Workplace Essential Skills Training Module

2. Digging In

(Note: paragraphs formatted like this on this page are facilitator comments.)

Lay out the full WES series. Include all videotapes and workbooks. Also provide computers so that folks can access the website. Invite everyone in the group to explore these resources. Provide a vcr - or two, if at all possible (with earphones) - so that people can preview the tapes.

Give participants approximately 30 minutes to explore the resources. Provide the following (loose) instructions:

• Your primary task is to familiarize yourself with these resources and begin to evaluate their potential value in your program.
• You may review the resources on your own or with other participants.
• You may look at the workbooks, the videotapes, the website - or, if you are feeling particularly ambitious, two or all three.
• As you review the resources, write down any questions that occur to you. Try to come up with 3-5 questions (if you are working on your own) or 5-7 questions (if you are working in a small group.)
• There are no rules for how to do this. This is free time for you to investigate. You will have 1/2 hour.
• Go!

The purpose of the above activity is to, in some measure, create a microcosm of the kind of scenario participants will likely encounter in their programs. They receive new resources, have no idea where to start. They are competing for VCRs, computers, videotapes, workbooks, etc. There are no rules, no real guidebooks for how to do this.

This process may be hectic - participants may be confused and/or frustrated, but I think that's okay, even desirable. There are a couple of things that should, with luck, come out of this session - the first of which is participant questions. These questions will help guide the training day. The second thing to come out of this session is a sense of buy-in re: why this training is crucial. Seeing how much there is to absorb (and perhaps not knowing where to start) will provide some people with the necessary incentives to maintain focus.

Discuss the above activity and ask participants to share their questions. Record these questions on a flipchart. Then ask participants how they feel about this whole process.

Explain why you started this way - to reinforce an "inquiry" approach, to use authentic questions to ground the training, to simulate the "in-program" experience, and to help participants recognize:

• the amount of material available
• the challenges of integrating multiple resources (print, online, video)
• the value/necessity of professional development & the relevance of this training

Keep participants' questions posted in the room - as a guide throughout the day. Be sure to refer back to these basic questions as the training proceeds.