EFFECTIVE TRAINING

Issue

Developing a training session that is informative and instructive, while engaging the interest of the audience.

Action

Training sessions should be interactive, and should model the methods that participants will use in their real life service experiences.

Planning Training Sessions

Gather information about those you will be training:

What do they already know? What are some areas where they

might need extra instruction? If they have participated in

previous training, what worked and what didn't?

Establish and Prioritize Goals:

What do the participants need to know?

What would they like to learn? What do you hope to convey to

participants during this training session?

What topics are most important? What goals are reasonable given

the time constraints of the training?

Brainstorm and Select Methods:

Which methods best meet the goals? Think about the inclusion of large and

small group discussion, panels, role plays or scenarios, lectures, stories and personal experiences, hands-on activities, games, and time for questions and answers.

Be sensitive to different learning styles and develop a variety of methods that you will use in presenting each topic.

Design the Agenda:

In what order will you present topics? How can you break up a lecture with small

group work or hands-on activities? Arrange your agenda in such a way that

participants will be presented with a balanced variety of training activities.

You may want to select lively, interactive, and/or hands-on activities for the block of time immediately following lunch, since that tends to be when participants are sleepy.

You may want to offer more lecture-oriented topics early in the day when participants are fresh.

Plan adequate breaks.

Prepare Materials: Do you need handouts? Many participants find it easier to follow a

trainer if they have handouts to look at. What materials do you need to present your

hands-on activities? Think about the use of slides, overheads, LCD

projectors, chalkboards, and/or flip charts. Some trainers keep participants focused by

using overheads or flipcharts during the session, and wait until the end to distribute handouts

Conducting Training Sessions

Start with Introductions and/or an Icebreaker Activity:

How can you create an atmosphere that welcomes discussion and input from participants?

Introduce yourself and talk a little about your experience in the field.

To get people talking to each other, have everyone introduce themselves; interview and introduce another person; do a scavenger hunt looking for people who have a specific interest or talent; or participate in some other sort of icebreaker activity.

Go Over the Agenda: How can you prepare participants for

the content and pacing of your session?

Make sure that everyone knows what will be covered and how long they should expect to be in each session.

Highlight some aspects that participants can look forward to.

Be prepared to adjust your agenda to fit the needs of the group.

Gauge Participants' Knowledge and Interest:

How can you gear your session toward the specific interests and needs of your audience?

As you start presenting each topic, take a few minutes to find out how much participants know about the topic and what areas they would like to focus on.

Pay Attention to Participants:

Do the participants look like they're following well? Are they nodding, volunteering comments, asking questions?

Stop from time to time to ask for questions and ask how everyone is doing.

If participants are tired and/or unengaged, you may need to slow down, turn the material into questions and generate discussion, move more quickly, switch to a different type of activity, or offer a short break.

Be Flexible:

What will you do if some things do not go as you planned?

Expect that some of your activities may take longer or shorter than planned.

Explain to participants what is going on if you need to deviate from the schedule you've laid out.

If participants don't seem to be engaged in a given activity, be prepared to adjust, stretch, shrink, or eliminate activities as necessary.

Think About Pacing:

How can you keep the interest of participants?

Start with simple concepts, build them into more complex ideas.

Integrate physical movement, humor and games.

Tailor the presentation to this specific group of participants.

Interject personal stories and humor.

Make the Conclusion Strong:

How can you help participants tie everything together at the end of the session and encourage participants to incorporate what they have learned in your session into their work?

End each session with a summary and a chance for participants to share last thoughts.

It can be very effective to end with a challenge — something you urge participants to do in relation to what you've presented.

Have participants set goals related to the topic and/or work in teams to brainstorm new ideas related to something that is needed in your program.

Ask everyone to share one thing that really stood out.

Have Participants Evaluate Each Session:

How can you find out what worked in your session?

Have participants fill out evaluation forms that ask what they learned in your session, what they enjoyed most, and what they would change.

SEMINAR

Definition:

A seminar is a lecture or presentation delivered to an audience on a particular topic or set of topics that are educational in nature. It is usually held for groups of 10-50 individuals. A seminar is frequently held at a hotel meeting space or within an office conference room.

Preparing and presenting a seminar

Presenting your ideas to a seminar of your teaching colleagues is a good way to start the process of communicating your scholarship of teaching more widely. While not as formal or large an undertaking as presenting at a conference or writing for publication it will require you to go through many of the same steps.

The Oxford dictionary tells us that a seminar is "a small class at a university, etc for discussion and research; a class meeting for systematic study under the direction of a specified person". And that describes exactly the purpose of this section. You are the specified person, someone who prepares the topic, arranges a program that will encourage and enable all who come to participate and to contribute to each other's learning. many people will recognise this as the definition of a workshop and feel that a seminar is a time where a presenter presents and allows a short time for questions. We prefer the activitiy described by Oxford as we believe that it is through collaboration and communication that we learn best.

