Guidance to Trainers

Organising the workshops

The trainers need to split up the total number of participants in smaller groups so that each trainer is responsible for facilitating one smaller group (for example, if there are 2 trainers and a total number of 60 participants, each of the trainers will work with a group of 30 participants).

The key advantages of this set-up are:

 Introductions, plenary sessions, and plenary feedbacks are more easy to handle and do not take too much time

 Time to discuss small group work in plenary is sufficient for proper presentation, discussion and feedback and each group will have the chance to share

 Keeping track of participants records and note taking of key issues is easier to manage

What Head Teachers/WEC need to bring with them for the SDP training

The training is designed to build skills which head teachers need for developing a school development action plan These skills include 1) the use of qualitative information such as the views and priorities of key stakeholders i.e., pupils, teachers, and parents, and 2) the use of quantitative data from the school administration1 and the School Information System, such as:

 Information on school finances (income, expenses), school resources inventory (classrooms, desks, equipment, teaching and learning materials), pupil information records, pupil's academic records, pupil admission book, pupil class attendance list, teaching staff information records, records on teacher attendance, PTP activities, etc.

 And SIS monitoring charts on: o Professional development o Community development o School activities record sheet o WEC school visits/meetings

A third source of information important to include in the school development action plan are the community education needs and community contributions to school improvement. This information is recorded on:

 The list of prioritised community needs

 The one-year community action plan (developed during C4 training)

When you invite the participants to the training please ask the participants to bring the list of prioritised community needs, and the one-year community action plan with them.

Please make sure that participants understand that we are not going to judge the accuracy of the information they bring with them (although it will become clear that accurate and up-to-date data are important for the development of an achievable and affordable school development action plan)

1 Records or documents mentioned in the MoEVT head teacher toolkit (2013), SIS forms

What trainers need to prepare before the workshop sessions start Make sure that you have enough flip chart paper, pens, marker pens, masking tape and paper with you for each session.

For some sessions you need to prepare in advance flip chart size matrixes and other tables for small group work:

Session 1:

 A flip chart paper with: o The 3-day time schedule of the training o The key objectives and expectations of the training o Domestic arrangements

 A flipchart visualising the link between previous training in "Community Education Needs Identification" and this first 3-day training in "School Development Planning" (copy the figure below):

EQUIP-T has been introduced Results:

Community level

Linking school and community

School/classroom level

Community Education Needs identified

School development planning

School/ Committee members trained

PTPs are formed

Income generating activities

Session 3:

 Example SWOC matrix on flip chart, one for each small group (see Annex 2)

 Sufficient copies the five SWOC matrixes (A4) for detailed school analysis to hand out to participants (see Annex 3)

 Hard copies of the illustration which pictures a teacher using the Big Book (as an example of an opportunity for the school).

Session 4:

 Enough copies of the "Who When How Where" Table (Annex 3) for each participant to fill in

Session 5:

 Cards (A, B and C) for the listening exercise (see Session 5, point 24 and 25), enough sets for practising this exercise in pairs

Session 7:

 Example preference ranking table on flip charts, one for plenary practice, one for each small group (see Session 7, point 41)

Session 8:

 Examples of objectives, targets and activities on A4 paper (one per A4 paper)

 Enough copies of the Participant Guide to hand out at the end of this session

Session 9:

 Flip chart size School Development Action Plans, one for each small group

 District level trainers training HT/WEC have to print enough A3 copies of the Action Plan for their participants to fill in, plus spare copies (See Annex 1, school development action plan format)

 5 Activities that can be funded through the PTP grant, and 5 activities that can NOT be funded through the PTP grant. Each activity written on an A4 paper

Session 10:

 Flip chart size School Development Action Plan (Annex 1 trainers guide) for demonstration purposes

 Enough copies of the School Development Action Plan for each participant to fill in, plus a number of spare copies

Session 11:

 3-5 Topics that will guide the focussed group discussion on writing the school development action plan (the purpose of the focussed group discussion is to generate information on problems participants have faced, whether or not they have solved them and how, issues that are misunderstood or understood in different ways, etc.)

 Check if you have enough spare copies of the School Development Action Plan (Annex 1) in case participants need to start afresh.

Session 12:

 Enough copies of the "What to do next and when" Table (Annex 8) to plan what to do to develop the School Development Action Plan and when to do it

Notes on group work

Always make three things very clear before participants begin group work: Task, Time and Feedback:

 Task: Make sure that participants understand clearly what they have to do (this is really “A MUST” if participants are doing group work). Properly check if participants fully grasp the points intended for the said activity Once they have begun it is sometimes useful to go around and check understanding and clarify any points.

 Time: Make sure participants know exactly how long they have. If by any chance they appear not to have progressed as far as you would wish; valuable discussion is still going on; and you have further time available, then renegotiate the timing with the whole group. Stop the activity to do this rather than just letting things run on. This way participants will not get into the habit of assuming that the time set does not matter. Groups may appoint a timekeeper to make sure that groups stick to the timing so that they progress accordingly.

 Feedback: Before they begin a task, it is helpful if participants know what the reporting arrangements will be i.e. whether they have to write on flipchart, choose / elect / appoint a reporter, etc. Also set a time limit set for each feedback report Say 10-15 minutes or whatever is deemed necessary. Items to be discussed in here must be within or what is relevant to the topic. Sometimes, participants can be saying out of context issues. If there is really a need to resolve / address such issues, best to be resolve them in another session. Furthermore, be conscious of the time frame, and elect a rapporteur Remember, that sometimes it might not be necessary to have any feedback; the activity or discussion itself might be sufficient. Even so, make this clear to participants before they begin.

Facilitator skills (tips and tricks)

Use the following tips and tricks to make sure that all participants are actively participating during the workshop (both in plenary sessions and during small group work):

 Make regular eye contact with all participants

 When participants are working in small groups, walk from group to group. Only interfere if you notice that the group has misunderstood the exercise or if they got stuck and do not know how to progress (using the listening chair).

 Participants sometimes ask for more clarification or definitions (for instance the definition of "good or bad listening", or of "objective" and "target") before the exercise started. Do not give them the definitions but tell participants that they will get the answer to their questions by doing the exercise and during plenary feedback

 During plenary feedback, do not explain and lecture. Instead, use the "points to emphasise" to ask further questions (probing) to make participants think for themselves.

 Do not be afraid of silence after you asked a question. Give participants time to think and phrase an answer ("count to ten")

 The Listening Chair: When participants are working in groups, if furniture permits, place an extra chair in the group so that you can slide in and listen without disturbing the discussion too much. This is much less intrusive than standing over the group.