necessary
sequences 'Can't do x till y is finished'. Who does what by
when? Who checks?
Heating turns itself off when it is hot enough. Work well and
get promoted. Be calm when others are excited.
Multi-cause to single effect; single cause to multi-effect etc
Beyond simple mindedness
Where is the weakest link in the chain? Rush hours - Fuses
Counselling, staff training, better filing system, technology
If we didn't do x what else could we spend the money on value for money. A stitch in time saves nine. Deal with
acorns not oak trees.
How does this particular system fit into larger systems what can it change without asking permission from above?
The vision thing. The 'Why' question. What are the
'intentions' of the various actors? How are these
harmonised?

When you move through brainstorming and categorising to linking you are going from the parts towards
the whole ie you are systematically figuring out how the details fit into a bigger picture. Having eventually
reached the big picture, however, you will find that (a) it is part of an even bigger picture and (b) that some
of the categories and items no longer mean what they did before. This is not a problem - change them.
This going backwards and forwards between details and the big picture is the process which earlier we
called 'iteration', and it is essential if thinking and organisations are to stay in touch with a changing world.
It is never as clean cut as the models suggest but, in essence, the process of understanding the world

goes from parts to whole and then from the whole back to the parts and so on - indefinitely. This is how
life lives itself - this is evolution.
The good thing about being a human rather than a worm is that by taking thought you can direct
evolution,
you can dream the future and then make it happen.
Go for it!

Colloquia - Sharing through Discussion

The outputs from an effective colloquium

Discussion rather than debate
Variations on the Colloquium Process
Guided self discovery
Facilitated self discovery

A common training method is when the trainer talks and the trainees sit and listen. This has its uses but
here we will consider some of the more interactive methods which make it possible for trainees to share
ideas through discussion. (co-loquium = together talk)
Mature trainees tend to have experience of the topic of their training. This experience is a valuable
training resource which is why we want to share it.
You might argue that there is no need for a trainer at all - just put a bunch of mature people together for a
while and leave them to share their ideas.
The argument here is that when the trainer adds structure to the sharing-through-discussion process then
the amount of sharing and understanding that takes place is much higher than it would be if the trainees
were just left to blether amongst themselves.

The outputs from an effective colloquium

After an effective colloquium the trainees should have a good feeling about the process of sharing and
about the benefits of structuring the process. To chat is good but to structure the chat is even better. To
paraphrase the old Chinese saying, 'Many brains make light work'.
The specific outputs will depend on what was being shared but possibilities include
a shared vision,
a negotiated consensus or agreement,
a comprehensive checklist (of items or procedures),
an action plan (who does what by when) or
a well articulated and understood concept map.

Discussion rather than Debate

Debates have their uses in terms of clarifying thoughts about for/against, good/bad, right/wrong,
agree/disagree, pros/cons. The problem is that the mood of debating forces people into either/or thinking
styles where, 'I am right and you are wrong'.
In most cases this is unfortunate because both parties are likely to be right to some extent in their own
way. The debating process tends to simplify everything into rigid black and white and therefore all the
useful and more flexible grey areas get ignored.

The mood of a good discussion is that everybody wins - everybody puts something in and everybody gets
something out. In the end people may agree to disagree but they do so in a friendly way and after having
understood each other's point of view.
'Different strokes for different folks' is a key guide to action in the Caring business. The question is not
whether something is right or wrong but rather whether or not it is useful in the context in which it is used.
The mood is not, "You must do such and such," but rather, "You might like to try such and such because
we have found it to be very successful".
In the 'real' world, however, there are many you musts. There are Health and Safety and various other
Legal requirements. Colloquia can help. Trainees can share their problems and successes and their fears
and triumphs such that everyone is more comfortable in dealing with bureaucratic requirements.

Variations on the Colloquium Process

The essence of a colloquium is Interactive Mindmapping which, in its purest form, involves the three
stages of Brainstorming, Categorising and Linking. The mechanics of this process are dealt with in detail
elsewhere. Here we will look at some variations on the basic theme.
Guided Self Discovery
In the pure brainstorming process the trainer acts solely as a facilitator ie she does not know in advance
what the outcome will be. Sometimes, however, the trainer will be leading the trainees towards an already
established conclusion. In this case the trainees will be asked to brainstorm within a given set of topics
and/or they may be asked to think of items which fit inside a given set of categories.
A less extreme variation of this approach is when the trainer gives a mini talk before the discussion begins
in which she maps out the concept to make sure that the trainees do not stray too far afield when they
begin their discussion.
Note that this approach is very useful when time is short.
Note also that in this approach the trainer will have prepared her mini talk in advance and perhaps will
have pre-prepared some flip charts and/or handouts.
Facilitated Self Discovery
Sometimes the trainer does not know in advance what the outcome is going to be but she is concerned
that the discussion should have been wide ranging and that the conclusion is well thought through.
In these cases she has to ensure that the trainees are
clear about what they are trying to do and also that
they are using creativity enhancing techniques to help them get out of the ruts of their normal
thinking.
The purpose will normally be to produce some of the outputs which were mentioned above eg action
plans or checklists or whatever. The discussion will go more smoothly if the participants are clear about,
and have agreed on, what they are trying to produce.
It also helps if the participants are clear about the type of task in which they are engaged. Here are some
common types of task.

