TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Mara Arvai
Tuning In: to Learning and Youthpass’ is to contribute to the development of quality in youth work, with the focus on learning. The framework of the course is the Youthpass process that helps to reinforce the learning process in youth activities and to highlight the learning outcomes. During the training course, the Erasmus+ Youth in Action projects are being considered, as well as the wider youth work context.
The objectives:
• To discuss the potential of learning in youth work;
• To help to raise young people’s awareness of learning in youth work projects;
• To develop ideas and practice tools on how to support the learning process;
• To give practical support to document and formulate the learning outcomes.
Participants were youth workers from Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Turkey. Youth work practitioners (youth workers, mentors, trainers, etc., working with young people professionally or voluntarily), interested in developing the learning aspect of their work with young people.
Individual, pair and small group work, self-assessment, light theater method, mandala, learning river, Colombian mirror, Dixit cards, drawing, singing, practicing methods on learning assessment, etc.
The course was evaluated by participants in many different ways: the learning outcomes shared by the participants were a clear indication of what was learned during the training, besides this we had two active methods for evaluation: Participants created a song incorporating the best and the most challenging aspect of the training and secondly, we had a closing round for everyone to share how they felt now at the end of the training, using clay as a medium to express this feeling.
A questionnaire with questions about many aspects of the course was completed after the training course.
From All evaluations it was clear that the participants found the training very useful and answering their needs and expectations. They felt they actively participated and their participation was supported by the methods used and the enthusiasm and flexibility of the trainers.
Being able to apply the methods in own organisations scored 100% which indicated that the methods used were well chosen, logic and highly useful for youth workers on the ground.
The team of the training course consists of SALTO Training and Cooperation Resource Centre and three trainers with long-term experience in the training of youth workers and of trainers, on a wide array of topics: Mara Arvai, Mieke Neven McMahon and Paul Kloosterman. The preparation and implementation of the course was supported by the German National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth in Action.
Unfortunately, due to the few numbers of participants, one of the trainers (Paul Kloosterman) could stay only in the background and did not attend to the training course.