 | Agricultural development workers training manual: Volume I Orientation for Trainers |
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Appendix C Pre-training research tasks
TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY TRAINING STAFF BEFORE THE VISIT
• Contact the Peace Corps Project Manager to set up meetings with:
- National Ministry staff (administrative and field)
- Peace Corps Volunteers in same or similar jobs, preferably at their sites
- Peace Corps Staff, particularly the Program and Training Representatives (PTRs)
• Arrange visits to trainees' future sites and/or typical sites
• Study TACs and D.O.W.; develop a rough analysis of the content:
- What tasks will the Volunteer have to be able to perform?
- What knowledge will the Volunteer have to acquire during training in order to competently perform those tasks?
- With regard to unclear items (a) and (b), what questions will need to be answered during the Pre-Training Research visit?
- Analysis the content of the D.O.W. and TACs, extracting key behavioral phrases, e.g., "Promote gardens, "Supervise planting", "Develop competence in gardening among Host Country Nationals", "Organize new agriculture cooperative"; answer the following questions:
What do they mean?
What are the tasks and competencies which they imply?
What are the implications for you as a trainer?
How can these competencies be trained?
How can they be evaluated?
In what settings should the training and evaluation take place?
Develop tentative answers to as many questions as possible--these tentative answers may have to be modified after the Pre-Training Research Visit.
• Review your tentative flat of tasks -- make certain that the individual tasks are not too general.
• Draft tentative Training Objectives, making certain that they are measurable and as behavioral as possible.
• Review Technical Training Objectives with the Technical Coordinator and the Project Director; try to answer the following questions:
- If a trainee performs the objective, will that be a true measure of 0a or her ability to perform the task?
- Are all the teaks covered by objectives?
- Do the Performance Criteria conform to a minimally acceptable standard of trainee performance?
• Try to answer the following questions:
- What economic, political, cultural, or technological trends are liable to influence the Trainee's ability to do his or her job?
- What questions will you need answered by PC staff, host agency personnel?
• Take with you to the PC office:
- D.O.W. and TACs
- Task Analysis Materials, including the tentative Task Analysis based on the D.O.W. and TACs
- Draft Technical Training Objectives and Core Curriculum Objectives
- Copy of your questions to be answered on the trip
- Copy of the Pre-Training Research Tasks (this task list)
- Draft of Memo of Understanding if appropriate
- Camera and film
RESEARCH TASKS
• Meet with the Country Director and the PTR
- Explain what you hope to accomplish during your visits.
- Firm up a schedule
- Brief them on the work you have done to date
- Confirm the accuracy of the D.O.W. and TACs; make changes as required
- Leave behind a copy of the Memo of Understanding draft and the tentative Training Objectives for their study.
• Discuss Specific Ag. Information (listed above) and obtain as much as you can.
• Visit Peace Corps Volunteers doing same or similar job; informally observe each Volunteer for 1/2 or 1 day at work.
- What technical tasks are performed?
- What interpersonal exchanges take place?
- What is the Volunteer's general living situation?
• Discuss with each Volunteer:
- His/her typical week (after hours, week-ends, holidays--recreation and social activities).
- Your task analysis materials for points which are incorrect or points which must be emphasized.
The job:
- What has been the easiest?
- What has been the hardest?
- What has been the most successful?
- How does the Volunteer account for his/her successes and/or failure? Explore this.
• Obtain descriptions of village farmers and counterpart of the volunteer at the technical level.
• What are the things the Volunteer does which seem to please or displease the people with whom he/she interacts? Viceversa?
- What is a typical week like for counterpart and village farmers?
- What new behaviors has the Volunteer adopted which have made adaptation easier?
- What are the common topics of social conversation?
• Discuss Specific Ag Information (listed above) and obtain as much as you can.
• Visit Host Country Agency personnel, both officials and field.
- Identify yourself, whom you work for, why you are there, what you hope to learn, how the official can help training staff provide better Volunteers.
- Develop or obtain an organization chart of the ministry; obtain brief biographies of those persons with whom the Volunteer will relate.
- Obtain a brief history of the development of the program - - who thought of it, why is it needed, how is it going, etc.?
- Obtain copies of relevant technical materials from the Agency.
- Enlist agency support for training; to provide materials consultants, etc.
- Obtain the agency's opinion of the reasons for the successes and failure of Volunteers. What are the characteristics or behaviors of successful vs. unsuccessful Volunteers?
- Discuss specific agriculture information (listed above) and obtain as much as you can.
• If appropriate, participate in the identification and selection of Volunteers who will participate in the training program; negotiate tasks and responsibilities with them.
• Obtain site surveys from the Peace Corps.
• In consultation with the Peace Corps staff, arrive at the final list of Training Objectives.
• Sign off a Memo of Understanding with the Peace Corps Country Director.
• Review the draft Training Plan Materials with the responsible host agency officials for their approval or suggestions for modifications.
TRAINING INPUT TASKS
• Write report, assemble materials collected in-country.
• Meet with Training Staff to report findings and share findings.
• Determine where and how findings are included in Training Plan and Curriculum.
• Send copies of all materials, reports, etc., to relevant Desk Officers, etc.
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