Tool Kit for Volunteer Leaders

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4-Volunteers A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders

Skills For Educators in Community Programs

A TOOL KIT FOR 4-H LEADERS, NEW COUNTY EXTENSION STAFF, STUDENTS, ANDOTHER NONFORMAL EDUCATORS WORKING IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, YOUTHDEVELOPMENT ADULT EDUCATION, FAMILY EDUCATION, HEALTH EDUCATION,LEADERSHIP, OR OTHER COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Arlen Etling Professor, Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication University of Nebraska

THE MODULES

Below are the modules that comprise the curriculum. The organization and content of thecurriculum is, and should be, in a constant state of change. For more information, or suggestionsabout improving the curriculum, contact Arlen Etling at [email protected]

Purpose

The purpose of this set of materials is to prepare nonformal educators, professionals as well asvolunteers, to work in educational programs in communities outside the school system. This ismeant to be an "introductory" program that groups of individuals can use at their own pace and intheir order of interest. It is not intended to exhaust the themes it introduces. For some nonformaleducators the materials will not provide enough depth for their needs. We have given referencesfor more information on most of the topics.

We originally developed the materials with certain groups in mind. We wanted to write a referencefor community leaders (both formal and informal leaders) in rural areas who did not have accessto the resources and expert trainers to provide workshops in their hometowns. We wanted toaddress the needs of Cooperative Extension Agents, particularly new workers, and volunteersrecruited to work with 4-H, community development projects, master gardeners, and advisorycommittees. We also wanted to have a source that would help professionals and volunteers in avariety of community organizations including such groups as Little League, Kiwanis and the American Cancer Society.

After the materials were used in these programs we discovered a demand for a university coursein community leadership skills. So a course was developed and the materials were used as thetext.

As we taught courses and workshops we identified a demand for a Spanish version of thematerials. We found fewer related resources for nonformal educators in Spanish than in English. Also fewer attempts had apparently been made to organize existing materials into acomprehensive curriculum.



How the Curriculum was Developed

As a result of "motivation" workshops offered to rural leaders in Arizona, the CooperativeExtension community development specialists decided to assemble a "self-study curriculum" of materials to be used in self-paced study groups. The specialists brainstormed a list of topics andDouglas Dunn and Arlen Etling agreed to write drafts of the chapters. Frank Williams, Extension

family life specialist, agreed to write two chapters on conflict management and conflict resolution.

The preliminary drafts were ready for testing in 1986. Parts of the materials were used inDurango, Mexico, to organize a new youth development program, 4-C. Arlen was granted asabbatical leave to work with the Center for Excellence in Education, Northern Arizona University,to evaluate the drafts and suggest refinements. Douglas begin testing the curriculum with clientgroups. Changes is format, emphasis and some content was changed.

In 1987 Arlen became a state 4-H specialist at Penn State. He offered workshops to 4-H agentsand volunteer leaders while Douglas continued to use the materials with diverse groups of ruralleaders in Arizona. In 1990 and 1991 Arlen used parts the materials with Beryl Burt (who wasprogram director for community development and 4-H in Arizona when the materials were firstdeveloped) for inservice workshops to strengthen the skills of 4-S professional agents in CostaRica. Results of all of these pilot tests and evaluations encouraged further use and refinement.

In 1993 and 1994 a Penn State course in community development skills was offered by Arlenusing the materials as the principal text. In 1995 Arlen received a Fulbright fellowship to use thematerials for a course at the University of Monterrey (UDEM) in Mexico and for workshops withMexican nonformal educators. Intensive evaluations of the course at Penn State and UDEM, of the workshops for nonformal educators in Pennsylvania and Mexico, and of the materials (awritten questionnaire on selected chapters) by both university students and nonformal educators,provided the final revisions and refinement of the materials.

Now this resource is offered through the University of Nebraska as a part of Arlen's work in 4-Hcurriculum development and his courses in extension in the Department of Agricultural

Leadership, Education, and Communications.

Theoretical/Experiential Base for the Curriculum

The foundations for this curriculum come from four sources: 1. Cooperative Extension, 2.nonformal education, 3. Paulo Freire and 4. democracy. Each of those terms evokes a number of stereotypes and misconceptions. None of the terms are generally understood by academicsbecause they cut across disciplines or fall between disciplines. Practitioners in any one of thoseareas seldom understand or appreciate the contribution of the other three; yet all four are related.Further explanation is therefore necessary.

The following page, philosophical bases, attempts to outline those bases without going into the

detail needed for a full explanation.



PHILOSOPHICAL BASES

Cooperative Extension Nonformal Education Paulo Freire Democracy Help people to helpthemselves. Create independence,

not dependence. Liberating action,empowerment. Individual freedom.

People centered. Client

makes decisions. Learner centered. ...Use

local resources. Responsibility on the

learner. Human bias.

Cooperation: county,state and federal levels

Local emphasis,sometimes cooperatewith nat´l level. Think globally, act locally. Citizen responsibility.

Research based,scientific method.

Indigenous learningsystems, alternatives toschools.

Critical observation of reality. Act locally.

Professional agents workthrough volunteer leaders.

Professional or non-professional "facilitator." Ourside animatuer. Elected leadership and volunteers

work together. Practical, organized,learn from the past. Practical, organized,

immediate usefulness. Accept old and new. Given choices, people will makewise decisions.

Uses adoption theory,diffusion theory. Giveclients choices

Cafeteria curriculum of options, choices. Concientization. Focus on rights.

Information based butteaches skills & attitudes Group problem solving. Learners judge then try

out approaches,reflect/act praxis Values diversity.

Create a better future. Emphasizes skills, butuses attitudes andknowledge.

Focus on attitudes butuses skills & knowledge. Prudently optimistic, hopeful.

Create a better now. Future image of humanity. Debate and vote. Communication theory. Low level of structure. Dialogue vs. polemic. Consensus vs. coercion All are entitled to their own opinion. Group discussion, action. Solidarity. Informal humanrelationships.

Consensus decisionmaking. much localflexibility. Group problem solving. Informal humanrelationships. Informal human

relationships.

Possible Limitations Hierarchical Institutionwith much structure Not well understood. Political stereotypes. Government structure expected to

protect minority rights. U.S. middle class values,work means success. Anti-school bias. Not accepted everywhere. Think nationally. Problem-solving byexperts Unfamiliar to many. Majority rules. Vote determines

winners/losers.



Cooperative Extension is an organization and a philosophy which is intended to extendknowledge from the research and teaching capabilities of the land grant university to the peopleof the state in the subject matter areas of agriculture, family living, youth development andcommunity development. Simply stated the mission of Cooperative Extension is "to help peopleto help themselves." This implies an emphasis on skills and attitudes as well as knowledge. Theeducational role of Cooperative Extension is to respond to people's needs (to calm the agitatedand to agitate the calmed). Political and academic pressures, over the years have obscured thevision of creating a better society through educational programs which emphasize self help. Aneducational methodology has evolved which is not not well understood by by those whoseprimary experience comes from formal education. Within Cooperative Extension, 4-H youth development was introduced as "indirect education" (toreach adults through their children) and has involved into a powerful educational system for families which relies on volunteers and a cafeteria curriculum of printed materials and optionaleducational experiences. 4-H is focused on life skills (citizenship, leadership, interpersonal skills,communications skills, career development, working with groups, values development, andapplication of subject matter for overall personal development). Since most new hires come to 4-H from academic programs in agricultural science or family living, they often see 4-H primarilythrough their subject matter bias. They reflect Cooperative Extension's struggle to move from a

subject matter approach to an interdisciplinary problem solving approach.

Through research on the attributes of youth development workers a "4-H professional researchand knowledge taxonomy" was constructed. This curriculum was expanded to include theelements of that taxonomy. Also within Cooperative Extension, "community development" emerged later to become a fourth"program area"1962. Its purpose is to help people in communities to clarify their problems andorganize themselves to address those problems in order to improve their quality of life.Community development programs work through the cooperation of local officials, volunteer community leaders, and the general citizenry. Typical programs in community developmentinclude leadership training, assisting organizations to get started or revitalized, training volunteer managers (sometimes the volunteers themselves), community planning, and acquiring needed

community resources. Preparing university students for careers in Cooperative Extension has been attempted by a fewuniversities. From 1975 through 1978 Arlen developed an undergraduate major in Extension atthe University of Arizona. Research was conducted to identified the competencies needed bybeginning extension agents. Then an academic program was developed which taught thosecompetencies. Research on similar programs at land grant universities concluded that thecurriculum was unique in its depth, breadth and focus. Much of that curriculum is incorporatedinto this curriculum.

Nonformal education (NFE) is any planned, intentional educational program which takes place

outside the school system. In some ways NFE is similar with formal (school) education. In many

ways NFE is quite different. When educators move from formal educational settings (i.e., theclassroom) to nonformal educational settings (i.e., a camp or a job site). Research conducted onthe skills of nonformal educators in one project in Ecuador was used as a base for the curriculumpresented here. Nonformal educational philosophy is discussed in modules E-1 and E-3. Manynonformal learning/teaching techniques are described in the last section.



Communitarianism/Democracy PRINCIPLES From the philosophical bases outlined on the previous page we can derive a list of principles(values) for this community based education curriculum.

It is people centered. It aims to help people build knowledge, skills, attitudes and aspirations tosolve their problems. It therefore should serve to create independence in the learner.

Facilitator leadership (use of directive, democratic and indirect styles according to the situation) isvalued for leaders whether they are paid or volunteers, whether they are elected or informalleaders.

Facilitator leaders should be community centered rather than self (ego) centered or sectarian.

Cooperation is valued over competition. Win-win situations are best. Consensus decision makingis better than coercion or majority rules.

Community members must be involved in a process to determine their own needs, goals andactivities. Citizen rights depend on citizen responsibilities. Skilled volunteers are essential tohealthy communities. Educational programs should feature local resources, local relevance andlocal control. Citizens need to practice critical observation. They need a future orientation. Theymust accept both new ideas and old ideas based on their current merit.

Useful community projects are based on disciplined common sense, not magical solutions nor handouts.

Education for community action is based on motivation not manipulation. Effective communicationskills are essential. Adoption and diffusion theory are useful.

Nonformal education and informal education compliment formal education. All three need to beunderstood (including their limitations) and used.

This curriculum is not a panacea. It is a beginning. It must be adapted and expanded by thosewho use it. It must be flexible and open.

Community is a term that includes families, organizations, neighborhoods, towns, cities, counties,states, nations and the world. There is a global community which is important to all individuals.

In community education, the educator needs to have a vision of the community as it currently(realistically) is and as it (ideally )can become.

Research and evaluation are important tools to the community educator. They are tools, notends. Limitations of current quantitative and qualitative methods must be recognized.



Characteristics of Effective Communities In order to understand community based education, we need to understand what constitutes acommunity. A geographical community (town, city, neighborhood) is usually defined by physicalboundaries. Another concept of community is "community of interest." That community can beunderstood by the following characteristics:

• Everyone must share a common purpose. • The common purpose must be authentic. • A commitment must be made by each of the members and by the group. • The commitment must be personal. Part of community is risking oneself. • To make risk possible the community must provide for security. • For a group to develop community, it must have significant responsibility and authority. • The members must be able to distinguish the group's limits. • Authority figures must give up assumed roles and status symbols. • There must be communication among all members of the group. • Each person must feel a calling to belong the group -- he must need the community. • The members need to be alone at times. • Each member must develop a faith in the community and open himself. •

There must be sufficient time for interaction among members.

• The community depends upon cooperative needs to survive. • Members must be able to create their own laws and rules together; but human relations

must be maintained on a personal plane, not by the imposition of rules. Why Are Communities Important

A SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT to individuals and to society.

In The Spirit of Community Amitai Etzioni (1993) discusses the state of increasing moralconfusion and social anarchy in which we live. His solution is to strengthen communities whichinclude towns and neighborhoods as well as families and "communities of interest" (groups withcommon interests) which may be local, state, national, or international in scope. Without

individuals accepting their responsibilities to communities, individual rights cannot be preserved.

COMMUNITIES PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN EDUCATION

To leave education only to the schools is irresponsible. Institutions of formal education can acceptonly a part of the educational role in society. In many countries, schools simply are not availablefor many youth and adults. Nonformal education is necessary to deal with some of societies' (andindividuals') educational needs. Many educators say that we cannot teach ourselves anything inisolation; rather we learn "in community."

COMMUNITIES BUILD LEADERSHIP. LEADERSHIP IS NEEDED TO STRENGTHENCOMMUNITIES

Historically authoritarian leadership has predominated. Democratic and nondirective leadership issometimes needed in order to strengthen communities. I believe that we need fewer bosses andmore facilitators (leaders who help groups to identify needs and organize to resolve those needsthrough democratic, nondirective and directive leadership according to the demands of thesituation). Training materials are needed whereby potential community leaders (facilitators) candevelop and practice leadership skills appropriate to the needs of their communities.



COMMUNITIES ARE NEEDED TO EMBRACE CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Awareness of one's own culture needs to be balanced by sensitivity to the other cultures incommunities. This is true whether the community leader is native to the community or comesfrom the outside. Other leadership training materials available tend to neglect this need to nurturecross-cultural sensitivity.

SELF-RELIANCE IS NECESSARY WHEN RESOURCES ARE LIMITED

We (individuals and communities) often have needs that cannot be met by government or byavailable social services. Rather than complain or do nothing, we need to organize the neededresources ourselves and conserve our limited resources (including time).

FAMILIES ARE STRENGTHENED BY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

In her latest book, The Quickening of America, (1994) Frances Moore Lappé argues that our public and our private lives are not in conflict. Investing in our public responsibilities is anecessary step in strengthening families (the most basic community to which we all belong).

Family awareness of their citizenship role in their communities, states, country, and world, isessential if we are to deal with global issues that continue to grow in complexity and importanceto families.

COMMUNITIES ARE CRITICAL TO GLOBAL SURVIVAL

Increasingly global issues threaten the survival of our planet. Cynicism is not the answer. Apathyis not the answer. Isolated individual action is not enough. Only through community can we findthe answers.

COMMUNITIES MUST COMBINE VISION WITH PRACTICAL SKILLS

If we lack a vision, our efforts will be pointless. If we lack practical skills in communitydevelopment our vision will result in nothing but good intentions.

SPECIFIC SKILLS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EDUCATORS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED

In order to strengthen existing communities and to develop new communities, professionals andvolunteers are needed. These individuals can be most effective if they possess needed skillswhich have been identified through research and through experience of community developmentworkers around the world. Those skills can be grouped into topics which are the modules of thiscurriculum for training community educators.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Leadership

Leadership Styles L-1

With resourcefulness we can accomplish more than with brute power. With honesty and kindnesswe acquire authority.

--Folk Proverbs Most leaders think very little about their own leadership style. They "do what comes naturally"when leadership is needed. If they are successful leaders, their instincts usually serve them well. To improve your leadership style, however, you need to be more aware of how you lead. In thispart of the leadership training, you will assess your own leadership style. Then you will learnabout other styles. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES After mastering this section, you should be able to:

1. Define leadership. 2. Identify your own leadership style. 3. Describe facilitator leadership

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? A leader is someone who influences others. We all have an image of a leader. It can bedescribed by such words as intelligent, courageous, persuasive, skillful, and powerful. Somepeople think of the Boy Scout qualities of leadership (trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent). Most people have some ideas about leaders which can be called myths. Examples of thesemyths include:

1. some people are born leaders, 2. leaders defeat enemies, 3. leadership is a person, some have it and some do not, 4. leadership is no more than getting others to do what you want them to do, 5. leadership always involves action. These are myths because 1. leadership is learned, 2. leaders help others accomplish group goals which need not involve an enemy, 3. anyone can be a leader at any time if that person helps the group meet its goals,



4. manipulative leaders eventually arouse opposition, 5. sometimes leadership involves not taking action.

