Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education Fall 2012, Hills South 275 Tuesdays, 1-4 pm. Purpose of the Course

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1 Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education Fall 2012, Hills South 275 Tuesdays, 1-4 pm Instructor: Cristine Smith Office Hours: 264 Hills House South, Thursdays, 10 am to 2 pm cristine@educ.umass.edu Purpose of the Course The purpose of this course is to help you develop the skills you need to design training programs for adult learners in non-formal education, human services, and community development. The goal is to prepare you to: Develop your philosophy of training: how is training different from teaching? What is participatory training? Consider how to assess the needs of training participants Support the rationale for training Write training objectives Find, read and analyze training activities: how, when and why would you use particular activities? Create and facilitate training activities of your own (peer training) Consider the flow of training: from individual to small group to large group activities; balancing theory and practice; deciding upon the best training span (training over multiple sessions and time); determining the appropriate reading and handout load; deciding whether or not to give assignments to participants Observe others facilitation skills and provide constructive feedback Plan training evaluation activities: how did the training affect participants thinking, feeling and acting? Write up training in written form so that others can use your training Design training of trainers The course will be relevant to those interested in designing training for both international and U.S.-based training contexts. Course objectives: By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1. articulate your philosophy of training 2. list strategies for training needs assessment, evaluation, overall design and writing a facilitators training guidebook. 3. outline key concepts and tips for training facilitation 4. explain how, why and when to use dozens of training activities Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall

2 5. create and write up training activities of your own Topics and Methodology: This is meant to be a very practical course, so there will be relatively less reading than you might find in a more theoretical class. Instead, the course packet will include multiple samples of training activities, together with a few theoretical articles about training design. However, less reading will be offset by more class participation on your part. The class is designed so that EVERYONE will be expected to plan and facilitate at least one training activity within the class, in a content area of your choice. This will give everyone a chance both to observe plenty of training activities and to facilitate at least one on your own. You will also have one or more chances to formally observe your peers and provide feedback to them about the design and facilitation of their activity. The class sessions will be structured so that the medium is the message : as much as possible, training activities will be used to teach the content of training theory and design. The assignments are cumulative; the final assignment is a step-by-step facilitators training guidebook for a multi-hour training for a target audience of your own choosing (training for health workers, training on sustainable agriculture for farmers, environmental training for villagers, etc.), along with a training-of-trainers agenda for that training. I will provide several formats for the guidebook from which you may choose. However, I will require you to turn in components of the training guidebook throughout the semester, so that you can construct it as you go along and get feedback from me that you can incorporate into your final guidebook. Course requirements: This course requires the active participation of all class members: listening as well as talking, helping others develop their ideas, and expressing your own thoughts in class discussions and small-group work. Regular, ON-TIME attendance and participation is required to receive the full 20% towards your grade. For your participation to be helpful to everyone, it is essential that you attend all classes and complete the required readings before class. Please let me know in advance if you must miss a class. If you do, I expect you to talk with classmates to get handouts and an update on what was learned in class; you may find it helpful to talk with more than one person. I encourage you to use my office hours as a time for us to discuss your paper, the readings or questions you have about the course. Office hours are Thursdays 10 am to 2 pm. You can sign up by putting your initials next to a 25-minute time slot Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall

3 for a specific date on the sign-up sheet on my office door, Hills South 264 (just down the hall). All assignments are due when indicated. I will assess written work on whether it is (a) complete, (b) true to the assignment, and (c) clear to the audience for whom it is intended. Proofreading your work and catching mistakes is a sign, to me, of thoroughness and academic rigor. You will be graded on a pass-fail basis, UNLESS you wish to have a grade. If you want a grade for this course, you must let me know via Moodle course website (NO S!) by Monday, September 17, After this date, no changes will be made in your grading status (i.e., you can t ask me for a grade, rather than pass-fail, 3 weeks before the end of the class, nor can you ask me for pass/fail rather than a grade after September 17, 2012). The specific course requirements/assignments, along with the grading calculation for each, are presented below. Requirement Description Grade Calculation Quality and quantity of classroom participation Facilitate a training activity for the whole class Find two examples of objectives Paper One: Introduction to your training guide Paper Two: Training Objectives Paper Three: Annotated List of Training Activities Paper Four: Sample Training Activity Paper Five: Facilitators Training Guide Be fully prepared to participate in class by coming to all class sessions on time, having read the assignments for each session, and being ready to discuss them critically. Facilitate a training activity of your own choice, either individually (30 minutes) or with a partner (60 minutes) Go to the web, go to other class syllabi, anywhere, and find two real objectives to bring back to the class (any subject). Be prepared to write these on newsprint. DUE September 18, page introduction, including title, audience and rationale. DUE September 25, 2012 No more than 1 page listing your training objectives. DUE October 16, page list of training activities, with short description of each activity. DUE October 30, page sample of one training activity, with step-by-step instructions. DUE November 13, 2012 Facilitators training guide (no longer than 15 pages). DUE December 4, 2012 ALL PAPERS SHOULD BE SINGLE-SPACED, in Word format (NOT PDF!) and SUBMITTED ON THE MOODLE COURSE WEBSITE. Look under the individual 20% 2 30% Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall

