The survivor's toolkit
Featured in the Continuing Professional Development training manual
By Sandy McMillan
Category: Personal Development
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
Learners need to have something to aim at: a set of criteria which defines where they will be when they’ve learnt, and which also gives them a way of measuring progress. This ‘model of the future’ is best generated by the learners themselves, because they will then feel more committed to it. This training activity builds on that principle, and on the well-known trainer’s proverb, ‘Trust the group’. This is the idea that (although an individual view is partial) a group which is asked the right questions will generally generate the ‘right’ answer, the answer which the trainer would otherwise have to give them.
In this training activity, individuals reflect on the attitudes, knowledge and skills that will help people to survive and succeed in an uncertain working environment, and record these views on a form. Then in syndicates, people share views and arrive at a joint statement, which they then record on a prepared transparency. To make best use of time, three syndicates each discuss one aspect: attitudes, knowledge, skills. The transparencies are shown and discussed in a plenary session, with the facilitator eliciting any missing factors by asking appropriate questions. The facilitator may also choose to supply some factual data. The amended transparencies are photocopied to become handouts, so that people have a more permanent record of what the group has agreed. It matters that they ‘own’ this handout, having generated it themselves rather than accepting it from the facilitator.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to get participants to identify the skills, knowledge and attitudes which are most likely to help people survive in the current climate of change. This provides benchmarks for what they need to learn through CPD.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 2 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:25:00 |
| No of Pages: | 12 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers at an early stage of a programme to focus directly on what is needed and to get people involved in setting their own objectives. If people already know one another and have also begun to think about CPD, then this training activity might follow immediately after ‘What are your expectations?’ If, on the other hand, you feel that the group is still ‘cold’ and people are reluctant to contribute, consider introducing this training activity by running ‘What have they done to our jobs?’ first. This tactic gives people a context for considering their CPD objectives by asking them to consider and discuss changes in their working lives.
Download the training activity, The survivor's toolkit as featured in the Fenman training manual; Continuing Professional Development