As a beginning, leadership will be defined here as the art and science of helping others to decideon goals and work toward those goals. Of course, leadership is much more. This definition,however, will do for now. Most writing on leadership deals with three styles of leaders. These three styles are:

directive democratic non-directive hich may also be called

authoritarian democratic Laissez Faire task oriented process oriented indirect task behavior relationship behavior defer to others

When a leader is directive, that leader initiates action, structures activities, motivates others,delegates responsibility, and praises or reprimands subordinates. A democratic leader gets results by leading discussions, asking questions to involve others,encouraging others to volunteer for responsibilities, confirming commitments, and asking for avote to get a consensus decision or a majority decision. A non-directive leader refuses to make decisions for others, uses silence until someone in thegroup speaks out, gives non-verbal support (nods, smiles) to others who show positiveleadership, and gradually fades out of a group when others in the group show an ability and awillingness to take over. Different situations require different styles of leadership. Evacuation of a burning building calls for directive leadership. Deciding among several suggestions for an organization's social event callsfor democratic leadership. Helping qualified, experienced, enthusiastic committee heads calls for

non-directive leadership.

Leadership will be most effective if a leader can look at a situation, decide what style of leadership is needed by the group, and act accordingly. When a leader is able to use each of thethree leadership styles appropriately, we call that effective facilitator leadership. A facilitator thenmay direct, use democratic leadership or intentionally let the group provide its own leadership.The style used will vary according to the leader's formal role within the group, the size of thegroup, skills and experience of group members, motivation and goals of group members. It alsodepends on group maturity (see module L-4 for a discussion of group maturity). An effectivefacilitator leader will learn to quickly consider all of these factors and choose the best leadershipstyle for the situation.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (15 minutes)

1. What has been your preferred style (directive, democratic or non- directive)? 2. Describe a situation where you might use the other two styles. 3. Why is "facilitator leadership" (which uses all three styles) better than any single style? 4. Do you have questions or comments on the reading?



EXERCISE:

How do you define "leadership?" You do have a definition whether or not you have thought aboutit. Think about leadership for a few minutes, then write down a definition.

Leadership is

Review the main points of the Background Reading, "What is Leadership?" Does your definitionabove

Emphasize motivation? Discourage manipulation? Allow for all three leadership styles? Fit different situations where leadership is needed? Call for influencing others?

If necessary, rewrite your definition. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (15-20 minutes) If working in a group each person should read the definition written for the individual exerciseabove. No comments should be made until all have finished. Then discuss:

1. What elements of the individual definitions do you like best? 2. Can you agree on a group definition? 3. Why is a personal definition of leadership important or helpful?

RESOURCE FOR FURTHER STUDY The Situational Leader, by Paul Hershey, Warner Books, 1984. BUILDING ON YOUR OWNLEADERSHIP STYLE This topic will start with an exercise and then move to discussion and clarification. EXERCISE (15 minutes):

Instructions - Think of a group or organization in which you are a member. Visualize yourself inthe group. You are in charge of a group discussion. As you lead the group, the following problemsarise. Read the first problem and the three possible solutions. Choose the best of the possiblesolutions and circle the letter which matches that solution. Keep in mind that you are in charge of group discussion for a particular group. Answer each of the other problems on the questionnaire. Problem 1. Your group is having trouble getting started. You have tried to make everyone feel comfortable.You have allowed time to get acquainted. Everyone seems interested and cooperative, butreluctant to speak up.



Possible Solutions a. Wait until they're ready to speak up. b. Suggest that the group vote on what to do next. c. Make some specific assignments to different people and help them complete their assignments.

2. The group is operating extremely well. Members get along well with each other. Discussion islively. Everyone is contributing to the group. You want to insure that this continues. Possible Solutions

a. Reduce your leadership. Let group members lead the group as much as possible. b. Be sure agreement is reached on each point before proceeding. c. Keep the group firmly under your control or the group will lose its momentum.

3. The group has been very productive. Two or three members have done most of the talking andall of the work. Everyone seems happy, but you would like to make some changes so that moremembers will get involved. Possible Solutions

a. Tell it like it is. Outline the changes and see that they are made.

b. Propose the changes. Explain why they are needed, then let the group decide what willbe done. c. Don't do anything that might threaten group productivity.

4. The group is working well and relations among members are very positive. You feel somewhatunsure about your lack of direction of the group. Possible Solutions

a. Leave the group alone. b. Slowly assert yourself to give the group more direction. c. Ask the group if you should provide more direction, then comply with their wishes.

5. The group was going great, but now it is falling apart. Members are beginning to bicker. It ishard to stay on the subject. Someone has just suggested that maybe the group should take arecess for two or three months.



Possible Solutions a. Let everyone have their say. Don't get involved. b. Take a vote on the suggested recess. c. Propose a new course of action for the group. If no one strongly disagrees, makeassignments and see that they are carried out.

6. Your group has completed an excellent discussion of a topic they chose, but no one wants totake any action although several activities would be appropriate and each activity has beendiscussed. Possible Solutions

a. Suggest that the group move on to another topic. If no one disagrees, list possibletopics. b. Choose an activity for the group and make assignments. c. Just keep quiet until the group arrives at a decision.

AFTER you have completed the questionnaire, proceed with scoring and assessment. Scoring and assessing Your Leadership Style Each of the three possible solutions to each problem corresponds to one of the three styles of leadership (see topic 1):

roblem Directive Democratic Non-Directive c b a c b a a b c b c a c b a b a c

In problem 1, the group needs direction. Voting would not be useful. A non-directive approachmight work in the long run, but would be frustrating in the short term. (c) is the best solution. In problem 2, there is no problem. "It ain't broke, so don't fix it!" (a) is the best solution. In 3, the group is productive, but not everyone is contributing. The group needs help but adirective approach (a) might cause a rebellion. Non- directive (c) style would not get the quietmembers involved. Go with (b). Problem 4 is similar to 2. The group is working well. Resist the temptation to take action whennone is needed. Try (a).



In problem 5, the group was all right, but now it is not. Leadership is required. Non-directive (a)leadership will only worsen the situation. If you vote (b), frustration may get in the way of reason.Directive leadership (c) is the best bet. In 6, democratic leadership (a) is called for. A directive (b) approach would oppose the group'sstated position. Since the group is at a stalemate, solution (c), the non-directive style, would not

help. Score yourself. If you got all correct answers, you are a well- balanced leader. You rely equally onall three styles. Also, you use good judgment in assessing each situation. If you did not get all of the correct answers, don't worry. You may have interpreted the problemsin a different way than was intended. You may not be wrong at all. But if you chose all "directive" solutions, you may need to work harder on the other two styles. Aneffective facilitator leader can use all three styles when necessary. Caution!! The purposes of this exercise are to point out three leadership styles, to reflect your

tendencies in a specific situation, and to stimulate discussion. This exercise is not sophisticatedenough to categorize your leadership style. Please don't look at it that way. Questions for Discussion (5 minutes)

1. How did you score on the Questionnaire? (Some individuals may not wish to share their scores at this point. They should be allowed to pass.)

2. Does this exercise tell you anything about your leadership style? What? 3. What is your "weakest" style? What could you do to strengthen this style? (Group members

should help each other with suggestions.) FACILITATOR LEADERSHIP Learning more about facilitator leadership is important. In the United States, most people arebiased about leadership. In this module we have defined leadership as "the art and science of helping others to decide on goals and work toward those goals." We have introduced the idea of a facilitator leader as one who uses directive, democratic or non-directive leadership stylesequally well depending upon which style is appropriate.

In the United States we value democratic leadership. Historically, however, we have usuallyfollowed directive leaders. Non-directive leadership often has been viewed as weak leadership.We like the "take charge" leader as long as we agree on goals. Military and business activities usually call for directive leadership. Most of our national leaders

come from those backgrounds. But in community volunteer organizations, directive leadershipcan be overused with disastrous results. Let's compare and contrast the traditional directive leader with the facilitator leader.



Directive Leader • Leads from in front • One style • Gives orders, make statements • Focuses on leader's strengths •

Man of action • Know-it-all • Says, "Don't just sit there, do something."

Facilitator Leader

• Often leads from behind • Three styles • Relies more on questions and suggestions • Focuses on group's needs • Sensitive, thoughtful person • Seeks help from others • Says, "Don't just do something, think about it first."

If you would try to improve your facilitator leadership, work on the following: Directive leadership - Before you "take command" of a group, think about it. Does the group need directive leadership? Are you the best person to direct? Who in the group will compete with you for leadership? Howcan you win that person's cooperation? Recognize individuals' contributions. Praise them in frontof the group. Keep criticism infrequent, constructive and private. Don't hog all of the jobs. Don't seek all of the glory. Delegate responsibility, make assignments,then see that those responsibilities are met. Think before you speak. Speak briefly and to thepoint. Get advice before you decide. When a decision is bad, admit it and reorganize.

Democratic leadership - Make each group member feel important by asking for opinions, especially from the quieter members. Use a variety of techniques for decision- making (majority voting, negative voting,consensus, compromise). Ask questions to get others involved. Encourage group decisions;discourage individual decisions. Summarize agreements and commitments.

Non-directive leadership - Listen, observe, consider what is happening and why. When group members say or do somethinguseful, smile, nod in agreement, give a "thumbs up" signal. When people ask for your opinion, turn the question back to them or to a quieter member bysaying, "I'm not sure. What do you think Jill?" When people ask for you to decide, turn thedecision back to them by saying, "I really don't feel I should decide for the group. What are the



possible decisions? What are the pros and cons of each? Which possibility would you choose? In summary, a "Facilitator" Leader assesses the situation and chooses an appropriate leadershipstyle:

irective or Democratic or Non-Directive nitiatives Asks Questions to

Involve Others Fades out Graduall

tructures Leads Discussion Uses Silence Motivates Tests to See if

Consensus Exits Gives NonverbalSupport

elegates Encourages Others toTake Responsibility Refuses to Make

Decisions Reprimands Confirms Commitments

Exercise (5 minutes): On a separate sheet of paper, write a plan to broaden your leadership style. Describe a situationwhere you will intentionally use your weakest style. Give yourself a deadline to carry out your plan. Don't "cop out" on this exercise. It will require initiative and follow-through on your part.These are qualities of leaders that need to be practiced until they become habits. EXERCISE (15 minutes): Share your plan with a partner. Critique each other's plan. See if you can improve on your partner's plan. You may want to go one step further: decide how you can help each other carryout the plans.

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY Freedom to Learn, by Carl R. Rogers, Charles E. Merrill Publishing, 1969. (see especially pp.164-166) Facilitating Community Change, by Donald R. Fessler, University Associates, 1976. (seeespecially pp. 32-34 and 50-53)

The Helping Relationship, by Lawrence M. Brammer, Prentice- Hall, 1973. Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest, by Peter Block, Berrett- Koehler Publishers,1993.




Teamwork L-2

With patience you can accomplish the impossible, however, one bad cow can disrupt the entire

herd. It looks so easy when a group works well together. But teamwork doesn't just happen, it must bedeveloped. Everyone knows the meaning of "teamwork." Right? At least, we think we do. For some people, teamwork means "getting people to do the job my way." Included in this module are stages of team development and behaviors which contribute to thebuilding of a team spirit. The role of facilitative leadership (see module L-1) in team building willalso be examined. Consensus building is a technique that many groups use to strengthen their sense of teamwork.Specific guidelines are provided in module L-9 (decision making) to develop consensus out of diverse opinion. Most organizations have officers that are elected annually. The officer team is usually the gluethat keeps the local organization working together. General duties of officers will be reviewed.Some options will be suggested for reorganizing and strengthening the officer team. If your groupdoes not have formal officers, you may skip this section. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After mastering this module, you should be able to: 1. Describe the stages of team development.2.Recognize behaviors which contribute to team building.3.Identify the leadership roles necessary to develop a cohesive team.4.Write a list of duties for club officers. WHY TEAMWORK? Much of our life is spent in team activities--as a family, on the job, and in community associations.Our accomplishments often depend on cooperative effort. Experience shows the value of

teamwork on worker motivation. Teamwork can lead to (a) increased work output, (b) greater creativity, (c) increased work quality and (d) higher morale.[1] The results of a cooperative effortare often greater than the sum of the effects of the individual actions taken independently.Teamwork often results in better decisions and greater accomplishment.

The Japanese corporate management style has drawn much attention in recent years. TheJapanese stress management through teamwork, where a spirit of family is developed,



information is shared, and decisions are jointly made. In contrast, our American society oftenencourages competition and independent effort over teamwork. "The best way to get somethingdone is to do it yourself." "Winning is the name of the game." Jokes about committees are used toridicule cooperative effort, e.g., "a camel is a horse put together by a committee." We quicklybecome intolerant and impatient with others, and use force to get our way. This often worksagainst our democratic ideals. What is involved in team building? How do you get the magic of teamwork to work for you? STAGES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT Team building is a gradual process which requires time and skill. The following stages help clarifythat process.[2] In what stage are the groups to which you belong? Stage 1: Get Acquainted As a group first comes together polite, superficial dialogue occurs as we introduce ourselves toone another. We are guarded and controlled in what we say, and avoid disagreement. Based onour first impressions (or past experiences) we start to categorize each other and project futurebehavior. Some groups, particularly social groups, never progress beyond this stage. Stage 2: Group Ideals Members begin to question the team's purpose, and to set objectives as to what the group is toaccomplish. Members begin to express divergent opinions, and hidden agendas are sensed.Selective listening occurs, without real understanding. Differences are covered up, and the group"pushes ahead." Ambitious goals are established. These goals are usually general in nature, tendto overestimate the contribution each member will make, and underestimate the amount of timerequired. Members go along with the motions made, but often with limited commitment. Wherethere is conflict, decisions are put off.

Stage 3: Personal Agendas Members begin to question the costs and benefits of their involvement, i.e., how much work willbe involved, how will it benefit me, who will get the credit. Members are suspicious of each other'smotives. As individual agendas are identified and expressed, members with similar needs andviewpoints begin to form alliances. Individuals become defensive and argumentative asdifferences surface. Little real listening occurs. Contrary ideas are often rejected without hearingthem out. Gossip and rumors work against a team spirit. Members use power politics to get their way. Members become impatient with the group's progress, and some drop out. Attention is given to the talents and skills which each member might contribute to the effort.

Hidden talents go undiscovered as the group is still dealing at a superficial level and is stillblinded by first impressions and stereotypes. Humor is often sarcastic and negative. Stage 4: Negotiation Members begin to clarify end goals, and to negotiate means to reach those goals. There is astrong need for structure, which leads to a struggle for leadership. Individual agendas becomemore public. Group decisions are influenced as much by emotion and alliances as by logic.Voting is used to force decisions. This causes some individuals to feel left out. Some members



are silent while others dominate. Actions are taken, but often not to the satisfaction of allmembers. The group has difficulty with follow-through, as many members are unwilling to change their personal schedules to accommodate the work of the group. Usually, however, at least a fewmembers are willing to sacrifice individual agendas for the benefit of the group, and the team

persists in its task. Stage 5: Consensus Compromise begins to emerge. Personal agendas are adjusted to accommodate others.Members strive to really listen to one another, and better understanding results. Information isopenly shared. Questions are asked and issues clarified. Individuals continue to disagree, butthey do so in an open, respectful manner.

