Permanent URI for this collection
This collection contains a variety of documents on training of teachers, facilitators, adult literacy managers, and the innovative use of various media to promote participation – television, radio, visual aids, pictures, games and simulations - in nonformal education
Browse
Recent Submissions
Publication Teacher Training: A Training Guide(1986) The Center for International Education,Publication Teacher Training: A Reference Manual(1986) The Center for International Education,Publication Effective Educational Radio: An Approach to Analyzing Programs(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1978) Theroux, James M.This paper aims to present the state of the art of radio program design. Because there are no easy formulas for designing effective educational programs, the paper should serve to stimulate the creative powers of its users. The users I have in mind are all those involved (or potentially involved) in the design and production of educational radio programming. These could include subject matter specialists, development planners, scriptwriters, studio directors, and the generalists we call "radio producers." Anyone who makes decisions about the form and content of radio programs should find something of value here.Publication Learning to Listen: A Field Guide to Methods of Adult Nonformal Education(Center for International Education, 1979) Vella, Jane KathrynThis booklet describes practical ways to implement theories of adult learning. Adopting the perspective of the field worker, the author discusses ways of listening to groups, sharing rather than transmitting information, and methods of problem posing in education. Includes the use of codes, role playing, games and folk material. The perspective of this book is that of the field worker. Theory can be found elsewhere in abundance; this is an attempt to consolidate practical ideas on adult learning for working men and women. The operative question of the entire text i: what ways of working with adults contribute towards both their personal development and the purposes of a particular program? Or, stated more succinctly: How can we adult educators learn to listen?Publication NFE-TV Television for Nonformal Education(1975) Gunter, Jonathan ForrestThis study develops guidelines for the use of television in nonformal education in developing areas of the world. Its recommendations are based upon analysis of three cases of television usage: in the formal educational system in El Salvador, in community development in village Alaska, and in nonformal education for parenthood in Bogota, Colombia. The study begins with a selective review of the literature on nonformal education. Three basic approaches to the selection of goals, objectives and methods for nonformal education are developed from the conflicting orientations of Philip Coombs, Ivan Illich, and Paulo Freire. Statements are drawn from the literature on the use of media in nonformal education. A list of dimensions are developed along which educational television varies. Analysis of the cases is made through application of the dimensions and in light of the three basic approaches to nonformal education. The three cases have been chosen to represent a progression in time and in philosophical digression from the traditional concept of educational television. Increasingly inexpensive and versatile television production hardware is applied to objectives which are increasingly divergent from those of traditional formal education. The Implications of these trends are summarized in a list of tentative guidelines which are submitted for the consideration of designers of subsequent television projects for nonformal education.Publication Nurturing Participation: A Facilitator's Introduction to Adult Nonformal Education and Participatory Training(Center for International Education, 2002-01-01) Mullinix, Bonnie B.This manual provides facilitators with a session-by-session guide for introducting participants to nonformal education and participatory training, components central to any community development or adult basic education and literacy effort. It covers a 33 contact hour Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop designed to be delivered over four intensive, residential days. The manual includes detailed session plans and all references, handouts and materials needed to facilitate the training. Although originally designed for use by NGO Trainers of Literacy Workers, it can easily be adapted for use in other contexts and settings.Publication Theater for Development: A Guide to Training(Center for International Education, 1985) Byram, Martin L.; Aryeequaye, Daniel C.A guide for village level trainers which describes the use of popular theater in development. It explores related issues and the impact of popular theater on community development and community awareness.Publication Self-Reflection for Staff Development(Center for International Education, 2002-01-01) Sultan, MainusThe larger purpose of this module is to create a learning climate that fosters the professional growth of development workers. This approach offers a subjective framework that encourages each participant to contribute to the development of the educational environment. The key rationale for creating an environment that is conductive to learning is to allow the participants to step back from their field reality in order to reflect upon their work experience. The tools presented emphasize the exploration of participants' existing knowledge instead of focusing on providing new information. The key objective is to develop a method that assists the participants in undertaking reflection and self-analysis in order to deal with issues of needs assessment, problem solving and program planning.Publication Widening Literacy: A Training Manual for Managers of Adult