Open Space Technology

Not a training method or even a facilitation technique but another methodology I could see being useful in a GG UK environment. I recently experienced Open Space myself and admittedly I was sceptical to begin with, but it worked so I borrowed the book from the organiser. Harrison Owen: Open Space Technology - A users Guide 2nd edition, published by Barrett-Koehler Publishers in 1997 ISBN 1 57675 024 8.

Open Space works because the basic premise is getting people together who are both passionate and responsible for the issue/problem/dilemma etc. So no pre-set agenda or invitation list, everyone agrees on the first day what the priority questions are to progress. We did it by suggesting topics that could be discussed to progress our "difficulty" these were then written onto a matrix for time slots throughout the day and de-duped or combined. Volunteers were then sought to take contributors names, notes and key actions from each of the key discussions and type them up at the end of the day. Participants are free to move between discussion groups once they have contributed.

Equipment is limited to flip chart paper, pens, post its and a few lap tops so the notes (brief) from each group can be captured. The book focusses heavily on not being constrained by meal and coffee breaks.   

Day 2 starts with a precis of the discussion groups aided by the typed up notes from the day before and this provides another opportunity to combine topics with common or overlapping ground. Again passion and responsibility are involved as contributors opt to progress the topic which they feel most passionate about. Day 2 focusses on action planning and contributors offering to progress what is within their power.

Our Open Space facilitator (and book owner) had a lovely pair of Tibetan cymbals used to keep events to time  and the beautiful pitch seemed to match the nature of the event really well.

The reason I think this would work really well for some GG UK events is that we certainly have a lot of passion amongst volunteers, and generally volunteers know what is expected of them and are willing to step forward e.g 5 Essentials. What generally seems to be missing is communication - Open Space forces communication out into the round. Just think how powerful the technique could be when planning a major event or used against Growing Guiding - who wants to be first to try it?

What do I carry in my training bag?

So just what is standard equipment for a Girl Guide Trainer?

Stationary:

• Blu tak
• Pens flip chart & white board with a rubber
• Mini first aid kit
• Mobile phone
• Camera
• Roll of sticky labels
• 540 coloured dots for sorting Leaders into groups & ice breakers!
• Sharp scissors
• Post its
• GG UK Lanyard
• A set of blank Training Feedback forms just in case the organiser forgets or runs short.
• Expenses claim form!

GG Resources:

• The Guiding Handbook
• Guidance notes for leaders Brownie & Guide sections
• Good Guiding is ...... notes inc. guiding conversation and a laminated flower with 10 petals
• Being Prepared and blank Risk Assessment forms
• Participation on a plate guide
• "Being our Best" booklet, guiding conversation and Access & Excellence checklists
• Latest edition of Guiding magazine
• Latest Adventure Made Easy guide
• Some Trainer Self-evaluation forms - always best to capture reflections asap after a training
• My current Trainers Development Plan in case anything occurs that I want to add by hand

Home Made Training Resources:

• 5 Essential cards with a memorable picture for each Essential
• 5 Guide Zone cards
• Sets of Red, Amber, Green voting cards Leaders can use to participate in voting during a training e.g about a resource or game
• One set of numbered stand up cards to prioritise activities e.g in a circuit training event or to establish the order for activities to be undertaken. 

Obviously materials related to the subject of the training and yes my bag is heavy, but at least I know I can respond flexibly and knowledgeably. Also means that if the brief for the session wasn't the same as the Leaders were expecting, there is the opportunity to be flexible and meet their needs. Of course the training organiser always gives the correct brief!

Mission Promise

A gorgeous Promise resource created by Worksop Brownies for supporting girls with Promise activities see http://5thworksopmethodistbrownies.weebly.com/resources.html there are Rainbow, Brownie, Guide resource packs and a senior section one is coming soon. Once you have done 6 or more of the challenges there is a badge you can buy. So far we have done 3 challenges, and 2 of them have involved sweets, so the mission has been a really successful one with our Guides.

This is an excellent example of leaders generating good material and they have done an effective job at matching content for the age range. We are going to do another 3 challenges this week!

Random Stimulus Exercise to generate new ideas

This was another exercise from the creative techniques workshop earlier in the year - I've used it on 2 separate occasions now and it works really well. Good ice breaker material as well as it gets people contributing and laughing.

Basic premise is that new ideas are generated based on seemingly unrelated objects which are then related back to the original problem. It works by providing a number of physical objects - you can pick items around the room but I prefer to choose things related to the theme. So for example a recent Be your Best training had the theme of journey down the river BOB - so I collected items with a maritime theme e.g a boat, seagull, life buoy, anchor and some more regular items like chocolate and elastic bands. You could also use pictures to stimulate ideas. I then asked Leaders to come up one at a time from each group and select an item and generate an idea to help with the problem; which in this instance was what did they want to get out of their residential weekend? Ideas can be based on sense, smell, feeling, imagination, or association - the wackier the better really. Then the group reviews the ideas they have come up with. Most certainly bizarre but it worked well and a lot of fun was generated going by the noise levels in the room.  

Inset training week and Girls Matter publication

Newest GG UK publication and cloth badge below

 The week before half term and Gloucestershire adopted the idea of an inset training week - instead of unit meetings all Leaders were expected to participate in a Leader training. Trainings were organised all over the County focussing on those areas who don't normally get the opportunity to a host a training. There were a number of other training topics but predominantly the week focussed on the new resource - which had a rather mixed response. The best being from a history teacher who is going to build some aspects into her teaching, the general conclusion being that it was something to dip in and out of to launch other activities e.g GFI's!

I was doing the Guide Section training on both my nights and got very different reactions in both of the venues. We had been given a common training plan to use on the pretext that some delivering the trainings weren't trainers. I amended the training plan to include Good Guiding is ..... as a way to feed back on the ice breaker and also added in other resources principally GFI's! and South West region publications.  Nobody envisaged working on the resource beginning to end, but there was good conversation on how to use it. I did self evaluation forms from both my trainings as there are some wider conversations to be had especially on the first evening. I covered a huge number of miles in the week over 80 miles and I was really tired come the end of the week. I want one of the fold flat cardboard flip charts as they are really useful! Hope next year I get a venue a bit nearer to home.     

Pack Types

Have you ever tried playing pack types? They are promoted as self awareness cards which are loosely based on Belbin's team roles. I had the opportunity to test them out last weekend at a residential training event and the feedback was positive and generally felt the cards were accurate. Check out http://www.packtypes.com/ to see a short video on how to play. They fitted beautifully into the theme of "Being our Best" as I was training on the softer skills around succession planning - motivation & participation through decision making. Lots of opportunities to promote GG UK resources but pack types was really good in helping the Leaders think about their personal contribution.

Reasonably priced at around £25 a pack and of robust quality - I will certainly use again in training, and have already loaned them out at work. Watch the courier used by the seller as they insist on a signature on delivery which is hard when you are out all day. Is it the sort of resource County's will buy for Trainers to keep as a county resource?

Inclusive Training Checklist

This was the title of a hand out from the Trainers conference last month. Useful if not common sense advice about how to make trainings accessible to all members under 3 headings of the training room, resources & activities. Interestingly the most accessible font was suggested as a sans serif one e.g Trebuchet, Arial, Tahoma & Verdana. I was always taught that Times New Roman was the most readable font, so I thought it was worth investigating. Turns out that for online reading a sans serif font is considered more legible than a serif font which Times New Roman is - so I will change my ways from now on.

The advice given on activities was equally as relevant for planning meetings as trainings e.g. have additional extension activities in your back pocket and support different ways of learning in those participating.

Good hand out  that needs a better title!