Individuals talk out their differences and strive for consensus, without being pressured to conform. Leadership responsibilities are shared, with the emphasis on facilitating rather than directing. The

problem solving process is understood and used. Everyone's input is sought. Members have theopportunity to buy into the decision, resulting in a deeper personal commitment. A higher level of trust develops. The group becomes more relaxed and open. Members aresupportive of one another. Creativity flourishes. Members feel good about themselves, and arepleased with the progress being made. A team spirit has developed. When new members join, the group regresses to an earlier stage, and team building beginsanew. Sometimes a controversial issue will cause the team to regress. So teamwork is constantlybeing built and lost. Team members must be aware of this and keep trying to rebuild the team. Asthey do, certain behaviors will help. BEHAVIORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO TEAM BUILDING While there is no single model to good teamwork, certain elements are crucial to the building of acohesive team. These are: [2] Intimacy and respect Members trust and share openly with one another. They value the uniqueness each brings to thegroup, and are sensitive to their differing needs and interests. The objective is not necessarily for everyone to like one another, but rather to understand and respect each other enough to worktogether in a cooperative supportive manner. Open Communication Information is freely shared, with no hidden agendas. Members are not afraid to speak upbecause of what others might say. Conflict (difference of opinion) is dealt with openly in a caring,respectful manner.



Listening Members really listen to one another, and strive for better understanding. Questions are asked for clarification. Common Objectives The group has clear objectives, developed and mutually supported by group members. Mutual Support Members support and encourage one another. They give each other feedback, includingconstructive criticism. Consensus Decision-Making There is balanced participation in group discussion, without any one dominating. All members are

directly involved in making group decisions. Members are skilled in the problem-solving process.Major decisions are made through consensus rather than majority vote. The group is concernedwith building group harmony as well as task accomplishment. Facilitative Leadership Meetings are well planned and organized, with a clear agenda. Members establish ground rulesfor the operation of the group. Group leaders facilitate rather than control and direct groupdecision making. Fun

Group work is made to be fun. Positive humor is used to relieve tension, and to create a relaxedatmosphere. Use Member Resources A conscious effort is made to become aware of each member's interests, knowledge, abilities andexperience, and then to fully utilize them by matching them to the needs of the group. Membersaccept responsibility, and follow-through. LEADERSHIP ROLES NECESSARY TO DEVELOP A COHESIVE TEAM Team spirit doesn't just happen. It must be developed. The following leadership roles are

essential to the development of a creative, team-oriented group. These roles can be assumed bygroup members as well as officers. Unless someone consciously fills these roles, it is unlikely thata team spirit will develop.[2] Involving Role This entails motivating others by getting them involved in sharing ideas, discussing issues,working out problems and making group decisions. It involves asking questions--preferably open-ended questions, that start with "how, what, where, when," and "why," rather than closed- ended



questions that start with "is, are, do," or "have." Closed-ended questions are constricting. Theyare answered with a "yes" or "no" or short phrase. Open ended questions, in contrast encouragethe person to share further. For example, the question "What are your thoughts on this?", will bemore involving than the question "Do you agree?" The involving role is carried to extreme when aperson feels interrogated, and becomes defensive. Listening Role Team builders actively listen to others. This requires a certain physical presence--facing theperson squarely, eye contact, supportive facial expressions, nodding, leaning forward, saying"good point," "go on," "explain that further," etc.--to indicate you are interested. Active listeningalso involves summarizing back to the person, in your own words, what you feel were the keypoints and feelings expressed. Then you wait for the other person to correct you, agree with youor continue talking. Such feedback ensures that the message received is what was intended. Consensus Building Role Consensus is built by clarifying and reaching agreement on the problem (or need), before

debating possible "solutions." Alternatives are then explored, and modified to accommodate theneeds and concerns of other group members, until a solution is found that is acceptable to all.Consensus avoids the forcing of decisions through majority vote. If a group gets bogged down,time is taken to clarify the objections of each side, and to modify the proposal to overcome thoseobjections. (Consensus is discussed more fully in module L-9 on decision making.) Supporting Role Team builders support and encourage one another, recognizing talents, building self-confidenceand trust. They are accepting of others, acknowledging that each person's thoughts, concernsand reasoning are important to the group. (Acceptance doesn't have to mean agreement,however.) Team builders give frequent recognition, brief praising for good work and good ideas.They are able to confront unsatisfactory behavior in a positive, caring manner. Facilitating Role The facilitator provides structure for planning and action to take place. This involves establishingan agenda and budgeting meeting time (directive leadership). It also involves helping the groupdecide how the meeting is to be conducted and it entails keeping communication channels open,but on target (democratic leadership). The facilitator helps group members reach their ownconclusions rather than directing them to predetermined conclusions. Helpful suggestions aregiven--preferably through the use of questions, like, "Would it help if...?" rather than directiveslike, "You should...." The facilitator also makes the group aware of available resources. As agroup matures, leadership needed tends to move from the directive to the democratic and then tothe indirect leadership style (see module L-1).

GROUP SIZE Finally, how well a team works together is dependent on group size. The best team size is 2-5people. A team of 5-10 is workable; a team of 10-15 is difficult. The development of a cohesiveteam out of 15 or more people is unlikely, unless the group is frequently divided into sub-groupsand frequent team building exercises are planned. The use of committees, discussed in the prior chapter, can provide such small group intimacy. Team building is an on-going process thatinvolves more than a periodic pep talk.



OFFICERS Officers have a major influence on the team spirit and behavior of a group, and on how effectivethe group is in accomplishing its goals. Different organizations use different officers. Usually,these are elected by tradition. There are no particular offices that "must" be filled. Theorganization's purpose, organization and annual plan of work will determine what officers are

needed. Officers usually found in organizations, along with their duties, include: PRESIDENT who 1. Presides at meetings. 2. Represents the organization to the public. 3. Seesthat all club members have a part in each meeting. 4. Helps plan program for the year. 5. Votesonly when there is a tie. 6. Calls another person to the chair to temporarily preside when wishingto take part in the discussion. Appoints committees with help of executive committee or generalmembership. VICE-PRESIDENT who 1. Performs all the duties of the president when president is absent. 2.Helps plan program for the year. 3. Coordinates committee work. 4. Helps president with specialmeetings.

SECRETARY who 1. Keeps a complete record of club minutes. 2. Calls roll and keeps a record of attendance. 3. Reads minutes of the previous meeting. 4. Handles club correspondence. 5.Reads all information that comes to the club. TREASURER who 1. Makes a report at each receipts and expenditures and of the club'streasury. 2. Pays bills voted by bills on file. 3. Suggests ways of raising money for club expenses.4. Is a member of the fund raising committee. NEWS REPORTER who 1. Writes interesting news articles about club's activities and sendsthem to newspapers and/or radio. 2. Keeps a scrapbook of news clippings, photos, banquetprograms, etc.

Other less common offices may include:

RECREATION LEADER who 1. Plans any social hours or group recreation. 2. Helps arrange for refreshments, if any are to be served, at club meetings. 3. May ask others to take turns inconducting the recreation. SERGEANT AT ARMS who 1. Assists the President in maintaining order 2. Sets up meetingroom chairs, tables, equipment. 3. Introduces guests. PARLIAMENTARIAN who 1. Assists the President, when requested, by making suggestions or rulings on the best way to handle a procedural problem. OFFICER SELECTION AND TRAINING Whatever officers are used by a group, their effectiveness depends on good orientation andtraining. This begins with elections. Too many groups find themselves at the first meeting of the new year when someone suggests,"We need to elect officers today." What results is often a half-hearted effort that may be nothingmore than a popularity contest.



Module V-3 in this curriculum provides tips on how to be more productive in selecting andrecruiting people to serve. In making nominations, the special qualifications of the individualshould be clearly stated, e.g., "I would like to nominate Tom Jones for president because...."Follow the example of the presidential nomination conventions, and include seconding speeches.Such nominating speeches clarify expectations, give recognition and indicate support. Make your election of officers invigorating. Once elected, the chair or executive group as a whole should take time to discuss and clarifyexpectations, preferably in writing, for each officer and committee assignment relative to thegroup's goals and plan of work for the year. Clarify and build on the preceding statements of officer responsibilities. This simple exercise can help overcome the uncertainty of expectationsmany newly elected officers have on taking office, and in turn help mold a dynamic leadershipteam. Without such orientation, newly elected officers are often unsure of their jobs and as aresult accomplishments suffer. EXERCISES Exercise 1: a. Use the attached "Evaluation Form - Group Process." to evaluate team buildingwithin your organization or group. b. Now develop a list of actions that might be taken to strengthen teamwork within thatorganization. Within your study group, divide into small groups of three to five. (If everyone in the study groupdoes not belong to the same organization, segregate yourselves so that everyone in each of thesmall groups evaluated the same organization.) Review each of the criteria. Ask each person toindicate how he rated the group on that item, and why. Then develop a composite list of actionsthat might be taken to strengthen teamwork within that organization.

Exercise 2: Complete the following statements. Multiple responses are encouraged. a. "The hardest kind of person for me to get along with is ...." b. "In my opinion, a good chairman is someone who ...." Share (and discuss) your responses to statements (a) and (b) with others in your study group.Take no more than twenty minutes for this part of the exercise. Now, as a group, discuss the following statements. Take no more than ten minutes per statement. c. "I feel closest to others when ...." d. "I get impatient with others when ...." Take time to reflect on the following: How did you feel working in the study group compared toworking alone? What did you learn about team building through this exercise?



EVALUATION FORM - GROUP PROCESS ( 4 ) Evaluate your group progress in team building. Rate each variable by circling one of the numberson the 1 to 5 scale. This will indicate how close you feel your group is to either extreme.

1 = Missing Completely 5 = Operating Ideally

1. INTIMACY AND RESPECT

Members are reluctant to openthemselves to others.

1 2 3 4 5 Members trust and share openlywith one another.

2. OPEN COMMUNICATION

Member are guarded or cautiousin discussion.

1 2 3 4 5 Members express both thoughtsand feelings openly.

3. LISTENING

Members don’t really listen to

one assumptions without reallylistening.

1 2 3 4 5 Members really listen to one

another, they make quick and tryhard to understand one another.

4. OBJECTIVES OR PURPOSES

Objectives are not clear or wellunderstood, and there is little

commitment to them.

1 2 3 4 5 Objectives are clear, mutuallysupported, and there is full

commitment to them.

5. MUTUAL SUPPORT

Members are defensive aboutthemselves and their functions.

1 2 3 4 5 Members are able to give andreceive help and are supportive

of one another.

6. CONSENSUS DECISION-MAKING

Decisions are made by majorityvote or by directive of the leader.

1 2 3 4 5 Major decisions are made byconsensus, and everyone feelsgood about the decisions made.

7. FACILITATE LEADERSHIP

The conduct of meetings and thedecisions made are controlled by

the chairperson.

1 2 3 4 5 All members acceptresponsibility for productivediscussions and are directlyinvolved in decision making.

8. FUN

Meetings are often not seen asproductive and enjoyable.Sarcastic humor and put downs

are common.

1 2 3 4 5 Positive humor is used to relievetension. The group is relaxedand enjoys what it is doing.

9. USE OF MEMBERS’ RESOURCES

Individuals’ knowledge, abilitiesand experience are not fully

known or utilized by the group.

1 2 3 4 5 The group is familiar with eachmember’s knowledge, abilities

and experience and fully utilizesthem.

10. MUTUAL TRUST AND CONFIDENCE



Members are suspicious of oneanother’s motives.

1 2 3 4 5 Members trust one another anddo not fear ridicule or reprisal.

11. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Members avoid arguments,smooth over differences,

suppress or avoid conflicts.

1 2 3 4 5 Members search for, respect,and accept differences and work

through them openly.

12. INVOLVEMENT – PARTICIPATION

Discussion is dominated by afew members.

1 2 3 4 5 All members are involved andfree to participate as they

choose.

13. FLEXIBILITY

The group is locked onestablished rules and find it hard

to change procedures.

1 2 3 4 5 Members readily changeprocedures in response to new

situations.

REFERENCES: [1] See research of Douglas McGregor, Chris Argyris and Renis Likert. [2] Larry Dunn, "Teamwork Training Module," Family Community LeadershipProgram,Cooperative Extension Service, Colorado State University. Gibson, Moore & Lueder,"Teamwork in Cooperative Extension Programs," University of Wisconsin - Extension, 1980.Dyer, W.G., Team Building: Issues and Alternatives, Addison Wesley Publishing Co., 1977. [3] Michael Doyle and David Straus, How To Make Meetings Work, Wyden Books [4] Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Field Associate Guide to RuralDevelopment,1978.



A Toolkit for Volunteer LeadersLeadership

Conducting Meetings L-3

A tree is known by its fruit, a meeting by its results. Diligence is often better than science.

Recall some of the meetings you have attended this last year. Have you sometimes wanted towalk out early because of boredom, anger, or frustration? Wouldn't your organization beimproved if you could make some simple suggestions that would make meetings more productiveand enjoyable for the members?

Several decades ago, Will Rogers observed that two Americans couldn't meet on the streetanymore without one banging a gavel and calling the other to order. Today "meeting" hasbecome a dirty word to many people.

Actually, a meeting should be like a melody. The trick is to get through it without a sour note.

To have pleasant, productive meetings, you will need to understand what goes into planning andconducting such meetings. You will need to plan an agenda that is well organized, logical, dealswith the important issues in a timely manner, but does not get sidetracked. You will need anofficer team that can work together to conduct the meeting. You will need a basic understandingof parliamentary procedure. Finally, you will need to involve the general membership in themeeting.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

To master this section, you should be able to:

1. Plan a productive meeting.2. Identify duties and responsibilities of all involved in conducting the meeting.3. Involve other members through questioning.4. Practice basic parliamentary procedure.

EXERCISE: EVALUATING MEETINGS

Think of a particular type of meeting where parliamentary procedure is followed (examples: 4-HMonthly Community Club Meetings, Rotary Luncheon Meetings, Fair Planning CommitteeMeetings). Use the "Meeting Checklist" below to evaluate that particular meeting. On each item,place a "-" if it is a problem which needs attention, a "+" if it is a strong point in the meeting, and a"o" if it's neither a problem or a strength or if it is irrelevant for any reason. After you havefinished, review the items you gave a "-" and circle the 5 greatest problems. Below each of those

5 items, write an idea that would help correct the problem. Finally, write down specific personalsteps and a deadline date that will discipline you to get the ideas into use to correct the 5 greatestproblems that you identified.



MEETING CHECKLIST

____1. Insure a comfortable and conducive physical setting.

____2. Make sure that people see each other face-to-face.

____3. Get people introduced and at ease before the meeting starts.

____4. Have an agenda and stick to it.

____5. Deal with the most important things first.

____6. Develop the agenda by consulting key group members or people interested in the topicsto be covered.

____7. Get the agenda out at least a week before the meeting.

____8. Under each agenda item, indicate the specific questions to be discussed so that meetingparticipants will have time to think about them beforehand.

____9. Start the meeting by clearly stating, and agreeing on, the meeting purpose.

The chairman should

___10. Facilitate, not direct or dominate.

___11. Help the group reach its own conclusions, rather than predetermined conclusions.

___12. Use the first 10-15 minutes of a meeting to (1) review and finalize the agenda and (2)agree on how the group will accomplish the task(s) before it.

___13. Set up and enforce appropriate rules for participation to give everyone an equalopportunity for self expression.

___14. Act as a traffic cop: (1) keeping the group to the task before it, (2) insuring open, positivecommunication, and (3) protecting individual participants from manipulation and personal attack.

___15. Be prepared. Don't call a meeting until the facts are together.

___16.Develop ground rules for participation in direct response to problems that the groupanticipates or has encountered in past meetings.

___17. Keep the discussion going by asking pertinent questions.

___18. Indicate that input is appreciated.

___19. Rather than answering questions that are directed to the chair, he/she should reboundthem to the group, "What do the rest of you think about this?"

___20. Periodically summarize.

___21. Don't force a group to make a decision before it is ready.

___22. Be aware of non-verbal communication, and respond to it.

___23. End the meeting with a review of what was accomplished, and what needs yet to be done



or decided.

___24. Review what each person has agreed to do in carrying out the activity or in preparing for the next meeting.

___25. Keep in touch with members between meetings.

___26. Make sure members follow through on their commitments.

___27. Avoid unnecessary meetings.

___28. Be certain that officers understand their responsibilities and carry them out.

___29. Be certain that committee members understand their responsibil ities and carry them out.

___30. Be certain that the group's goals are clear; are appropriate and are carried out?

Don't get carried away! But do put enough thought into your meetings so that they don't get out of control.

