Bridging the water

Co create to learn & experience

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Vlag_SA

First delivery of Training of trainers in Cape Town

Twelve participants from the City of Cape Town received training in the Training of Trainers course from the 19th-20th November 2019. The training was delivered by Agnes Maenhout and Evelien Meijerink of World Water Academy (WWA) as part of the Orange Knowledge Programme. There was a high sense of anticipation by the participants who were excited to be a part of this learning experience with the aim of becoming a trainer at the end of the course.

An outcome of the course delivery was that during the training participants experienced that it was easy to formulate the do’s and don’ts of a trainer, but that it was in fact difficult to actually stand in front of the group and deliver the course material as a trainer . At the end of the training one of the participants remarked: “I never considered myself as a trainer, but now I think I will succeed!”

The course was about the art of being a trainer. A range of topics were discussed such as the do’s and don’ts of a trainer, prior knowledge, learning objectives, interactive teaching methods, motivation of the participants and lastly, assessments and evaluation. But learning through action is the most powerful activating teaching method, so the participants all executed three mini lessons during the training. The mini lessons gave them the chance to experience being a trainer and to practice structuring lessons, to be aware of your target group and the learning objectives and to try to be interactive.

Most of the participants were familiar with lectures, but in the training we emphasized the importance of creating interaction during  lessons to keep the attention level of the participants as high as possible. And because each participant has his own learning style it’s also important to offer different methods of learning.

The course was assessed with a multiple choice exam and a practical assessment. Despite the nervousness during the final assessment, all the participants showed a lot of improvement during the execution of their mini lessons. Participants received their certificates at the end of the training on November 22. Participants have been given the necessary tools to set up and deliver an interactive lesson. The participants were given the guide to be effective and interactive trainers and it is now up to them to practice, practice and practice. That is the only way that one can grow and be successful as a trainer. We believe that they will all succeed!

Bridging the Water is part of the Orange Knowledge Programme.