4 Session sections on the site, or click on Assignments in the upper right. I will not accept ed or paper copies of your assignments. Readings There is one book assigned for this course. It is available from the instructor for $20.00; checks to be made payable to World Education: Gragg, B. (2007). Tools from the Field: Participant-centered Techniques for Effective Training. Boston, MA: World Education, Inc. I will place all other readings, in PDF format, on the SPARK website. If you are officially registered in the course, you are automatically allowed into the course website. If you are auditing, see me so that I can permit you to enter the website. The readings and handouts are drawn from the following sources: Arnold, R., Burke, B., James, C., Martin, D., & Thomas, B. (1991) Educating for a Change. Toronto, Ontario: Between the Lines CEDPA (1995). Training Trainers for Development: Conducting a Workshop on Participatory Training Techniques. Washington, D.C.: The Centre for Development and Population Activities, 92 pages. Retrieved September 1, 2006 from Chambers, R. (2002). Participatory Workshops: A Sourcebook of 21 Sets of Ideas and Activities. London: Earthscan Publications. Eitington, J.E. (1989, Second Edition). The Winning Trainer. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company. Mullinix, B. (2002). Nurturing Participation: A Facilitator s Introduction to Adult Nonformal Education and Participatory Training. Amherst, MA: Center for International Education. Stanfield, B. ( ). Magic of the Facilitator. IAF. Retrieved from the web August 14, 2006 from c?url_id=7579&filename= magic_of_the_facilitator.doc&filetype= application%2foctetstream&filesize=43008&name=magic+of+the+facilitator.doc&location=user-s/ Taylor, P. (2003). How to Design a Training Course: A guide to participatory curriculum development. London: Continuum Publishing. Incompletes Students who are unable to complete course requirements within the allotted time because of serious medical or personal problems may request a grade of Incomplete Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall

5 from me by Tuesday, November 20, Normally, incomplete grades are warranted only if a student is passing the course at the time of the request and if the course requirements can be completed by the end of the following semester (May, 2013). If I grant you an incomplete, I will require, by November 20, a one-page writeup from you including: 1. a description of the work that remains to be completed, 2. a description of how you intend to complete the unfinished work, and 3. the date by which the work is to be completed. Accommodation Statement The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), Learning Disabilities Support Services (LDSS), or Psychological Disabilities Services (PDS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements. Academic Honesty Statement Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent. Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall

6 Date and Focus of Class September 4 Readings to be completed -- Assignments Due Session One Overview; Needs Assessment September 11 Session Two Philosophy of training; rationale for training September 18 Session Three Assess the needs of training participants; training objectives September 25 Session Four Designing and Choosing Training Activities October 2 Session Five Facilitation Skills October 16 Session Six Flow of training October 23 Session Seven Mullinix, Nurturing Participation, pp Gragg, Tools from the Field, pp CEDPA, Training Trainers, pp Rogers, From Freedom to Learn, 3 pages Gragg, Tools from the Field, pp Gragg, pp Eitington, The Winning Trainer, pp Eitington, The Winning Trainer, pp Chambers, Participatory Workshops, pp Stanfield, Magic of the Facilitator, 5 pages Eitington, The Winning Trainer, pp Arnold, et al, Educating for a Change, 11 pages. Chambers, Participatory Workshops, pp. 4-6 and pp Assignment: Go to the web, go to other class syllabi, anywhere, and find two real objectives to bring back to the class (any subject). Be prepared to write these on newsprint. Assignment: Upload on Moodle your 1-2 page introduction to your training guidebook, including title, audience, and rationale Moodle your 1-page listing the training objectives for your training guidebook Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall

7 October 30 Session Eight Guest Instructor: Beth Gragg November 6 Session Nine Training evaluation activities Guest Instructor: Beth Gragg November 13 Session Ten November 20 Session Eleven November 27 Session Twelve Training Systems/ training of trainers Gragg, Tools from the Field, pp Chambers, Participatory Workshops, pp Taylor, How to Design A Training Course, pp Taylor, How to Design A Training Course, pp Moodle your 1-2-page annotated list of training activities you want to include in your training. Moodle your 1-3 page sample of one training activity you will include in your training guidebook, with stepby-step instructions. December 4 Session Thirteen Class evaluation; final discussion Moodle your facilitators training guide (no more than 15 pages) Final assignment your facilitators training guide is due on Tuesday, December 4, 2012, the last day of class. Any assignments received after 5 pm on Friday December 14, 2011, will not be graded before the deadline for Fall 2012 grades to be submitted, and you may receive an incomplete for the class, but ONLY if we have previously agreed to this (see above). Education 649: Training for Non-formal Education, Fall