Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
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EXERCISE TEN
Choosing the Best Training Activities to Meet an Objective
Number of people: one to many
Minimum time: 20 minutes
Materials: copy of the form below
If you are working alone, write your answers on the form. If
you're working in a group, discuss each item, try for a
consensus, and have someone record the group's opinion. You may
want to use some sort of voting scheme when filling in the
ratings (step 3).
PROCESS
1. Write the learning objective you wish to achieve.
2. Try to find or create at least three activities that address
the objective. Describe them briefly in the boxes provided. (A,
B, and C are for identification; they don't indicate a rating.)
3. Rate each activity against the list of criteria. There are
several ways to do this: you may want to rate Activity A on all
the criteria, then Activity B, then C. A suitable code would be
(+) for good, (0) for neutral, and (-) for not good. On the
other hand, you might prefer to decide which activity is best
according to each criteria and put a check in its column.
4. Tally your ratings: add the +, 0, and - codes as if they were
+1, 0 and -1, or if you used check marks, add them up. But also,
think about which criteria are most important to you and think
about the discussion you probably had as you did the ratings.
Then decide which activity seems most promising overall.
5. Consider the discussion questions at the end of the rating
sheet.
A B C
___ ___ ___ On target; will fulfill the objective.
___ ___ ___ Compatible with learning style preferences of group.
___ ___ ___ Effective; most participants will reach the desired
level of competency.
___ ___ ___ Efficient; requires a relatively short amount of time
in light of the results expected.
___ ___ ___ Taps motivation and interest of the group.
___ ___ ___ Active learning; participants actually practice the
skills or use the knowledge.
___ ___ ___ The application of the learning is clear; there is no
doubt about the implications for the group's work
or the relevance to its goals.
___ ___ ___ The learning activity is "rich"; more than one type
of objective could be fulfilled by it.
___ ___ ___ The activity allows for learning by individuals at
different levels of competence and prior
experience.
___ ___ ___ The method will work at least as well for the group
members who need it most, such as those with less
experience or formal education.
___ ___ ___ The activity is compatible with the group's goals and
principles; for example, in a group dedicated to
democratic participation, the activity should be
compatible with democratic principles.
___ ___ ___ Other criteria______________________________________
________________________________________________________________
___ ___ ___ TOTALS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Activity A:
Activity B:
Activity C:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Is there some combination of the activities which would receive a
higher rating than any of the three alone?
Are there any of the criteria for which a bad rating on that one
criterion alone would rule out an activity?
How much were your ratings influenced by the specifics of your
group's situation? Is your preferred activity likely to rate
well in other situations?
SOURCE: Beyond Experts: A Guide for Citizen Group Training, by
Duane Dale et al, Citizen Involvement Training Project,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1978.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98