Training methods and preparation of workshops Andrej Potočnik Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Slovenia Beograd / Belgrade, March 2013

2 How to facilitate the training and make it successful Three different dimensions can be distinguished: Space facilitation / possibilities Setting – the format and size the room or space Environmental factors – light, sounds and smel l People facilitation Emotions Relations Involvement Process facilitation Information – they should be converted to real knowledge Operations / proceedings Energy

3 The 10 steps of training The training is a complex process that occurs in several steps: 1. training opportunity 2. information gathering 3. needs assessment 4. aims, goals and objectives 5. research and content 6. training design (agenda, session outline, activity structure) 7. preparation 8. training delivery 9. evaluation 10. follow up

4 The 10 steps of training 1. Training opportunity Legal requirements, persuasion, lobbying I nformation gathering 2. I nformation gathering Who?, When?, Where?, What? and Why? 3. Needs assessment Skills, attitudes, knowledge

5 Needs assessment

6 The 10 steps of training 4. Aims and goals Cognitive domain – knowledge or 'think ' Affective domain – attitude or 'feel ' Psychomotoric domain – skills or 'do'

Aims and goals KnowledgeAttidudeSkills Recall dataReceiveImitation (copy) UnderstandRespondFollow instructions Apply (use)ValueCombine related skills AnalyseAdopt behaviour Synthesize Evaluate 7

8 SMART GOALS

9 The 10 steps of training. research and content 5. research and content Internet search engines, sites, databases and videos Universities and institutes Books and other professional literature Attending events as trainings, workshops, conferences and congresses (e.g. EPPO, TAIEX, BTSF) training design (agenda, session outline, activity structure) 6. training design (agenda, session outline, activity structure) According to the aim, goals and objective we can choose the blocks – topics and subtopics: Bottom-up process (from specific to general) or Top-down process (from general to specific)

10 Training design – Agenda - 1 Training event is like a big river Each session is like a stream flowing into this river Each activity is like a drop falling into these streams Useful questions: Where do we want our river to flow? Where do we want our drop to land?

11 Training design – Agenda - 2 The session is not only built out of learning blocks, however also includes other elements or activies: Content related: theory blocks, exercises, discussions, reflections, recap and conclusions, parking lot, (games) Process related: introduction, schedule presentation, expectations gathering and checking, games, ending, feedback and evaluation Other: lunch breaks, coffee breaks, buffer time (after the session: follow up) To reach anxious purposes and avoid possible problems some specific rules have to be respected.

12 3/3 rule In planning it is important to consider: 1/3 of what participants already know – safety 1/3 of what is completely new for them - attractiveness 1/3 of what they will understand later in the future – challenge the challenge safety and attractiveness. The participants will learn best if they are gradually increasing the challenge all time while simultaneously increasing the level of safety and attractiveness.

13 Training design – Activity structure The activities are everything we do in our training with the aim of reaching your learning goals: case studiessimulations Exercises: case studies, simulations, role plays discussions Discussions: discussions, brainstorming, sharing group work Work: individual or group work, home work get to know each other games Process games: energizer games, ice-brakers, get to know each other games, trust games Their integration depends on several factors, e.g. their purpose and theme, size, logistic..

14 Training design – Session outline - 1 When an agenda is ready, we can start to detail our schedule. There are several reasons to do that: We know exactly what we need to do, how and when; We know exactly what we need to do, how and when; clarifies our preparation process; all involved experts or trainers have the same picture of the training in mind … all involved experts or trainers have the same picture of the training in mind …

15 Training design – Session outline - 2

16 The 10 steps of training 7. Preparation At this stage of the organizing of the training event we have to find several practical and technical solutions linked to: Room / space Equipment Equipment - electricity, beamer, pointers, internet, sound system (optional), other technical devices, flipcharts, markers, post-its Atmosfere, illumination, acoustics Agenda/schedule, nametags, handnouts, abstracts, visuals (pictures)… Breaks with drinks and snacks

17 The 10 steps of training 7. Training delivery This step is relating to the experts or trainers who perform the trainings - they have to consider several rules: good training attidudes, creadibility and trust Each trainer has to build good training attidudes, establish creadibility and trust and encourage the development of positive emotions The external factors can support or disrupt the training process – trainers have to be able to addopt the training session to them …

18 The 10 steps of training 9. Evaluation This step is nearing the end of the training process. Several types of questionnaires serve different goals Well done evaluation means good starting point for the next trainings. 10. Follow up 10. Follow up – reports, handouts … The training process is usually not finished by the end of the session – there is obligation preparing of the reports The most important part for the participants is transfer the new knowledge and experiences to the daily practice.

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