Brainstorming
Contrasting
Classifying
Analysing
Synthesising
Identifying
problems
Generating
solutions
Prioritising
Imagining
Lateral Thinking
Evaluating
Networking
Application

Making comprehensive lists of items

Seeing similarities and differences
Sorting items into categories - with different levels ie hierarchies
Breaking the big idea into its component parts
Seeing how all the little bits fit together
Defining the problem accurately is half way to finding the answer
How many different solutions can you think of
Deciding which items or issues are the most important & ranking them
Deliberately coming up with new perspectives (imagineering)
A specialised type of imagineering (see Edward de Bono)
How valuable is it - on its own or relative to other things?
Getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of others in the group
How could this idea be used in my situation? (101 ways to use a brick!)

TOOLBOX
A Toolbox of thinking skills

Tell it to your granny

Write a script for two people discussing the topic
State the history of the topic
Use Lateral Thinking - De Bono
Draw a Mindmap - Buzan
Check your logic - Ayer
Straighten the crooked thinking - Thouless

People are not usually taught how to think in school. It is assumed that the clever ones can think and that
the thick ones cannot. This is rubbish.
The clever ones are called clever because they can pass exams but this involves memory and being able
to respond correctly to what is put in front of them. This involves fairly low levels of a limited number of
very basic thinking skills.
There are many different kinds of thinking skills and most of them are easy to master - the problem is that
few people have mastered them and even fewer bother to use them.
As a trainer your toolbox of thinking skills should be jam packed and you should be giving them away and
acquiring new ones all the time. The good thing about ideas and skills is that you can give them away but
still hold on to them - it is like drinking from a cup that never runs dry. And your toolbox should be made of
rubber - the more you put into it the bigger it gets!
The list of thinking skills is endless - they can be used to create new ones! Three particularly useful ones
are described here and this is followed by references to four other mental ironmongers.
Tell it to your Granny
Imagine an old granny on the far side of Lewis who speaks only the Gaelic and has not yet been
introduced to electricity. She has heard about 'computers' and asks you to explain what they are.

This exercise tests your understanding of a concept because you cannot use the jargon. You have to
explain using 'plain English' (or Gaelic if you have it). In the process of trying to explain in a simple way
you invariably come up with new ways of looking at the situation.
Write a script for two people discussing the topic
This is a variation on 'Tell it to your Granny'. The difference is that you are free to choose who the two
people are (old/young, male/female, town/country, rich/ poor etc) and you have to imagine yourself inside
the heads of both characters so that you can put words in their mouths.
This exercise has the same advantages as the previous one with the addition that you have to be clear
about at least two different perspectives on the topic being discussed. The process of trying to write the
script can do wonders for your understanding of the topic.
State the History of the Topic
When was the very first OOSCC Club established and how has the idea progressed since then?
This exercise might involve you in doing some research - either in books or through talking to people.
Everything has a history which tells how it has changed through time. When did it change? Why did it
change? By looking into these issues you come to see that the present is not like the past and you are
thus more open to considering a different future.
These three techniques are from the list given in 'A Good Thinker's Toolbox' which is based on Margaret
Boden's Book The Creative Mind.
Use Lateral Thinking
Sometimes you have to use creative thinking to come up with new ideas. Edward de Bono's technique
called Lateral Thinking helps your mind to escape from its normal ruts and to see new possibilities and
directions. There are four main strategies each of which has many techniques.
The Four Strategies

An Example

Recognise dominant ideas

Search for different ways of
looking at things
Relax the rigid control of vertical
thinking
Make use of chance

Identify main ideas and write them down

Decide in advance that you will look at the problem from six (?)
different points of view - and then do it.
Make a deliberate logical/factual mistake and see where it
leads you (eg boys and girls must use the same toilets)
Pick an object at random and see how it might be relevant to
the topic under discussion (How is an OOSCC Club like a tin
opener?)

