For you who wants to know more Nonviolence & Conflict Management
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To carry out trainingOften, the quality of training depends on the pedagogic presentation which in its turn has to do with the content of the training. Non-violence and conflict management training should, we think, be carried out with participation, actual observation, experience, practical exercises and collective conversations. It is therefore important as a trainer to focus on the groups own experience and interest and to adjust the training accordingly. Conversation groups can be seen as the opposite of lecturing. They build on the participant’s activity and the trainer has a more supportive role. The participants are active and the trainer leads the process. In the workshop methodology, lectures are mixed with conversation, discussions and exercises. A workshop is a group that meets and has exchanges with each other in different ways. There is a trainer who leads the group through different processes which can be achieved by creating a good climate within the group, giving tasks, providing facts and summarising. The trainer plans the presentation of workshops and ensures that the group achieves the goals aimed at. A workshop has a certain course which varies, depending on the extent and which group is working together. During a longer workshop which may stretch over one to several days, the following five points are included. Even in a shorter workshop it cad be good to pay attention to them. 1. Introduction. If the participants are meeting for the first time then all need to get to know one another. In the exercise chapter there are examples of presentation and cooperation exercises for this purpose. It is also good to attend to practical aspects such as times, accommodation, travel and so on. 2. Agenda. Present the structural plan organised by the trainer/trainers. This helps the participants to know where they should be during the workshops. Be aware that you may have to change your planning during a workshop. 3. Expectations. What will the participants gain from the workshop? Are there apprehensions which the participants would prefer did not happen? As trainer, be aware that you cannot fulfil all the expectations of all the participants or guarantee that at least some of the apprehensions are not fulfilled. However it is important that the group is aware, from the onset, what the different participants have for expectations, so that frustration does not occur later. This is the major part of the workshop. This means studying the different themes in the workshops by practising, conversation and short lectures. Each workshop is followed by an evaluation. In the case of a course taking in several days it is good to evaluate half way through the course. See further “evaluation”(p. 98). The GroupA workshop builds on the group’s collective work. As trainer, you need to know in advance the size of the group, if the participants know each other and a little about what experience they have on nonviolence and conflict management. If the group is to function well, it should neither be too small or too big. The size of the group influences the choice of exercises and how the exercises are carried out. Irrespective of the group size it can be suitable to work in small groups during exercises. As trainer it is important that see that groups are suitably matched. Factors to think about here are age, sex, connection, background, experience, motivation and aim of the workshop. The composition of groups can influence the result. Background and experience: We can call this the rucksack which the participants take with them to the workshop. The positive effect of a mixed group is that it introduces many new perspectives and angles. For you as a trainer it means an extra challenge when preparing a workshop for a group with many different forms of competence and experience. More homogenised groups or groups with participants known to one another can be easier as a first group. To meet people where they are, capture their interest and use their different competences the workshop model has clear advantages when compared with traditional lecturing. Connection: Sometimes you meet a group in which everyone knows each other a school class for example. Within an existing group there can be sub-groups and you as a trainer coming from outside the group have the possibility to see that the old group roles are broken by mixing participants into smaller groups with people they do not usually mix with. When participants do not know each other it is important to spend a lot of time on creating a good secure group climate. As we wish the participants to be active we need to make sure that they dare to. See more under presentation exercises. Motivation: The less motivated participants are the longer the time needed to create security in the group! Start with short easy going work periods for a less motivated group. To reach people not already interested in the subject it is important to be able to manage less motivated people. If a group has a mixed motivation the interest of the less motivated can be increased by those with more motivation. Aim: What is the aim of a workshop? Will the participants get information, knowledge, personal growth and /or learn to teach others. What is it that you and they wish to achieve? As, within groups, roles and role patterns are created it can be good as trainer to contribute to how the group is formed and the roles are varied. Breaking role patterns can be done by giving more space to participants that do not normally take space. This prevents the more verbal participants taking all the space. A way of sharing speaking time is to do Rounds. A round consists of each in turn in the group having the possibility to say without interruption or being questioned, what she/he thinks. There is of course the possibility to remain silent but all in this way get the chance to say what is on their mind. A third way is to give each participant three matches. Each match represents a contribution to the discussion. When your three matches are used then you are silent, allowing the others in the group to speak. Other methods of obstructing can be that during a longer workshop asking the participants to change places with each other or to vary the small workgroups. This produces a creative climate. As a trainer you set an example. Make sure you speak to different people during the breaks; it encourages the feeling that all are important. It probably feels that there is a lot to think about, particularly if you have not held a workshop before. If you wish to take any of this advice to yourself then do this – begin with yourself .We have all been participants on some fantastic course sometime. What was it that you appreciated so much and what do you appreciate with participants and trainers? It is you as the trainer that makes the decisions on how the group should work. Experiment and see what works best. Contributing to learning There is no easy answer to how we learn. Our way of learning depends on personal qualities and what we are to learn. Learning to ski can best be started by finding out how Ingemar Stenmark or Gunde Svahn became successful, what sort of skis there are and so on. To be good at skiing you have to practise and practise. Learning to count means that we have to se the logical connection which gives us the understanding that 3+2=5. It is not enough to press digits on a calculator. As different methods, when used, are more or less suited to different people, the contents of this material is both theoretical, about conflict and non-violence and practical with concrete examples and exercises. A course does not have to follow the presentation of material. As leader/trainer you put together sandwich-training of theory and practice as you see best. The word pedagogic roughly translated means “to lead children”. It is easy, in an educational context to present exercises and methods which are manipulative and which the participants are “subjected to”. To counteract this one talks of “anti pedagogy”. The trainer as head gardener A trainer’s task can be compared to that of head gardener. The head gardener has different types of work in the garden. Sometimes he/she plants flowers or sows seeds. Sometimes he/she must remove dead plants and weeds which prevent the growth of new plants. To water and fertilise the plants and trees in the garden is necessary in order for the garden to survive. Which of these tasks is most similar to that of the trainer? The way in which this question is answered influences the presentation of the training, as my image of myself as a trainer and my attitude towards the participants influences my planning and presentation of the training or workshop material. If participants are seen as empty tins, to be filled with knowledge then there is a big obligation on the trainer to both have the knowledge and present it in such a way that it is acceptable to the participants. If the attitude towards the participants is that it is they themselves that form their development, then the role of trainer becomes supportive towards that which the participants wish. The leader/trainer role which this material wishes to profile is somewhere in between. As a trainer we can sometime be tempted, or feel forced to present the right answer or take part in the debate because things are being said which we do not agree with. In this situation, it can be suitable to ask provocative questions or questions needing reflection, in or to create new trains of thought. The trainer’s role is to give the group tasks, retain a good direction in conversation and ask questions around which the participants can discuss. Facts and knowledge are added in suitable amounts and supporting the group summary of what has been said.
