Technical Assistance
Introduction
| Providing
Technical Assistance Overview
Delivering Training Overview
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6Design
The design phase involves building the skeleton
of your training. You are not yet developing the content or the
instructional materials. Adding the muscle and skin comes later.
The first priority is to determine what you want to accomplish and
make sure it addresses the real needs by drafting a design document.
The design document will include at least the following information:
- Title and time frame
- Educational objectives
- Outline of steps or content to be learned
- Performance test
- Cost estimate
Title and Time Frame
You don’t have to do this first, but make sure your document
contains a working title and time frame. Choosing a clear working
title can help you sharpen your objectives and stay focused on the
needs of your audience. For example, you might use a working title
like, "How to Secure In-Kind Donations." It also helps
others easily recognize what you are trying to accomplish. After
outlining steps and content, you can estimate the amount of time
needed. If you are locked in to a specific time frame, you should
acknowledge that at the beginning of the design phase.
Educational Objectives
Next, write objective(s), noting the difference between goals and
objectives. In training, you may have some overall goals for development
of the learners, but the objectives should:
1. Be stated in terms of what the participants will be able to
do
2. Describe observable behavior
3. Use simple, clear language
How can you meet all of these criteria? A simple tool is to write your objectives by completing this sentence: "As a result of this training session, the participants will . . ." If this is difficult, your training session is likely headed in the wrong direction. Many objectives are written toward what the presenter will do. For example, "To teach the foundational principles of fundraising," or "To present best practices in developing a board of directors." In contrast, training means that the participants will be able to do something they couldn’t do before. When you can state what that "something" is, you will be on your way to shaping a good training experience.
Using action words will help you describe observable behavior. Avoid words that are difficult to observe, such as, "As a result of this training session, the participants will be able to appreciate …," or "understand," "realize" or "feel more confident." Try using action words like, "will raise larger donations," "recruit volunteers," "write job descriptions," "apply for a state or Federal grant" or "create a brochure for their organization." As a test, read your objective to another person over the phone and ask if he or she can easily visualize the learners doing it. Some authors and educators advocate going beyond these three simple guidelines by adding conditions and standards to your objectives or making sure they are S.M.A.R.T objectives: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-stamped. If this is helpful, write longer, more complete objectives. Just make sure that other people can understand them when you are done. If your objectives are too long or unclear, ask a peer to edit them. |
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| Outline
Steps Next, write out all the steps and sub-steps required to be able to attain this objective. What content do they need to know in order to do all of these steps? In other words, what do the learners need to know, feel and do to attain this objective? You can rely on your own experience, use printed resources or ask practitioners and experts what should be included. Put this together in an outline sequenced in a way to make learning easier for the participants. |
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Performance Test
The design phase requires you to actually write the test the learners
will take at the end of the training session. This can be a paper
and pencil test of basic knowledge or an exercise for performing
the skill in the classroom. You can also choose other assessment
methods such as developing a portfolio, observing them in the field
or even measuring organizational results.
Choose a way to test that matches your educational objective. For example, if you are designing a workshop on working with major donors, you might have the participants write out a script and use it in front of the class in a role play. If you are designing a session on managing grants, you might test them on their grasp of foundational principles or have them turn in the draft of a proposal within three months. This helps you in the next phase as you develop the training material because you will be "teaching to the test."
Cost Estimate
At this point, unless money is no object for your organization,
you may want to estimate the cost of developing and implementing
this training design. If it is too expensive, you can go back and
adjust the outline without having to throw away handouts, slides
and other media and content. If you are well within budget, you
can move ahead with confidence.
If you know the material, you may wonder why you need to bother with a design document. Why not just sit down and write the lesson materials? Some people may build a house without using blueprints, but drafting plans before building can save a lot of time and money. Also, you can show your plans to other people and get the added benefit of their creative ideas. This can improve the overall quality of your training experience. After your blueprint is complete, show it to others. The feedback you receive completes an evaluation loop. When you are satisfied with your design document, get it approved and get ready to start building your workshop.
Introduction
| Providing
Technical Assistance Overview