Peace Corps appropriate community technology
From Appropedia
[[Image:]]
Appropriate community technology - A training manual
APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY
PEACE CORPS
INFORMATION COLLECTION & EXCHANGE
T0028
An Integrated Approach for Training Development Facilitators
by
The Farallones Institute Rural Center and CHP International, Inc.
in collaboration with
The Peace Corps Energy Project/OPTC
Contract # 81-042-1012
January 1982
Contributors:
Donna Clavaud
Willis Eschenbach
Laura Goldman
Dale Krenek
Ada Jo Mann
Michael Marzolla
John Morgan
Judith Oki
Howard Raik
Christopher Szecsey
Paul Warpeha
Michael Wilburn
Peter Zweig
Printed By:
PEACE CORPS
Information Collection and Exchange
September 1984
INFORMATION COLLECTION & EXCHANGE
Peace Corps' Information Collection & Exchange (ICE) was established so that the strategies and technologies developed by Peace Corps Volunteers, their co-workers, and their counterparts could be made available to the wide range of development organizations and individual workers who might find them useful. Training guides, curricula, lesson plans, project reports, manuals and other Peace Corps-generated materials developed in the field are collected and reviewed. Some are reprinted "as is"; others provide a source of field based information for the production of manuals or for research in particular program areas. Materials that you submit to the Information Collection & Exchange thus become part of the Peace Corps' larger contribution to development.
Information about ICE publications and services is available through:
| |
Add your experience to the ICE Resource Center. Send materials that you've prepared so that we can share them with others working in the development field. Your technical insights serve as the basis for the generation of ICE manuals, reprints and resource packets, and also ensure that ICE is providing the most updated, innovative problem-solving techniques and information available to you and your fellow development workers.
Contents
The Farallones Institute Rural Center
CHP International, INC.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Phase I: Introduction to training
Phase I Calendar
Session 1. Sharing perceptions of appropriate technology: an ice breaker
Session 2. Defining expectations of the appropriate community technology training program
Session 3. Group resource assessment
Session 4. Appropriate educational and learning processes part 1: non-formal education (nfe) and international community development work
Session 4. Appropriate educational and learning processes part 2: adult learning theory and how it is used in this training program
Session 5. Development of facilitation skills criteria
Session 6. Cross-cultural awareness and communication
Session 7. Hollow square
Session 8. Health in a cross-cultural context
Session 9. Community resource investigation
Session 10. An exercise in problem solving: formulating a plan for well-being
Session 11. Communication and listening skills
Session 12. Construction of earthen block molds: a focus on group dynamics
Session 13. Construction of earthen blocks
Session 14. Global energy issues
Session 15. Introduction to the evaluation process
Session 16. Evaluation and integration of training themes
Phase II: Earthen construction and fuel-saving cookstoves
Phase II Calendar
Session 1. Environmental health and sanitation
Session 2. Traditional methods of cooking: an introduction to cookstove technologies
Session 3. Fuel-saying cookstoves: gathering information
Session 4. Cookstove design and innovations
Session 5. Thinking in pictures: introduction to design drawing
Session 6. Introduction to independent study
Session 7. Cookstove operation function and design principles
Session 8. Understanding the cookstove design process and soil mixes
Session 9. Insolation meter construction
Session 10. Cookstove construction
Session 11. Nature of volunteerism: expectations beyond training
Session 12. Food issues
Session 13. The role of the volunteer in development: definition of appropriate technology
Session 14. Stove promotion and dissemination
Session 15. Explaining completed cookstoves
Session 16. Evaluating cookstove efficiency
Session 17. Diagnosing and repairing malfunctioning cookstoves
Session 18. Other responses to fuel scarcity
Session 19. Charcoal production and stoves
Session 20. Custom and food
Session 21. Design and construction of the second stove part one: stove base
Session 22. Alternative cookstoves: presentations
Session 23. Basic nutrition
Session 24. Cookstove operation
Session 25. Cookstove development and innovation
Session 26. Cookstove information and resources/ evaluation of cookstove training
Phase III: Pedal/treadle power
Phase III Calendar
Session 1. Maternal and child health: part 1
Session 2. The path of the sun
Session 3. Introduction to pedal/treadle power
Session 4. Design considerations for pedal/treadle power
Session 5. Classical mechanics: principles of pedal/treadle power
Session 6. Use of appropriate aids to communication
Session 7. Maternal and child health: part 2
Session 8. Part one: familiarization with materials and tools
Session 8. Part two: familiarization with the bicycle
Session 9. Introduction to design considerations
Session 10. Presentation of designs
Session 11. Construction of pedal/treadle-powered devices
Session 12. Blacksmithing and metalwork
Session 13. Appropriate technologies for health
Session 14. Case studies in community health
Session 15. Preparation for pedal/treadle presentations* *
Session 16. Heat transfer
Session 17. The role of the volunteer in development: international development part 1: the green revolution: successes and failures
Session 18. Presentation of pedal/treadle-power devices
Session 19. Volunteers in development part one. Women in development
Session 20. Mid-program evaluation part one : program evaluation
Phase IV: Solar water heaters
Phase IV Calendar
Session 1. The role of the volunteer in development: international development part 2: the green revolution: successes and failures
Session 2. Introduction to solar water heaters
Session 3. Assessing community water needs and uses
Session 4. Introduction to solar water heating: determining hot water demand
Session 5. Plumbing a solar water heater
Session 6. Sizing a solar water heater
Session 7. Demonstrating a technical concept
Session 8. Shade mapping and solar siting
Session 9. Design of solar water heaters.
Session 10. Construction of solar water heaters
Session 11. Multi-media standard first aid
Session 12. Wind technology
Session 13. Volunteer in development part 2: women in development
Session 14. House design in four climates
Session 15. Presentation of solar water heaters
Phase V: Solar agricultural dryers
Phase V Calendar
Session 1. Introduction to agricultural dryers
Session 2. Tour of solar dryers
Session 3. Solar agricultural dryer design procedures and rules of thumb
Session 4. Two-hour dryer construction
Session 5. Review of existing solar dryer plans
Session 6. Smoke testing solar dryers
Session 7. Introducing new technologies: solar dryers
Session 8. Design of solar agricultural dryers
Session 9. Site selection and preparation
Session 10. Construction of solar agricultural dryers
Session 11. Issues and methods in development and diffusion of appropriate technology
Session 12. Natural cooling
Session 13. Approaches to health systems
Session 14. Nutritional gardening
Session 15. Practical drying tips
Session 16. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Session 17. Dryer assessment and modification
Session 18. Introduction to cost benefit analysis (cba)
Session 19. Presentation of solar dryers
Session 20. Introduction to the final phase of the training program
Phase VI: Concluding the program: The energy fair
Phase VI Calendar
Session 1. Orientation to final assessment and evaluation
Session 2. Preparation for the energy fair
Session 3. The energy fair
Session 4. Final clean-up and project disassembly
Session 5. Energy fair evaluation
Session 6. Training program evaluation
Session 7. Resources
Appendices
Appendix A: Skills for development facilitators
Appendix B: Two-week workshops
Appendix C: Bibliographies
The Farallones Institute Rural Center
The Farallones Institute is a nonprofit organization active in the development of appropriate community technologies, with an emphasis on renewable sources of energy and food systems. Areas of expertise include:
* Design and implementation of training programs, with a focus on experiential learning and the acquisition of integrated skills
* Development of educational materials
* Resource gathering and information sharing
* Design, use and evaluation of smallscale technologies
* Study trips to rural China
* Consulting services
15290 Coleman Valley Rd.
Occidental, California 95465
(707) 874-3060
CHP International, INC.
CHP International, Inc. is a consulting firm specializing in the design, management and evaluation of international training programs. It develops and conducts technical, crosscultural and language programs in Latin America, Asia and Africa. In addition, CHP International, Inc. leads staff development workshops in the techniques necessary to effectively implement competency based and experiential training programs.
1010 WEST LAKE STREET OAK PARK. ILLINOIS 60301 (312) 848-9650
Preface
This training manual represents more than two years of involvement with the Peace Corps Energy Project. The manual was begun in October 1979 as one component of a pilot training program undertaken by the Farallones Institute and CHP International, Inc., and has been completed in accordance with the terms of a second contract.
During that time, we have written a preliminary draft, a revision of those materials, and the current training manual. In addition, we have conducted four training cycles at the Farallones Institute Rural Center, based in large part upon the content of this manual.
We believe that our involvement has produced a valuable and adaptable learning tool. However, the manual must continue to be tested, evaluated and modified in order to reflect changing needs and circumstances. It is our hope that you will contribute to that process, and that you will help make the manual more appropriate and useful during future training programs.
If you have observations or suggestions about the contents, methods or approach included in the manual, please contact the authors at the Farallones Institute or CHP International, Inc.
Acknowledgments
Appropriate technology reminds us that before we choose our tools and techniques, we must choose our dreams and values, for some technologies serve them, while others make them unobtainable.
Tom Bender, in Rainbook
There have been many valuable sources of support during the development of the program and training materials. It is only with the help of many people that we have been able to document the various tools and techniques that we have chosen to use in training people to go gently and lightly into the lives of others.
We owe a great deal of gratitude to the people of Peace Corps/ Washington for locating resources and lending sustained support to our efforts throughout the project. Our thanks go to past and present staff of the Peace Corps Energy Project, the Office of Training and Programming Coordination (OPTC), Information Collection and Exchange (ICE), and the ACTION Library.
We are also grateful to the people of the Aprovecho Institute; their substantial contribution to the design, development and testing of the cookstove component has been invaluable.
In addition, our thanks so to the people of the Appropriate Technology Project/Volunteers In Asia, and to the staff of the Hesperian Foundation for their continued help and inspiration. Although we cannot mention them all by name, we also thank the many kind people who have contributed by giving us permission to use materials they have developed.
Special thanks are extended to the members of the Farallones community for their continued support, endurance and patience during the evolution of this project.
Finally, perhaps our most important acknowledgment should go to the Peace Corps trainees who have come to learn and, in turn, to teach. It is with them that we have shared our dreams and values, We hope that the tools and techniques they have chosen will serve the world kindly and well.
Introduction
Basic to the purpose of this program is the belief that appropriate community technology represents as much a process as a philosophy. The process begins when people take an active role in their own education; it continues as they identify not only their needs, but also the resources, abilities and methods that will help them make decisions and address their problems in ways that are both sustainable and locally appropriate.
The philosophy of appropriate community technology reaffirms what most of the world's villagers know inherently -- that culture, social systems, politics, religion, economics and ecology are all threads in the same fabric of community life; and that technology exists only as a tool, a loom upon which all the other threads are woven.