The room and the furniture – Practical factors such as the room and placing of furniture can influence a course greatly. An important point in this material is that the training is done in dialogue between the participants. To create a good conversational climate, furniture placement must be taken into account. Sitting in rows behind one another makes it difficult to converse. The open circle where the group sits in a ring without tables give the possibility of eye contact with everyone. If the group is large, or if tables are needed, then a U form or several small tables with small groups around them are alternatives.
The aim of evaluation is:
An evaluation can be carried out at the end of a course or after each part, depending on which method one chooses. However it is usually a good thing to round off a course with an evaluation summary which covers everything. If a form is used it is better that it is filled in straight away than if it is to be posted in. More answers are received in this way. If it is your intention to hold a number of similar courses it can be a good idea to print an evaluation form and in that way see comparisons. For instance, am I better at time planning, have I developed my style of communication, how do the participants feel and so on? Methods of evaluation An evaluation can mean everything from a simple Round where all in the group say what they think about the day they have had to a written evaluation form or free letter form. Set aside time for evaluation according to the size of the training/course. There are many different methods of evaluation. Here are a few, presented below, that hopefully may be of use to you.
One way of evaluating a course is to begin with the expectations that were in the group. Such an evaluation, in its turn starts with the group returning to their original expectations at the beginning of the training/course. To be able to return to these expectations, it is good if they are written down from the onset. Then the participants can either in the big group or small groups react to how their expectations have been fulfilled, perhaps by applauding at different levels for different expectations or by comments. A particular movement such as raising a hand can be used for others to indicate their agreement, in order to lessen repetition. Begin with prepared questions By beginning with prepared questions in an evaluation, the answers may then be compared between different participants and groups. At the end of this chapter there is a suggestion for how a prepared question form based on this material could be. It is more reliable to base answers on scales and not written comments. The form can be filled in individually or in a group, orally or written. The most usual is that participants get a few minutes to answer individually if interest is show some points may be then be discussed. Important to note, for all, is that evaluations are anonymous. This increases openness. A less formal type of evaluation is to ask participants to write answer to questions you give the on post-it papers which they then stick on a whiteboard. Begin with plus, minus and interesting A further variation on evaluation is to ask the participants to think of what has been plus (good), what has been minus(less good), and what has been interesting about the course. This can be done freely or beginning with some previously decided factors such as time factor/programme, the trainer’s behaviour and the exercises. The discussion can be done in a big group, small groups or individually. The feedback can be oral or written. Remember that it is always good, as a trainer, to write notes during an evaluation in order to go back to points that have been raised. A freely formulated letter After a longer course, participants may be asked to write a letter to themselves as a form of evaluation. The leader will then collect the letters and post them to the participants after a few months. A round of questions Instead of a written evaluation an alternative is a Round. In an evaluation Round ask the participants to talk of specific points such as “I fell like this about…. just now”, or “I will take this home with from the course”, or “two words which describe what I think of the course”. An own evaluation As a trainer it is useful to reflect over one’s own actions during the course. Most of us do this unconsciously when we have done something. It can therefore be valuable to systematise one’s reflections. In this way, the chances of learning and development are increased at the same time as the risk of making similar mistakes lessens. In one’s own evaluation it is good to think about both preparation and carrying out the course. You can perhaps write a list for your own use in preparing your next course. However many courses you may hold you will always be able to improve some point. There are always parts which function very well. Be proud of these! Excercises Directory: downloads downloads -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations downloads -> Dynatest 3031 lwd light Weight Deflectometer downloads -> Forth coming competitive exams downloads -> Brush High School Morning Announcements Friday, September 05, 2014 all school downloads -> Year 9 The Arts — Music downloads -> Years 7 and 8 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum: Music draft downloads -> Chris Young sets 2016 “I’m Comin’ Over” Tour headlining dates downloads -> Slavery and Abolition: the Plymouth Connection Introduction downloads -> Summer Assignment Download 0.51 Mb. Share with your friends:
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