MEETINGS THAT STIMULATE

You can get people together, but it takes more than that. The mere inviting of participation, thecalling of a meeting, or the appointment of a committee in itself will not insure the development of a productive group. Local groups often complain of the lack of participation. But when people donot show up at meetings, the group finds they are unprepared to handle the participation. Theydon't know what to do with it, and as a result they eventually lose it. How then do you sustain agroup once you've got it? How do you keep committees motivated and active?

• Insure a COMFORTABLE AND CONDUCIVE PHYSICAL SETTING for the meeting. If possible, arrange chairs in a semicircle so that people can see each other face to face.Get people introduced and at ease before the meeting starts.

• HAVE AN AGENDA and stick to it. DEAL WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGSFIRST. Develop the agenda by consulting key group members or people interested in thetopics to be covered. Get the agenda out--by word of mouth or in writing--at least a weekbefore the meeting. Under each agenda item indicate the specific questions to bediscussed so that meeting participants will have time to think about them beforehand.Most agendas are so brief that they say nothing. Likewise, if the agenda is distributedonly a few minutes before the meeting starts, it loses much of its motivating force. GIVEPEOPLE A REASON FOR ATTENDING.

• START THE MEETING BY CLEARLY STATING, AND AGREEING ON, THE MEETINGPURPOSE. Start out with a statement such as "The purpose of this meeting is to... Doeseveryone agree?" Unfortunately, too many meetings start out with, "Well, everyoneknows why we're here, so let's get right down to business," and the meeting wanders until

people discover for themselves why they are there.

• The chairman should FACILITATE, not direct or dominate. He or she should help thegroup reach its OWN conclusions rather than predetermined conclusions. If a chairmandoes more than 15% of the talking, he or she is dominating rather than facilitating. On theother hand, don't confuse facilitating with sitting back and letting things happen on their own. A group needs structure.

• BE WELL ORGANIZED. STRUCTURE YOUR MEETINGS. Unstructured, free-for-alldiscussion is rarely productive. Use the first 10-15 minutes of a meeting to (1) review and



finalize the agenda and (2) agree on HOW the group will accomplish the task(s) before it.When members are directly involved in setting the agenda and rules about how themeeting is to be conducted, they tend to assume more responsibility for what happens.Set up and enforce appropriate rules for participation, to give everyone an equalopportunity for expression and for being heard. For example, "We wish to make sure thateveryone has the chance to speak, without repercussion. Let's go around the room witheach person in turn expressing his opinion. We will limit discussion until after everyonehas expressed an opinion. Does this seem appropriate?" The chairman should act as atraffic cop: (1) keeping the group to the task before it, (2) insuring open, positivecommunication, and (3) protecting individual participants from manipulation and personalattack. In short, the chairman should control the way the meeting is conducted, but notwhat is decided.

• BE PREPARED. DON'T CALL A MEETING UNTIL YOU FIRST HAVE YOUR FACTSTOGETHER. Identify and consult available resource people and knowledgeableindividuals beforehand. Pull together all information, both pro and con, the group willneed to consider in making a decision.

• Develop ground rules in direct response to problems your group anticipates or hasencountered in past meetings. For example, "Last meeting I felt we got bogged down in

arguing over possible solutions before we had agreed on the problem. What could we doto prevent that this meeting?" USE COMMON SENSE in developing your ground rules.

• Keep the discussion going by ASKING PERTINENT QUESTIONS. Ask open endedquestions, rather than questions that can be simply answered by a "yes" or "no." Passthe discussion around the group to include those who are not taking part. Call out their name, and then ask the question, "Joe what do you think about..." But don't force peopleto talk if they don't want to. Also, DON'T EVALUATE WHAT THE PERSON SAID. AVOIDTHE APPEARANCE OF BEING CRITICAL. Indicate that you appreciate their input. Thebest way to stimulate discussion is to ask questions. People prefer to be asked, rather than told. Rather than answering questions directly, the chair should rebound them to thegroup, "What do the rest of you think about this?"

• PERIODICALLY SUMMARIZE. Summarizing during the meeting clarifies for the groupwhere it's been and points the direction it needs to go.

• BE PATIENT. Don't force a group to make a decision before it is ready. • BE AWARE OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION, and respond to it. What are people's

expressions and actions telling you? If someone gives a disapproving look, ask hisopinion next.

• END the meeting WITH A REVIEW of what was accomplished, and what needs yet to bedone or decided. Review what each person has agreed to do in carrying out the activityor in preparing for the next meeting. This review is the first step in setting your nextmeeting's agenda. KEEP YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS BEFORE THE GROUP.

• KEEP IN TOUCH with members between meetings to get feedback as to progress beingmade. Make sure members follow through on their commitments. Encourage them. Don'tlet the momentum of the meeting die. The productiveness of a meeting is determinedmore after the meeting than during it.

• Finally, AVOID UNNECESSARY MEETINGS. There are other ways of communicating.Meetings should be seen as the heavy artillery of communication, not to be used unlessabsolutely necessary.



A good chairman and discussion leaders are essential to the success and motivation of anygroup. Nothing is more discouraging than a poorly organized, rambling, unproductive meeting. ANYONE, and I repeat, ANYONE, can make a good discussion leader/chairman if he or she onlypractices the above principles.

A group is only as good, however, as its individual members. The success of a meeting or groupis the responsibility of ALL members/ participants, not just the chair and the discussion leaders.THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES MUST BE A JOINT GROUP EFFORT. To sitback and complain about others does little good.

Discuss the above principles at your next meeting. Use them. You'll be surprised how well theywork.

• RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY:

Leading a Good Discussion, Educational Techniques for Improving Communication,Michigan State University, Cooperative Extension Service, East Lansing, December, 1971.

DOYLE, M. AND STRAUS, D. How to Make Meetings Work. Wyden Books, 1976.

BRADFORD, L. Making Meetings Work: A Guide for Leaders and Group Members.University Associates, 1976.

SCHINDLER-RAINMAN, E., & LIPPITT, R. Taking Your Meetings Out of the Doldrums.University Associates, 1975.

PLANNING AN AGENDA

Now that you have some guidelines for productive meetings, you need to plan an agenda for each meeting. Following are two examples. The first is a 4-H club agenda for a monthly eveningmeeting. The second is a lunch meeting of a civic club.

• Agenda Outline #1 Call to Order Flag Salute4-H PledgeRoll CallIntroductionsMinutesOfficer ReportsProject ReportsCommittee ReportsUnfinished BusinessNew Business Announcements

ProgramDemonstrationProject TalkSpecial Program (Invited Speaker)Recreation & Refreshments Adjourn



• Agenda Outline #2 Call to Order Introduction of GuestsSong AnnouncementsInvocationLunchMinutes of Previous MeetingTreasurer's ReportCommittee ReportsFeatured Speaker BusinessReview of Assignments and Responsibilities Adjourn

The agenda that you use should reflect the needs of your group. You may be able to use one of the above agendas, slightly modify them, or you may need to develop something entirelydifferent.

EXERCISE: AGENDA OUTLINE

Develop an agenda outline for a regular meeting that you attend. Share it with another personwho attends those meetings. Do not get attached to your preliminary outline. Allow it to evolve, tochange to meet the needs of your group. If you are the chair, use your agenda. If not, share it(gently) with the chair.

EXERCISE: USING THE AGENDA OUTLINE TO PLAN A MEETING

After you have developed an agenda outline, you are ready to use it to plan a specific meeting.Take a few minutes to write in items which need to be addressed during the next meeting of your organization. After you have all of your ideas on the outline, share it with another member of your organization. Discuss how you can improve the agenda for the next meeting of your group.

EXERCISE: MEETING RESPONSIBILITIES

This exercise builds on the previous exercise.

Go back over the agenda that was developed. Who will be responsible for each item? Thepersons chosen must agree. Once they have agreed they are committed. Their names are writtento the left of each item on the agenda. Some will be reluctant to have their names placed on theagenda. They may ask, "What do I say?" or "How will I know when to speak?" The answer is torehearse part or all of the meeting so that everyone involved knows what they say and when.

REHEARSE THE MEETING

Many meeting problems could be avoided if the officers would simply rehearse before themeeting. To rehearse you need a script. Following is a script for Agenda Outline #1, the 4-Hmonthly community club meeting. Read over it then write your own script for your group'smeeting.



For a 4-H Community Club:

Agenda Item (Who) Says This: Call to Order President The meeting will please come to order. We are now holding the

monthly meeting of ..... Flag Salute President Martha will lead us in the flag salute. **** 4-H Pledge President While we remain standing John will lead us in the 4-H Pledge. **** Roll Call President The secretary will now call the roll of members.

Secretary Please answer with ...(your favorite animal).. Introductions President Are there any guests to be introduced? Minutes President Will the secretary now read the minutes of the last meeting?

President Are there any additions or corrections to the minutes? If not they standapproved as read. *

Officers' Reports President Are there any officers' reports? Project Reports President Will the following project groups Reports please report on your

activities since the last meeting: Member reports, I move this report be accepted as given. President Do I hear a second? Is there any discussion? All in favor say, Aye; all

opposed, No. Motion carried. * Committee Reports President Are there any committee reports? Unfinished Business President Madam Secretary is there any unfinished business? New Business President Items on the agenda for new business include _____, _____, _____,

_____,and _____. What is your pleasure? Is there any other new business?

Announcements President Are there any announcements? Program President At this time the Vice President will present the program.

Demonstration Vice Pres. The demonstration tonight is by the Foods Club. Janene Luttrell willdemonstrate how to make Strawberry Buttermilk Ice.

Project Talk Vice Pres. Dan Waddoups and Jaylene Bryson will give a Project Talk on their

beef project. Recreation Vice Pres. Jennifer Luttrell will lead recreation. Refreshments Vice Pres. Refreshments will be provided by .....

Vice Pres. Our next meeting will be:PlaceDateTimeThe program will include....

Summary President Reviews commitments made as a result of any committees appointedor as a result of business conducted.

Adjourn President The chair would entertain a motion to adjourn (needs a second - nodebate -vote). Motion carried. This meeting is adjourned. *

*Tap of gavel



Parliamentary Procedure

At this point the officers and members of your organization may need orientation to basicparliamentary procedure. Some will already know (or think they know) a lot about this subject. Donot allow the inexperienced members to be overwhelmed by too many details too soon.

Parliamentary procedure is simply a system of rules to insure that formal meetings run efficiently.Behind the rules are five basic principles:

1. One Question or Proposal at a Time.2. The Right of-Every Member to Free and Full Debate.3. The Democratic Principle That the Will of the Majority Shall Prevail.4. The Principle of Equality.5. Courtesy.

Meetings are guided by the President using an agenda (list of items requiring attention at themeeting). When a matter is to be decided (usually under new or old business) a motion isrequired. A complete motion should have several parts:

1. Formal language to introduce it - "I move"

2. Substance - "that we have a picnic"3. Time - "on July 4 at 6:00 p.m."4. Place - "at the Smith's home"5. Provision for a committee if appropriate - "with a committee appointed by the President"6. Committee's power - "to plan the details and report back at the June Meeting."

Once the motion has been made, it must be seconded, then it may be debated. When membersare done debating, or time runs out, the President may call for a vote by voice, hands or secretballot.

In conducting the meeting, the President will maintain order through use of the gavel. Members,as well as the President, should be familiar with the following signals:

Several taps = come to order 3 taps = all rise2 taps = all sit1 tap = decision has been made (including adjournment).

A simple reference on parliamentary procedure is "Getting It All Together for Effective Meetings,"4H7-PPMI, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service. The definitive guide for parliamentary procedure is Roberts Rules of Order, available at most book stores. EXERCISE: PRACTICING PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

With new officers and new members, try rehearsing to learn about parliamentary procedure. Aska volunteer to be president and take the gavel. Then let each of the other members practice

making a motion. Write the parts of a complete motion on the chalkboard or on newsprint for all tosee. Have someone experienced in parliamentary procedure standing by to correct mistakes. After each member has made a motion, go on to seconding, discussing and voting on the motion.If the group wants more, gradually introduce amending the motion, point of order, tabling themotion, etc. But go slowly.



To introduce more complicated procedures, use the officers to demonstrate a procedure at theregular meeting. After the demonstration, answer questions and be sure the members practicethe new procedure.

QUESTIONING - THE ART OF INVOLVING OTHERS

Parliamentary Procedure can be very intimidating to some people. Special effort is needed,especially by the presiding officer, to involve quiet members in the meeting. One effectivetechnique is questioning.

People who have learned to ask thoughtful questions in meetings provide a service that isimmeasurable. They encourage others to think; they draw others into the discussion; and theystimulate ideas. People who only make statements or give opinions tend to turn off discussion.Often they force other people to take sides, to agree or disagree. So the first step in gaining skillin questioning is to recognize that questions are valuable and powerful in discussions.

Some questions, however, are just as destructive as too many statements. Unclear questions donot stimulate, they confuse. Leading questions (you don't really like math do you?) are not usefuleither. They tell you the questioner's opinion, so they are more like statements than questions.Yes/No questions should also be avoided if possible.

The following checklist will help you decide if you have a useful question:

_____1. It is appropriate (on the subject being discussed; follows related questions in a logicalorder).

_____2. It is an open-ended question (cannot be answered by a simple yes or no; requiresthinking before answering; avoids the appearance of traps).

_____3. It is concise and clear, using simple words.

_____4. The question is asked in a natural, conversational tone (no sarcasm, no shouting, nofinger pointing).

The checklist above tells you how to ask questions. The last step is to know when to askquestions. Ask them when people are silent but interested. Do not interrupt to ask a questionunless the speaker is clearly off the subject. Ask a question when you want more discussion. Youmay direct it to someone who has not had a chance to speak. Try to avoid asking a questionwhen it might embarrass someone. After asking a question, pause, give time for thought, beforeasking another question. Ask questions when you need more information or when you need toknow if people are in agreement.

Finally, when someone answers your question, react favorably. Nod, smile or say something like"thank you" or "that's an interesting idea." You may want to ask a follow-up question if it seemappropriate ("would you explain your answer" -- "what do you mean by . . .").

Now practice questioning skills. Anticipate some questions that you might ask at the nextmeeting. Write them down and be prepared to ask them when appropriate. With someexperience, you'll be able to use questioning without preparation.



EXERCISE: INVOLVEMENT THROUGH QUESTIONING

By asking thought-provoking questions, we can involve more members in the discussion. Whatare some questions that might be asked about our agenda items to stimulate discussion by themembership at the next meeting? Who will ask them? Write down your answers.

Evaluate each question using the checklist above.

CONCLUSIONS

Formal meetings are critical to most organizations. If they are well planned and conducted, theorganization will be strengthened. If the meetings are poorly planned and/or conducted thenthose meetings can be the main reason why a group falls apart or at least becomes inactive.

A final bit of advice. Plan meetings that run no longer than one hour whenever possible. Unlessyou have a very special type of meeting (i.e., all-day workshop), members will lose interest after an hour. Even then an hour long meeting should have lots of variety and involve all membersactively. That takes plenty of planning and preparation before the meeting day.




Small Group Dynamics L-4

The person who never takes a risk, never learns. (nothing ventured, nothing gained) Not all meetings are conducted strictly by Robert's Rules of Order. For smaller, more informalmeetings, fewer rules are needed. For some people, few rules are desirable for committeemeetings, lunch discussion groups, social meetings or even many educational workshops. However, without Robert's Rules, a presiding officer or committee chair must be much moreskillful in leading the meeting. The leader must be aware of when to abandon Robert's Rules for amore relaxed meeting. The degree and style of leadership may depend heavily on "groupmaturity." Certainly knowledge of other aspects of group dynamics is very important in leadinginformal groups. Since this module is quite long, you may choose to work only on specific parts according to theobjectives below. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES After mastering this module, you should be able to: 1. Identify types of meetings within your organization where informal rules of conduct apply.2. Assess "group maturity."