The first role of the community facilitator is to respect and understand the intricacy and interdependence of the factors that define a community. Only then is it appropriate to assist and encourage people to utilize their talents, apply their creativity, and recognize options for change. As the process continues, the facilitator -- in this case, a Peace Corps Volunteer -- works with the community, learning from and building upon traditions and indigenous technologies that have evolved in response to local values, needs and conditions. Appropriate change must happen slowly, carefully, and from within; it should not be the result of outside imposition, regardless of good intentions.
An important part of this program is the recognition that technical expertise is significant and useful only when it is applied in balance with other qualities. It is of little importance for a person to be technically competent without the ability to work in cooperation with others, and help motivate them towards a more self-reliant and healthy life. For this reason, it is essential that future Peace Corps Volunteers develop a variety of complementary skills, knowledge and attitudes that will serve to weave together the many threads of appropriate community technology. This training program is committed to, and based upon, that process and philosophy.
DESIGN AND CONTENT OF THE PROGRAM
The training program is a model for future community work, and therefore emphasizes the parallels that exist between training and Peace Corps service. Throughout the eight weeks of the program, participants are encouraged to take a full and active role in their own education, and to make decisions that will affect them and the people with whom they work and live. They are urged to cooperate with others to identify and use the talents and resources that are available in the group, and to practice skills that help motivate people, instill within them a sense of selfconfidence, and involve them in the process of their own education. In addition, the training program provides an opportunity for participants to examine their values, and to look carefully at the issues that will shape their role as community facilitators.
The approach to training is based on the principles of non-formal education, and is designed to strike e balance between structured learning and guided, yet independent discovery. The sessions, resources and methods that are included reflect the belief that adults are capable of self-direction and creativity when encouraged to apply their knowledge and skills in ways that are relevant to their lives. It is the intent of the program to offer a framework to future Volunteers, so that they may apply what they have learned in training to their service in the Peace Corps.
Program Components
Each of the technical and non-technical areas is related to and integrated with the other components of the program. This design highlights the connection and interdependence between technology and other aspects of development, and provides important parallels to community work. The training components are:
* Earthen Construction and Fuel-Saving Cookstoves
* Pedal/Treadle Power
* Solar Water Heaters
* Solar Agricultural Dryers
* Health and Nutrition
* The Role of the Volunteer in Development
The Technical Areas: Cookstoves, Pedal/Treadle Power, Solar Applications
The program offers skills training In all stages of technological development: the design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair and evaluation of small-scale prototypes and devices. The designs are selected to be as consistent as possible with the realities of rural areas in most of the world, and are based on the following criteria:
* Affordable, and low in capital investment
* Simple and adaptable in both design and scale
* Easily understood by people with little or no formal education
* Responsive to local needs and abilities
* Able to be constructed, operated, maintained, repaired and managed by the users
* Based on the use of renewable sources of energy and local resources, both human and physical
* Characterized by the potential to contribute to local cooperation, self-reliance and good health
During the technical sessions, people are encouraged to modify, adjust or adapt the technologies to meet the requirements of Peace Corps assignments. Participants are urged to concentrate on the process of applying new information and skills in ways that extend beyond the specific designs or techniques used in the program.
Health and Nutrition
This component includes a variety of topics that appear in specific health and nutrition sessions, as well as in each of the other program areas. The material covers
* Regional and global health issues
* Cross-cultural perspectives on health traditions and systems
* Personal health maintenance and first aid
* Basic nutrition
* Maternal and child health
* The application of locally appropriate technologies to promote, maintain, restore and improve the health of the community.
The Role of the Volunteer in Development
The sessions and activities in this component provide a framework and a context for the skills and knowledge gained in the other areas of the program. The materials have been designed to stimulate thought, and to guide people as they articulate their philosophy about appropriate community technology and the role they will take during Peace Corps service. Throughout the component, participants are asked to look at their own cultural perceptions, and clarify their values. They analyze the implications of technological change, and examine the importance of including, in the entire development process, all who will be affected by such change. It is in this component that people learn and begin to apply the principles and techniques of non-formal education and adult learning. Through discussion, reading, role-play and a variety of other activities, people are encouraged to develop and practice the skills that will enable them to be effective and sensitive community facilitators.
Program Themes
A number of related and fundamental themes appear throughout the program; these guide the development of the skills and qualities that will be necessary during Peace Corps service. The themes are introduced in the first week of training, and serve as a foundation upon which the rest of the program is built. Together, the themes illustrate the integrated nature of community work, as well as the parallels that are found in this training program.
In each area and phase of training, there is a focus on:
* Principles and techniques of non-formal education and adult learning
* Methods and approaches to solving problems
* Development issues Cross-cultural perspectives
* Health maintenance and promotion
* The process of assessment and evaluation
Program Phases
The training program is divided into six structured blocks of time, termed "Phases." The first and last serve to introduce and conclude the program; each of the others is organized around a specific technical area, which is integrated with relevant information and activities from the other program components. Some sessions in each phase are designed to help people acquire, practice and apply technical and facilitation skills; others are included as core sessions, and complement the technical material with background information and added perspective. Within each phase, the sessions are presented in an order that helps people build upon previous knowledge, and apply what they have already learned about both technical and non-technical areas of community work. Following are descriptions of each phase.
Phase I: Introduction to Training
The initial phase includes an overview of the content and themes that comprise the program. Here, the learning approach used in training is presented, and the principles of nonformal education are introduced. There is an emphasis on identifying the parallels that exist between training and future Volunteer service: Participants identify and examine the skills and qualities they will need in order to be sensitive and useful in community work, then begin to practice effective communication and facilitation skills.
Phase II: Earthen Construction and Fuel-Saving Cookstoves
In this phase, there is a focus on both acquiring technical skills, and understanding the issues and considerations that influence the development of cookstove programs. The sessions in design, construction and application are integrated with related material in health, sanitation and the environment, communication skills, cross-cultural perspectives, and the effects of technological change on traditional societies.
Phase III: Pedal/Treadle Power
The major technical themes are the design, construction, use and potential applications of devices that use the principles of power transfer. These include mobile and stationary dynapods and other human-powered machines. Related studies include: maternal and child health, a view of community health and appropriate technologies, communication skills, and issues in international development. In addition, a mid-program evaluation takes place at the end of the phase.
Phase IV: Solar Water Heaters
In conjunction with the design, construction and use of solar prototypes and devices, there is an emphasis on the importance of needs and resource assessment, and communication and facilitation skills. As part of the health component, first aid training is included in this phase.
Phase V: Solar Agricultural Dryers
In both the technical and non-technical. sessions, there is material included on food preservation and storage, issues of agriculture and land use, and possible methods of improving the health and nutrition status of a community through the use of locally appropriate technologies.
Phase VI: Concluding the Program: The Energy Fair
As training draws to a close, the program themes are gathered and used as a basis for a final project. The participants plan and hold a community-wide energy fair to interest and educate people, and to demonstrate what has been learned during the program. In this phase, people have the opportunity to apply their facilitation and communication skills, and to use their talents and creativity to plan and carry out a major project. There is a focus on all aspects of project development and the evaluation process. In addition, the final phase serves as a transition to Peace Corps service, and to future work in appropriate community technology.
Skills for Development Facilitators
As an outline and a summary of the knowledge, skills and qualities that are important for effective community work, the Skills for Development Facilitators have been compiled for use in this program (See Appendix A). The skills follow each stage and aspect of the facilitator's involvement, and include:
* Taking preparatory steps
* Establishing a dialogue
* Planning with the community
* Using the dialogue approach to carry out projects
* Evaluating the process
The Skills for Development Facilitators represent more than linear steps in the development of appropriate community technologies. They are part of a continuing process of building local selfreliance and capabilities. Each component of the program is designed so that all skill areas are emphasized throughout the phases of training. There is a balance of skill areas included in each phase. These skills are indicated in both the phase calendars and the individual sessions. It is intended that the skills be developed and practiced during the entire program, so that by the end of training people have had the opportunity to move through each stage in the process of community involvement.
NOTES TO THE TRAINING STAFF
This manual is' intended as a resource to help plan, prepare for and conduct a program that is responsive to a variety of training situations. It is probable that you will use the manual in one of two ways: either in its entirety -- as developed, tested and evaluated, or in sections, when there is a need to focus on one or more of the technical components.
We encourage you to modify and adapt the materials to make them more useful. However, when making any changes, it is important to do so with care, in order to maintain the integrated nature of the program. It is essential to the effectiveness of training to provide a balance in the various skill areas, and to help people build upon and apply new knowledge in a way that is ordered and logical. Please read and follow the general guidelines that have been prepared to help you transform these training materials into a dynamic, appropriate tool for learning.
Some First Steps: Planning and Preparation
There are many steps that occur before training actually begins: defining the program, locating a site, identifying participants and staff, gathering resources and materials, and performing a host of other logistical and preparatory tasks that sometimes appear endless, but that must be done before the program can happen. We include here some perspective to help you get started:
* What is the scope and content of your program?
If it is an eight-week appropriate community technology training cycle, then it is probable that very little will change. However, if it is a shorter program, such as one that will be used for in-service training or other workshops, you may follow the calendars designed for that purpose (See Appendix B: TwoWeek Workshops). Even if you will be using only one part of this manual, please read through all the guidelines, and note the design and format of the program.
* Where will training occur?
It is best to choose a site that is conducive to experiential learning. It should include adequate room for people to build the technical devices, work in small groups, and if possible, be outdoors during much of the program. There should be a classroom or meeting facilities at the site, and a reference library where there is a quiet environment for reading and study. Although not essential, it is useful for training to be held in or near a community. Such proximity offers participants the opportunity to gain valuable field experience in assessing needs, working with people to solve problems, and practicing communication and facilitation skills. In addition, there are often many resources available in an established community: schools, libraries, health centers, as well as local organizations, businesses, cooperatives and small industries.
* Who will participate ?
It is likely that the people who enter the program will represent a variety of backgrounds, abilities and outlooks. Use this diversity as a tool to promote learning among participants with sometimes very different levels of technical expertise, education and experience. It is a challenge that is worth the effort of all involved.
During this program, it is expected that a person who has basic practical skills and a desire to learn will have the opportunity to develop sufficient skills, knowledge and attitudes to serve as an effective and sensitive Peace Corps Volunteer. Before training begins, it is helpful to assess the participants' skill levels to get a sense of the experience and knowledge that each person brings to the program. It is also valuable to find out as much as possible about specific Peace Corps assignments, so that people can direct their education to meet future job requirements.
* What are the staff considerations ?