Literacy Learning Programs(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 2000-01-01) Rogers, Alan; Cohen-Mitchell, Joanie; Manandhar, UdayaThis training manual has been developed to serve two purposes: To be used as the basis of a training program and to be read independently of a training program as a tool for self-directed learning. To this end, some remarks are addressed to the independent reader. Both sets of users may of course use this manual in whichever way they prefer, starting where they wish to start and finishing where they wish to finish. But we recommend that looking at the introduction before beginning to work on any section which touches upon your current interest. This training manual is intended for all those persons at middle level of management in government or non-governmental or private voluntary organizations (NGOs or PVOs) who have responsibility for designing and managing adult literacy learning programs in the context of developing societies. The manual then is a management tool. It is not a training of trainers' manual or a facilitators' manual dealing with the classroom situation, rather it is about how to organize the program and how to facilitate the facilitator. To begin, we may wish to reflect on our role as a middle level manager. We may see ourselves as a bridge between, on the one hand, the local communities in which to adult literacy learning program is located (the facilitators and local support group, the participants, their families, and the groups they belong to, if any) and on the other hand the senior managers in our organization, and the national (and international) sponsoring agencies who may be supporting our program. Part of our task is to help these two groups to interact. We will need to see the program through the eyes of these different groups -- to bring the voice of the local communities in to the headquarters building, to represent their interests, and at the same time to bring the facilities and resources of the center out into the community. We will need to speak with at least two voices, while at the same time remaining true to ourselves, our own commitments and visions.Publication Compartiendo nuestras ideas(1987)Estimados Compañeros: Por este medio tenemos el gusto de brindarles este pequeño folleto, fruto de una labor colectiva por parte del grupo de participantes y capacitadores del Programa de Capacitación para Maestros de Educación Primaria. Esperamos que los materiales incluidos aquà les sean de utilidad en su trabajo docente, y que al mismo tiempo el folleto les sirva como un recuerdo cariñoso de esta convivencia única que pudimos compartir. La oportunidad de intercambiar las ideas y experiencas de todos ha sido la base para lograr un aprendizaje mútuo e inolvidable. Queremos agradecerles a todos por su participación en el programa y en la producción de este folleto. Nuestros mejores deseos de exitos en la vida les acompañaran siempre...Publication Aprenda a escuchar una guia a los metodos de educacion de adultos no formal(1979) Vella, Jane KathrynExisten análisis estadÃsticos que indican de manera irrefutable la necesidad que existe alrodedor del mundo de crear programas de educación no formales los cuales deberán alcanzar a millones de personas cuyas necisdades educativas no han sido stisfechas por medio del sistema de educación formal. A medida que estos programas se desarrollan, se llega a la siguiente conclusión: los métodos y enfoques utilizados por el sistema educativo formal para la educación de los adultos no han demonstrado ser eficientes en una educación no formal para adultos. La relación jerárquica entre maestro/estudiante, la lección bien preparada para "divulgar" concimiento, los ejercicios estructurados para practicar el uso de los nuevos conocimientos, y las pruebas para asegurar tanto al maestro como al estudiante de que éste ûltimo ha tenido éxito en el aprendizaje, carecen simplemente de carácter funcional en las situaciones de campo en las cuales la educación no formal puede ser de ayuda. Tenemos la necesidad de establecer un nuevo precedente: un paradigma o sistema para el aprendizaje de adultos. Los expertos teóricos en este campo han explicado el porqué de manera competente: Malcolm Knowles, Paulo Freire, Philip Coombs, George Axinn, y Tim Simkins han expuesto el plan y el objeto de una nueva pedagogÃa. Sin embargo, existen pocas guÃas de campo que indiquen la manera a proceder para implementar tal nuevo enfoque. Este breve libro propone satisfacer esta necesidad mediante la indicación de nuevos métodos de eduicación para el planteamiento de problemas (problem-posing education): el uso de códigos, la representación de juegos de papeles, los juegos, y el material folklórico. Este libro se concibe de la necisidad de una tal guÃa de campo como lo han expresado los colegas que trabajan en programas de educación no formal y de las experiencas del autor en un programa titulado "Educación Comunitaria para el Desarrollo" en Musoma, Tanzia. Este libro tiene la perspeciva de un trabajador de campo. Los aspectos teóricos se pueden hallar profusamente en otras referencias; se trata aquà de un intento de consolidar las ideas prácticas sobre el aprendizaje de adultos para hombres y mujeres que trabajan. El problema operativo de todo este texto es: ¿Qué maneras de trabajar con adultos contribuyen tanto a su desarollo personal como a los objectivos de un programa determinado?, o expuesto de manera más sucinta: ¿Cómo podemos nosotros los educadores de adultos, aprender a escuchar?Publication Understanding Pictures: A Study in the Design of Appropriate Visual Materials for Education in Developing Countries(1979) Walker, David AddisonThe human resources approach to national development has challenged educators to find ways of communicating with village people that do not rely on the written word. Pictures are