3. Conduct or evaluate a small group discussion.4. Plan to use different group techniques for appropriate situations. EXERCISE: TYPES OF INFORMAL MEETINGS Take 2-5 minutes to list some of the meetings that you attend which do not use parliamentaryprocedure. Think of all the different groups that you belong to. Consider: SchoolChurchSocialRecreational

GovernmentCommunityEconomicFamily



Also consider types of meetings: CommitteesStudy GroupsDiscussion GroupsLuncheon Meetings

Commissions Advisory Groups WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GROUP Often external rules, like parliamentary procedure, are less important than "group dynamics." Butwhat does that term imply? How do we recognize "Group dynamics?" We all have experience ingroups. Yet we rarely take the time to observe what is happening in those groups. We getinvolved in the discussion and ignore the dynamics of the group--how it works. If we can becomemore aware of group dynamics, we can be better observers and better participants. So what do we look for? What is there to see in a group? I. Communication One of the easiest aspects of group process to observe is the pattern of communication.

1. Who talks? For how long? How often? 2. Who do people look at when they talk?

a. Single others, possibly potential supporters b. Scanning the group c. No one

3. Who talks after whom, or who interrupts whom? 4. That style of communication is used (assertions, questions, tone of voice, gestures, etc.?) 5.Do people change their participation (become quiet or more talkative or change tone of voice)?Why?

6. How are silent people treated? Is silence due to consent, disagreement, disinterest, fear,fatigue? The kinds of observations we make give us clues to other important things which may be goingon in the group such as who leads whom or who influences whom.



II. Content vs. Process When we observe what the group is talking about, we are focusing on the content. When we tryto observe how the group is handling its communication, i.e., who talks how much or who talks towhom, we are talking about group process. In fact, the content of group discussion often tells uswhat process issue may be on people's minds. For example:

Content Process

1. Talking about problems of authority backhome may mean…

that there is a leadership struggle going on inthe group.

2. Talking about how bad group meetingsusually are at the plant may mean…

that members are dissatisfied with theperformance of their own group.

3. Talking about staff who don’t really helpanybody may mean…

dissatisfaction with the leader of the group.

At a simpler level, looking at process really means to focus on what is going on in the group andtrying to understand it in terms of other things that have gone on in the group. III. Decision Many kinds of decisions are made in groups without considering the effects these decisions haveon other members. Some try to impose their own decisions on the group, while others want allmembers to participate or share in the decisions that are made. Some decisions are madeconsciously after much debate and voting. Others are made silently when no one objects to

suggestion.

1. Does anyone make a decision and carry it out without checking with other group members (self authorized decision)? 2. Does the group drift from topic to topic with no decision? 3. Who supports other members' suggestions or decisions? 4. Is there any evidence of a majority pushing a decision through over other members'objections? Do they call for a vote (majority decision)? 5. Is there any attempt to get all members to agree before a decision is made (consensus)? 6. Does anyone make any contributions which do not receive any kind of response or recognition(plop)? What effect does this have on the member?



IV. Influence Some people may speak very little, yet they may capture the attention of the whole group. Othersmay talk a lot—but other members may pay little attention to them.

1. Which members are high in influence? That is, when they talk others seem to listen. 2. Which members are low in influence? Others do not listen to them or follow them. Isthere any shifting of influence? 3. Do you see any rivalry in the group? Is there a struggle for leadership? What effectdoes it have on other group members?

V. Task vs. Relationships The group's task is the job to be done. People who are concerned with the task tend to

1. make suggestions as to the best way to proceed or deal with a problem; 2. attempt to summarize what has been covered or what has been going on in the group; 3. give or ask for facts, ideas, opinions, feelings, feedback, or search for alternatives; 4. keep the group on target; prevent going off on tangents.

Relationships means how well people in the group work together. People who are concerned withrelationships tend to

1. be more concerned with how people feel than how much they know;

2. help others get into the discussion; 3. try to reconcile disagreements; 4. encourage people with friendly remarks and gestures.

VI. Roles Behavior in the group can be of three types:

1. that which helps the group accomplish its task; 2. that which helps group members get along better (relationships); and 3. self oriented behavior which contributes to neither group task nor group relationships.Examples of these types of behavior, called roles, are:



Task Roles 1. Initiating: proposing tasks or goals; defining a group problem; suggesting ways to solvea problem. 2. Seeking information or opinions: requesting facts; asking for expressions of feeling;

requesting a statement or estimate; seeking suggestions and ideas. 3. Giving information or opinion: offering facts; providing relevant information; stating anopinion; giving suggestions and ideas. 4. Clarifying and elaborating: interpreting ideas or suggestions; clearing up confusion;defining terms; indicating alternatives and issues before the group. 5. Summarizing: pulling together related ideas; restating suggestions after the group hasdiscussed them; offering a decision or conclusion for the group to accept or reject.

6. Consensus testing: asking if the group is nearing a decision; taking a straw vote."

Relationship Roles 1. Harmonizing: attempting to reconcile disagreements; reducing tension; getting peopleto explore differences. 2. Gate keeping: helping to keep communication channels open; facilitating theparticipation of others; suggesting procedures that permit sharing remarks. 3. Encouraging: being friendly, warm, and responsive to others; indicating by facialexpression or remarks the acceptance of others' contributions. 4. Compromising: when one's own idea or status is involved in a conflict, offering acompromise which yields status; admitting error; modifying one's position in the interestof group cohesion or growth.

Self-Oriented Roles 1. Dominator: interrupts others; launches on long monologues; is over-positive and over-dogmatic; tries to lead group and assert authority; is generally autocratic. 2. Negativist: rejects ideas suggested by others; takes a negative attitude on issues;argues frequently and unnecessarily; is pessimistic, refuses to cooperate; pouts. 3. Aggressor: tries to achieve importance in group; boasts; criticizes or blames others;tries to get attention; shows anger or irritation against group or individuals; deflatesimportance or position of others in group. 4. Playboy: is not interested in the group except as it can help him or her to have a goodtime.



5. Storyteller: likes to tell long "fishing stories" which are not relevant to the group; getsoff on long tangents. 6. Interrupter: talks over others; engages in side conversations; whispers to neighbor. 7. Poor me: tries to get the group's attention to deal with own personal concerns,

discomfort, bad luck, etc.

A group member who can play a variety of task and relationship roles and can avoid self orientedroles will be most helpful to the group. VII. Membership One major concern for group members is the degree of acceptance or inclusion they feel in thegroup.

1. Are there any sub-groupings? Sometimes two or three members may consistently

agree and support each other or consistently disagree and oppose one another. 2. Do some people seem to be outside the group? Do some members seem to be "in"?How are those "outside" treated? 3. Do some members move in and out of the group? Under what conditions do they movein and out?

VIII. Feelings During any group discussion, feelings are frequently generated by the interactions betweenmembers. These feelings, however, are seldom talked about. Observers may have to make

guesses based on tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and many other forms of nonverbalcues.

1.What signs of feelings do you observe in group members? Anger, irritation, frustration,warmth, affection, excitement, boredom, defensiveness, competitiveness, etc. 2. Do you see any attempts by group members to block the expression of feelings,particularly negative feelings? How is this done? Does anyone do this consistently?

IX. Norms Standard or group rules always develop in a group in order to control the behavior of members.Norms usually express the beliefs or desires of the majority of the group members as to whatbehaviors should or should not take place in the group. These norms may be clear to allmembers (explicit), known or sensed by only a few (implicit), or operating completely below thelevel of awareness of any group members. Some norms help group progress and some hinder it.

1. Are certain areas avoided by the group (eg., sex, religion, talk about present feelings,about others in the group, discussion of leader's behavior, etc.)? Who seems to reinforcethis avoidance? How do they do it?



2. Are the group members overly nice or polite to each other? Are only positive feelingsexpressed? Do members agree with each other too readily? What happens whenmembers disagree? 3. Do you see norms operating about participation or the kinds of questions that areallowed? (e.g., "If I talk you must talk"; "If I tell my problems you have to tell your

problems"). Do members feel free to probe each other about their feelings? Do questionstend to be restricted to intellectual topics or events outside the group?

X. Group Atmosphere Something about the way a group works creates an atmosphere which in turn is revealed in ageneral impression. Insight can be gained into the atmosphere characteristic of a group by findingwords which describe the general impression held by group members.

1. Is the atmosphere one of work, play, satisfaction, taking flight, sluggish, tense, etc. 2. Who seems to prefer a friendly congenial atmosphere? Is there any attempt to

suppress conflict or unpleasant feelings? 3. Who seems to prefer an atmosphere of conflict and disagreement? Do any membersprovoke or annoy others?

XI. Group Maturity Group maturity is defined as the ability and willingness of group members to set goals and worktoward their accomplishment. Characteristics of a Mature Group

1. An increasing ability to be self-directed (not dependent on the leader). 2. An increased tolerance in accepting that progress takes time. 3. An increasing sensitivity to their own feelings and those of others. 4. Improvement in the ability to withstand tension, frustration and disagreement. 5. A perception of the common denominators which bind the group as well as areas of individual difference. 6. A better ability to anticipate realistic results of behavior and to channel emotions intomore socially acceptable ways of expressing these emotions. 7. An increased ability to change plans and methods as new situations develop. 8. A decrease in time needed to recover from threatening group situations. Peaks andvalleys of emotional group crises become less personal.



9. Increased efficiency in locating problems, engaging in problem solving and providinghelp to individuals as needed. 10. A willingness to face one's own responsibilities and to assist others when help isneeded. 11. An acceptance of the right of the other person to be different.

Assessing group maturity is especially important for a group leader. An immature group needsdirection. Directive leadership is usually best. If a group is very mature, nondirective leadership isusually best. In between the extremes of very mature and very immature, democratic leadershipwill be the best bet depending on the situation (see module L-1). STUDY GROUP EXERCISE: Enough theory! It's time for some experience. Form small groups of 5-10 members. For the next20 minutes you are going to have a group discussion to choose a new logo to represent thisgroup. Your group task is to use the next 20 minutes to design your own logo. You may use

symbols found in business, organizations, or sports teams that you know about, or designsomething from scratch. There are no rules as to "how" you go about this task. However, youshould choose a group observer who uses the Observation Sheet below to record groupinteraction. This group observer also keeps track of the 20 minute time limit. When you are ready,START.

OBSERVATION SHEET Individual Participation in Group Discussion Group members:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Asks for information Asks for opinion Gives information Gives opinion Makes suggestion Explains ideas Rejects another's idea Ridicules another person Agrees with another Attentive but quite Side conversation Disrupts



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What happened in your group? 2. Did it complete its task? Why or why not? 3. Was the group productive? 4. Was everyone completely comfortable? 5. Who were the "leaders" in the group? (Remember, a leader is anyone who helps the group, atany point, to set goals or work productively toward those goals). 6. How could this group improve?

7. What did you observe in your group concerning a. communication,b. content vs. process,c. decisions,d. influence,e. task vs. relationships,f. roles,g. membership,h. feelings,

i. norms, j. group atmosphere?

Refer back to the section on "What to Look for in a Group" if needed. 8. If you were assigned to lead your group with the same task, how would you have acted? LEADING SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS Most small groups will have one member designated to lead the discussion. If that member isyou, then you need to be prepared. Your Job as Discussion Leader The best discussion leader is one who can get others to talk. A talkative leader usually cuts downon the group members' participation. Your job is to:

• arrange the group so they are sitting as close together as possible, and can see eachother;

• get others' ideas out for consideration;



• keep the group on the subject; • encourage everyone to participate; • watch the time so you can cover the discussion questions of most interest to your group; • summarize important points; and • allow time for the "wrap-up."

The following three sections spotlight some steps in a discussion that are particularly important tohandle well. Parts of the Discussion...setting the stage As a discussion leader, you:

• see that everyone is introduced; • select a recorder if one has not been appointed; • explain what the discussion group is expected to accomplish; • try to be friendly and good-natured, but show you mean business; • lay the ground rules:

o everyone is expected to stay on the subject; o no one dominates the discussion—no long talks; o each member will have a chance to participate; o the purpose of the discussion is not to come up with one "right" answer.

• explain that your role is to: o withhold your own opinion; o try to keep the group on the subject; o assist the recorder in summarizing the discussion.

• ask if there are any questions. Parts of the Discussion...leading the discussion Everyone should participate in the discussion. However, some groups expect the leader to domost of the talking, and may remain silent at the beginning of the discussion. Your job is to getthem to do the talking. To do that:

• ask the group members for first reactions or general impressions on the topic. • if you have prepared discussion questions, ask someone to read the first discussion

question. If you do not have prepared questions, have the members raise some that theywould like to discuss.

• if there is a silence, try to wait out the group members. Remain silent 2 or 3 minutes.Usually, someone will say something. This puts the responsibility on the group members,and takes it off your shoulders.

• your occasional nod or "uh-huh" will encourage more response, but there should not becomment on each response.

• as a last resort, ask someone to respond. Once the discussion is going, the leader can best help the group by letting the group members dothe talking. Try to bring everyone into the discussion and keep it on the subject. If problems arise during the discussion, check the "What to do if" section (below). Otherwise, sitback and make an occasional summary of the discussion. Five minutes before the end of thediscussion, wrap up the discussion



Parts of the Discussion...wrapping up If the discussion was good, say, "We had a good discussion," OR if it didn't go so well, findsomething good to say about it. Repeat briefly the purpose of the discussion. Say, "In our discussion, we were asked to ....." Ask the group to summarize the important points. Say, "Whatdo you think are the important points we have made?" Ask the recorder to read the report back to

the group. What To Do If...the group can't get started Try having someone rephrase the discussion topics. Go around the group asking if someone hasa response. Ask one of the resource people to tell more about the topic. Go on to another discussion topic. Ask another group member to introduce it. What To Do If...someone dominates the discussion Ask, "How do the rest of you feel about that idea?" Say, "Okay, that's a good point; may we moveon to someone else?" Point out the problem by saying, "We have heard from .....let's hear from

some of the rest of you." Go around the group again, asking if someone has a response. As a lastresort, restate the ground rules. What To Do If...the group gets off the subject Ask, "Are we off the subject?" Say, "We're talking about , but our topic is supposed to be___." What To Do If...interest lags Be sure the discussion does not remain too long on a single point. Say, "Have we covered thatpoint and may we go on?" Is someone dominating the discussion? See section on "What to doif...someone dominates the discussion." If no one talks for a while, the leader need not step in—sometimes people need time to think. Maybe people need more information. Say, "Do we haveenough information? Should we call on a resource person at this point?" Or, "Is this an area wewill need to study on our own?" What To Do If...discussion gets too heated Say, "We have two viewpoints here. Are there any other views?" Emphasize the importance of getting many viewpoints. Say, "This really isn't the place where we can settle that issue, somaybe we should move on to the next topic." Remind the group that in this discussion we aren'tlooking for one right answer. Differing views are welcome. EXERCISE: Take turns leading and evaluating group discussion. Write several discussion topics on slips of paper. Choose topics that are issues of concern to group members. Examples: - What position should our group take on the new bond issue? - How might our club improve its image?



- How could U.S.-China relations be improved? Get a volunteer to be the first leader. Get a second volunteer to evaluate the discussion leader.Give both volunteers time to read the following checklist: Did the discussion leader: ___Introduce the issue creating interest? ___Organize the discussion so the major points were taken up in the most effective order? ___Encourage all to participate? ___Encourage informality? ___Relate the issue to concerns of individual members? ___Ask clear, concise questions?