It is important that the entire training staff be familiar with the principles and techniques of non-formal education and adult learning, and that they be comfortable with the educational approach and style of the program. The staff should be flexible, and able to "let go" so that the participants are encouraged to take an active role in their education. When there is faith in the training group, they will respond with a high level of motivation, learning and responsibility. These benefits are well worth any "loss of control" involved.
Staff members should represent a balance of backgrounds and skills, and be able to complement one another's expertise. Each person should have practical skills in one area, an understanding of related issues, and a knowledge of the literature and resources in that field. It is helpful if the staff includes people who have lived and worked overseas, especially in the area of appropriate community technology. We suggest that the staff consist of at least one person in each of the following areas: the technologies (Fuel-Saving Cookstoves, Pedal/Treadle Power, Solar Water Heaters and Solar Agricultural Dryers); health and nutrition; development issues, including perspective on women's roles in the development process; and nonformal education and adult learning.
Although the number of staff will vary with individual programs, it is best if there is at least one staff member for each five participants. This ratio ensures individual attention in all aspects of the program, and helps dispel the "we/they'. dichotomy that sometimes exists between staff and participants.
A staff training workshop should be scheduled before the program begins. This gives the staff an opportunity to build training skills, as well as to establish the cohesiveness necessary-to function as a cooperative and effective team. The person who conducts staff training should be qualified and experienced in the educational approach used in the program, and have expertise in management training techniques. All staff members should participate in the workshop; it is crucial to the success of the program and should not be omitted.
If outside consultants are to be included in the program, consider and select them with care. It is important not to lose the focus of the program by including too many people who may not be familiar with the philosophy, methodology or details of training. However, we do recommend that local resource people be invited to participate in parts of the program, and that consultants be asked to lend perspective and provide additional information. Some suggested consultants include: community workers, appropriate technology practitioners, health and nutrition workers, artisans, farmers, and people who have lived and worked in other countries.
* What resources and materials will be needed ?
For the most part, these will be defined by what is available and appropriate for the training situation. Although very little is essential, we recommend that you follow the resources listed in each session. Use the bibliography as a guide. Each of the entries is coded as to its use and relative importance in the program. (See Appendix C.) Some of the texts are available from Peace Corps, and others must be purchased. Order books, films, slides and any other resource material with time to spare. As much as possible, anticipate training needs so that the materials will be available when they are needed.
Be certain that there are enough tools, supplies and other materials before the program begins. If the suggested items are not available, substitute with something comparable. Use your ingenuity, and you will find that the participants will follow your lead.
If there is not an established reference library at the training site, organize one based on the recommended readings in the bibliography. Include material about the countries in which the participants will serve, and add any other relevant resources. Try to keep the library current so that the resources meet the needs of the people who use them. The care and maintenance of the library may be a responsibility of the training participants once the program is underway.
Note that some of the recommended resources are protected by copyright, and that permission must be obtained before reproducing them for general use.
Remember that resources are usually helpful, but seldom essential. There is as much importance in finding a way to do without something that was considered absolutely necessary as there is in using it for its intended purpose.
* What kind of technical preparation is necessary?
In addition to gathering the tools and supplies, and locating adequate workspace, there is another preparation to be completed. The technical staff should think about the devices and materials to be used in the program, and determine if they are suitable for training purposes, as well as for incountry application. If the technical trainers have not already done so, they should build the prototypes and devices in order to gain added perspective on design considerations, construction techniques, time requirements, potential applications and possible problems. Such devices and prototypes may be used as demonstration models during the program.
* How will training be conducted?
The program may follow the manual design, so that all participants go through the phases at the same time. Although, if the group is larger than nine or ten people, another option may be pursued: that is, Phases II and III, IV and V may be scheduled concurrently. Half the participants learn the technical aspects of one phase, while half of them learn technical aspects of another. However, the core sessions in Health and Nutrition and the Role of the Volunteer in Development are presented to the entire group. For example, as Phase II and III are carried out, half the people concentrate on Fuel-Saving Cookstoves, and half on Pedal/Treadle Power. They are together for a number of core sessions, but during most the the technical sessions, they are involved in different areas. At the end of the phase, the groups switch, and the process is repeated using the core sessions from the other phase. Although the planning and logistics require additional thought and effort, this approach has been successful. It has reduced the need for additional staff, and has encouraged more participation, motivation and creativity as a result of smaller group size.
The Next Steps: Conducting the Program
We include here some considerations that are important to remember as you carry out the program:
* The experiential learning cycle is an essential art of training. Alrought it is not explicitly stated in each session, it is important that people have the opportunity to learn, examine, generalize about and apply new knowledge. Try to follow the experiential learning loop as often as possible, and encourage the participants to be aware of the process.
* Small groups often make learning easier and more lasting. It is helpful to limit the size of groups to three, four or five people. Groups may be formed on the basis of regional or country assignments, skill levels, individual preference, or other criteria established by the staff and participants.
* A variety of educational techniques is most effective. Experiment with role-plays, skits, panel discussions, brainstorming and other non-conventional ideas. Encourage people to use their creativity, and to examine which methods have the potential to be useful in community work. As you facilitate sessions, involve people and try to use techniques that others can learn. Remember that as you teach you will learn Share your knowledge and motivate others to do the same.
* Feedback is an important two-way process. At the beginning of sessions, especially the technical ones, allot some time for discussion of your previous session. Occasionally, use the last part of a session to discuss activities and the facilitation skills of the person or people involved. Make the effort to invite feedback, and to give and receive it with openness.
* Sessions often require preparation. Be certain that you have read through a session, and that you completely understand it before the time comes to present it. Don't go into a session without preparing for it. Both you and the participants deserve the benefits of a session that has been well planned and conducted. Remember to outline the objectives and activities for people before the session begins, so that they will have an idea of what is expected of them and what they will be learning.
* There are often several purposes to each session. For example, the activities may be designed to meet a technical objective, and at the same time provide people with an opportunity to practice facilitation skills and examine group interaction. Highlight the various levels whenever possible, and encourage people to notice them, as well.
* As the program continues, participants become more responsible for the design and implementation of sessions. From the start, it is a good idea to include people as facilitators in selected activities and sessions. As the participants develop skills and self-confidence, they take an increased responsibility for their own education. By the last phase of training, they should be able to conduct nearly the entire program. Urge people to take an active role in facilitating, planning and evaluating a variety of learning experiences.
* Assignments should be coordinated. Make sure that the training staff is aware of the work that has been assigned in each area, so that the participants are not overloaded with multiple assignments. It is also important that the participants understand what is expected of them, and that the purpose of each assignment is clear.
* Scheduled breaks between sessions are essential. Although 10-15 minutes is suggested, more time may be needed, depending on the training circumstances.
* Unstructured time should be included in the program. People need time to think, read, mull over ideas, digest new information, and pursue independent study projects. It is easy to pack too much into an already crowded schedule, and it is not worth the scattered, tense situation that often results.
* Evaluation is a central part of the training program. Encourage people to develop and use criteria for evaluating themselves and the program during the sessions designed for that purpose. In addition, counterpart sessions have been scheduled throughout the program so that staff and participants have time to discuss and evaluate progress. Be certain that the entire evaluation process emphasizes improving skills, building upon strengths, and utilizing what has been learned during the training process.
Using the Manual
One of the keys to the program's success is the appropriate use of the tools and techniques for carrying it out. We include here an explanation of the terminology and format of the manual to help you use it more effectively.
* Phase calendars indicate the schedule for each phase, as well as the skill areas that are emphasized in each session. Use the calendars as references for developing your own schedule, and post and review the schedule before the Start of each phase. It is important that the participants have access to a current and revised schedule so that they can see the flow of sessions and understand the general design of the program.
* Sessions follow a general format. We include a sample to illustrate the design and to explain the terminology used in all sessions.
* Attachments follow each session, and are usually intended for distribution to the participants. The attachments are coded as to phase and session. It is important to know when the attachments will be used, so that they can be copied and distributed when needed. If you wish, the attachments may be separated from the rest of the manual and kept in a binder for easy reference.
* Two-week workshop options appear in the form of 12-day calendars that include relevant core and technical sessions. These workshops are based on the program philosophy, and represent a way to provide comprehensive training when time considerations and other factors preclude a longer program.
* The bibliography (Appendix C) includes all the reference material, texts and suggested resources used in this program. Each component is included, and all entires are coded as to subject matter and relative importance in the program. In addition to serving as a guide to establishing a reference library, the bibliography also may be distributed to the participants at the end of training, to be used as the basis for an expanding resource list.
A final note:
Once training has ended, steps should be taken to bring closure to the program; paperwork must be completed and loose ends gathered. In addition, it is important to allow time for the staff to review what has occurred over the past weeks, to discuss ways of improving the program, and to make the transition from one training cycle to another. Such evaluations should be included in every program; they are worth the time and the effort of all involved.
| A SAMPLE SESSION TO ILLUSTRATE FORMAT AND EXPLAIN TERMINOLOGY | |
| Indicates in which of the six program divisions the session belongs. Each session is numbered in sequence within the phase. | PHASE #: SESSION |
| Tells which of the five major skill areas is emphasized in the session. (See Skills for Development Workers, Appendix A, for more information.) | SKILL AREA # |
| Refers to the numbering of pages in each session. If one phase/session is excerpted from the manual, the sessions will still be numbered so they can be kept in order. | PAGE # |
| SESSION TITLE: | Indicates the subject area being presented. |
| TOTAL TIME: | Gives the approximate time needed to carry out the session. |
| OBJECTIVE(S): | Tells what is expected of the participants and what the session should accomplish. The objectives explain specifically what and why the participants should learn, understand or do. In addition, the objectives provide a way for staff and participants to evaluate the session and the amount of knowledge, skills or under standing that the participants have gained. At the beginning of the session, it is a good idea to review the objectives and have them visible. |
| RESOURCE(S): | Includes recommended and background readings, additional references for the trainer, attach ments and, occasionally, films, slides or other educational materials. All resources are listed in the bibliography. |
| MATERIAL(S): | Refers to suggested supplies and tools needed for the session. |
PROCEDURE(S):
Consists of steps to be followed in order to meet the objective(s). Each step is given an approximate time; however, these are guide lines and may change from program to program.
