My TALE continues ....

Among the biggest takes from TALE are the space and time given to me to reflect on my experiences and build stronger competences as a trainer together with a group of wonderful people and skillful professionals from all over Europe. However, my TALE does not finish with official end of program.

It is in TALE that I got fascinated about the self-directed learning, being described as "a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others," to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes (Knowles 1975). The willingness to experience even more intensive self-directed experience, I took the chance to join the Sauve Scholars Program, providing resources, opportunities, space and time for self-directed learning.

E-learning is another topic that I started exploring in TALE and eventually to do a learning project on it. I am planning to explore further the topic theoretically and practically through my traininers. I have a feeling that its potentials still have to be opened for me.

I often feel "torn" between (a) universities and world of theory and formal education, and (b) youth work, trainings and world of practice and nonformal learning. I have a strong feeling and beleif that there is so much potential for both formal and nonformal education to benefit from each other and yet very little of this potential is explored and even less used in a daily basis by trainers, teachers, professors and educators. As an academic trainee at McGill University in Canada, I was nicely surprised to see professors actively using nonformal methods while teaching. But this is rather an exception in the world of education, than a rule. Having found two colleagues in TALE - Sven and Olga, I felt even more excited to explore the possibilities of bridging and linking formal and nonfomal education. This part of the TALE is yet to be continued ...

My TALE Continues ....

Importance of Balance

The notion of balance is of an increasingly important role in my life. I often struggle to find a balance personally and professionally.

formal education vs. nonformal learning

trainer vs. youth worker vs. manager

academics vs. practice

study vs. work

 comfort vs. challenge

give vs. take

past vs. future

.......

I can continue on and on and on. I often find myself trying to be or create the balance also as a trainer. And on the way to achieving balance in this particular role - as a trainer, I come across questions that need balancing answers, such as

• where is the balance among skills, knowledge and attitudes? How do I address all in a balanced way in the limited time of the training?
• How to ensure short-term takes from a training with long-term impact the training aims to give to trainees?
• ....

I often feel that having those questions in mind might be even more important than having found answers to them. . .

My Learning Project

In current world of technology every day we witness new approaches, tools and methods to learning. E-learning comprising all forms of electronically supporting learning and teaching has found a worldwide acceptance due to the possibilities it opens through flexibility and availability.

Experiencing myself e-learning first time in TALE and exploring the possibilities of using it in my work as a trainer, I came across a number of challenges which made me even more curious to explore e-learning further.

Throughout the exploration, I understood a few simple “truths” about e-learning.

(1)    E-learning cannot and should not replace formal classroom teaching, it should rather complement it. Blended learning is the key!

(2)    E-learning challenges the trainers with new considerations and set of skills for design and implementation, and trainees with different learning qualities to be expressed. Thus, e-learning requires a different approach and way of thinking from the educators and the students. We should not approach with the same mindset as the formal and non-formal education.

Those are some of the reasons why the initial excitement and attractiveness of e-learning experiences often on its way disappoint the learners and educators.

Consequently, I am left with a number of questions, such as

§  Is e-learning only effective in formal education? Can it be effective in non-formal education?

§  How to ensure a complete experiential learning cycle through e-learning? How to ensure participatory approach? How to secure adequate exchange and feedback channels?

§  How e-learning tools can keep the trainees motivated and engaged?

§  If blended learning is the key, then how to blend e-learning with non-formal and formal educational programs where they complete each other giving up the weaknesses of each?

As a part of my e-learning exploration, my TALE learning project aims to highlight a few successful interactive tools and methods which are used e-learning.

Training Project - 2

My Training Project - 2
Connecting Formal and Nonformal Education in Action

6-13 December, 2010
Ergli Latvia

Being connected with strong ties both with nonformal and formal education I have often felt like a bridge between the two, a willingness to connect them and bring better results to both educational settings.

The idea of the training startes from this goal of mine and the willingness to explore the potential of blending and bridging formal and nonformal learning. This training course supported by Latvian National Agency of YiA program will bring together teachers, social workers and youth workers to go further in the topic and unfold the potential not being used much and to commit ourselves through our work to bridge formal and nonformal education particularly in work with youth with fewer opportunities.

The training course will provide a platform to the participants to explore links between the formal (FE) and non-formal (NFE) education, discuss how they address the learning needs of individuals and communities, particularly in special institutions such as boarding schools, orphanages, special educational and social care institutions, etc., analyze the role of NFE and FE in life-long learning and learning to learn approach, and promote accepting NFE not as an alternative to FE, but complementary to it, both as parts of lifelong learning, each having its own objectives and outcomes.