___Ask thought-provoking questions? ___Arrange for a break during long sessions?

___Lead members of the group to see that they were making progress? ___Summarize occasionally? ___Close discussion with generalizations, conclusions and applications? ___Manage to do all of the above without seeming to dominate? Everyone else is a group member. When the leader and evaluator are ready, start the discussion.Each discussion should be allowed to go for about five minutes, followed by the evaluator's reportfrom the checklist. As time allows, each member should have a chance to be a discussion leader and an evaluator. EXERCISE: GROUP RULES Some small groups have recurring problems with their group discussion. When this happens, a printed agenda with ground rules can be given to group members. Readthe following example, then write your own ground rules for a meeting that you attend whereground rules would be helpful.



YAVAPAI DISTRICT III NUCLEUS MEETING May 20, 19__ - 7:00 p.m., County Building, Cottonwood, AZ

AGENDA Introductions Objectives:

• To help make County government more efficient and more responsive. • To improve communication between County officials and representatives of

unincorporated communities of District III. • To improve communication among representatives of unincorporated communities.

Purpose: Identify problems and refer to proper agency.

Ground Rules: • Keep it positive—not a gripe session • Avoid political soapbox • Allow the written questions to be answered beforegoing to open forum • Avoid repetition in questions/comments. Make them brief.

Supervisor's ReportQuestions Sent InOpen ForumSchedule Next Meeting: Date _____, Time_____,Place__________. GROUP TECHNIQUES To be an effective group leader in all situations, you need an arsenal of techniques to use whenappropriate. The following pages present some techniques. With preparation and practice, youwill gain competence in choosing and using the best technique for a particular situation. I.Common Forms of Presentations include:

A. LECTURE - an oral presentation of organized thoughts and ideas by a speaker.

B. SYMPOSIUM - a formal presentation by several platform speakers. C. PANEL DISCUSSION - a presentation by several persons who discuss a topic inwhich they have a special knowledge. D. COLLOQUY - the presentation of a problem by members of the audience to bediscussed by a group of experts who may ask questions or make comments regardingthe presentation.



One of the most commonly used (and misused) of these techniques is the panel discussion. Apanel refers to the discussion of a topic by a selected group of 3 to 6 people under the direction of a moderator. It can be a very effective technique in bringing out different facts and points of viewon a given topic. Select panel members with care, to include: 1) persons vitally interested in the topic; 2) persons

who have different views, experiences and sources of information on the subject to be discussed;3) persons willing to express themselves before a group. The moderator must remain neutral. He or she: 1) sets time limits for the discussion; 2) opens thediscussion with a question or statement that focuses attention on the central point(s) to bediscussed; 3) asks questions, as needed to help clarify points made; 4) interrupts whennecessary to keep the discussion on track; 5) periodically summarizes; 6) keeps the discussionmoving so that all points are covered in the allotted time; and 7) insures that panel membersshare the allotted time equally, with no one dominating. A panel commonly begins with each member stating a position. Then group members react toand ask questions of each other. Panel members should prepare their introductory statementsbut not rehearse with each other. Panels shorter than 20 minutes seldom succeed, and groupinterest tends to wane if longer than 40 minutes. II.Small Group Discussion Techniques include: A. CO-LEADERS IN GROUP DISCUSSIONS - the use of a team approach of two or morepersons in leading a discussion. B. HUDDLE GROUPS or BUZZ GROUPS - the use of a group of 3-7 persons who discuss aproblem or issue and then reporting to a larger group. C. LEADERSHIP TEAM - the use of a group of four persons to conduct a discussion as follows:

discussion leader; process observer; recorder; and resource person.

D. LISTENING TEAM - the use of two to four persons who listen, evaluate, and then posequestions to persons who have made a formal presentation.

E. ROLE PLAYING - the use of persons who act out a situation in order to promote additionalinsights or deeper emotional feelings. F. BRAINSTORMING - the use of free expression for creative thinking without the influence of judicial reasoning (see separate module on "brainstorming" in the section on "learning/teachingtechniques").

G. DIADS - the use of pairs to interview each other or clarify their own ideas. H. ROUND ROBIN SHARING - each group member in turn briefly share ideas, opinions,suggestions or concerns in response to a question raised.

Small group interaction brings about greater cooperation, consensus and commitment amongparticipants than is possible in a larger group. Small groups permit leadership responsibility to beshared by all who contribute.



Some considerations in making small group discussion effective are:

1)provide the group with pertinent facts and background information on the problem or issue to bediscussed before breaking into small groups;2) divide into small groups by counting off to insure heterogeneous groups;3) clearly define the group assignment, and post it for all to see; and

4)Set a time limit at which time reports will be called for. Round-Robin Sharing needs more explanation. Start by passing out index cards, and havingeach person jot down brief suggestions, opinions, concerns in response to the question posed bythe group leader. This writing exercise gives people time to think. It helps each person clarifywhat is important. Also, people are often more willing to write something down and then read it,than they are to speak spontaneously. This writing exercise is particularly useful in setting goals.

As each person shares an opinion, concern, suggestion, list them on newsprint or a blackboardfor all to see. This clearly shows the individual that he has been heard. It avoidsmiscommunication. It gives the person immediate recognition. It reduces the tendency of peopleto repeat themselves. And it also serves as an official record of the meeting.

An important ground rule: instruct the group that during the round-robin sharing no discussion ispermitted—except for questions of clarification, i.e., "What did you mean by...?" It should bestressed that the purpose of the round-robin is to share, to listen, to empathize, and try tounderstand and appreciate the opinions of others. Its purpose is not to discuss, argue the prosand cons of, or refute the opinions, suggestions and concerns expressed. There will be time for that later. This approach insures input from everyone in the group. It encourages people to speakup without the fear of being criticized or put down by others. Also, it prevents any individual fromdominating the discussion. It directly involves all members in the decision-making process. III.Special Techniques to Improve Meetings include: A. Stop Session; B. Verbal or Written Reports; C. Study Committee; and D. Negative Voting. A Stop Session is taking a break when things get heated or bogged down. It involves puttingaside the "content" of the discussion for a couple of minutes to focus on the "dynamics" of thegroup—what is happening within the group. A stop session can be called at any time thatproblems arise, i.e., "I feel uncomfortable about...How do the rest of you feel?" or "Hey, thenegativism in this room is tremendous. Let's take a look at it." or "We seem to have reached astand-off. Let's take a break and then come back and do some brainstorming. Maybe we can findanother approach that would be acceptable to both sides." Open acknowledgment of theproblem/frustration before the group, followed by a short rest, can be quite therapeutical. Verbal or Written Reports should present all sides of an issue, not just your own point of view.Don't stack the deck. One of the worst traps that people fall into when they make a report is tooffer only their conclusions, thereby excluding group members from how they arrived at their conclusions.



Prepare your audience. Clearly state at the beginning of your presentation why you are giving it,and what you want people to do with it. Keep to the essential points. Don't overload. Reportsshould not exceed 5 to 15 minutes in duration. A rule of thumb: If it takes more than 60 secondsto explain a point, you are telling a story rather than giving necessary information. Seek feedback. Communication is a two-way street. You haven't communicated until you know

that others in the group have heard you correctly and comprehend what you meant. Use visuals.People retain 10% of information received verbally; 20% of information received visually; and50% of information received verbally and visually. Be prepared. Take time before the meeting tothink through what you want to say and how you wish to say it. Don't try to "ad lib" it.

Study Committees are formed to gather information and/or make recommendations for consideration by the total group. Due to their small size, usually 3 to 7 members, committees areeasier to convene and are more flexible in their ability to gather information, consult with outsideexperts, and perform the tasks assigned them.

Study committee members and their chair should be carefully hand picked" for the job. Thecommittee should include: 1) persons vitally interested in the task; 2) persons with access to theinformation desired; 3) persons with pertinent knowledge, skills and experiences. The committee's "charge," what it is expected to do and when it is to be finished, along with thecommittee's powers and operating budget should be clearly spelled out, preferably in writing. Bespecific. Vague, hastily conceived, indefinite task assignments are the prime cause of committeefailure.

Every member of the committee should have the opportunity to review and react to the finalreport before it is submitted to the parent group. Every effort should be made to reach consensus.If consensus is not possible, a minority report should be made stating the reasons for dissentfrom the majority view. Negative Voting can often be effective when a group is equally divided over several proposed

solutions. Ask members which solution they cannot accept and ask them to be sure they have asound objection. Eliminate those solutions which a majority of the group cannot accept.



IV. Summary If we want to… Use a…

give information lecture; panel discussion; written or verbal report.

generate ideas brainstorming session.

determine opinion or get input round-robin sharing.

investigate, study or gather information study committee.

define and/or solve a problem small group discussion using the problemsolving process (see module P-7).

reach group consensus negative voting.

formalize a group discussion vote; parliamentary procedure.

gossip, joke, complain or be entertained social hour or luncheon.

see a problem from someone else’s viewpoint role playing.

train inexperienced members to leadcommittees or leadership team

co-leaders in group discussion.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION Which group technique would you use

• for an icebreaker to get strangers better acquainted, • when you have four outside experts who have four contrasting solutions to a local

problem • when you need to come up with fresh ideas for an old problem, • when your club has split into two antagonistic groups over an issue and both groups

reject compromise, • (add your own situations).



CONCLUSION Leading small group discussions takes practice. Re-read the sections of this chapter and applythem whenever you have an opportunity to lead a small group. Use the buddy system—someoneyou can trust to help you anticipate and prepare in advance then evaluate after the group hasmet. REFERENCES "Committees: A Key to Group Leadership," by Sheldon Lowry, North Central Regional ExtensionPublication No. 18.

How to Make Meetings Work, by Doyle and Straus, Wyden Books, 1976, pages 256-268.

Leadership and Dynamic Group Action, by Beal, Bohlen and Raudabaugh, Iowa State UniversityPress, 1962, pages 206-213.

Taking Your Meetings Out of the Doldrums, by Eva Schindler-Rainman and Ronald Lippitt,University Associates, 1977.




Setting Personal Goals L-5

Those who deceive themselves shouldn't complain about others' deceptions. Leaders need to know where they are going. Before a leader can influence others, that leader needs to get personal goals in order. It is hard to lead if one has personal problems which get inthe way. Going in too many directions can be a personal problem which dilutes effective leadership. Goalsetting can help lessen the directions and increase productivity in the most important activities.

Over a long period of time, an effective leader must be a disciplined person. Setting personalgoals is a first step toward self- discipline. LEARNING OBJECTIVE After finishing this module you should have a list of lifetime goals and your top three priorities for these goals. EXERCISE -- YOUR LIFETIME GOALS (15 minutes): Get several pieces of paper, a pencil or pen, and a watch or clock with a second hand. Set asideabout fifteen minutes. Write, "What are my lifetime goals?" at the top of the first sheet of paper. Now, take exactly two minutes to list answers to the question on your paper. Of necessity, youwill have to stay very general and abstract, but you should still have time to take account of personal, family, social, career, financial, community, and spiritual goals. Try to make your list asall-inclusive as you can. Try to get as many goals down in the two minutes as possible. Duringthis listing stage you are not committed to any of the goals that you write down, so recordwhatever comes into your head. After the first two minutes are up, give yourself an additional two minutes to make any changesnecessary for you to feel satisfied with your statement of goals at this early, general level. The Second Lifetime Question: When you list lifetime goals quickly and without much reflection,

you probably include a number of generalities such as "happiness," "success," "achievement,""love," "making a contribution to society," and the like. You can pin point your goals better by nowasking a second question, "How would I like to spend the next three years?" Write that questionat the top of the second sheet of paper. Again list your answers as quickly as you can for twominutes, then take another two minutes to include whatever you may have missed the first timearound on this question.



The Third Lifetime Question: Now, for a different perspective, write down this third question ona third sheet of paper: "If I knew now I would be struck dead by lightning six months from today,how would I live until then?" (This means that you'd have only six months to live and would haveto squeeze whatever you consider important into your dramatically reduced time on earth. Beforeyou start listing, assume that everything relating to your death has been attended to. You havecompleted your will, bought a cemetery plot, and the like. Your answer to the question shouldconcentrate on how you would live these last six months. Working Further On All Three Questions. Now spend an additional two minutes (minimum)reviewing and improving your goals statements in answering all three questions. You may spendlonger if you wish. In looking over all three sets of answers you may have found that the answers to question 2 werean extension of question 1, and this is desirable. Some people also find question 3 (the six-months question) a continuation of the previous two, but others are jarred into sharp departuresfrom their previous plans because of the sudden realization that their time is limited. Now you have a list of goals. But you have probably thought of more to do than there is time to doit in. This lack of time creates goal conflicts. How to Resolve Goal Conflicts: Goal conflicts are resolved by setting priorities. You mustdecide which goals are most important to you at this time. How to Set Lifetime Priorities: Take your Lifetime Goals list (the first list you wrote) in hand andspend one minute selecting your top three goals from this list. Label the most important of these A-l. The second most important is A-2. The third is A-3. Do the same for your three-years list(label them B-1, B-2, and B-3), and your six-months list (label them C-1, C-2, and C-3). At this point, you have nine goals culled from the three lists. To pick out the three most importantlong-term goals of the nine, write on a fresh piece of paper, "My three most important long termgoals are. . ." Then write them in order: 1st, 2nd, 3rd. You have now finished a preliminary

Lifetime Goals Statement. You have zeroed in on just what it is you want to do with your life asyou see it at this time.

This exercise only establishes your goals as you see them today. These goals will change. Somepeople like to update their goals annually (in place of new year resolutions). Others like to do theexercise whenever they have a major job change, lifestyle change (i.e. the youngest familymember just left for college) or whenever they are faced with a major decision involving their lives. After you complete the exercise you need to put your goals in a place where you will find themfrequently. Your appointment book, bulletin board, or billfold are likely places.



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Were you surprised at the lifetime priorities that you set? 2. Do you spend a lot of time on activities that do not help you meet your lifetime goals? 3. Should you cut out some of your present activities? 4. Should you spend more time on certain lifetime goals in the near future? RESOURCE FOR FURTHER STUDY How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein, Signet, 1973.




Organizing Committees L-6

Building a temple requires more than good intentions. A great way of involving others in an organization is through committees. This module will look atsome reasons for committees and how to form useful committees. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the time you finish this module you should be able to: 1. List five reasons for using committees in your organization.

2. Describe how to form committees. ADVANTAGES OF STRONG COMMITTEES There are many good reasons for appointing a committee: It is a way to help new members get acquainted.It is a way to insure democracy.It can spread the work among more members.More ideas can be generated when more people are involved.Members feel better about their organization when they are involved as opposed to when theofficers decide everything.People are more willing to work on projects when they have been involved in the planning.

DON'T USE THIS APPROACH

One common approach to forming a committee is the "call for volunteers" through mass media or by making an announcement at a public meeting. That may work in some cases where the job athand requires only enthusiasm (i.e., clean-up after the meeting). One problem with this approach,however, is that the same people tend to volunteer time after time. Some of these compulsivevolunteers are also famous for forgetting their commitments.

HOW TO FORM A COMMITTEE

For important (most) committees, use the following approach: 1. Write down the job that the committee is to do, including a deadline for when it should be done. 2. Make a list of the skills, knowledge, experience, viewpoints, special interests, resources, thatneed to be represented on the committee.



3. Choose individuals who have the skills, knowledge, etc., listed in 2 above. Also consider: * Individuals personally interested in the issue or concern under consideration.* Individuals who will communicate with others in the organization and who will continueto do so during the time they serve on the committee.* Individuals with a positive attitude and enthusiasm.

* Individuals able to work with others.* Someone dependable to call and conduct meetings.* Someone who hasn't been very active recently, but might enjoy working on thiscommittee.* Look for diversity and complementarity (don't appoint 5 clones; but avoid forming acommittee that cannot work together).

4. Contact each of the individuals chosen; tell them why they were chosen (use information fromsteps 2 and 3). Ask them if they will serve (give them some time to think about it if they arehesitant). 5. Once the committee is formed, see that all members know

* What is the committee's job (in writing),* Who is chairing the committee, and* The time, date, and place of the first meeting.