| Trainer Notes
Appear throughout the session and serve to: * Clarify and explain a procedure * Provide background material and added perspective * Suggest options |
TRAINING PROGRAM CALENDAR
Training program calendar 1
Training program calendar 2
Phase I: Introduction to training
Health and Nutrition
The Role of the Volunteer in Development
Phase I Calendar
| DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | |
| A.M. | SESSION 1:
Sharing Perceptions of Appropriate Technology: an Ice Breaker(Skill Area I) | SESSION 2:
Defining Expectations of the Community Technology Training Program (I) | SESSION 5:
Development of Skill Criteria(II) |
| Tour of Training Site | SESSION 3:
Group Resource Assessment (I) | SESSION 6: Cross-Cultural Awareness and Communication (I) | |
| P.M. | Peace Corps Administrative Orientation | SESSION 4:
Appropriate Education and Learning Processes Parts 1 and 2 (II) | SESSION 7:
The Hollow Square(II) |
| SESSION 8:
Health in a Cross cultural Context | |||
| DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | |
| A.M. | SESSION 9:
Community Resource Investigation, Parts 1, 2 and 3 (I) | SESSION 11:
Communication and Listening Skills (II) | SESSION 14:
Global Energy Issues (I) |
| SESSION 12:
Construction of Earthen Block Molds: A Focus an Group Dynamics (II) | SESSION 15:
Introduction to the Evaluation Process (V) | ||
| P.M. | SESSION 10:
An Exercise in Problem-Solving: Formulating a Plan for Well-Being (I) | SESSION 13: Construction of Earthen Blocks (IV) | SESSION 16:
Evaluation and Integration of Training Themes (V) |
Session 1. Sharing perceptions of appropriate technology: an ice breaker
| Total time: 2 hours | |
| Objectives: | * To get to know one another and encourage communication |
| * To find out what "appropriate technology" means to others in the group | |
| * To set the climate for active participation in training | |
| Materials: | * Four large symbols of the wind, sun, water and earth – drawn on a single sheet of news print paper and posted
* List of underlined questions from Steps 4, 6 and 7 on a single sheet of newsprint * Notebooks, pens |
| Trainer Notes
This session will require careful preparation. See the Trainer Notes under Step 4 for instructions. |
Procedures:
Step 1. (5 minutes)
Give a brief overview of the objectives that have been written and posted.
Step 2. (35 minutes)
Explain that an exercise in learning and remembering names will follow. State the guidelines for the "name game" ant start the exercise.
| Trainer Notes
Any one of various games for remembering names can be employed at this point. One game that has been successfully used is as follows: * Trainer begins by giving his/her name preceded or followed by a word which 1. describes how the trainer is feeling at that moment and 2. begins with the same first letter of his/her name (such as "Mike Motivated" or "Nancy Nervous"). * Moving clockwise around the room, each participant then takes a turn at repeating all the preceding names and descriptors and adds his/her name to the end of the growing list. * The game ends when all participants have added their names and have tried to repeat the list. |
Step 3. (5 minutes)
When the exercise is completed, introduce the next step: exploring perceptions about appropriate technology and getting to know one another better.
Step 4. (10 minutes)
Ask four people to uncover the symbols that have been posted around the room.
| Trainer Notes
Draw symbols for the sun, wind, water and earth. They should be as abstract as possible. Avoid extraneous and possibly interfering or confusing details. The examples should be as simple as possible. The symbols can be covered with a blank piece of newsprint or just folded over from bottom to top and held with tape. Sun Water Wind Earth Post the symbols at an equal distance from each other. practical, have chairs near each one. |
As participants are looking at the symbols, uncover the newsprint page where the following question is written:
Which symbol characterizes how YOU feel right now?
Ask participants to move around the room, examine the symbols and choose one, then move to that area and introduce themselves to others gathered there, sharing each of their reasons for choosing that particular symbol.
Step 5. (15 minutes)
After people have had a chance to talk for 10-15 minutes, ask a volunteer from each group to share some of the themes that came out in their discussions.
Step 6. (25 minutes)
Repeat the process using the following question:
Which symbol best represents what Appropriate Technology means to you?
| Trainer Notes
If there is a great deal of interest in the small groups, you may choose to let this part go on longer. As the groups report back, * encourage brief comments * make some generalizations about what people said in order to point out that many of them may have the same concerns, and * relate their ideas to training goals and the program. |
Step 7. (10 minutes)
When the groups have finished reporting, ask everyone to get their notebooks and reassemble.
Uncover the third and final question:
What symbol (or set of symbols best represents your expectations for the training program?
Ask participants to draw the symbol(s) in their notebooks and individually list their expectations for the coming eight weeks.
Step 8. (15 minutes)
Conclude the session by reviewing the objectives and explaining that participants should keep their responses to the final question for later use as reference during an exercise on expectations.
Session 2. Defining expectations of the appropriate community technology training program
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To review the content and major themes of the program |
| * To define and clarify expectations that the participants have of the training program | |
| * To compare and contrast individual expectations with those of the program | |
| Resources: | * "Introduction to the Appropriate Community Technology Training Manual" |
| * Training Schedule | |
| Materials: | Newsprint and felt-tip pens |
| Trainer Notes
It is important that the training staff participate in this session in order to develop a list of their expectations of the program. |
Procedures:
Step 1. (15 minutes)
Briefly outline and explain the session objectives and activities.
Step 2. (5 minutes)
Have participants refer to the symbols and expectation lists that they have in their notebooks (see Session 7, Phase 1) and spend a few minutes reviewing them.
Step 3. (30 minutes)
Have participants form small groups in which they discuss their expectations of the program. On newsprint, each group should develop a list of their five most important expectations. Then post the list.
Step 4. (45 minutes)
Reconvene the large group and review each expectation for clarity and understanding. Identify which expectations the training will meet directly, those that will be touched upon, those which could be addressed with some schedule changes and those, given the practical limitations of the program, which may not be met.
Step 5. (10 minutes)
Distribute copies of the training schedule and the manual introduction. Explain that the manual introduction presents an overview of the program and an orientation to its overall purpose, while the training schedule will give the participants a day-by-day description of the training. Encourage any questions or discussion.
| Trainer Notes
In order to make the connection between expectations and how they will be addressed during the program, it is helpful to refer to specific sessions that deal with the expectations listed by the group. |
Step 6. (15 minutes)
Conclude the session by facilitating a discussion centered around the following questions.
* Were any of your expectations changed by this activity?
* Was there something that you learned in this session that you were not expecting during training?
* Is there anything that you have heard about the program that has not been discussed?
| Trainer Notes
In addition to clarifying and defining the participant's understanding of the program, this final step helps participants decide whether or not the program meets their needs. |
Session 3. Group resource assessment
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To share the skills, experiences, knowledge and interests of participants and trainers
* To practice gathering information using active listening and interviewing skills |
| Materials: | * Newsprint and felt-tip pens
* "Interview Format" on newsprint (See Step 4) |
| Trainer Notes
In order to promote a sharing of experience among all program participants, it is recommended that the entire training staff engage in this activity. |
Procedures:
Step 1. (5 minutes)
Review the session objectives and procedures.
Step 2. (5 minutes)
Present a short talk on the value of a group resource assessment
| Trainer Notes
The talk should include the following points: * Information gathering will serve as a useful skill during training and as a Peace Corps Volunteer. * One of the first steps when entering a new community is to gather information about the skills, knowledge and experience of the group members in order to better assess the community's resources. * By sharing these resources, we will enrich one another's knowledge and experiences. * During this program we will all be serving in the roles of both trainers and participants at one time or another. |
Step 3. (10 minutes)
Have the group brainstorm a list of interview questions which could help assess the group's skills, knowledge, experience and interests.
| Trainer Notes
The resulting interview questions should be consolidated or in some other way pared down so that the list does not exceed 4 or 5 open-ended questions that will stimulate conversation. One way of providing focus during the brainstorm is to post the key points to be included in the interview: skills, knowledge, experience ant interests. |
Step 4. (5 minutes)
Post and review the interview format.
| Trainer Notes
The Interview Format: Step 1. (5 minutes) Find someone in the group whom you don't know and move to a comfortable, private location. Step 2. (30 minutes/15 minutes per person) Interview one another using the list of questions as guidelines. Step 3. (10 minutes) Complete written reports on the interviews. Step 4. (5 minutes) On a separate sheet of paper, complete the following statements, using the interview reports as a reference: * (Name of Person) can be a resource to our group in the following ways . . . * . . . is interested in finding other group members who . . . Step 5. (10 minutes) Share the interview sheets with your partner and make any modi fications or additions. Step 6. (10 minutes) Post the interview reports and walk around the room scanning the other interview reports and noting any information of special interest. |
Step 5. (1 hour, 10 minutes)
Have the participants interview one another.
Step 6. (10 minutes)
Facilitate a discussion of the group's overall impressions of the resources that exist within the training community.
Step 7. (15 minutes)
Conclude the session by asking the following:
* What do you feel that you learned about interviewing from this activity?
* What advantages and disadvantages do you anticipate in using interviews as a way of gathering information in your host country?
| Trainer Notes
It is helpful to keep the interview reports posted for several days so that everyone can examine them more closely. The reports should then be kept in a place where they are accessible and can be used as continuing resources throughout the program. |
Session 4. Appropriate educational and learning processes part 1: non-formal education (nfe) and international community development work
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To examine the principles of non-formal education |
| * To discuss ways in which non-formal education may be applied in community work | |
| * To review examples of ways in which nonformal education is used in this training program | |
| Resources: | * "Skills for Development Facilitators" (Appendix A) and the Manual Introduction
* Attachment 1-4/1-A, "A Definition of NonFormal Education" * Attachment 1-4/1-B, "A Comparison of Formal and Non-Formal Education" * Attachment 1-4/1-C, "The Participative and Directive Trainer" * Srinivasan, Lyra, Perspectives on NonFormal Adult Learning: Functional Education for Individual. Community and National Develooment, pp. 1-23 |
| Materials: | Newsprint and felt-tip pens |
Procedures:
Step 1. (15 minutes)
Distribute Attachments I-4/1-A and I-4/1-B, "A Definition of Non-Formal Education," and "A Comparison of Formal and NonFormal Education." Read and discuss the definition of NFE found on the attachments.
Step 2. (15 minutes)
Give a brief talk on the background and foundations of NFE and its relationship to adult learning theory. Encourage questions and discussions.
| Trainer Notes
For a concise overview of NFE and adult learning theory, refer to: Srinivasan, Lyra, Perspectives on Non-Formal Adult Learning: Functional Education for Individual. Community and National Development, pp. 1-23. |
Step 3. (20 minutes)
Have participants identify/discuss some general ways in which NFE concepts might help them in their future role as Peace Corps Volunteers.
Step 4. (15 minutes)
Distribute Attachment 1-4/1-B, "A Comparison of Formal and Non-Formal Education," and refer participants to their copies of the Manual Introduction: Skills for Development Facilitators (Appendix A) Briefly explain some of the ways in which NFE is used in this program.