As seminar leader you will take responsibility for

identifying the topic planning the event providing a scholarly framework devising the learning stimulus helping participants to learn encouraging learning reflection

for others as well as for yourself.

These activities can be organized into three stages

· Preparation · Implementation · Review and Evaluation

Preparation.

Designing the seminar

What is it that you want to share with people?

What is your purpose in conducting this seminar?

What is it that you want people to learn? How can you help them to know that?

Planning the program

Develop one or two clear objectives, point three above should provide some basis for their development. These objectives are for your guidance they should clearly identify:

purpose for presenting a seminar, what is your justification for taking up the time of your colleagues, being very clear about this. How will the department benefit? How will the individual benefit? What is the relevance of the seminar to the department's goals, objectives and strategy?

learning outcome, what is your topic, what will people learn as a result of this presentation and discussion, how does it relate to the department's goals objectives and strategy?

prepare a series of questions that will help participants make links between their own experiences and what is being presented and use these to guide the development of your program.

How will you use the time allocated to the seminar, how will it be proportioned between?

input activity or exercise. The answers you wrote in relation to

'Designing the seminar', will help you develop your seminar plan. In particular, 'What is it that you want people to learn?' and 'How can you help them to know that?'

Developing interest in the seminar

Why would people be interested in attending?

Who would be interested in attending? What will you tell them about the event? How can you let them know about the

event?

Answers to these questions will enable you to prepare a statement about your seminar. You want people to come so make it brief but interesting, remember to include date time and venue.

E-mail is a good way to get in touch with people, you may wish to post a notice on your staff electronic bulletin board or drop a note in colleague's pigeon holes. Remember to follow up key people personally, the best publicity is word of mouth, get people talking about it so there is a sense of anticipation and people are looking forward to the event. Invite your Head of Department personally.

Implementation: Running the seminar

Introduction This is where you set the tone for the

seminar. It is important to strike a balance between seeming well organized but not determined to control the program too tightly. An overhead that announces the topic and the session plan can be displayed as you welcome people and outline your objectives for the session.

Learning Stimulus It is good practice to start with a simple activity

that will enable all to participate from the beginning, contributes to a sense of camaraderie and increases the energy level of the group. The activity needs to be relevant to the topic andprovide an opportunity for people to draw on their own relevant prior knowledge. See the activity in Sample Seminar Plan. With a few words to conclude the activity affirming peoples contribution and connecting it to what is to follow.

Learning What is it that you want to share with

people?What is it that you want people to learn?How can you help them to know that?

Your answers to these questions form the basis for this part of the program. This will probably involve you in some telling but keep this to a minimum; remember that the definition of a seminar is 'for discussion and research, a meeting for systematic study'. Your telling needs to be the catalyst to allow people to explore the topic for themselves. As the director of this learning experience guide the conversation with a series of questions that ask people to make connections between the topic and their own teaching or research, this will enable learning integration. Your task is to outline the issue. Provide sufficient context to people to understand your findings or conclusions then ask for their contribution.

Learning reflection

Use some further questions or an activity to bring the discussion to a close. These questions or activities should be reflective, focusing on what has been learnt during the session. It may take a form that will be helpful to you in your own review and evaluation of the session. Conclude with a short remark indicating how the discussion has enlarged your own view and thanking the participants for their contribution to your own learning.

Review/Evaluation

An important part of scholarly practice is reflection and evaluation

Reflection to consider what happened, what was observed, what was learnt (on your part as well as by others), were the outcomes achieved, did any thing unexpected occur, what have you learnt that will enable you to improve on your seminar presentations in the future. As you replay the event in your mind make a note of anything significant. A scholarly evaluation would consider evidence from several sources, here where we consider a single seminar it is important to keep some perspective. As in all evaluations, be clear about what you want to know, in this instance you probably want to know the extent to which you achieved your objectives and some idea of how to improve future seminar presentations.

Asking the participants Asking yourself

The following is a simple checklist to help you focus on your own contribution to the seminar. Write a brief note beside each question.

Was the pre-seminar planning adequate? Was the session plan appropriate? Was there a balance betweentelling and discussing? Did the entire group participate? Were others able to contribute to the generation of

new knowledge? Did I introduce the topic sufficiently? Did the first activity involve people in the topic? What was the highlight of the session? Why? What was the low point of the session? Why? How could I present this seminar differently next

time?

The evaluation process is not complete until you have made a judgment based on the evidence. In this case you have data from the participants and the product of your own reflection on the event. As in any other evaluation, focus on what your data suggests which you were not aware of as much as on what it confirms what you expected. Write a brief note in your journal about the seminar based on this evidence and include the recommendations that you believe will improve the planning and implementation of a seminar in the future. You may chose to make a more formal report about the seminar, if you are undertaking this activity as part of an accredited program you will have access to more detailed guidelines for an Evaluation Report in the Subject Guide.

Planning

Opening Discussion Canvas participants' previous experience

in relation to the topic.Introduction Provide a brief introduction to establish

the context, perhaps one or two references to relevant literature and a mention of the departmental context.Link back to the participants contribution to the opening discussion.

