TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Sara Paolazzo
Drop-In was a 5 day training course (TC) for youth workers and teachers who want to improve and support the learning process of (potential) school drop-outs. The TC was designed to:
-Discover various reasons why youngsters disconnect from school
-Experience different ways of learning
-Reinforcesynergies between formal and non-formal education
-Share and learn tools, methods and best practicesfrom different international perspectives
The TC involved 30 participants, both youth workers and teachers, from: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey. Teachers and youth workers who work with 14 to 18 year olds; who wished to have an impact on potential school leavers to boost their learning curve-either inside or outside school-and who want to share and learnin an international group of like-minded.
The team of trainers was an International team. It was formed by a trainer from Latvia (Stanislavs Babins), one from Netherlands (Floris Muller) and one from Bulgaria (Sandra Apostolova).
The training was based on three principles:
- Exploring together
take accountability for the outcomes and the groups wellbeing. We learn and share from and with each other.
- Diversity of methods
take different learningstyles into account and make use of the knowledge and (intercultural) differences within the group.
-Experiential learning
learning by doing as an important learning style. That means not only theory, but also doing activities and learn from them.
According to these principles I implemented the following activities:
- Statements & Dilemma: define the school drop-out and analyze the phnomenon through participants' statements and dilemmas coming from their experiences and compare it with the official definition of the European Commission;
- Connecting Islands: introduction of the comprehensive approach of the EC to foster the cooperation between different social actors involved in the prevention of school drop-out by using legos
- Family Reflection: facilitate the daily reflection of small group by usign different methods
- Dockd Full of Methods and Methodologies: introduction of different non-formal methods useful to stimulate young people's motivation in education through 6 stations. This method was based on the methodology of self-directed learning: participants were free to join a station, follow the instruction to implement the method presented, and spend there how many time they wanted according to theri learning needs and interests
- Final Group Evaluation: after telling the story of the training from the first to the last day in order to help participants to remember their experience; I used the software Mentimeter to facilitate a group evaluation based in three simple questions: 1. what did I get out of the training?; 2. what did I improve/develop?; 3. what do you want to take with you?; 4. what do you want to leave here?; 5. how would you describe this experience with one word?
•Better understanding of the phenomenon of school drop-outs and early school leaving.
•Better recognition of the role of the different main stakeholders in the learning process of the youngsters.
•Better understanding how formal and non-formal education can reinforce each other.
•New perspectives, understanding and learnings from the intercultural and European differences in relation to potential school drop-outs.
•New tools and methods to support learning processes of youngsters.
•Understanding of several theoretical models related to the topic and how to apply them to their own context.
- Organize and facilitate the activities before mentioned;
- Prepare flipcharts and materials for the activities
- Support the other trainers in implementing their activities;
- Facilitate the individual and group reflection on their learning process;
- Support participants' learning process
- Take into account participants' learning needs according to the objectives, activities and flow of the training.