Explain how NFE is integrated into the training program through the "Skills for Development Facilitators" and that participants will have opportunities throughout their training to develop and practice NFE techniques and methods. Mention as examples the "Independent Study" and the "Energy Fair" and point out that these opportunities will be introduced in more detail in future sessions. Also, mention that there will be opportunities to facilitate and cofacilitate sessions.
Step 5. (30 minutes)
Have participants form small groups and discuss any additional ways in which NFE concepts may be integrated into the training program.
Step 6. (15 minutes)
Reconvene the large group and have participants share their ideas. Encourage questions and discussion.
| Trainer Notes
It is probable that in the course of this discussion certain ideas may be presented which would be of value to the program. You should note these and discuss their feasibility with the training staff. |
Step 7. (10 minutes)
Conclude the session by distributing the Attachment I-4/1-C, "The Participative and Directive Trainer." Ask participants to study the list and explain that it will be a resource for the next day's session on the development of facilitation skills criteria.
A DEFINITION Of NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
One definition of non-formal education is that education:
Which takes place primarily outside the school's formal hierarchy which extends from kindergarden to graduate school and
Which is aimed primarily at helping people in such areas as literacy, learning a skill, better farming, better health, better nutrition, etc.
TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT FORMAL AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
1. What should be the basis for selecting students to be educated?
* Formal schools frequently select students because they are already smart and will succeed.
* Non-formal education is more likely to select students because they have problems and need help.
2. How should curriculum be made? Who should make it?
* In formal education, curriculum is made by the "experts" in colleges and ministries.
* In non-formal education, the curriculum arises from the need of the student to know, for example, to increase rice production, limit the size of families or how to run a machine, or prepare a family meal.
3. How should educators be judged on what they do and be accountable for what they do?
* In formal education we say that the results of our work cannot be known for many years, until the child grows up.
* In non-formal education the accountability is usually swift and immediate. The illiterate does or does not become literate. The farmer does or does not use a better variety of rice. The housemaker does or does not improve nutrition for her family.
4. How should we evaluate learners?
* Formal educators like to grade people on the basis of tests and eliminate those who don't make it. We fail them.
* Non-formal educators are more apt to evaluate people in terms of improvements and not to grade them or sort out on the basis of poor grades.
5. What should be the place of individual competition in education?
* In formal education competition is on an individual basis, and in comparison to others.
* In non-formal education, group learning and reinforcement is more apt to be stressed.
6. What is the proper use of time units in education?
* In formal education we count it in years and think it an accomplishment when we can extend a program from two, say, to four years. As a result a person may now spend more than one-third of his life in school.
* Good non-formal programs tent to end as soon as the student learns what he needs to know. In fact, some nonformal research indicates that students learn better in short programs than in long ones.
7. Who can teach?
* In formal education those can teach who are duly certified.
* In non-formal education anyone can teach who knows what is to be taught and how to teach it.
8. Who can learn?
* In formal education those who can learn can be admitted.
* In non-formal education those who have the need to know can be admitted.
9. What should be the role of compulsion in education?
* In formal education we have many devices for making education compulsory, through laws and curriculum and professional requirements.
* Most non-formal education is voluntary and people just as easily walk out of the program if they don't think it meets their needs. The student is the judge, not the teacher.
10. At what age do people learn best?
* In formal education we tend to think that youth is for study and age is for work.
* Non-formal education frequently mixes youth and age and assumes they can learn if they feel the need to know.
Adopted from Cole S. Brenbeck, "What Can Non-Formal Education Teach Formal Education about Innovation," INNOTECH/NEWSLETTER, Sept/Oct 1977, p. 10.
A COMPARISON OF FORMAL AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
| Formal Education | Non-Formal Education |
| A. PURPOSES | |
| 1. Long-tenm and general
Formal education is expected to provide the basis for an individual's whole future life. Therefore (even in technical fields) it is general in character. | 1. Short-term and specific
Nonformal education meets shortterm learning needs of individuals and communities. It therefore emphasizes the learning of specific knowledge and skills and the inculcation of specific attitudes which result in immediately functional behavioural changes. |
| 2. Credential-based
The end-product of formal education is the acquisition of qualifications and certificates which enable individuals to obtain specific socioeconomic positions in the wider society. Rewards are therefore deferred. | 2. Non-credential based
Non-formal education produces learning which is immediately valued in the context of the individual's or community's life situation. Rewards are tangible and may include improvements in material wellbeing, productivity, selfawareness, ability to control the environment, etc. |
| B. TIMING | |
| 1. Long Cycle
Formal education programs are rarely less than one year in length and usually last for much longer periods often ten years or more. One level of study leads immediately on to the next. | 1. Short Cycle
Non-formal education programs are quite short, rarely longer than two years and often much shorter than this. Length will depend on the period required to achieve the learning objectives in question. |
| 2. Preparatory
Formal education is child-centered and futureoriented and provides the basis for future participation in society and economy. | 2. Recurrent
Non-formal education may relate to children or adults, depending on the immediate learning needs arising from the individual's roles and stage in life. |
| 3. Full-Time
Formal education takes place full-time and does not permit other parallel activities, especially productive work. | 3. Part-Time
Non-formal education is part-time and activities may be timed in a variety of ways to meet the needs and convenience of learners. |
| C. CONTENT | |
| 1. Input-Centered and Standardized
The basis of the curriculum for formal education is a welldefined package of cognitive knowledge with limited emphasis on psycho-motor or affective consideration. The content is standardized across large groups of learners. | 1. Output-Centered and Individualized
Non-formal education is task- or skillcentered and designed to produce quite specific changes in the learners. Units are discrete and variable and may be related to the precise functional learning needs of individual participants or small homogeneous groups. |
| 2. Academic
The curriculum is founded in theory and isolated from the environmental and social action. | 2. Practical
The curriculum is dictated by the particular uses to which the learning will be put and consequently is closely related to environment of the learners. |
| 3. Clientele determined by Entry Requirements
Clientele are defined in terms of their ability to cope with the level of education being offered. Literacy is essential (except at the lowest level) and successful completion of lower levels is required for admission to higher levels. | 3. Entry Requirements determined by Clientele
Non-formal education is geared to the needs and interests of the potential clientele. Specific characteristics such as literacy or formal educational qualifications are not essential for admission. |
| D. DELIVERY SYSTEM | |
| 1. Institution-based Formal education takes place in highly visible and expensive institutions called "schools," whose sole purpose is educational. | 1. Environment-based
Non-formal education takes place in a variety of settings but emphasis is given to locales such as the work place or home which are not education-specific. Such specific facilities as are used are minimal and low cost. |
| 2. Isolated Formal education programs are isolated from the socio-economic environment and from social action. Learners are removed from their own environments for substantial periods. | 2. Community-related
Non-formal education is conducted close to where learners live and work and the environment is functionally related to the learning which takes place. |
| 3. Rigidly structured
Formal education is rigidly structured around the parameters of time and the participants' age and/or performance. It involves uniform entry points, is graded into uniform units, is sequential and continuous. Clear inter-relationships exist between different programs. | 3. Flexibly structured
Non-formal education programs have varying degrees and types of structure, but a variety of relationships and sequences is possible within them. Programs are discrete and few relationships exist between them. |
| 4. Teacher-centered
Formal education involves a laborintensive technology and emphasize teaching rather than learning. Authority and control is vested in formally qualified and certified members of a teaching profession. | 4. Learner-centered
Non-formal education uses a variety of resources and technologies. Emphasis is on learning rather than teaching and a variety of personnel (often not professional educators) are utilized as facilitators rather than teachers. |
| 5. Resource-intensive
Formal education utilizes expensive plant and staff, involves a high opportunity-cost of student time and largely draws its resources from outside the immediate surrounding community. | 5. Resource-saving
Non-formal education economizes on resources by utilizing community facilities and personnel (especially at slack times) where possible, by keeping specific facilities low-cost and by part-time study. |
| E. CONTROL | |
| 1. Externally controlled
Curricula and standards are externally determined and publicly controlled or supervised by national bureaucracies. | 1. Self-governing
Control is uncoordinated, fragmented and diffuse, involving a variety of agencies, often nongovernmental. There is substantial autonomy at program and local levels, with an emphasis on local initiative, self-help and innovation. |
| 2. Hierarchical
Internal control is highly structured and based on role-defined relations among teachers and between teachers and learners. | 2. Democratic
Substantial control is vested in participants and the local community. |
Adapted from Tim Simkins, NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Monchecter Monographs, 1976, pp. 12-13.
PARTICIPATIVE & DIRECTIVE TRAINING STYLES
| The Participative Trainer | The Directive Trainer |
| 1. Involves the trainee in creation or revision of program objectives, and/or the identification of individual learning needs and objectives; strives to keep objectives related to where trainee is and wants to go. | 1. Defines objectives for trainee achievement at the beginning of the program; holds to these throughout to maintain consistency and coherence. |
| 2. Assists trainees in identifying possible learning activities and in effectively structuring such activities. | 2. Decides what learning activities are most appropriate and expects trainees to follow this structure. |
| 3. Expects the trainee to learn by exploration and discovery, asking questions, making use of available resources and solving problems. | 3. Expects the trainee to learn primarily by absorbing material through lectures, readings, etc., by memorization or practice and by responding to trainer questions. |
| 4. Involves the trainees in decision-making; invites ideas, suggestions and criticism from the trainees. | 4. Makes the decisions or carries out decisions made by the staff; does not invite suggestions or criticism from the trainees. |
| 5. Structures the training so that unplanned and unexpected problems will be treated as learning opportunities. | 5. Follows the schedule closely; avoids problems or dispenses with them quickly so they will not interfere with the planned sequence or schedule. |
| 6. Promotes cooperative work among trainees and climate of openness, trust and concern for others. | 6. Promotes individual learning effort, accountability and competition among trainees. |
| 7. Promotes self-assessment by trainees and provides feedback of information needed by trainees to evaluate their own progress. | 7. Personally assesses trainee performance and progress, usually through formal tests. |
| 8. Involves the trainees in midcourse or final evaluation of training program, process, materials and its progress toward objectives and elicits suggestions. | 8. Does own mid-course or final evaluation of training program and its effectiveness; draws own conclusions about needed revisions. |
Session 4. Appropriate educational and learning processes part 2: adult learning theory and how it is used in this training program
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To examine different ways that people learn
* To discuss experiential learning as a basic method used in this program * To examine ways in which the experiential learning model may be applied during Peace Corps service |
| Resources: | * Attachment I-412-A, "Learning Style Inventory"
* Attachment I-4/2-B, "Introduction to Adult Learning Theory" * Attachment I-4/2-C, De Vries, James, "Extension, Training and Dialogue: A New Approach for Tanzania" * Ingalls, Andraqogy, pp. 1-12 * Srinivasan, Lyra, Perspectives on NonFormal Adult Learning, pp. 1-23 |
| Materials: | Newsprint and felt-tip pens |
Procedures:
Step 1. (5 minutes)
Begin the session by reviewing the objectives and providing a brief overview of the procedures.