The two appendices 'Lateral and Vertical Thinking' and 'Techniques of Lateral Thinking' give a more
detailed explanation and also give the titles of some of De Bono's books.
Draw a Mindmap
A Mindmap is a drawing which represents what is going on in your mind while you make notes, gather
ideas for reports and/or try to be creative. There will be units (for things, ideas or events) joined up by
lines which show how the units interact.
A mindmap is thus an interactive mind map but in Tony Buzan's version of the idea greater emphasis is
put on keywords and on the use of images and colour to enhance understanding, creativity and memory.
Reference Tony Buzan (1989) Use both sides of your brain; Plume. This book includes an easy to read
explanation of right and left brain thinking.

Check your Logic

Much confusion can arise through muddled thinking. Most often the muddle is unintentional but some
smooth operators (like double-glazing salesmen?) use it intentionally. Consider the No True Scotsman
Move.
Imagine Hamish McDonald, a Scotsman, sitting down with his Press and Journal and seeing an article
about how the 'Brighton Sex Maniac Strikes Again'. Hamish is shocked and declares that "No Scotsman
would do such a thing". The next day he sits down to read his Press and Journal again and this time finds
an article about an Aberdeen man whose brutal actions make the Brighton sex maniac seem almost
gentlemanly. This fact shows that Hamish was wrong in his opinion but is he going to admit this? Not
likely. This time he says, "No true Scotsman would do such a thing".
This example is taken from Anthony Flew's book Thinking about Thinking - or do I sincerely want to be
right?. Mr Flew is a Professor of Philosophy so the book, although quite thin, can be a bit heavy at times.
But it is now in its eighth edition - it is worth making the effort as it describes such lovely notions as:

The but-they-will-never-agree diversion

The but-you-can-understand-why evasion
The fallacy of pseudo-refuting descriptions
The logically-black-is-white slide
The truth-is-always-in-the-middle damper
The unAmerican fallacy
Begging the question
Persuasive definition
Affirming the antecedent
Affirming the consequent

Straighten the Crooked Thinking

Not all muddled thinking is due to faults of logic, some of it is just crooked whether by intention or mistake.
Robert Thouless has written a practical book for anyone who has to discuss controversial topics. The
jacket blurb notes that:
He believes that psychological factors often dangerously distort correct thinking. He shows, for instance,
how the use of emotional words can obscure facts, and how fallacies in argument can often mislead an
unwary audience. He lists 38 dishonest tricks commonly used in argument, with methods of overcoming
them, and ends with an imaginary discussion between a businessman, a clergyman and a professor
which illustrates these pitfalls.

He first wrote the book in 1930 and my copy is of the 11th edition which came out in 1967. It is an all time
classic! Here are the first 7 of his 38 dishonest tricks with their countermeasures.
Dishonest Trick

Method of overcoming it

The use of emotionally toned words

Repeat the statement using emotionally neutral

words
Making a statement in which 'all' is implied but
Repeat the statement using 'all' and showing that
'some' is true.
it is therefore false
Proof by selected instances
Point to counter instances
Extension of an opponent's proposition by
State again the more moderate position which is
contradiction or by misrepresentation of it
being defended
Evasion of a sound refutation of an argument by
Analyse the formula to demonstrate its
the use of a sophisticated formula
unsoundness
Diversion to another question, to a side issue, or
Refuse to be diverted and restate the real
by irrelevant objection
question
Proof by inconsequent argument
Ask for a clear explanation of the connection
between the proposition and the alleged proof
Robert H Thouless (1953) Straight and Crooked Thinking; Pan

About Us
This web site was designed to facilitate the
training of trainers. It is being generated
through interaction with a group of Trainers of
Out of School Care workers in various parts of
the Highland and Islands of Scotland.

The training relates to The Short Course for

Out of School Care which was prepared in
early 1999 for the Out of School Care
Federation in the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland by Alana Albee, George Clark and
Kolette Fraser.

Trainer/ Mentor: George Clark is Director of Seafield Research &

Development Services and Convener of the Caledonia Centre for
Social Development
Alana Albee is a former adviser to the OOSC Federation and is
presently the DFID Social Development Advisor in Tanzania.
Kolette Fraser manages the Fliperz Out of School Care Club in
Merkinch, Inverness.
For information about The Short Course for Out of School Care
(Trainee Workbook and Tutor's Manual) contact:

clark@srds.co.uk
www.srds.co.uk
www.caledonia.org.uk
a-albee@dfid.gov.uk
kfr617518@aol.com
Kath McLennan,
kmaclennan@ooscfed.org
www.ooscfed.org