THE ROLE OF THE IT TRAINER

Training contents:

Content 1: The role of the trainer in a group. The methods of presentation and conduction of information to target group. The target group of the IT teachers will be seniors, in future refered as “students”. Heterogeneity of seniors and their needs and everyday life.

Content 2: How to develop useful learning experiences. Didactical methods for conducting exercises. Competences of modern trainers for target group.

Training methods:

The learning process is fundamental to training. It is therefore vital that the facilitator have a basic understanding of the process in order to assess the most effective approach to education for a given situation. In general terms, research on how senior students learn most effectively shows that training tends to be more successful when:

Participants have been involved in defining, or refining, their own learning objectives;
The content is focused on real problems faced by the seniors;
Training is undertaken in a varied and participatory environment.

This thinking underpins one of the standard models of training, known as the learning cycle, illustrated in the diagram below. The learning cycle involves experiencing, observing, thinking, and applying.

Learning Cycle

The following methods are recommended:

Lecture
group work and pair work
brainstorming on flipcharts
individual work for in-depth understanding of IT
story telling
group discussions (round tables, plenary, tables in U-form)
information society – finding information on different topics on Internet

THE ROLE OF A TRAINER

Duration

0.5 hour

Aims

Participants get to know the aims and goals of trainer’s activities
Participants speak about the advantages and disadvantages of being IT trainers

Motives for participation as trainers
Aims of facilitators training and methods of delivering the educational program seniors on IT usage
Advantages and disadvantages of the trainer’s role
Role of trainer as a group leader

Activity 3.2: trainer in a group – role-playing

Purpose of the exercise: getting familiar with the role of trainer, it’s importance for successful conducting and leading of the group of older adults / seniors in Slow Learning educational program. The main goal of a trainer is to draw out knowledge and insight from other group members. A trainer will use different skills, tools, exercises and natural abilities to keep a group discussion moving smoothly.

In general, trainers have three responsibilities:

to make sure that everyone has a chance to have their ideas and feelings expressed
to keep the discussion moving in a direction that produces a product without rushing the group (this product may be a decision, a plan, a proposal, or a brainstorm)
to maintain a safe and respectful group environment where the group has taken ownership of what safety and respect mean to them.
Duration in minutes: 30 minutes
Group size: 15 – 20
Instructions for the trainer:

Ask participants if there is a volunteer for instructional demonstration. If not, and this could also be the case, the trainer should take the leading role and make an example.

All other participants take the role of seniors, participating in face to face program and try to make a group discussion on selected topic. The one playing the role of leader/trainer should be able to successfully conduct the discussion, follow the red line of discussion and steer it if needed and to overcome possible differences within the group and overcome the tensions.

Equipment: chairs in a circle
Tips and tricks for the trainer:

In a group that is being facilitated well, each group member:

is the expert of his or her own experience
is equal to all the other group participants and the facilitator

A well-facilitated group creates a wonderful flow of ideas and experiences amongst all of the group members.

COMPETENCES OF MODERN IT TRAINER FOR SENIORS

Duration

1 hour

Aims

Participants recognize the competences of modern IT trainer divided into 4 groups: a) communication and relations, b) effective facilitating / mentoring, c) organization and leadership and d) self-development.

Trainer will effectively communicate with the group of participants, following the recognized competences and conducting the learning material in democratic and open way.
Recognition of the social skills of participants, their strengths and weaknesses.
Positive facilitating attitude and effective use of different strategies for conducting IT content for seniors.
Efficient combinations of individual, frontal and group learning / teaching methods.
Raising subject motivation amongst participants with different and innovative approaches.
Understanding of ICT support for modern trainer.
Raising awareness about importance of continuous lifelong learning.

Activity 3.3: Recognizing our competences

Purpose of the exercise:

Short introduction to general/key competences list: understanding the differences and the importance of them.

Duration in minutes: 60 minutes
Group size: 15 – 20
Instructions for the trainer:

Ask participants to prepare the list of their formal and non-formal knowledge, skills, competences, informal practices and professionally developed skills. Then make a list of all of them on flipchart or whiteboard and try to arrange them in a group

Trainer presents listed key competences to participants, followed by a discussion about understanding them and comparison of these key competences with participants own competencies and skills that they have already collected in their memory maps: what they already know, on what do they put the emphasis and what should they have yet to learn…

Equipment: flipchart, whiteboard, chairs.
Variations: –
Tips and tricks for the trainer:

In practical terms, then, when planning education, trainers should:

ensure that a good learning environment is created in advance;
focus the subject matter on the current needs and problems of the seniors;
use a variety of participatory training techniques that are rooted in the participants’ own knowledge and experience;
have participants work in small groups when they are reflecting on the activities in which they have participated;
ensure flexibility, allowing for adaptations to educational activities as they progress.