Step 2. (10 minutes)
Distribute Attachment I4/2-A, "Learning Style Inventory," and have participants complete it.
| Trainer Notes
Explain that the purpose of the inventory activity is to help participants understand and examine ways in which people learn best. Ask participants not to read the section on scoring until the inventory has been completed. |
Step 3. (10 minutes)
Explain the scoring procedure and have participants calculate their scores.
| Trainer Notes
Your explanation of the scoring procedures should include a definition of the terms used in the inventory (abstract conceptualization, active experimentation, etc.), and should provide some examples of the meaning of each of the four abbreviations (CE, RO, AC, AK) presented. |
Step 4. (10 minutes)
Briefly discuss the group's scores.
| Trainer Notes
In order to stimulate discussion, ask if anyone was surprised by his/her scores. Ask for reactions to the inventory. |
Step 5. (10 minutes)
Distribute the handout, "Introduction to Adult Learning Theory," and give the participants time to read it.
Step 6. (10 minutes)
Facilitate a discussion of the basic concepts mentioned in the handout by asking how those concepts relate to the four learning styles in the inventory.
| Trainer Notes
This discussion should focus on some common characteristics of: * The experiential learning cycle * The four learning styles of the inventory * The basic principles of adult learning * Non-formal education * The training approach of this program A brief talk on these concepts may be included here. Recommended resources include: Ingalls, A Trainer's Guide to Andragogy, pp. 1-12, and Srinivasan, Lyra, Perspectives on Adult Non-Formal Learning, pp. 1-23. |
Step 7. (20 minutes)
Distribute the De Vries article and have participants read it.
| Trainer Notes
As they read the article, ask participants to keep in mind how the experiential learning approach may be useful in their community work as Peace Corps volunteers. |
Step 8. (20 minutes)
After the article has been read, ask participants to:
* Choose one of the objections at the end of the article
* Join a group which has selected the same objection
* Develop a group response to the objection
* Write three key elements on newsprint and post so that all may see it.
| Trainer Notes
Point out four corners of the room -- two for trainees choosing objection #1 and two for trainees choosing objection #2. |
Step 9. (15 minutes)
Encourage a discussion by asking that a volunteer from each group review and explain the responses developed.
| Trainer Notes
Ask for comments concerning any generalizations in order to see how the training methods used here may be applied in the field. |
Step 10. (10 minutes)
Conclude the session by reviewing the experiential learning model and explaining that it is the basic model to be used throughout this program.
| Trainer Notes
As an example, you should post on newsprint a graphic representation of the parallels among the major components of the experiential learning model and the activities carried out in this session. The following diagram illustrates: Diagram ilustrates |
LEARNING STYLE INVENTORY
This inventory is designed to assess your method of learning. As you take the inventory, give a high rank to those words which best characterize the way you learn and a low rank to the words which are least characteristic of your learning style.
You may find it hard to choose the words that best describe your learning style because there are no right or wrong answers. Different characteristics described in the inventory are equally good. The aim of the inventory is to describe how you learn, not to evaluate your learning ability.
Instructions
There are nine sets of four words listed below. Rank order each set of four words assigning a 4 to the word which best characterizes your learning style, a 3 to the word which next best characterizes your learning style, a 2 to the next most characteristic word and a to the word which is least characteristic of you as a learner. Be sure to assign a different rank number to each of the four words in each set. Do not make ties.
| 1.___ discriminating | ____tentative | ____involved | ____practical |
| 2.___receptive | ____relevant | ____analytical | ____impartial |
| 3.___feeling | ____watching | ____thinking | ____doing |
| 4.___accepting | ____risk-taker | ____evaluative | ____aware |
| 5.___intuitive | ____productive | ____logical | ____questioning |
| 6.___ abstract | ____observing | ____concrete | ____active |
| 7.___present-oriented | ____reflecting | ____future-oriented | ____pragmatic |
| 8.___experience | ____observation | ____conceptual-ization | ____experimentation |
| 9.___intense | ____reserved | ____rational | ____responsible |
FOR SCORING ONLY
| CE______ | RO______ | AC______ | AE______ |
| 234578 | 136789 | 234589 | 136789 |
Scoring the Learning Style Inventory
To obtain your score on the four dimensions measured by the inventory, Concrete Experience (CE), Reflective Observation (RO). Abstract Conceptualization (AC) and Active Experimentation (AE), sum each column including only those words whose item number appears under the place for the total score. For example, for CE, total the ranks you have given for words 2,3,4,5,7 and 8 in the first column. Ignore the nonscored words in each column.
INTRODUCTION TO ADULT LEARNING THEORY
For most of us, the first associations we have to the word "learning" are teacher, classroom and textbook. These associations belie some implicit assumptions that we tend to make about the nature of the learning process. Our years in school have trained us to think that the primary responsibility for learning lies with the teacher. His training and experience make him the expert: we are more passive participants in the learning process. As students, our job is to observe, read and memorize what the teacher assigns and then to repeat "what we have learned" in examinations. The teacher has the responsibility of evaluating our performance and telling us what we should learn next. He sets requirements and objectives for learning since it is often assumed that the student does not yet have the experience to know what is best for himself.
The textbook symbolizes the assumption that learning is primarily concerned with abstract ideas and concepts. Learning is the process of acquiring and remembering ideas and concepts. The more concepts remembered, the more you have learned. The relevance and application of these concepts to your own job will come later. Concepts come before experience.
The classroom symbolizes the assumption that learning is a special activity cut off from the real world and unrelated to one's life. Learning and doing are separate and antithetical activities. Many students at graduation feel, "Now I am finished with learning; I can begin living." The belief that learning occurs only in a classroom is so strong that academic credentials are assigned great importance in hiring and promotion decisions -- in spite of the fact that psychological research has had little success in establishing correlations between performance in the classroom (grades) and success in later life.
As a result of these assumptions, the concept of learning seldom seems relevant to us in our daily lives and work. And yet a moment of deeper reflection says that this cannot be so. In a world where the rate of change is increasing rapidly every year, in a time when few men will end their careers in the same jobs or even the same occupations that they started in, the ability to learn seems an important, if not the most important, skill.
The concept of problem solving, on the other hand, evokes some associations that are opposite to those of the concept of learning. We tend to think of problem solving as an active, rather than a passive, process. Although we have a word for someone who directs the learning process (teacher), we have no similar word for the problem-solving process. The responsibility for problem solving rests with the problem solver. He must experiment, take risks and come to grips with his problem. Usually no external sources of evaluation are needed. He knows when his problem is solved.
Although general principles can emerge from the solution to a specific problem, problems are usually specific rather than general, concrete rather than abstract. Problem solving is not separate from the life of the problem solver. The focus of the problem solving is on a specific problem felt to be relevant to the problem solver; it is, in fact, his involvement in the problem that makes it a problem.
EXTENSION, TRAINING AND DIALOGUE: A NEW APPROACH FOR TANZANIA
Dr. James De Vries*
Journal of Adult Education
University of Dar es Salaam
* Edited by the Training for Rural Development Staff Tanzania
Extension, Education and Development
Training and extension work with farmers is both an educational effort and a means of development and a part of that development. Before we can begin to criticize traditional training and extension techniques and advocating new ones, it is important to be clear what we mean by development and how training and extension work relate to this goal. Until recently, development was usually defined in economic terms such as changes in the Gross National Product, per capita and economic living standards. Training, and especially agricultural extension, were viewed as an economic development tool; as an investment in human capital on which a return was expected. This implied a directly functional approach to teaching and learning which was focused on "practical" skills and immediate pay-offs.
This view has changed over the past ten years due to concerns about income distribution, dependency on government and other social and political concerns. Now almost every statement about training and development mentions the importance of participation, mobilization, equality and self-determination. Since independence, the party and the Tanzanian government have defined development as liberation. Development is:
A permanent revolution for the total liberation of the people of Tanzania and Africa from all forms and mani festations of domination, exploitation, oppression, humiliation, weakness, racism, poverty, ignorance, di sease and misery (Daily News, 1975)
For development has a purpose: that purpose is the liberation of man. It is true that in the Third World we talk a great deal about economic development -- but the goods are needed to serve man; services are required to make the lives of men more easeful as well as more fruitful. Political, social and economic organization is needed to enlarge the freedom and dignity of men; always we come back to man -- to liberated man -- as the purpose of the development activity. (Nyerere, 1976)
Development is thus more than a change in material welfare, farming practices or yield per hectare or return per man-day of labor. Development involves changing people, changing their consciousness or awareness and helping them to become "beings for themselves" -- making their own political, cultural and economic decisions. "The expansion of (man's) own consciousness, and therefore power over himself, his environment and his society, must therefore ultimately be what we mean by development." (Nyerere, 1976)
Education is thus both an end and a means of development. Development which depends on the actions of men requires a change in their consciousness, so that they are the determinant of their own actions. Farmers follow a given practice not because of traditionalism, but because they see it as the best method in the face of their own particular situation. To change these practices either demands force or a change in awareness which convinces them that a different form of action better meets their needs.
Raising the farmers' awareness is the role of both training and extension work. "Adult education has to be directed at helping men and women to develop themselves -- to think clearly -- to examine possible alternative courses of action; to make a choice between those alternatives in keeping with their own purposes; and to equip them with the ability to translate their decisions into reality." (Nyerere, 1976) The "developed" farmer is not the one who is "progressive" or follows the recommended practices (although he or she may do this); rather the developed farmer is the one who is critically aware of his or her situation and acts on it in accordance with this awareness.
The Traditional Approach
Education and extension in Tanzania and other developing countries have received a great deal of criticism. While in part this is unfair because of unrealistic expectations and a failure to see training and extension in the context of other factors influencing development work, much of the criticism is deserved. Part of the blame can be put on the traditional training and extension approaches used in the villages and elsewhere. This approach has variously been called the banking, empty cup, directive or top-down approach. Its essence is that the trainer or extension worker is the expert who knows (full cup) and tries to give (deposit as in the bank) this knowledge to the farmer or villager (empty cup) whose role is to passively receive and acknowledge what was received from the expert.
