Demonstration

NOTE:

This lesson requires preparation time for the trainer in gathering and double-checking all necessary equipment for the demonstration and for practicing the technique before presenting to trainees.

PURPOSE

· To provide Trainees an opportunity to develop demonstration skills.

· To provide Trainees with accurate techniques for filtering guinea worm cyclops. from water.

OBJECTIVES

· Trainees will be able to demonstrate how to correctly filter drinking water through a cloth filter to prevent guinea worm disease.

· Trainees will able to explain the importance of filtering drinking water to avoid guinea worm contamination.

PROCEDURE

5 MINUTES

1. Begin by reviewing basic knowledge concerning guinea worm disease. (Trainees should have read the fact sheet on guinea worm by now.) Lead a brief discussion about the causes and prevention of the disease.

10 MINUTES

2. Display all necessary materials where they can be seen and ask participants to identify each item. You will need:

· Water to be filtered. (Ideally it should be from a local pond infected with guinea worm.)
· A clean local water storage pot or container to filter water into.
· Something to cover storage pot once water has been filtered.
· Filter cloth that is being used in the national program.
· Samples of other local cloth, such as wraps (paignes) or scarfs.
· Soap and basin with a jar of clean water to wash hands and to wash filter after demonstration.
· String, elastic, or fiber used to attach cloth to mouth of storage jar (depending on model of filter used).
· Cup or jar or calabash for pouring water.

"Start where the people are. Build on what they know. Don't forget that you can learn something from them as you are teaching."

Dorothy Bird Nyswander

Demonstration

Explain that you are about to demonstrate how to filter water to prevent guinea worm disease.

10 MINUTES

3. Perform each step below. Talk through each step as people watch and listen to everything you do.

· Wash your hands with soap and clean water first.

· Explain that cloth that has a fine weave can catch the cyclops. that contain guinea worm larvae. Pass around samples of the filter cloth and other local cloth and ask people to notice the difference.

· Inspect the filter cloth to be sure there are no holes or tears.

5 MINUTES

· Attach the filter to the clean storage pot. (Depending on the filter model, you would place it over the lip of jar or tie it with string, etc.) Make sure filter fits snugly around edges, then form a slight depression in the center with your fingers.

· Pour pond water very slowly from bucket so that none will splash or cause filter to come off. You may scoop water from bucket with a jar or cup or you may pour directly from bucket if possible. POUR VERY SLOWLY. Allow all water to go through filter.

· Remove filter very carefully so that no dirt or tiny organisms fall back into filtered water.

· Cover the filtered water pot.

· Show participants any dirt that may have collected on filter.*

· Shake out filter away from drinking water pot.

· Wash the filter in basin with soap and clean water.

· Hang the filter to dry in a safe place.

· Throw out dirty water from basin away from immediate vicinity.

· Ask participants if they have any questions.

* You can demonstrate the presence of cyclops. by carefully turning the used filter upside down over a clear glass jar. Pour some clean water over it to wash cyclops. into jar. Cyclops should be visible to the naked eye, but if you have a magnifying glass you could see them clearly.

5 MINUTES

4. Ask Trainees to repeat orally the steps you just went through in filtering the water and to give an explanation for why you did each thing.

10 MINUTES

5. Ask for a volunteer to come forward to repeat the filtering demonstration. Ask the remaining Trainees to critique the demonstration. If time permits, allow a few more Trainees to practice the skill.

5 MINUTES

6. Ask someone who has not done a demonstration to summarize the main points of the lesson. Make sure the following points are emphasized:

· Always filter drinking water from ponds, streams, and other suspect sources.

· Examine filter before use to determine if it has holes or tears.

· Handle filter carefully after use so that cyclops. and dirt do not inadvertently fall back into water jar.

· Wash filter carefully with soap and water and hang it to dry in a safe place away from sharp objects or tree branches that might tear the cloth.

7. Ask if there are any further questions.

· If the trainer feels confident with language and their relationship with the Trainees, they should consider discussing the effectiveness of cloth filters in preventing diarrhea! diseases (not effective because bacteria and viruses pass through the porous cloth filters.

Thank Trainees for their participation and encourage them to always filter water themselves if there is any doubt of its safety.

"You got to look at things with the eye in your heart, not with the eye in your head."

Lame Deer

"Once you wake up a thought in someone, you can never put it to sleep again."

Zora Neale Hurston

Demonstrations are a powerful training method and animation technique because participants learn by doing, utilizing all of their senses. Demonstrations bring alive the points you may have been trying to make through discussion or readings or lecture. Participants have the opportunity to experience an idea, not just understand it theoretically. Demonstrations are very important to the learning of a hands-on procedure or an activity that has several parts to remember.

It is an opportunity to show rather than just explain how something is done, and to observe the reaction of the audience to better assess their level of comprehension. Demonstrations are an especially important animation tool if language barriers exist.

A few guidelines to respect in order to succeed with your demonstration:

1. BE PREPARED. Think carefully through every step of your demonstration before trying it with your audience. Walk and talk yourself through it at least once in advance.

2. GET YOUR MATERIALS IN ORDER. Have everything you will need in order to do the demonstration properly. Double check the equipment beforehand to avoid last minute glitches.

3. SET YOUR STAGE. Make sure that you have arranged your demonstration site so that everyone will be able to see you. Arrange your materials so that the steps flow smoothly.

4. EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF THE DEMONSTRATION. Clearly explain the purpose of the activity to your audience before you get started. If they know what you are doing, they will be able to follow the steps more easily and retain the information longer. You can let them know ahead of time that you will ask them to try the same thing later.

5. PROCEED STEP-BY-STEP. Present each part of your demonstration step-by-step in small sequential gestures and explain as you go along. Do not leave out any steps.

Remember that your audience will copy your every move when doing it on their own.

6. PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICE! Give participants a chance to practice, and offer feedback after each step of the demonstration. Reinforce their success and give helpful feedback when they do not perform a step accurately.

7. TAKE QUESTIONS. Allow time after all practice demonstrations for questions that will clarify details just now occurring to your audience.

8. CONSIDER HOST CULTURE. Always check with someone locally about your plan to demonstrate, what materials you will use and the explanations you plan to give for certain practices. If you demonstrate ignorance of the cultural context, you may lose credibility for your future work in the community.

9. HAVE FUN. Enjoy what you are doing and make the learning enjoyable for your audience. It isn't always easy for people to get up before a crowd to demonstrate a newly learned skill. If your audience sees that you are at ease with the process, they will be more at ease themselves.

"Don't ever let anyone tell you that one person cannot make a difference."

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

Demonstration