Why interaction styles are important in training

There has always been a lot of discussion around Learning styles in training but more recently the suggestion that learning styles are irrelevant as a good trainer has to deliver content to allow everyone to learn regardless of their learning styles. Recently there has been more discussion around interaction styles and why it is important to understand your own interaction style to help you, as a Trainer, understand why you might not be getting your message across to everyone in the Training.

From the descriptions above can you guess what your interaction style is and what does that style mean for your training delivery? What can you do to ensure you interact effectively with the other styles in a Training? 

Training Record Books

I first blogged about Wiltshire North's Training record book in July when we heard all about it at The Trainers Support Group; at a recent training where I was observing, a leader had her brand new copy. It's interesting how many points are given for a Trainers Qualification and it's renewal. It's proving a really popular way to get leaders interested in attending trainings all for the cost of 3 different badges - a few hundred of each. When you consider how we have had to coerce & persuade leaders to attend a training over the years (thinking back to the 80's when we all had a record book and had to do so many hours training a year) all it really needed was a points system and some badges.

Silver & Bronze Awards announced !!!!

See Trainers really do know what's best...…. At the last National Trainers conference (not this years), I remember there was a lot of strong feelings about have a staged award not just GOLD and silver & bronze were actually referred to in a number of feedback methods both in the entire conference & in various break out sessions.

So I was really excited to read this week that the Silver & Bronze awards are being launched in January 2020. The full information, as it stands, is here:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/making-guiding-happen/how-were-being-our-best/updates-for-our-members/new-top-section-awards-coming-this-january/

In essence:

"For girls to achieve their section Bronze and section Silver awards they must complete the following criteria:

• Section Bronze award: a girl needs to complete any two Theme awards from her current section.
• Section Silver award: a girl needs to complete any four Theme awards from her current section.

There is no final challenge for the section Bronze or section Silver award."

Well done Girlguiding it makes sense on so many levels, and will allow so many more girls to achieve.

Promoting Region Awards

Lovely flyer that arrived today with my badge order from Region, it's good to see that saying thank you in a simple way is being so proactively promoted!

Do check out the lovely new international nights away, who hasn't been to Pax Lodge and going away with your section badges.

LaSER London Challenge

This is a lovely challenge from London and South East England Region, I've used it in a few trainings over the years but never seen the badge before so wonder if it is a new edition. The challenge has been around for ages and with half tern fast approaching it's interesting for Leaders as well as girls. You need to collect 100 points to claim the badge - the crystal palace maze is 15 points and CHQ is 10 points, it doesn't all have to be done in London e.g. using cockney rhyming slang in a meeting gets you 10 more points.

Who can claim their badge straight away? Its not easy to find on the LaSER website you need to search London Challenge.  

Risk Assessments - how easy?

Ignore the background collage and concentrate on the micro learning

 My afternoon session was to help Leaders with Risk Assessments, which was one of  the topics that came up frm Inset Week. I had a go at mirco-learning to capture the steps involved in producting a risk assessment. I recycled the penants from a Guide activity a few years ago, and pinched the idea of the LED lights (with 10 pegs) from another trainer using it for an ice-breaker. The 10 pegs are the absolute maximum I would have said for micro-learning. They are £4 from Tiger in a variety of colours.
I had a steady stream of Leaders asking questions about risk assessments a few did have a go at compiling one using the Level 2 ASS training pictures. Being Prepared wasn't widely known about, and was the most photographed item on the stall. Nearly all the Leaders who took the DYB Safety checklist test had at least 1 activity to follow up on. The most common being the safety risk assessment on the meeting place.
I had a steady stream of visitors. I was sharing the room with a stand on REN forms for commissioners, and in some way the topics were linked. Although unfortunately I had to compete with the classroom collage for my micro-learning. That stall had chocolates and I only had mints - lessons learned.

Safe Space Levels 1 & 2 reflection

Yesterday was my home County Training Day I was only expecting 2 leaders, but had 4, then the final number raised to 6 by the time we started. Boosted by the first trickle of leaders who are starting to renew, and trainers who dropped out at the last minute resulting in the re-distribution of leaders; resulted in a quick last minute move of tables. So all the preparation wasn't in vein, I did the following:

• Made new Volunteer Code of conduct cards to include the new clause about delivering the programme and extra line about sources of support to talk too.
• Shredded about a 5th of the powerpoint slides and corrected the facts in 2 of them and the grammar and punctuation in several others, some of  the slides were repeats whereas others had content duplicated .
• Ordered some 2019 pocket guides & new Region All inclusive leaflet for handing out.
• Laminated the Level 1 & 2 resources to use for the 6 activities I decided upon.
• Annotated the combined Levels 1 & 2 training plan.
•  Printed certificates, and by mistake I ended up with 6! 

Initially the projector said it was password protected, but with the help of another trainer that was soon overcome. There was loads of opportunity for creating Safe Spaces in the programme, via UMA's & Skills Builders. There were 6 activities to do in 2 hours 15 mins, so it did feel a bit of a sprint, I didn't bother with blu-tak but used the empty desks to best advantage, it would have been impossible with a large group to put the resources up and down on the walls.  I had to curtail discussion on a few occasions, but when we reviewed objectives at the end the creating safe space aim did appear to have been achieved. There was lots of sharing going on assisted by one of our Region Safe-Guarding Leads. The risk assessment writing was well under way as the Leaders worked in pairs to generate ideas with. I managed to get in a number of other resources including the DYB Poster and checklists & the Girls Attitude Survey, all captured on the photo below.

The guides who escorted me to my room, and took my break drink order were amazingly helpful and I was very grateful for their help. I must have been asked about 12 times if I wanted a drink!

Stickers at the ready for the target activity 

All thee other resources that got a mention during the training.