6. Check back with the Chair to see that the committee is making progress and is ready to reportwhen appropriate. Due to their small size, usually three to seven members, committees are easier to convene andare more flexible in their ability to gather information, consult with outside experts, and performthe tasks assigned them.

The committee's charge, what it is expected to do and when it is to be finished, along with thecommittee's powers and operating budget, should be clearly spelled out, preferably in writing. Bespecific. Vague, hastily conceived, indefinite task assignments are the prime cause of committeefailure.

EXERCISE: INVOLVEMENT THROUGH COMMITTEES Choose an activity which your organization will need to plan and implement in the coming year. Itshould be an activity which could be delegated to a committee for further study, planning or accomplishment. Complete steps 1, 2, and 3 (above). Share your idea with an officer of theorganization or with the executive committee (all of the officers). At the next regular meeting of your organization, if appropriate, complete steps 4 and 5. After that meeting, do step 6. EXERCISE: Some organizations regularly ask new members which committees they would like to join. Thispractice provides an excellent orientation to new members concerning the organization. It is away to recruit potential committee members at a time when their interest is at its highest.

Design a page or half page form which lists all of the committees (or potential committees) for your organization and briefly tells the duties of that committee. If special qualifications or



limitations exist for a particular committee (i.e., the executive committee consists only of theelected officers) write those down so new members will not be misled. CONCLUSIONS When you recruit members to committees be certain that someone, preferably the chair of that

committee, contacts the new member immediately. Nothing is more deflating to a person whoagrees to serve on a committee then never hears from anyone again. Long delays in contactingmembers, or in holding the first meeting, result in loss of motivation and even anger. One organization which maintained a very ambitious calendar of activities but had very little"burnout" operated under the following guideline for its membership: "Every member should haveone job; no members should have more jobs than they really want."




Self Image L-7

Our best mirror is an old friend. The ability to understand others--why they do the things they do--begins with an understanding of oneself. LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you complete this module you should be able to: 1. Look at yourself with a fresh perspective.2. Identify some excuses people use for refusing to change.3. Get feedback on yourself. LOOK AT YOURSELF Take a good look at yourself. Get up in front of a mirror. Ask yourself these three questions: - How did I get to be the person I am?- What makes me do the things I do?- Why do I react the way I do to different people, situations and things? Honest answers to these three questions can give you tremendous insight into what motivatesothers. STOP TRYING TO CHANGE OTHER PEOPLE There is only one person in this world you have much control over. That person is yourself.Unfortunately each of us spends a lot of time trying to change and control others. And we use allkinds of negative tactics in doing so. We intimidate them. We exploit their feelings of obligationand guilt. We "parent" people in telling them what they "should" and "ought" to do. We play onpeople's egos. We exaggerate things out of proportion and make generalizations. We play onpeople's fears and prejudices. We exploit people's weak self esteem. But the fact is, YOU CAN'TFORCE ANYBODY TO DO ANYTHING, at least not for very long.

It just doesn't work. Look at yourself. What do you do when someone criticizes you and tells youwhat you "should" and "ought" to do, and tries to change you? You rebel. You say, "Heck if I'll dothat," even if you agree with the advice.



Ironically the very people who spend so much time complaining about what others "should" or "shouldn't" do, take the attitude--with regard to themselves--that "I can't help what I am." Mostpeople spend so much time and energy unsuccessfully trying to change and control the actions of others--that they come to wrongly believe that they cannot do the one thing that is most possible--to change or control their own thoughts and actions. You are the only person in this world that you can realistically expect to change. Are you willing tochange? You can't forcibly change others, but YOU CAN CHANGE YOURSELF, IF YOU WANTTO. Change is hard work. Thus many people resist it. Many people act like they are cement:thoroughly mixed up and firmly set. HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR "PRIDE?" Is your pride more important than the well-being andprogress of the total group? Do you have a "Well, that's the way I am" closed-mind attitude? Isyour "ego" getting in the way? Let's assume you are having difficulty with a particular person or group. Let's also assume thatyou are indeed "right" and they are "wrong." In SUCH a situation you have a right to be angry atthem; you have a right to be upset; you have a right to ignore them; you have a right to complain;you have a right to point out to them their erroneous thinking; you have a right to tell them off.You have these "rights" if you want them. BUT WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO? Have you ever changed your mind as a result of being told off or ridiculed? Has complaining toothers ever corrected a situation? Letting off steam may help you vent your emotions for the timebeing, but it doesn't last long. Does resentment and anger ever do any good? Has "putting peoplein their place" ever helped? The only thing that is going to make you feel better is to resolve the situation, improve therelationship, and show accomplishment. The most effective way of doing that is to start looking atyour own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. You have almost no control over the thoughts,feelings and behaviors of others. THE JUSTICE TRAP Dr. Wayne Dyer talks about the "JUSTICE TRAP." The "justice trap" is a very negative anddestructive state that many of us get ourselves into. It takes many forms: -We get into the Justice Trap when we lament, "It's not fair" or "They had no right to do that," andallow ourselves to become upset, angry and immobilized by someone else's "unjust" conduct.Unfortunately, there are a lot of things in this world that are "unfair," and getting upset about themdoesn't help. - We are in the Justice Trap when we wallow around in self-pity, feel sorry for ourselves, try tomake others feel guilty for what they have done, demand apologies, and "quit speaking" to those

who have wronged us. - We are in the Justice Trap when we use "If he can do it, so can I" to justify our owninappropriate behavior. Or we use "If they aren't going to do anything, neither am I" as an excusefor doing nothing ourselves. Are you using "justice" as a scapegoat? - We are in the Justice Trap when we "keep score," maintain a mental tally sheet of what we havedone for others and they in turn for us.



- We are in the Justice Trap when we criticize, judge, and run others down behind their backs inorder to feel smug about ourselves. - We are in the Justice Trap when we practice vengeance, hold grudges, and try to get even. WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET OUT OF THE "JUSTICE TRAP? " - Ask yourself: "Will the injustice go away if I get upset and angry?" - Realize that other people are different from you. "I respect your right to be different than I am,although I find your behavior hard to accept right now." - Do nice things because you want to, rather than because you "ought" to, or because you owesomebody something. - Set up and follow your own standard of conduct. Don't allow your actions to be influenced bywhat Tom, Dick and Harry do. - Be a doer rather than a complainer. Stop all this "It's not fair" nonsense and do something tomake your life fairer. Lamenting "Well, it shouldn't be" is never going to change anything. - Realize that hard feelings, anger and revenge are just another way of allowing yourself to becontrolled by others. FOCUS ON YOURSELF Here is something else to consider: YOU ARE TREATED BY OTHERS THE WAY YOU TEACHTHEM TO TREAT YOU. Rather than thinking, "Why do they take advantage of me?", askyourself, "What am I doing to teach (encourage) him to treat me this way?" Put the focus on you

rather than on them. If you refuse to be manipulated by another, that person will stop trying to doso. For example: certain people will use their "hurt feelings" to control you as long as you aregullible enough to keep buying into it. Those people will stop having hurt feelings when theyrealize that those feelings can no longer be used to manipulate you. But don't expect people togive up their "victimizing" of you without a fight. They will use every trick they know to keep youunder their control. People often ask how do you overcome "the same people having to do everything." Well in mostcases, "the same people do everything" frankly because they want to. Many people like feelingsorry for themselves--like a martyr. Others don't know how to say "no." Directly related to the above statement is the SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY. People becomehow you treat them. A person will remain (unresponsible, troublemaker, etc.) as long as you viewand treat him/her that way. In conclusion, FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON WHAT YOU CAN DO rather than on what others"ought" to do. Stop blaming "others" and start taking responsibility for your own actions andreactions to others. GIVE UP YOUR EXCUSES. Frankly ask the question, "How am Icontributing, through my action or inaction, to the difficulties the group is experiencing." When youare up against a bad situation, you have only two real options: either quit or learn a new way tocope with it.



Have you ever noticed who the person is that's always around when you are having problems?YOU. It's up to you. Are you going to go back to blaming others? Are you going back toscapegoating? Or are you going to start looking at yourself? EXERCISE: GETTING FEEDBACK ON YOURSELF

The purpose of this exercise is to get information from someone else. The information you needis how they see your behavior.

Sometimes we are unable to see our own problem behaviors without help. The quality of that helpwill depend on three factors:

l. How well (precise) you ask for feedback;2. The ability of the person helping you; and3. How well (open - appreciative) you respond to the feedback.

Form a pair with someone who knows you well. Pick someone who has seen you work in aparticular organization or group for several months. If you cannot form such a pair, skip to theoptional instructions at the end of this exercise.

Each member of the pair answers, in writing, the following two questions about the other member of the pair:

1. What are 2-3 contributions that(partner's name) makes to his/her organization?

2. What are 2-3 improvements that s/hecould make to strengthen his/her leadership in the organization?

3. Areas to Consider:

Listening Skills Supervising Others Time Commitment Leadership Teamwork Personality Speaking Skills Attitudes Ideas Discussion Skills

After both members of the pair are done writing (5 minutes maximum), share answers with thepartner. Start with the "contributions", then move on to "improvements." For each suggestedimprovement, both partners should write, on the back, specific actions to be taken to make theimprovements. The person to whom the improvements are directed will select at least one andagree to try the specific actions listed.



Optional Instructions for working alone: Complete the questions above, but do not limit yourself to only 2-3 "contributions" or "improvements." For each improvement that you write down on the front, write (on the back)specific actions you can take to make the improvement. Next time you are able, find a partner who knows you well and have that partner complete thequestions for you. Are your partner's answers the same as yours? Write specific actions that youcan take for any "new" improvement that your partner has suggested. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Can we help other individuals improve their self image? If no, why not? If yes, how? 2. Is self image really a key to whether or not youth get involved with drugs, violence, droppingout of school, conflicts with family and others?

3. Can community organizations help groups of people improve their self image or can this onlywork person to person? 4. What are some successful programs that build positive self image? How are they successful?What specifically do they do? 5. What are some programs that have successfully "turned around" individuals with problembehavior resulting, in part, from negative self image? What do they do to accomplish change? 6. What can you do to support organizations and programs in your community that help with self image?

RESOURCE FOR FURTHER STUDY Your Erroneous Zones, by Dr. Wayne Dyer, Avon Publishers, 1976.




Mentoring L-8

Get together with good people and you will be one of them.

Mentoring means guiding or coaching another person, one-on-one, to learn a specific skill or task.Many organizations use mentoring as a key element in new worker orientation. In this case thetask is to learn about the organization and to adapt to the new job successfully. Sometimesmentoring is used when a volunteer is asked to do a new job or expresses lack of confidence insome phase of the assigned work.

*Before starting this module, complete (or review) the modules on leadership styles (L-1),listening (C-2), coaching (part of M-2, implementing a plan), interpersonal communication (C- 1),and recognition (V-8). LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this module you should be able to:

1. Describe a process of 5 stages for mentoring.2. Describe characteristics of a helpful mentor.3. Develop a successful mentoring relationship. STAGES OF MENTORING

1. Identify the need for mentoring. This may be done by the mentor, the one to be mentored, or athird person (usually a supervisor).

2. Make a tentative agreement. The mentor and the one to be mentored must accept the need for the relationship, the task to be learned, and the approximate time involved (both the length of therelationship and frequency of meeting).

3. Explore various possibilities for the mentoring relationship. Listen to each other. Raisequestions. Discuss alternative activities to complete the learning task.

4. Develop a preliminary plan which includes a goal and the first steps of accomplishing thelearning task.

5. Implement the plan. Take the first step. Consult with each other and discuss

successes, doubts, and next steps.

6. Revise and extend the plan based on feedback and discussion. The mentor may usedemocratic or indirect leadership during this phase. Seldom will directive leadership beappropriate.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the task is complete according to both the mentor and the learner.



CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL MENTORS

They listen to assess the learner's strengths and needs.They raise questions and suggest alternatives.They are patient and thoughtful.They suggest key people to contact or learning resources to help the learner.They use reflective listening to clarify the learner's point of view.They do not jump to solutions too quickly.They support, encourage and praise the learner.They are clear when describing steps in the learning process.They break complex activities into small, easy to understand stepsThey never take over complete responsibility for the learning.Sometimes they demonstrate and/or model a desired skill or behavior.They understand that every individual and situation are different.

EXERCISE:

Since you are studying this module you may already have a need for mentoring. If not, wait untilyou have a situation where you need mentoring, or create one. Learning a new teachingtechnique is an excellent opportunity for a mentoring relationship (see modules on specific

learning/teaching techniques).

So do it! Follow the process through the seven stages to develop a mentoring relationship andlearn a new task. As you follow the process be sure to share this information with your mentor sothat person knows exactly what you are expecting from the relationship. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Did the mentoring process work for you?Did you choose (or were you assigned) a compatible mentor?Was the learning task appropriate for a mentoring relationship?What went right?What did not go right?

How would you change the process or the relationship next timeCan you add any items to the list of "characteristics of successful mentors?"




Decision Making L-9

Be sure you're right, then go ahead. - David Crockett Decision making is similar for individuals and groups but there are some key differences. Thismodule will look at both. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the time you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Describe a decision making process for yourself. 2. Identify advantages a consensus decision making over other techniques. 3. Describe how to lead a group in consensus decision making. DECISION MAKING FOR INDIVIDUALS Individuals who have learned effective decision making usually follow a process even if it is doneunconsciously. Review the following steps to see if this is how you make difficult decisions. 1. Get as much information as time and sources will allow. 2. Break down the complex issues into smaller, clearer facts and opinions. 3. List alternative solutions along with pros and cons for each alternative. 4. Consult trusted colleagues -- get their insights into the alternatives, pros, and cons. 5. Sleep on it, if possible. 6. Make the best decision available. Do what is right. 7. Stand behind the decision -- give it a chance. 8. Be prepared to admit mistakes and learn from them.



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. How do the eight steps above fit your experience in making difficult decisions? 2. Can you improve the steps (expand, simplify, or make them more pertinent to your ownsituation)? 3. How does your organization make decisions? 4. Does the organization use different techniques for large formal meetings than for smallcommittee or study group meetings? 5. How do you feel when you are on the losing side of a majority vote? 6. How do you feel when you find that one of the leaders has already made a decision for your organization without open discussion? EXERCISE: From the answers to the questions above you have identified several ways in which decisions aremade. Make a list of these ways. Your list should include at least the following: 1) individualdecisions for oneself; 2) individual decisions for the group (unilateral decisions); and 3) majorityvote. Module L-4 describes two other techniques on pages 21 and 22. These are the studycommittee and negative voting. All of these techniques have their disadvantages when used by agroup to make a difficult decision. Add some of the disadvantages to your list. CONSENSUS Another way to make decisions is by consensus. This technique is sometimes dismissed because

it is misunderstood or because groups do not feel they have the time or skill to reach consensus.Consensus development is an important skill in team building. Decisions reached throughconsensus are generally more actively supported than those made through majority vote. When aconsensus building process is used, people tend to feel more a part of the decision and in turntake greater responsibility for it. The calling for a vote, on the other hand, can polarize a group.Much time is spent arguing the pros and cons of the motion, keeping participants from seekingalternative courses of action that might be mutually more agreeable. While we often expound the value of consensus, we rarely use it. WHY? (1) Most people areconfused as to what is meant by consensus. They mistake consensus with changing people'sminds--getting everyone to agree and go along with a proposed action. (2) Many people lackskills in facilitating the development of consensus. As a result, meetings tend to ramble whenconsensus is called for, and limited progress is made. (3) There are individuals who would rather dominate a group than listen and learn from theopinions and suggestions of others. They use their powerful personalities, verbal skills andparliamentary procedure to influence and control the group. (4) We have been indoctrinated intobelieving that voting (majority rule) and Robert's Rules of Order are the only democratic way toinvolve group members in the decision-making process. Tradition keeps groups from trying other,more productive methods.



