2006 - December
Yours In Training
 |
July 2006 |
Freecall 1800 2 TRAIN (1800 2 87246) www.mrwed.com.au |
In This Issue
Training News: Updates for AQTF
MRWED News: MRWED goes Global
Training Tip: Using a Scribe
Website of the Month: www.podcast.net
Training Game: Nuts and Bolts
Also...
Training News: Updates for AQTF
The Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE) met in Adelaide on Friday 17 November. At the meeting, Ministers agreed on a package of training reforms to underpin Australia ’s economic prosperity over the next decade as well as measures to progress these reforms over the medium term.
Ministers also renewed their commitment to quality training by endorsing new quality assurance arrangements that will be introduced from 1 July 2007 . The new arrangements will be known as the Australian Quality Training Framework 2007 (AQTF 2007) and will focus on achieving quality skills outcomes. Under the new arrangements, registered training organisations will be monitored and audited against the quality of their training outcomes, and will be encouraged to strive for higher level performance using newly established criteria for excellence. More information on MCVTE will be available on the Council’s new website to be launched in 2007.
MRWED News: MRWED goes Global
Since the last edition of Yours in Training!, MRWED has been involved in 3 exciting international projects.
Firstly, Principal Marc Ratcliffe visited Singapore in October to establish options for safety training and an internationalised version of the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Singapore has an Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment which MRWED are planning to be involved with in 2007, with their new Singapore partner AusIntel.
Secondly, in November, Marc and Early Childhood Coordinator Jodie Riek spoke at the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) annual conference in Atlanta , Georgia . Marc’s presentation was focused on spicing up staff training. The session titled "Building your Trainer's Toolkit: 12 Proven Tricks to Spice Up your Staff Training" showcased many of the training techniques that MRWED trainers employ during the Cert IV TAA courses.
Finally, we are excited to have secured a contract to conduct Trainer Training at gold mine Resolute Tanzania. Marc will be traveling to East Africa in February 2007 to commence the training. Watch this space for advice on customisation and contextualisation, based on our experiences in Tanzania.
Trainer Tip: Using a Scribe
MRWED trainers often get asked how to manage a dominating voice in a training situation – someone who hogs the discussion or tries to answer every question from the trainer, thus limiting the input of the quieter students. Marc has been practising some possible solutions to this problem with positive results.
My first solution is to change the behaviour of the dominator, by giving them another role: the role of the scribe.
Rather than asking for volunteers, you could encourage your dominator to write the student responses from a brainstorm or similar on the board. This has the benefit of giving them the attention they often want, but gives the rest of the class a voice, as the scribe role is a non-speaking one. Similar to this, you could make them an observer in a group activity, where once again their key role is to write, rather then speak. They will have a chance at the end to reveal their observations, but in the meantime, the rest of the group can speak freely without the influence of your dominator.
Almost all trainers have challenges with the dominator. Good luck implementing solutions that work for you.
Website of the Month: www.podcast.net
Podcasting, a new Web-based broadcasting medium, gets its name from a combination of iPod, Apple's popular portable mp3 player, and the term broadcasting.
The process is similar to subscribing to an audio "magazine". Podcast programs can be stored and listened to on a computer or mp3 player or portable device whenever the listener wants.
www.podcast.net is a site where you can upload your own Podcasts for free, which means you can support your students with web-based resources, without needing to host the files on your own website. You can also find relevant educational Podcasts in the “Learning & Instruction” section which could be used in combination with your own training.
Training Game: Nuts and Bolts
This is a simple “find your partner” game, but has a nice tactile flavour to it. How it works, is you buy a range of different sized nuts and bolts (with matching partners) and then mix them up and put them all in a container. Now, as an ice-breaker, you give each student a nut or bolt and ask them to “find their partner”.
This is a fun activity which gets people moving around. In addition to this, it could be used to illustrate the importance of finding the right relationships in business or “the right pegs for the right holes”! Furthermore, you could discuss people’s strategies for working out who would be a good match.
This game is hours of fun for the whole family.
Next Issue
With the festive season upon us and a new year just around the corner, the next edition of Yours in Training! will look at the hottest training trends for 2007. This will include evaluating new training techniques, software and equipment hitting the training market. Until then - Happy Training!
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Happy training!
Marc Ratcliffe
Principal – MRWED