My learning plan

My Learning Plan

A year and half ago ..... the TALE started .....

And it is then that I set up my goals and objectives to where I want the TALE to take me to .....

Explore lifelong learning and particularly the interrelation of formal and nonformal education

• to look at approaches and methodologies in FE and NFE and how they complete each other
• to identify the overlap and how non-formal and formal education can benefit from each other 
• to discuss how FE and NFE can work together to bring a more holistic education
• to explore NFE and FE in frame of lifelong learning

Explore/enlarge knowledge in some topics including consulting, e-learning, learning to learn, youth policies in national, European and international levels, etc.

• to increase my knowledge in certain topics
• to be able to organize effective e-learning activities
• be more effective in teaching how to learn using learning to learn as a concept
• to enlarge my knowledge transfer repertoire and open new work area through consulting

Develop my competences in training program design and methodology\

• Diversify the techniques, tools and methods I use
• Incorporate new tools in my training sessions
• Design programs responding to various ways of learning/different learning styles

Develop competence of facilitating group learning process

• Choose appropriate methods
• Adapt existing methods and create new ones
• Take into consideration various learning styles and how to balance with group needs
• Devise, monitor and evaluate group learning processes

 As the TALE unfolds, looking back to the path, I realize that it is not only my progress towards those objectives need to be evaluated, but the impact of TALE on my motivation, determination, continuous self-reflection ..... these make me beleive that the TALE continues ....

My Training Project "EVS Garden"
29 September - 5 October, 2010
Tynec na Sazavou, Czech Republic

EVS garden was the initiation and creation of the three trainers (Lilit Simonyan (Armenia), Helca Metelkova (Czech Republic) and Ekaterina Sherer (Russia)) involved in TALE (Trainers Learning Active in Europe) long-term trainers program of European Youth Partnership. It was supported and administered by the Czech National Agency of Youth in Action Program.

The trainers used a metaphoric approach to the topic of learning process in EVS. EVS Garden is a beautiful place, where there is learning together how to help the EVS volunteers to grow, how to support them in their growing, what is the quality fertilising and watering, when is the right timing for garden work, how to recognize the ripe fruit, how to pick them and how use them later.  The training connected „gardeners“ – mentors,  coordinators and ex-EVS volunteers from EU countries and EECA region (Eastern Europe and Caucasus) to share practice, experiences, skills and knowledge and learn how to support the development and growing of their EVS volunteers.

The GOAL of the Training Course was  to enhance the quality in EVS projects and development of key competences in Action 2, Youth in Action programs, by using NFE tools and methods among main actors in EVS projects focusing on EU and EECA region.

The PRIORITIES for the training were identified as:

Priority 1: Support volunteer growth and learning process

Priority 2: Partnership Building

The content of the program was based on the objectives and priorities identified by the trainers and Czech National Agency as well as the needs and expectations of the selected participants. Accordingly, the main elements of the program were:

-          Reflecting on own EVS experience

-          Exchange of EVS experience and realities

-          How do people learn and main learning styles

-          How to support learning of EVS volunteer

-          EVS and key competences

-          How to work with youth pass

-          Partnership building EECA and Programme Countries

-          Personal space for participants reflection

The program was based on the following methodological principles

í  Aquire knowledge by getting inputs from trainers, resource people, peer-participants and oneselve (internal insights)

í  Develop skills and attitudes by workshops, practical activities and plenary discussions, during the programme (based on non-formal learning) and in breaks or free time (informal learning)

í  Build the program on sharing experience and expertise with trainers, resource people, and peer trainees.

í  Give attention to learning processes: provide space for discussions, group feedback conversations and individual daily reflection

We had 13 participants from Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Romania, Turkey and Sweden. These was an amazing group to work with - bringing diverse backgrounds on the table, being very motivated and a fun group in general.

What I learnt during the training course?

- Motivation makes such a difference!

- Metaphors and associative topics can make the training so colorful, fun and effective.

- I explored various concepts of training evaluation strategies and how they can potentially be incorporating into a training course.

- Enlarged my trainer's repertoire with new training tools and methods.


- It takes more effort to work with people I have never worked with before. Clarifying expectations, setting up work approach, being tolerent and welcoming to different working styles and habits and appreciating the contribution of each member is very important.
- Got an "updated" sense of my strengths and weaknesses as a trainer.