Wednesday’s Agenda

• Group training designs

On Monday of this week we were divided into three groups of six participants. Each group selected a topic to create a one-hour training session. All of the information that we learn this week is geared to help us with the design of this session so that we can put the theories immediately into practice.

I purposely selected a group that was not focusing on technology training. I wanted to stretch out of the area where I normally do most of my training. My group was initially the “staff training group” and we eventually settled on the topic of stress management for our one-hour presentation.

My other group members are all from smaller, public library systems. It was interesting to hear the challenges they face in their roles and systems.

We spent today in our groups working on our design, visual aids, and doing run throughs of our presentations. One lucky group gave their presentation today. The other two groups give their presentations tomorrow. This training is mentally exhausting. When I travel I bring books to read and always have the best intentions of catching up on email and other tasks that I don’t have time to do at home. I find though that I am too tired to read or think about anything after the end of a long day. Tomorrow will be even longer as we have to give our presentations, sit through training, then drive home!

Tuesday’s Agenda

• 2-minute presentations
• Building a healthy workshop climate
• Selecting appropriate training techniques
• Visual aids for successful training
• Pulling it all together
• Group training design project time

Day 2 begins with each of the 18 participants giving a 2-minute presentation on how to do something. I did a demonstration of how to do the Heimlich maneuver. The rest of the group was much more creative. We learned how to belly dance, make a pinwheel, make a paper airplane, power walk, deep breathe, make a candy bar wrapper, and hip hop dance.

2-minute presentations are a great way to see each other’s presentation style and is a fun ice breaker for the group.

As part of our building a healthy workshop climate we discussed group development. What’s been fascinating for me is to watch and observe the group development and group dynamics within our large and small groups. It’s something I’ve never given much thought to but the topic coincides with what I am learning in my interpersonal communication theory class.

Group development explains why the dynamics of a group can change so much with the addition of a new group member or with the absence of a group member. Think of a family member coming to visit at the holidays. The same group behavior and dynamics occur on a smaller scale with every session or class you teach.

The master trainer program in North Carolina is about ten years old and aims to train librarians to become trainers of their coworkers and public. The project is federally funded through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Statewide Leadership Grant, administered by the State Library of North Carolina. You can read more on the Master Trainer Web site.

I was in the last master trainer class in 2006. I completed the first week of training and then shortly afterwards was placed on bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy. Since I missed the second phase of the training, I was unable to complete the program. Why did I chose to apply and go through the entire program again? I think it says a lot about the program and how the reputation the program has in North Carolina. In addition to wanting a sense of completion I look forward to the network of other trainers that graduates of the program become a part of.

This year’s class has added asynchronous learning through a blog, blog comments, and Internet videos. Prior to meeting face-to-face this week we’ve learned about how adults learn, building a healthy workshop climate, and designing effective visual aids. Looking forward to an energizing week!