being used increasingly as a way to deliver messages to illiterate groups. Recent cross-cultural research has shown, however, that many of the assumptions made about the kinds of information that can be delivered through pictures needs to be re-examined. Part I of the study sets forth the rationale for using pictures in nonformal educational settings and examines two current approaches to the problem of picture perception. The "constructive" theory maintains that pictures are inherently ambiguous and require active interpretation on the part of the viewer. The "registration" theory suggests that pictures give information which derives from the ecology of light. In this view, the recognition of graphic depictions is considered to be a fairly passive matter and a gift allowed to us by the environment. The evidence of cross-cultural research in picture perception which fives support to each of these positions is reviewed. Part I also discusses cross-cultural studies of intelligence and examines a body of literature which demonstrates that the intellectual demands of village life are often such that they do not stimulate some of the higher cognitive processes identified by Piaget. The author takes the position advanced by Piaget and Vygotsky that the development of conceptual awareness advances from an intuitive level to one of conscious understanding. Bruner's thesis concerning three modes of learning is also discussed. The traditional modes of learning in village settings are enactive (learning by doing) and iconic (learning by modeling). Symbolic learning which is learning by being told, usually takes place out of the context of ongoing action and, as such, is a radical departure from traditional practice. Like written language, pictures provide a form of symbolically coded experience, and in many cases the learner must be consciously aware of the cures of pictorial expression and how they are used, in order to properly decode their meaning. Part II details an empirical study carried out in Nepal with four samples of adult subjects: villagers with no schooling, villagers wit some primary or secondary schooling, workers in a furniture factory in the capital city of Kathmandu, and students at Tribhuvan University's Institute of Engineering. A series of sixteen experiments was carried out. The abilities tested were the recognition of depicted objects, the understanding of spatial relationships in concrete situations, and the comprehension of pictorial space. In an effort to avoid introducing arbitrary graphic conventions, photographs and line drawings based on photographs were primarily used as the pictorial stimuli. The recognition of familiar objects in pictures was found to be a great deal easier than the comprehension of pictorial space. The village samples showed a generally poor understanding of euclidian and projective relationships both with regard to real objects and in interpreting pictures. The furniture factory workers and the engineering students performed at higher levels on all experiments, showing that environmental influences or specific experiences of some kind are important both in the development of spatial abilities and in the understanding of pictorial space. On the other hand, topological relationships in pictures were easily grasped by almost all of the villagers. The author concludes that perspective information was understood at only an intuitive level by the majority of the villagers tested and could not be consciously applied to the interpretation of spatial relationships in pictures. Projective information was consistently interpreted topologically by most of the village subjects. The author suggests that the recognition of familiar objects in pictures is largely an ability which does not require special learning, but that the interpretation of pictorial space is an active process which calls for conscious awareness of projective principles . Recommendations for the design of visual materials for use in nonformal educational settings are made.Publication Survey of Gaming Materials: Ecuador Non-Formal Education(1974) Ochoa, Alberto M.This document summarizes the range of educational materials developed by the Ecuador project and provides evaluative data. For each of the 34 games investigated, it summarizes the degree of testing received and the extent to which each was used in the field. The games are divided into 3 categories: Fluency, Simulation, and Expressive. Fluency games are simple games designed to teach basic literacy and math skills through enjoyable drill games such as letter dice. Simulation games are usually board games that represent aspects of the realities of life in rural Ecuador with the aim of increasing understanding of contextual forces and developing a more conscious awareness of their impact. Expressive Games are those such as posters, Ashton-Warner dialogue, and use of rubber stamps for printing, to create public ways of displaying ideas and feelings. The article concludes with a discussion of desired attributes of the learning materials, criteria for judging the attributes, and the kinds of learning that they are intended to produce.Publication Open Broadcast Radio: Three Strategies(1975) Gunter, Jock; Theroux, JamesPublication Non-Formal Education: A Manual on Organizing Workshops for Training Rural Facilitators(Center for International Education, 1975) Qamar, M. KalimThe objective of this manual is to provide guidance for those persons involved in the Nonformal Education Project who will be organizing training workshops for rural facilitators for nonformal education purposes. Since this document is a by-product of a workshop organized for those members of the Center for International Education who were leaving different West African sites during summer in order to conduct rural facilitator training workshops, it is limited in its