Last month I wrote about my decision process to enrol in the Trainer Accredited by Kay Laurence course, along with a quick summary of my experiences so far.
I mentioned that the programme is “gently scaffolded”, meaning there is a lot of flexibility in how we track our progress and learning. As we approach the end of year 1, I’ve been looking back on my own organization — documentation of training records, course progress, and learning.
These are the core components that help the learners to advance through the course:
Lessons: Topic based “handouts” written by Kay Laurence and made available prior to each scheduled classroom
Scheduled classrooms: Kicks off a new lesson/topic, roughly every 2 weeks, with blocks of breathing / training space
Individual Learning Assignments / Tutor feedback: A compilation of our planning, training, progress, reflections, and conclusions. These can be organized any way we choose, but are primarily a combination of videos (edited using a set of guidelines), charts, and text.
Homework / Peer feedback: Following a scheduled classroom we are invited to work a set of training challenges and share our efforts and questions over a period of 2 weeks, and to provide and receive feedback. This work often forms part of our Individual Learning Assignments.
Collaborative resources: So far this has included a glossary of terms.
Course competencies: A comprehensive set of skills and knowledge we are working toward. In essence, everything revolves around the competencies and providing evidence that you have satisfied them.
How I’ve organized my progress and learning
Bullet Journal
My colleague, Clint Lalonde, introduced to the bullet journal awhile back, and I’ve used it for work ever since. A couple months into TAKL I realized that I needed something that would help with setting goals, maintaining daily “to do” lists, project planning and management, training plans, quick notes and reflective journals… and whatever else might be put in front of me.
At the same time, there is so much flexibility in TAKL. Nothing is absolutely required, except of course satisfying the competencies. How you do that is up to you but you’re a fool not to take advantage of the many opportunities for advice, sharing and feedback.
My first step was to create pages that outlined steps. It sounds redundant but when I found myself looking back into course files for instructions, or pausing as I tried to recall my own naming convention for video files, I began writing out instructions for myself. Am I a loser? 😉 Maybe, but this saved me time.
The next challenge was outlining what I needed to do to keep on top of the course, and tracking my “to dos”. I tinkered with a few formats and realized that one of the dilemmas was not being entire clear about what was ahead.
So I came up with this system in my Bullet Journal that allowed for the unknown. It’s also highlighted where I could have contributed more, like peer feedback and keeping on top of mapping evidence and competencies. At a glance I can see that indeed I have been a fool! I’ve missed many opportunities for feedback. What can I say? The rhythm of the course activities have not always meshed with my work schedule. Year 2 will be better!
There have been some shifts along the way as I make sense of find methods of becoming more efficient. I’m more likely to document my learning if I have immediate access to a place to do that — a blank page is more inviting than a computer screen.
Training plans and records
Paper. Spreadsheets. Whiteboards. Groovy aps. Then paper.
This part of my work has seen many, um, transitions. Then I had an epiphany. My struggle was that I was preparing these documents for somebody else. Who? Who knows! I approached this as an assignment but actually these plans are records are for ME. They help ME to develop a more systematic and reflective approach to training. So here I am, quite content with my small messy paper notes. I like to jot notes on the spot and find weather resistant pocket-size top spiral field notebooks work well. Occasionally I will voice record post-training thoughts using Google Keep.
My Bullet Journal is still used for high level training plans. I also have formats for the more assignment-y type records. This varies according to what I am attempting to record, and the notes are usually prepared while watching video recordings of my training sessions. Because they form part of my Individual Learning Assignments and somebody else has to read them, they’re done on the computer. Here’s an example from an observation table where I’m tracking my own performance in addition to what the dog’s behaviour:
I’ve enjoyed the process of finding a system that works for me. I even discovered a Facebook discussion group that is all about sharing dog trainer planning and organization tools and ideas, including a weekly call for accountability stories!
My Portfolio
At the end of this program we will be submitting a portfolio of our work. Again, how we assemble the bits and pieces is up to us. This is the point where I give a sympathy wave to Kay Laurence who will be reviewing them all!
A big almighty binder has proven helpful. I’ve worked for years doing little else with my inkjet printer than change the cartridges. But developing a portfolio requires constant flipping back and forth between the list of competencies, assignments, feedback, lessons, and so on. I print, organize, tag, and colour-code. Obviously the final product will be digital, but a binder is helping me with the process.
database of terms and quotes
I mentioned that one of the collaborative resources in the course is a glossary of terms. I’ve often referred back to the glossary provided by Dr. Susan Friedman’s in the Living and Learning with Animals course I completed in 2015. But each time I’m searching my hard drive for a PDF file. I decided to bring it all together using Google Keep. I now have terms from both courses, and a colour-coding system for definitions I’m still developing.
The Harvest
As an online course designer and facilitator, and also an advocate for open content and pedagogy, this has been an area I struggle with in: How do you hang onto all the rich discussions and artefacts generated through participation. I have links back to contributions and the context in which they were shared, but one day those links will probably be broken. I’ve make an effort to grab and organize exemplary shared training descriptions, quotes, important discussions, and so on.
In addition, the course is in Moodle so I’m able to subscribe to forum discussions via email. If nothing else this provides a different way to search. However, to fully benefit I should subscribe to individual emails and not daily digests. I’ve put in a request for RSS feeds which would be very helpful, so hopefully that will come about.
My study buddy
I may have fumbled my way through a system during year 1, but having my sister, Julia, as a study buddy has been what’s held it all together. We spend a lot of time on the phone comparing notes and making sense of what’s expected in TAKL. This month we even organized a retreat at my house to make progress on the year end loose ends. Potato chips and wine helped.