Outline what it is you have been doing what you learned the conclusions you have reached. Discuss use the questions you developed in the planning

phase to provide sequence and focus to the discussion

Learning Outcome: what is that you want participants to learn? how can you help them do that? Time: develop a time frame for the session. mixture of input, activity and discussion.

Input: Refer to the questions you developed in the

planning Establish a series of sub topic headings that will

enable you to quickly get back on track after a question or discussion and that will keep you moving through the material in a logical sequence

Learning reflection Develop a key question that will enable people to

discuss the relevance and possible application of your findings into their own practice or context

Evaluation Develop two to three key questions

that will enable the participants to tell you in what ways the seminar was useful to them.

Refer to: Making Judgments taking Action

SEMINARS

VALUING LIBRARY SERVICESMain Library, UP Los Banos, Los Banos LagunaJune 2, 2009Pasamba, Nehemias A., MLSMission College, Thailand

ABSTRACTWith the downturn of American economy and the subsequent worldwide recession, libraries will be one of the sectors whose budgets and staff will be decreased, if not abolished. But crisis brings not only danger of reduction or death but also opportunity. This is the time when librarians can assess their position and create some strategies for change in order to survive and possibly come out strong. One of those strategies is the valuing of library services. This procedure, although commonly done in public libraries in libraries competing for community budgets in advanced countries are rarely done in Asian libraries.

By putting monetary values to the number of books and periodicals circulated, reference questions answered, internet connection hours used, and a host of other services in a spreadsheet (to be demonstrated in the seminar), and comparing it to the shrinking budgets, the stakeholders (librarians, as well as the administrators) will be able to see the great value of library services. Once valued, the amount of services can be benchmarked and increased through more strategies of intensive marketing. The recommendations are: for all libraries to incorporate valuing in their annual budgets andstatistical reports; for national organizations to set the price for each service and benchmark the libraries around the country; and for the CONSAL to set standards for the specific items, collect data and make further recommendations to invigorate library and information services in theregion.

“The Evolving Roles of Librarians and Information Providers in the Electronic Age”

Main Library, UP Los Banos, Los Banos Laguna June 2, 2009 ALAP Celebrates 37th Anniversary To commemorate its 37th foundation anniversary, the

Agricultural Librarians Association of the Philippines (ALAP) conducted a forum and general assembly on June 5, 2009 at the UP at Los Baños Main Library. In spite of the inclement weather, the forum, entitled: Insights from CONSAL: the Evolving Roles of Librarians and Information Providers in the Electronic Age, was attended by more than 30 members coming from various parts of Luzon.

Two librarians shared their thoughts in this gathering. Mila Two librarians shared their thoughts in this gathering. Mila Ramos, IRRI Chief Librarian, talked about insights from Ramos, IRRI Chief Librarian, talked about insights from CONSAL. Her presentation focused on CONSAL participation CONSAL. Her presentation focused on CONSAL participation and snippets of keynote and selected relevant concurrent and snippets of keynote and selected relevant concurrent presentations. Mr. Nehemias Pasamba, Acquisitions and presentations. Mr. Nehemias Pasamba, Acquisitions and Media Librarian of Mission College, Saraburi, Thailand, Media Librarian of Mission College, Saraburi, Thailand, discussed valuing library services. This is a vital quantitative discussed valuing library services. This is a vital quantitative tool for assessing the value of library services in an tool for assessing the value of library services in an organization. organization. The general assembly followed the forum. Three other The general assembly followed the forum. Three other librarians from IRRI participated in this activity, namely Lea librarians from IRRI participated in this activity, namely Lea Delos Reyes, Emerald Lansangan, and Carmelita Austria. Delos Reyes, Emerald Lansangan, and Carmelita Austria. This forum was accredited by the PRC Board for Librarians This forum was accredited by the PRC Board for Librarians with 3 CPE credit points. with 3 CPE credit points.

Seminar: Exercising Leadership in the Library

April 24, 2009 UPH Library, Binan Laguna Seminar: Exercising Leadership in the Library : Your Career

Option?” Prof. Lourdes T. David Library Director Ateneo De Manila University The Association of Laguna Librarians (ALL) in partnership

with ZDRiVE, Inc. is inviting librarians, library managers/administrators, teachers of Library and Information Science and other library personnel to a One-day seminar entitled "Exercising Leadership in the Library: Your Career Option? on April 24, 2009 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the University of Perpetual Help Laguna Library, Sto. Nino, Binan, Laguna. The seminar fee is Php 500.00.

The Seminar objectives are:

To help librarians, managers, and other library personnel to develop their leadership skills;

To examine how leadership qualities help to overcome the challenges commonly encountered by the libraries;

To develop a core of knowledgeable, dedicated and motivated individual who will undertake various leadership responsibilities;

To identify personal career latitude and ; To determine the auspices to career

actualization.

THANK YOU……….