scope. This is not a workshop report, however. The usefulness of this manual mainly lies in treating it as a possible way of organizing a workshop for facilitator training. Hence it should be comprehended as a process. Details regarding the subject-matter, content, timing, etc. should be looked at as something which demands necessary revisions, additions and deletions. Such adjustments will be determined by several situation factors such as geographical location, audience, human and material resources available, etc. This manual presents just one "case study." There are no specific section(s) devoted to bibliography. This is because necessary references have been integrated within the text. For all those interested in the format of the workshop out of which this manual emerged, an appendix on the tentative schedule of the workshop has been included at the end of the manual.Publication Collaboration for Materials Development(1977) Etling, ArlenMaterials development for village level learning systems is a critical issue in nonformal education. Curriculum development theories provide initial guidance in approaching this issue, but most curriculum theorists are school-oriented. Their values and assumptions are not always sensitive to conditions in nonformal education settings. This training note emphasizes not only the product of materials development. It also focuses on the role of the outside resource person in catalyzing local initiative to resolve local materials development needs.Publication Learner-Centered Training for Learner-Centered Programs(1977) Kindervatter, SuzanneTraining Notes are a series of monographs which highlight training issues in the field of nonformal education. Based on training designs which have been devised and used by fellows of the Center for International Education in the United States and overseas. The notes discuss significant issues which the authors have encountered in their training experiences. Papers are selected for the series by virtue of their ability to focus attention on basic themes in training for nonformal education and on the basis of their estimated utility to practitioners.Publication Collaborative Programming in Nonformal Education(1978) von Hahmann, GailThe purposes of this study are to present a definition of collaboration in nonformal participatory education; to identify the historical conditions from which it has emerged; to begin to explore its limitations and constraints; to suggest elements which characterize environments, agencies and personnel of successful collaborative programs; to define training needs; to suggest stages in the collaborative process and procedures for accomplishing them. In some cases procedures are offered which are tried and tested. In other cases tentative questions are offered as guides. In all cases, experience and ideas are presented to encourage debate, to promote further inquiry into the elements which promote or inhibit a mutually productive exchange of educational resources among nonformal educators and their clients.Publication Characteristics of Facilitators: The Ecuador Project and Beyond(1974) Etling, Arlen WayneThe purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of effective facilitators of nonformal education (NFE) in Ecuador in order to (a) more completely understand the nature of NFE; (b) evaluate the success of the Project; and (c) develop guidelines for training facilitators in other countries. Thirteen experts (six Ecuadorian and seven North American staff members of the Project) brainstormed a list of skills, knowledge areas, and attitudes, of effective facilitators of NFE in community-based learning groups. The responses combined with items found in a review of literature of NFE, the Ecuador project, community development, and teacher effectiveness, became the Preliminary List of Facilitator Characteristics. This list, consolidated into sixty general characteristics, was divided into (a) criteria for selecting facilitator trainees and (b) characteristics of facilitators after training. The sixty items became a second questionnaire. Each expert rated the appropriateness and importance of each item. The results of this second questionnaire were resubmitted to the experts to reconsider and rate a second time. At least one-half of the experts agreed to the degree of importance of all except one item. Weighting the expert's responses resulted in a rank order of the relative importance of each item. Two comparison groups with similar experience but little or no knowledge of the Ecuador Project also rated each item. The comparison groups confirmed the ratings of importance given by the experts. Variations between groups which occurred in the rank order of items are apparently a result of experience with the Ecuador Project. A process was also used to demonstrate how the general skills, knowledge areas, and attitudes, can be stated as observable behaviors for particular settings. Through this process, the operationalization of the goal or intent, the results of the study can be adapted to diverse settings and facilitator training programs can be elaborated for particular geographic and cultural situations. The study also confirmed the utility of the Delphi in clarifying a group opinion. By providing feedback on the response to a previous questionnaire and by asking the respondents to reevaluate their individual opinions, a group consensus develops which research has shown to be more useful than an individual opinion, a single questionnaire, or a group discussion.Publication Critical Games(1994) Connelly, Mary Jo; Benbow, Jane T; Fredo, Deborah; Keita, Maria DiarraFour games designed to stimulate critical thinking about the effects of structural and cultural issues on the process of social change: The Growth Game, The Power Game, The Class and Gender Game, The Education and Gender Game.