The assumption underlying this relationship is that the trainer or agent knows what is good for the farmer or village. Thus, the relationship is vertical and assumes a one-way flow of information from the top down. The farmer or villager is seen as ignorant, lacking knowledge, traditional and resistant to change. This means he or she is helpless and must be helped to develop, almost in spite of themselves. The farmer or villager is the passive learner, while the trainer or extension agent is the active educator.
In practice what this boils down to is that the trainer or agent, whether at a meeting, demonstration program or training session, is always in the position of telling villagers what to do. He tries to provide them with solutions to their problems much in the same manner a doctor provides prescriptions to medical problems. In a village one may find a list of the "ten commandments" of good farming posted. In a meeting one will hear the Katibu Kata exhort farmers to weed properly and the Bwan Shamba telling them that eight sprayings of insecticide are necessary to produce good cotton. Farmers rarely raise objections, because they know that such objections are not welcome and often accept the role of the ignorant, passive listener because they are continually told they are. They therefore exist in an oppressive environment over which they exercise little control. If they do object, they are quickly silenced by references to "watealamu" research and "modern methods" (meaning they are ignorant and traditionalistic) or they need to work (meaning they are lazy). Rather than objecting openly and thus offering to educate the trainers or extension workers and be educated in return, most farmers remain silent. They go home and fail to put into practice what was suggested, even when they may have agreed to do so in the meeting.
The failure of farmers to follow the expert's advice is discouraging to the expert and reinforces the feeling that farmers irrationally resist change. As a result, educators and extension workers tend to work with those few who seem more open to their suggestions -- the "progressive" farmers -- and to advocate the use of pressure to force farmers to use recommended practices for their own good. As one RADO told me, "A farmer who refuses to follow recommended practices is like a sick man: you have to force him to eat and he will thank you for it when he becomes better."
Failure of the Top Down Approach
Unfortunately the farmer often does not become "better" in the sense that he or she obtains a significant benefit from the forced practice. This reveals one of the fallacies underlying the traditional approach: the assumption that all recommended practices are good and that the experts are always right. Experience and research in Tanzania have shown that many practices either recommended to the farmers or forced on them did not benefit the farmers and their rejection of them was quite rational.
Some recent examples are:
1. The use of fertilizer on maize in the lower altitude areas of Morogoro, Tanga and Iringa Region.
2. Growing maize and many other crops in monoculture.
3. Early planting and close spacing of cotton.
4. Production of cotton in many areas of the "Eastern Zone."
Thus, while many recommendations are good, experience has shown that when evaluated from the farmer's perspective, many do not solve the farmer's most pressing needs and are, therefore, unacceptable.
This brings up the second fallacy of the top-down approach: the assumption that farmers and villagers are ignorant. It is true that many of them have little formal education and are illiterate. It is not true that they have learned nothing and know nothing. (It is unfortunate that in Swahili, the same word, ujinga, can be used for both illiterate and ignorant, because the two cannot be equated.) Farmers, through experience and the informal sharing of ideas, have developed a wealth of knowledge about agricultural production and survival in an often harsh environment. They also have a better understanding of their problems, needs, priorities, resources, values, attitudes, local culture, etc. Educators and extension agents tend to be outsiders and members of a different socio-economic class.
Thus, both the extension agent OF trainer and the farmer or villager have some knowledge necessary to bring about changes in practices. The scientific knowledge of the researcher needs to be complimented by the more natural knowledge of the farmer to bring about a critical understanding of the problem and the basis for action.
The third major fallacy of the top-down approach is the assumption that knowledge can be given or extended by the trainer and extension agent. Knowledge cannot be poured into the adult learner like tea into a cup. Informed action develops in learners as a result of interaction with information, the situation and fellow human beings. Learning is not an activity of the trainer, but of the learner, and involves a change from one way of understanding or doing something to another. Adults in particular have developed attitudes and ways of doing things. Learning often involves the rejection of existing ideas and acceptance of new ones.
This leads to the importance of understanding the farmer's present knowledge and understanding and these must form the foundation of any new learning. Only an active interaction with ideas and other people can result in the learner really understanding new ideas and making them his or her own, instead of them merely being someone else's ideas.
Finally, another major criticism of the top-down approach, particularly important in the Tanzanian context, is that it builds a dependency relationship between experts (often seen as representing government) and farmers and villagers. It means presenting the farmers with solutions to their problems, defined in the first place by the experts, instead of analyzing their problems with them, in order to fully understand them, and coming to a solution cooperatively. The traditional approach makes the farmer feel dependent on the continued advice of the trainer or extension agent, as it fails to teach him how to analyze and solve problems on his own. While the government and the party have accepted liberation as the major goal of development, the top-down approach to adult education and extension work encourages dependency and passivity.
Instead of seeing men and women as the end of development, it treats them as a means, tools to be manipulated as efficiently as possible in order to achieve the goals of those in power. In the face of the above, it seems fair to conclude that the present, prevailing approaches to adult education and extension work are not only ineffective but actually are detrimental to the development of Tanzanian farmers and villagers.
The Dialogue Approach
The dialogue approach, illustrated in Table 1, is the opposite of the traditional, top-down approach. Its essence is the horizontal sharing of ideas between trainers/learners, learners/ trainers in a process of reflecting and acting on the world in order to understand it and control it better. It is based on faith in people, in his or her ability in cooperation with others, to be able to understand self and situation, and to act on it and change it.
The dialogue approach assumes that both the trainer or extension agent and the student or farmer know something about the subject of interest, especially if the goal is for the learner to apply what is to be learned. Although one may have more general or abstract knowledge and the other may have more informal and specific knowledge, this difference does not make one or the other superior in the situation. It is the shared knowledge both have in the situation which is superior. Within the constraints of each party's environment, each can learn and change as a result of interacting with each other.
While all farmers have some knowledge, they are not always aware of this knowledge. In fact, because they are constantly told that they are backward, lazy, ignorant and thereby made to accept that they are "hopeless," they often feel that they know nothing. When farmers can be drawn out in dialogue as a group, they are often surprised at how much they already know, collectively, about a wide range of production or development problems. It is important, in the beginning, to draw out what the farmers or villagers already know to be able to build on it. As Mwalimu Nyerere points out, by drawing out what the farmers know (which can only be done through dialogue) and showing the relevance of what is known to what is being learned, the trainer achieves three things:
He has built up the self-confidence of the man who wants to learn, by showing him that he is capable of contributing. He has demonstrated the relevance of experience and observation as a method of learning to be combined with thought and analysis. He has shown what I call the maturity" of learning -that is, by sharing our knowledge, we extend the totality of our understanding and our control over our own lives.
The trainer's role in dialogue is not to present knowledge to the learner but to lead the learner to an examination of problems --to ask the learner to critically reflect and act on problems (problem-posing). Knowledge or learning grow out of this reflection-action cycle. The farmer will never learn the benefit of a practice and the problems associated with it until he has actually tried it and then thought about his experience critically.
| Traditional Approach | Dialogue Approach |
| 1. Educators teach and farmers are taught. | 1. Educators and farmers are both involved in learning. |
| 2. Experts know everything and the farmers know nothing. | 2. Both have knowledge to contribute to joint learning. |
| 3. Educators possess the authority of knowledge and have a monopoly on it --which they perpetuate. | 3. Knowledge is the property of everyone. No one can or should monopolize it. |
| 4. Educators/experts think and farmers are thought about. | 4. Farmers are encouraged to think on their own. |
| 5. Educators/experts are active and farmers are passive during learning. | 5. Both educators and farmers are active during learning. |
Table 1
Neither will the trainer or extension agent know the value of his ideas until he has shared them with the learner and tested them out against the farmer's perceptions and experience. Dialogue thus requires both action and reflection, experience and thought. Without action, teaching is merely verbalism and amounts to exhorting the farmers to do this or that without showing them how to do it and thus has limited impact on their farming practices. Without reflection, extension work can become mindless activism in which farmers are forced to follow certain practices without understanding them and without the farmers themselves being developed.
Is Dialogue Feasible ?
Let us examine two objections to the use of the dialogue approach often made by extension agents, educators and government officials.
1. The first is that it is impossible to dialogue with farmers or villagers because they know little or nothing about modern agriculture or how to make a village cooperative work.
2. The second objection is that it is too slow and expensive, that our problems need urgent solutions and therefore cannot wait for a long process of dialogue to take place.
Session 5. Development of facilitation skills criteria
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To plan, design and carry out an activity using a training design format
* To identify a list of criteria for evaluating facilitation skills * To demonstrate skills necessary to be an effective facilitator |
| Resources: | * "Skills for Development Facilitators" from Manual Introduction
* Attachment I-4/1-C, "The Participative and Directive Trainer" |
| Materials: | Newsprint and felt-tip pens |
| Trainer Notes
* This activity serves as a "session within a session" and gives the participants an opportunity to develop skills in designing, practicing and evaluating a group activity. * The design format that is used in this session will be used throughout this program. It can be helpful to Peace Corps volunteers in the design of group activities and workshops on the community level as well. |
Procedures:
Step 1. (5 minutes)
Introduce the session by explaining the importance of identifying and using facilitation skills during this program and in Peace Corps service.
| Trainer Notes
Emphasize that one of the more important aspects of community work is to provide people with skills to solve problems creatively and in cooperation. This is the essence of good facilitation. |
Step 2. (10 Minutes)
Present and explain the training design format.
| Trainer Notes
Post the following design format on newsprint: 1. Identify and agree upon objectives. 2. Identify resources. 3. Design or select an activity or activities to meet the objectives. 4. Carry out the activities. 5. Evaluate the activities to see if objectives have been met. 6. Discuss the effectiveness of the process (Steps 1 4). Explain that this training design format will be used in planning, designing, carrying out and evaluating this and other sessions throughout the training program. |
Step 3. (10 minutes)
Begin implementing the training design format by reviewing and discussing the session objectives.
* If participants are not satisfied with the stated objectives assist them in modifying them or identifying additional ones.
Step 4. (10 minutes)
Help participants identify resources from within the group (e.g., those who have had experience in group facilitation, training programs, curriculum design, etc.) and make available the resources listed at the beginning of the session.
Step 5. (15 minutes)
Assist in the selection or design of an activity or activities which will meet the session objectives
| Trainer Notes
* Some suggested activities include: brainstorming, discussion, small group meetings, etc. * Suggest that the procedures of this activity be outlined. Ask that one person keep time, that another observe the way the session progresses and that a third record the facilitation skills criteria as they are identified. (It is important that these criteria be recorded for copying and future distribution. See Step 8, Trainer Notes.) |
Step 6. (50 minutes)
Assist participants in carrying out the activity.
