Train the Trainer
This course is for experienced teachers who are interested in making the move into teacher development. You will consider the difference between teaching and training and be introduced to key concepts and approaches to teacher development. You will develop a tool kit for designing training sessions, enhance your mentoring skills and consider the key principles in observation and feedback. You will also reflect on your own teaching beliefs and behaviours and set your own development goals.
Course Dates
This course will run twice in 2023:
- 23rd January 2023 – 19th March 2023
- 27th March 2023 – 21st May 2023
Price
£500
Structure of the course
This is an 8-week course, with 6 - 8 hours of study time required each week. Participants can organise their own time within each week. There will be two live synchronous sessions during the course, which will be arranged at a time agreed with all course participants. These sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend.
The course links theory with practice and aims to build awareness, confidence and skills. There will be two study units each week. Each unit will include a mix of reading, videos and interactive and reflective tasks. There will also be discussion and small group tasks each week making use of discussion forums and providing the opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other.
Who is the course for?
Teachers with a minimum of five years’ teaching experience who are interested in teacher development and becoming trainers. Teachers with one- or two-years’ experience of training teachers will also find this course useful.
You should have a minimum language level of high B2/C1 on the Common European Framework.
Digital learning platform
The course will be accessed through Edinburgh College Moodle, with live synchronous sessions taking place on Microsoft Teams. Participants will need to have a computer with access to the internet to complete the course.
Course Content
| Unit A | Unit B | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 |
Beliefs about teaching and learning In this unit, you will consider the question What is teaching? and review common teaching models including exploration of the reflective model in detail. |
Teaching v. Training In this unit, you will explore the finer distinctions between the key features of teacher roles and trainer roles. There will be the opportunity to personalise your understanding of the differences in the reflective journal task where you consider your own pre-service and in-service training. |
| Week 2 |
Teacher motivation and needs In this unit, the topic of motivation will be thoroughly examined. You will establish why motivation is so important, study the different types of motivation and look at some useful ways of fostering motivation in teachers. |
Key trainer Skills In this unit, you will look at useful ways both to engage teachers and to look at your own existing skills and consider how these can be adapted to fit your new role. Finally, you will be invited to complete a self-evaluation around the skills you are confident in and those that you need to develop. |
| Week 3 |
Resistance and problem solving In this unit, the issues around managing teachers as students are looked at in detail. You will learn about building confidence and promoting a positive training culture. In addition, you will examine different ways to solve any emerging problems |
Initial assessment and needs analysis of teachers In this unit, you will experiment with different ways of designing and conducting needs analyses and have the opportunity to compare shared areas of needs of your teachers with your peers. |
| Week 4 |
Key areas of training & resources In this unit, you will consider your own teaching context and the training needs of those within it. You will explore resources to support the needs and how they might be exploited in targeted training sessions. |
Use of technology in training In this unit, you will be introduced to a variety of tech tools that can be used to support teaching and training. You will gain first hand experience of some of these in the interactive and research tasks for this unit. |
| Week 5 |
Observing teachers In this unit, you will consider the purpose of observations and reflect on your own experiences of these. There will be debate around the issues that observations present and you will explore ways of addressing these through implementation of an effective observation process. |
Giving constructive feedback In this unit, you will explore the importance of giving post-observation feedback. You will be given some useful tips for delivering this and have the chance to experiment with these in application task for the unit. |
| Week 6 |
Alternatives to observation In this unit, you will look at how to foster independent reflection and development and experiment the techniques available to promote critical self-reflection. You will consider the importance of psychological safety of your teachers in the reflective journal task. |
Action research for teachers In this unit, you will explore the topic of action research through the presentation of case studies. You will study the process for action research and reflect on the usefulness of Brookfield’s 4 lenses approach in our reflective journal task for this unit. |
| Week 7 |
Designing successful training sessions In this unit, you will identify the key features of effective training sessions and exploit these both for evaluation purposes and designing and preparing your own training sessions for your context. |
Plan and deliver a video training session In this unit, you will have the opportunity to implement the knowledge gained thus far into the planning of your training session. You will have the unique opportunity to record and share your session with your peers, where you will be able to ask and answer related questions. |
| Week 8 |
Evaluating impact In this unit, you will be guided through a series of activities which will enable you to measure the effectiveness of your training. You will be exposed to a variety of evaluative practices and encouraged to use a checklist as one way of self-assessing your training sessions. |
CPD for trainers In this unit, the topic of CPD is explored. You will look at different frameworks and how these might inform your own CPD going forward. |
