Time to learn and time to develop
Of course, this placed a huge burden on these core stakeholders. It required them to completely re-think their approach to instruction, adapt their approach to the role of a facilitator and coach, develop new forms of self discipline, learn to use the technology, and then understand how and when to use it appropriately within the context of a Rich Environment for Active Learning. They were also expected to work with the media developers in preparing the resources they needed (in this case a large number of simulations) while maintaining their existing role as formal classroom and workshop facilitators. The training and professional development of the trainers to adapt to their new role and competence demands was one of the important learning points of the project. A 'train the trainer' programme early in the project proved inappropriate. Most of the learning came through practice, hands on work, feedback from piloting and importantly, regular reflections and discussions with the project leaders and the evaluator. In the meantime, the trainers also discussed the value of a 'community of practice' for ongoing trainer development and for knowledge and practice exchange. FAS has taken some tentative steps in establishing such a community, as well as defining the role and competencies that their trainers will need to acquire and develop in the future. As a result, a new approach to training trainers has been developed as a prototype and will be refined if the proposal for a new project to the Leonardo da Vinci programme is accepted.
...continue to coaches at HP
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