Step 7. (10 minutes)
Have participants evaluate the activity.
| Trainer Notes
The following questions will help in the evaluation: * Were the objectives met? * Was a list of facilitation skills criteria developed? * Was there active participation by all? Most? Some? Or, just by a few people? * Were effective facilitation skills demonstrated? * What went well? * What was not done well during the activity? Use the list of criteria developed during the activity to check the skills demonstrated by the facilitator. |
Step 8.
Review the training design format and conclude the se 5 sign.
| Trainer Notes
Your review of the format should center around the following questions: * Does this format have potential for use during Peace Corps service? Why? * What advantages and/or drawbacks does it have? * When might it be appropriate? Inappropriate? Mention that a copy of the criteria will be distributed to all participants and will be used throughout the program for check ing facilitation skills. |
Session 6. Cross-cultural awareness and communication
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To experience and examine feelings associated with being in another culture
* To infer meaning from verbal and non-verbal clues * To examine culturally defined assumptions and perceptions |
| Resources: | * Batchelder and Warner, "The Albatross," Beyond Experience: The Experimental Approach to Cross-Cultural Education, pp. 131-136
* Shirts, "BaFa-BaFa," (cross-cultural simulation game) |
| Trainer Notes
The objectives of this session may be met in a variety of ways. The "materials" and "procedures" will depend upon the way in which you choose to meet the objectives. In the resources listed above, we have suggested two cross-cultural simulation activities that have worked well in the past. Both the "Albatross" and "BaFa-BaFa" stimulate thought and challenge culturally defined perceptions of what is "right" or "real." Both are simulations, in that they establish cultural and social settings which are artificial and temporary. However, the feelings and ideas that these simulations provoke are very real and not at all artificial. ("BaFa-BaFa" is the more participatory of the two activities. It may also require more than the allowed two hours to implement.) There are other activities that guide people to examine their perceptions of reality within the context of culture and society We encourage you to experiment throughout the training program and adapt materials to your specific needs. In any case, you should be alerted to the fact that this session will require considerable advance preparation in both choosing and setting up the desired activity. |
Session 7. Hollow square
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To identify and discuss the dynamics involved in planning and implementing a project
* To examine and discuss the kinds of communication that influence the effective and satisfactory completion of a project |
| Resources: | * Ingalls, Andragogy, pp. 147-154
* Attachment 1-7, Toolbox Parts List and Plans * Pfeiffer and Jones, A Handbook of Structured Experiences for Human Relations Training, Vol. 1, pp 32-40 |
| Materials: | Notebooks and pens and pencils, pre-cut wood pieces for the toolbox (See Attachment 1-7), hammers, nails, saws, squares, tape measures. |
| Trainer Notes
* This activity will help the participants identify the problems that occur when one group makes plans that another group must carry out. * A diagram of the hollow square can be found in Ingalls. * Role descriptions and session procedures can be found in Ingalls. * We have found that instead of building a hollow square from paper or cardboard as described in Ingalls, it is useful for the participants to build a tool box from plywood. The toolbox can then be used during the training program. It is more difficult to construct as it requires some woodworking skills. We have provided a parts list and plans (Attachment 1-7) that take the place of the hollow square diagram of Ingalls. * This session requires considerable preparation if a toolbox is to be built, since all of the wood pieces need to be accurately cut and grouped so that there is one set of toolbox pieces for every 7 to 9 participants. It is also helpful, but not necessary, to have one completed toolbox for the participants to use as a model. * If a toolbox is to be built, it should be explained to the planners and observers that the words "hollow square" in the instructions should be replaced with the word "toolbox." * It is recommended that two trainers be involved with this session. * Remind the planners that they should not use the word "toolbox" or "box" during their instructions to the operators. |
Procedures:
Step 1. (5 minutes)
List the objectives and outline the session activities.
Step 2. (5 minutes)
Have the participants form two large groups. Explain that one group will be known as the "planners" and the other group will be the "operators." Have a different trainer go with each group and lead them to separate locations.
Step 3. (5 minutes)
Have each of the two large groups (planners and operators) form small groups. Ask each of the small groups of planners to select one of their members to act as observer.
| Trainer Notes
Additional small groups are not necessary if the training group is already small. If you are to build the toolbox, be certain that you have sufficient sets of toolbox parts, one set per group of operators, as well as the necessary tools. |
Step 4. (10 minutes)
Distribute the appropriate role descriptions to each group of planners and operators, as well as to each of the observers. Also, distribute the tool box or hollow square parts to each group.
Step 5. (20 minutes)
Have the planners prepare their assembly instructions with the observers noting the process.
Step 6. (10 minutes)
Have the planners present their instructions for assembly to the operators.
Step 7. (30 minutes)
Have the operators assemble the toolbox or hollow square.
| Trainer Notes
Explain that the observers should note the group dynamics and progress of the operators. The planners should observe in silence. |
Step 8. (30 minutes)
Reconvene the groups and review and discuss the activity.
| Trainer Notes
* Ask the observers to report on what they observed during the planning, instruction and assembly. * Invite observations and discussion from the participants. * Ask the participants to generalize about what went on in this process, what they learned, what went well, what didn't, etc. * Encourage the participants to discuss how this exercise might apply to their service as PCVs: Will they be planners? Operators? Observers? |
Step 9. (10 minutes)
Have the participants clean up the work area.
TOOLBOX PARTS LIST AND PLANS
| Piece No. | Piece Name/Quantity | | | ||
| cm | in | cm | in | ||
| 1. | Box bottom/1 | 84 | 33 35.5 | 14 | |
| 2. | Box sides/2 | 86.5 | 34 | 20 | 8 |
| 3. | Box ends/2 | 35.5 | 14 | 20 | 8 |
| 4. | Long box divider/1 | 66 | 26 | 19 | 7.5 |
| 5. | Short box divider/1 | 37 | 14.5 | 19 | 7,5 |
| 6. | Short box divider/1 | 25.5 | 10 | 19 | 7.5 |
| 7. | Tray support center/1 | 53.5 | 21 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 8. | Tray support sides/2 | 52 | 20.5 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 9. | Tray support ends/2 | 24 | 9.5 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 10. | Tray bottom/1 | 51 | 20 | 21.5 | 8.5 |
| 11. | Tray sides/2 | 51 | 20 | 5 | 2 |
| 12. | Tray ends/2 | 24 | 9.5 | 5 | 2 |
NOTE:
All wood is 12mm thick.
All dados are 6mm deco.
Figure A
Figure B
Session 8. Health in a cross-cultural context
| Total time: | 2 hours |
| Objectives: | * To discuss the term "appropriate technologies for health"
* To share and examine some health beliefs, customs, taboos and practices * To identify individual perceptions of health, illness and disease * To define characteristics of "culture shock" and ways to live with it |
| Resources: | * Werner, Where There is No Doctor, Introduction, pp. 1-15 and 17-19
* Brownlee, Community. Culture and Care, pp. 173-186 * Audy, "Measurement and Diagnosis of Health"* Volunteers in Asia, Transcultural Study Guide, pp. 133-138 * Attachment 1-8-A, "Introduction and Goals of Health and Nutrition Component" * Attachment 1-8-8, "Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjustment to New Cultural Environments" * Attachment 1-8-C, selections from "Adapting Overseas in the Peace Corps" |
| Materials: | Newsprint and felt-tip pens |
Procedures:
Step 1. (10 minutes)
Distribute Attachment I-8-A and review the health and nutrition component of the appropriate technology training program. Invite questions and comments.
Step 2. (20 minutes)
Have participants form small groups and generate a list of health beliefs, customs, taboos and/ or practices.
| Trainer Notes
Distribute newsprint and felt-tip pens and have each group select a recorder. Each group should also identify one or two beliefs that: * Are shared by at least two others in the group * Are held by only one person * Were held at one time but are no longer * Have generated much interest in the group * Are now being doubted The following comments may clarify the activity: Just as perceptions of health vary from culture to culture, there are often variations within a particular society. We have all grown up with certain beliefs concerning illness and well-being; some of our childhood perceptions are now considered superstitions, tales and quaint customs. There are other beliefs that we still hold as valuable, some of which are considered medically sound, and others for which the origins are forgotten and are of doubtful effectiveness. It is interesting to compare beliefs with those held by other people. Often, what one person considers superstition is another person's inviolable truth. Encourage a few examples or provide one or two, e.g., feed a cold, starve a fever; don't swim after eating. |
Step 3. (20 minutes)
Reconvene the groups and have the recorders post and summarize group responses. Discuss the responses.
| Trainer Notes
Focus the discussion by raising the following questions: * Which beliefs might be appropriate responses for health? * Why? * Where did some of the beliefs originate? Why have they persisted? * What kinds of illnesses do these beliefs attempt to treat? * Can we draw any generalizations? * Which beliefs might be shared in other cultures? * Which beliefs seem effective? Neutral? Harmful? |
Step 4. (15 minutes)
Present a brief talk on perceptions of well-being. Encourage comments and comparisons with individually held perceptions.
| Trainer Notes
Refer to resources for background material. Highlight: * Early and universal perceptions of balance between body, mind and spirit; imbalance represents illness. * Early 19th Century perceptions focused on disease and developed "germ theory" to note germs as universal elements causing illness. * In 1946, the World Health Organization defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." * Recent ecological perceptions see disease as merely a phase or episode in which the body's ability to cope is diminished; "health is a continuing property, potentially measured by individual ability to rally from environmental insults, whether physical, infectious, social, psychological or chemical." (Audy) |
Step 6. (5 minutes)
Have participants identify some common symptoms which let them know that they are getting sick. Post their responses on newsprint.
Step 6. (5 minutes)
Have the group list feelings and characteristics they have experienced in unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations. Invite the participants to compare the two lists.
Step 7. (20 minutes)
Introduce the term "culture shock" and ask for some definitions and experiences. Distribute Attachments 1-8-B and 1-8-C and allow time to review the material.
Step 8. (20 minutes)
Review the stages of culture shock and ask for suggestions on how to live with the culture shock experience.
Step 9. (10 minutes)
Review the session and invite observations and comments.
| Trainer Notes
Suggest that participants read Werner, pp. 1-15 and 17-19, and Brownlee, pp. 173-186, for additional information. |
INTRODUCTION AND GOALS OF HEALTH AND NUTRITION COMPONENT
Introduction
Basic to every society are shared perceptions about well-being and illness that comprise the knowledge applied when a member of the group becomes ill or is believed to be in a vulnerable state of health. Appropriate technologies for health refer to the various means and systems for maintaining or restoring the state of well-bein