Active Citizenship Training for Staff
Preparation:
The prospective participants will receive a list of materials (studies, books, articles, etc.) along with websites connected to the course content. Support information and detailed programme will be provided. Via e-mail a questionnaire will be sent to the participants in order to indicate their professional requirements, interests and expectations related to the subject of the course. They will be asked to prepare short Power-Point Presentation, showing their institution and/or their own experience in the subject matter of the training event.
Target Group:
-
Teachers (Pre-school, Primary, Secondary, Vocational, Adult, Special needs);
-
Teacher Trainers;
-
Head teachers/principals/managers of schools/organisations offering adult education
The Active Citizens Training Course is orientated to participants who want to develop:
-
A strong sense of their own culture and identity;
-
A knowledge and understanding of local community;
-
Project planning, leadership and management skills;
-
An attitude of responsibility towards sustainable development;
-
An attitude of valuing and working effectively with difference;
Objectives:
The course is aimed at community teachers, leaders and trainers working to support students/residents from a wide range of backgrounds to build the skills, knowledge and confidence to take part in local decision making. The unit is a short course open to people demonstrating experience in supporting others through informal learning. It requires no formal pre-learning or qualifications except identified life experience and will operate at certificate level.
Outline Schedule:
The unit combines exposure to the ideas and context of the active citizenship learning framework with an exploration of approaches to delivery of informal learning and general skills for trainers. It will operate at certificate level and will be part of a suite of short courses developed by the Motivated Learning for Everyone. The course will introduce participants to generic issues of training and tutoring and the specifics on informal learning approaches. These include an understanding of how to work in different learning environments and options for recording and celebrating learning and planning activities that develop skills, knowledge and competencies to take part in professional and civic roles and professional and civil life.
The content of the course will incorporate the following topics:
-
Exploring active citizenship issues from learners’ own experience and the resources and opportunities available to address issues of concern through democratic, civil and civic engagement;
-
Structures and processes for civil and civic engagement – including developing an improved appreciation of how the ‘locality’ works;
-
Social Justice and Active Citizenship theories and ideas in the context of lived experience and practice; exploring how the use of these can strengthen democracy;
-
Creating the ability for reflexive practice that leads to developing stronger communities – and the articulation / presentation of these practices;
-
Use of different media to express concerns, ideas and identities within communities;
-
Appreciate aspects of Civic Governance (in particular the identification of different civic roles) and the opportunities to take part and develop higher skills for participation and leadership;
-
Creating an organized and successful teaching process in the context of Active Citizenship;
-
Identifying the strengths of your team, and capitalizing on them;
-
Detecting the weak points and helping to get over them;
-
Being able to clearly and succinctly describe what you want done, to relate your vision ;
-
Enhancing the management skills.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
-
Create strategies for supporting learners to explore active citizenship and community leadership. Critically appreciate the values and principles of the Active Citizenship;
-
Take Part Approach and relate these to their own training practices and experience;
-
Create informal learning environments that enable community learners to recognise and articulate issues from their own daily life and ways of engaging with local decision makers in relation to these issues. Set up and maintain effective environments for learning; manage group dynamics and support the development of informal learning;
-
Critically (and constructively) reflect on barriers to participation and possible approaches to overcoming these barriers;
-
Deconstruct and analyse local structures and processes to identify local opportunities for community engagement, leadership and learning. Identify locally specific routes to influence decision-making and ways to create stronger voice and identity with their own learning groups;
-
Make conceptual distinctions that help build the skills, knowledge and confidence of others to take part in democratic processes and shape local communities;
-
Critically reflect on the role of active citizens in shaping society – and personal development opportunities available to take part (individually and collectively);
-
Reflect on the role of active citizens in shaping society – and personal development opportunities available to take part (individually and collectively).
Learning and Teaching Strategy/ Methods:
A number of approaches will be used to develop skills for the delivery of active learning for active citizenship course. Learners will be encouraged to keep a log for their own personal development. Shared materials will be developed by the group and a mixed media portfolio developed to show the development of ideas and the reflections on experience in the community.
The methodological approach implicates:
-
Team – Building Sessions;
-
Group Discussions;
-
Problem – Solving Activities;
-
Debates;
-
Questioning;
-
Goal – Setting sessions;
-
Decision – Making Sessions;
-
Action – Based Strategies;
-
Brainstorming;
-
Planning an Structuring;
-
Negotiation and Persuasion;
-
Ice – Breaker Sessions,
-
Self – Motivation Sessions;
-
Tests.
Follow-up:
A mailing list of participants will be created after the course and they will be encouraged to remain in contact with the trainers and with their fellow participants, as long as to establish future partnerships and projects, related to LLP. Self-evaluation materials will be provided. At the end of the course the participants will accomplish a questionnaire in order to get a detailed feedback for the effectiveness of the training event. They will be asked to present an action agenda on the method of implementing the key learning points into their professional practice. A Facebook group will be formed for discussions and sharing of ideas and good practices after the workshop. The participants will be given the opportunity to transmit the knowledge and experience achieved to their colleagues and by this to assist in the dissemination of the leaning results and outcomes.
Programme of training activities day-by-day:
Day 1 – SUNDAY
Arrival and accommodation at the hotel: Ice – breaking meeting
Day 2 – MONDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Welcome and registration
10:00 – 11:00 Introduction: What is Active Citizenship? (1 hour)
11:00 – 13:00 Active Citizenship in Schools and in the Community (2 hours)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 17:00 Guided City Tour
Day 3 – TUESDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Team-building session
10:00 – 13:00 Developing and Improving Leadership Skills (3 hours)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 17:00 Principles of Leadership (3 hours)
Day 4 – WEDNESDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Team-building session
10:00 – 12:00 Active Leadership Communication Skills (2 hours)
12:00 – 13:00 Guiding Principles of Active Citizenship/Discussion – Part 1 (1 hour)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 15:00 Guiding Principles of Active Citizenship/Discussion – Part 2 (1 hour)
15:00 – 17:00 Sharing Active Citizenship Stories (2 hours)
Day 5 – THURSDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Team-building session
10:00 – 13:00 Active Citizenship Professional Learning Package: Classroom Practice – Democratic Classroom (3 hours)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 17:00 Active Citizenship Professional Learning Package: Beyond the Classroom (3 hours)
Day 6 – FRIDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Team-building session
10:00 – 13:00 Active Citizenship Professional Learning Package: Participation in the Community (3 hours)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 17:00 Active Citizenship Lesson Plans (3 hours)
Days 7/8 – SATURDAY and SUNDAY
Free time for participants and visiting places of interest
Day 9 – MONDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Team-building session
10:00 – 13:00 Community Cohesion and Diversity: Understanding of and respect of Diversity; Benefits of living in Multicultural Society? (3 hours)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 17:00 Active Citizenship and Human Rights (3 hours)
Day 10 – TUESDAY
09:30 – 10:00 Team-building session
10:00 – 13:00 Discussion: Websites useful for Global Citizenship (3 hours)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – Feedback, course evaluation and dissemination focus; Farewell
Day 11 – WEDNESDAY
Departure day