What Is Consensus Consensus is agreeing to work together until the group can find a solution that everyone feelsgood about--without compromising anyone's strong convictions or concerns. Consensus meansbeing willing to modify your proposal, your suggestions, what you feel should be done, in order toincorporate the views and suggestions of others. It often means combining diverse opinions into a

mutually acceptable course of action. Consensus involves postponing "the making of a motion"until all have had a chance to express themselves on the issue, and various possible solutionshave been identified. It involves modifying the solutions proposed and searching for other alternatives that might be more agreeable to everyone. Consensus is developed by listening to others, showing empathy and respect, valuing their thoughts and concerns. Group decisions sometimes take longer to make when developedthrough consensus, but such decisions usually require less prodding of group members inensuring follow-through than do decisions made through majority vote. In most cases, if doneproperly, consensus takes no more time than majority vote. People tend to be cooperative whenencouraged to do so. Note: It is not the intent of this discussion to conclude that all decisions would be better madethrough consensus. Majority vote is quite appropriate for routine and less important decisions,particularly where little commitment or follow-through is required of the voters. A vote is alsouseful in formalizing a decision once consensus has been reached.

FACILITATING CONSENSUS The following techniques can be helpful in facilitating consensus within a group: Explain to the group the meaning and value of consensus. Make use of the preceding

paragraphs. Explain the benefits of consensus development in terms of stronger commitment andfollow-up. Clarify the problem/need/concern. Take time for all who wish to voice their concern andinterests on the issue under discussion. The chair/discussion leader should summarize eachperson's comments. This clearly demonstrates that the person has been heard. Suchparaphrasing also tends to reduce repetition and control any tendency to ramble. For consensusto develop, people must feel they have been listened to and understood. An alternative would beto go around the room and have each person in turn briefly express his or her concerns or suggestions on the issue before the group. Avoid discussing possible solutions until consensushas first been reached on the nature of the problem, need, or concern. Modified Brainstorm. Conduct a brief brainstorming session to generate a list of alternative

solutions. Make a list of these suggestions, preferably on newsprint or a blackboard for all to see. An essential ground rule in brainstorming is no discussion, except for questions of clarification.Postpone any discussion of pros and cons of the alternatives presented until all ideas andsuggestions have been heard. Premature debate keeps many good ideas from being shared.Listen, and show you value each person's input. Break down into small groups for debate. It is physically impossible for everyone to be heardand to be personally involved in deciding an issue when the group is larger than ten. Instead,briefly break into smaller groups of six to ten and have each discuss the question before the



group. After the designated time, have each small group briefly report recommendations. A brief joint summary session is usually all that is then necessary to identify consensus and work out anydifferences among the small groups. Set a time limit. For example, "let's take the next twenty minutes to discuss and decide on theaction(s) we wish to take." Periodically remind the group of the amount of time left. Time limits

usually increase group productivity. A time limit of fifteen to thirty minutes is suggested,depending on the magnitude of the question under discussion. Don't, however, force a group tomake a decision before it is ready. Encourage the group to discuss and modify the proposedalternatives until one is found that is acceptable to all.

The chairperson or discussion leader actively "facilitates" discussion. The chair/discussionleader can effectively facilitate consensus only by remaining neutral and not participating in (or trying to influence) the content of the discussion. It is the chair's responsibility to ensure an openand balanced conversation flow in which everyone has an equal opportunity for expression, withno one dominating. The chair should protect participants from put-downs and intimidation. The chair/discussion leader can further facilitate consensus by "reading" the group, by sensingthe mood of the group, by observing the group's reactions, e.g., "From the discussion thereseems to be a lot of interest in.... Am I reading the group right?" "There appears to be (appearsnot to be) consensus on...." Helping the group to openly acknowledge areas of agreement anddisagreement speeds up consensus development. If someone appears reluctant, uninterested or opposed, the leader asks that person's opinion, e.g., "Bob, how do you feel about this?" Focus on areas of agreement. When a group gets bogged down arguing over differences, jumpin with, "It seems we lack consensus on.... Let's move on to areas of greater mutual concern."Don't allow differences within the group to overshadow areas of accord. This does not mean thatthe area of disagreement should be covered up and forgotten; it just means that the group is notyet ready to take action in that area. You might later wish to go back to the area of disagreement,after an appropriate break. Consensus development is not a process for working out strongdifferences, or of getting others to think like you do. It rather is a group process for identifyingthose areas in which there is sufficient common interest to take action. If you have difficulty forming consensus, try "negative voting."[3] Once a list of suggestionsor alternatives has been generated through brainstorming, review each item, asking "Let's have ashow of hands as to who could not go along with proposal A. Okay, proposal B. Raise your handif B is not acceptable to you." Etc. Then go back to the proposal which had the least opposition. Ask the dissenting individuals to express their reasons for opposing it. Ask the group as a wholeto generate changes that might satisfy one or all of the dissenters. Then ask if everyone else canlive with these changes. Raise other alternatives, e.g., "Have you thought about...?" "Would it bemore acceptable if...?" Protect individuals from being coerced by the rest of the group. Work toturn objections into positive alternatives. In conclusion, consensus development can be effectively used in many types of group decisions--

from goal setting to problem resolution to the initiation of group action. While reaching consensusmay not be necessary in all situations, it becomes particularly important in making major groupdecisions where some sort of commitment and follow-through are expected of the groupmembers/participants. The process of consensus building can strengthen personal commitment,better ensure follow-through, develop team spirit, and create a positive working climate within thegroup.



EXERCISE: Now try it! Anticipate a situation when your group will be required to make a decision. Preparenotes that will help you introduce the idea of consensus decision making and lead the groupthrough the process. Ask a colleague to observe the process and give you feedback after themeeting.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Educational Design

Learning Theory E-1

We are the architects of our own destiny. Everyone has had experiences with "education" and "learning." So this module will start with anexercise to help clarify your understanding of those two words. EXERCISE: Answer the following questions briefly and save the answers for later:

1. What is education?2. What is learning?3. Describe a learning experience that was extremely important to you. It may have taken placeanywhere and lasted a few minutes or several years, but it made a lasting impression on you.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this module you should be able to: 1. Define education and learning.2. Describe three different types of education.3. Describe conditions which encourage learning.

WHAT IS EDUCATION? Most people equate "education" with schooling. Likewise "learning" is what happens in schools.The author would like to propose other definitions and provide what he considers to be a morecomprehensive understanding of education and learning. Definitions: Education means learning knowledge, skills and attitudes. The most important of these is learninghow to learn. Learning means deciding about your own life style. 3 Types: (1) Formal = schools. The hierarchically structured, chronologically graded system running fromkindergarten through university and including full time technical and professional training. Schoolstypically perform six functions: babysitting, indoctrination, socialization, employment of teachers,certification and teaching/learning.



(2) Nonformal (NFE) = any intentional and systematic educational enterprise (usually outside theschool system) where the enterprise is adapted for particular students or situations in order tomaximize learning and to minimize the maintenance constraints (babysitting, taking roll, enforcingdiscipline, writing reports, supervising study hall, etc.). NFE is characterized by one or more of thefollowing: learner centered, cafeteria curriculum (options & choices), informal humanrelationships (roles of teachers and students are less rigid and often switch), practicalemphasis (immediately useful), and lower level of structure than schools. Informal = unplanned day-to-day experiences from which people learn. Sometimes elders,parents, employers, or peers help analyze these experiences and therefore assist with thelearning. Examples of NFE: 4-H, Scouting, Cooperative Extension, farmer training centers, mobile artisan training, literacycampaigns, apprentice brigades, self-help programs, integrated ag. development projects,community development.

General Issues: (1) quality of education, (2) equal access, (3) local vs. federal control, (4) individual needs vs.society's needs, (5) drop-out rates, (6) expense, (7) who pays? (8) what is taught? Learner Attitudes: (1) is curious, (2) is able and willing to ask pertinent questions, (3) has an open mind whileseeking an answer, (4) is decisive when appropriate, (5) is aware of own strengths &weaknesses, (6) is mature (accepts responsibility for learning), (7) balances optimism withcynicism, (8) judges what is worth learning, and (9) sets high standards then works to reachthem. Educator Styles: Directive is when the educator initiates, structures, motivates, delegates, praises, andreprimands. Democratic is when she/he asks questions to involve the learner, leads discussion,encourages others to take responsibility for their learning, and confirms commitments. Non-directive is when she/he refuses to decide for learners, uses silence and non-verbal support,and intentionally relinquishes power. Effective Teaching (school): Five qualities distinguish effective teachers. They: (1) are clear with instructions and explanations,(2) are enthusiastic, (3) are business-like in the classroom, (4) employ a variety of techniques,subject matter, & activities, and (5) provide opportunities for students to get involved in learning.



Effective Teaching in NFE: Because of the characteristics of NFE (see bold words in first section) educators must emphasize(1) flexibility, (2) thorough preparation, (3) ability to anticipate learners' changing needs (4)willingness to adapt to learners, (5) a healthy cynicism toward institutions. Clarity, variety,enthusiasm, and learner involvement are also important. Why Distinguish Formal Ed From NFE? Schools Dominate our perceptions of education. They relegate learning "outside the classroom"to second-class status. They define the "teaching" role. They gobble up most of the resourcesavailable to education. In universities, extension and resident education often seem to be inconflict philosophically. Since formal education and NFE are different we must understand thestrengths and weaknesses of each in order to anticipate which one will work better in a givensituation. Formal and nonformal education can complement each other if properly understood.Most educators are biased either toward formal or nonformal education. Readings: Characteristics of Facilitators (Chapter 2), A. Etling, 1975. Teaching as a Subversive Activity, N. Postman & C. Weingartner, 1969. Attacking Rural Poverty, Philip Coombs, 1974.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Do you agree with the preceding section? Why or why not? Do you still agree with the definition of "education" and "learning" that you wrote during theintroductory exercise? or would you like to modify it? Was the learning experience that you described in the introductory exercise an example of formal, nonformal or informal education? Are formal, nonformal and informal education equally important? Why? Working with people in volunteer groups or community organizations is more like nonformaleducation than formal education. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Which leadership styles (see module L-1) are more appropriate to nonformal education?

HOW TO ENCOURAGE LEARNING Peter Sheal (1989) offers ten principles that promote learning. He says that people learn best: 1. in an informal, non-threatening learning environment;2. when they want or need to learn something;3. when the learning caters to their individual needs and learning styles;4. when their knowledge and experiences are valued and used;5. where there's an opportunity for them to have some control over the learning content andactivities;



6. through active mental and physical participation in the learning activities;7. when sufficient time is provided for the assimilation of new information, practice of new skills,or development of new attitudes;8. when they have opportunities to successfully practice or apply what they have learned;9. when there is a focus on relevant and realistic problems and the practical application of thenew learning; and10. when there is guidance and some measure of performance so that learners have a sense of progress toward their goals.

These principles give you a checklist to tell you if the conditions for learning are positive andstrong for a particular group at the time you wish to teach them. Consult module E-2 to give you afuller explanation of nonformal education, and module E-3 to provide some principles for adulteducation (people who are over 21 and out of school).

REFERENCE How to Develop and Present Staff Training Courses, Peter R. Sheal, Nichols Publishing, 1989. This module was written by Arlen Etling.




Principles of Adult Education E-2

An experienced person does the best work.

Adult learners are normally considered to be those who have completed their schooling (at leasttemporarily) and desire to learn something outside the school system. Adult learners fit more intononformal education than formal education (see modules E-1 and E-3). While college studentsare adults, they are part of the formal education system. Traditionally, therefore, they areconsidered a part of formal education rather than nonformal education. How do adults learn? What does this mean for educators? Below is a list of principles of adulteducation. After each principle the implications for the learners and for the educators are noted.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this module you should be able to: 1. Describe adult learners in terms of learning style preferences.2. Tell how adult learners are similar and different than students in school classrooms.

EIGHT PRINCIPLES 1. The teaching/learning process is dynamic, interactive, and cooperative. A two-way interaction

between learner and educator is necessary. The educator does not simply "fill up" the passivelearner with "education." Both the learner and the educator must accept responsibility for thelearning. The learner must participate actively and willingly. The educator must also be a learner.Sometimes the learner, due to previous experience, teaches the educator. The adult educator isresponsible for teaching the learner how to learn. Sometimes this is more important that what tolearn. The learner has a right to know what is expected by the educator who must make this veryclear to the learner. In addition to using strong skills in verbal communication, the educator mustbe an effective listener. The educator must provide facts and resources that are relevant to thelearner. The learner must relate these facts and resources to previous experience in such a waythat meaningful learning occurs. 2. Persons are more important than the subject being taught or the teaching/learning techniquebeing used. Factual information is useless unless it is of value to the learner. When the learner

decides to accept the learning that means a lifestyle change. The key to learning is what happensto the learner. This means that the educator must know the learner. Likewise the learner justopen up to the educator and help that educator to know the learner. The educator must strive tomake the learning relevant to the learner. The learner must accept equal responsibility with theteacher in making the learning relevant. The educator must be patient. The pace of the teachingdepends on the pace of the learner. The learner must make an effort to learn; must try to staywith the educator and must signal the educator when the pace is too fast or too slow. The



educator must begin where the learner is ready to begin and must strive to create maturity in thelearner. Maturity is the ability and willingness to take responsibility for the learning. The learner must accept the need to mature. Both educator and learner must be flexible for this relationship tobe effective. 3. Responsibility for teaching and learning is shared by both the educator and the learner. Both

the educator and learner must b-e cooperative and helpful. Although learning is an individualdecision by the learner to change his/her lifestyle, learning often occurs in social settings whereothers can assist in the learning. The educator never does anything for the learner that thelearner can do. The learner does not depend on the educator unless absolutely necessary. Theeducator must be sensitive to learner readiness. Some motivation may be necessary. The learner accepts some of the responsibility for readiness and self-motivation. The learner must makedecisions about the learning and not leave these decisions to others. The educator must assistthe learner in making decisions and avoid making decisions for the learner. The educator mustnot ask the learner to do anything that s/he, the educator, would not do. 4. The procedures used for teaching/learning must be determined by the learner's goals. Theeducator must involve the learner in setting goals for the learning. Then the educator must helpmake to learner aware of learning resources to meet those goals. The learner must learn how to

select resources and take responsibility to use those resources to meet the goals that have beenset. 5. Ideally learning involves not just information but also skills and attitudes. Learning implieschange. Sometimes change means recognizing attitudes that inhibit learning. The educator musthelp the learner to identify attitudes that need to be changed. The learner must recognize thatchanges of attitudes can be beneficial. Both must move from the cognitive (informational) aspectsof learning to emphasize skills and attitudes. They must identify skills and attitudes that areimportant and work together to learn these. All information should be judged by the criteria, "whatwill the learner do with this information that has been learned... what difference will it make to thelearner's lifestyle?"

6. Both learners and educators must be willing to progress from a supportive climate to a climateof direct challenge. Both educators and learners must recognize that the adult learner has hadmany experiences which have formed a body of knowledge, strong feelings, prejudices, andprobably some misconceptions. Both must create an open supportive environment where thelearners accept themselves and understand why they behave as they do. Then they mustchallenge those experiences and beliefs to move beyond those that no longer serve oneslifestyle. This process must be gradual with great sensitivity on both sides. An abrupt challenge toan insecure adult may end the learning process and even ruin the relationship. The educator must try to never put the learner on the defensive. The learner must recognize when s/he isdefensive. Both must interact openly, in good faith, and creatively resolve any conflict whicharises. Both learner and educator must view the educator as a guide. At times the learner mayreject the guidance and this position may be positive. The educator must be sensitive to thelearner's needs and readiness to accept guidance. Both must build strong rapport based onhonesty and empathy. Then both must be open to challenge, by the other person, in order to

consider new ideas, new options, and new relationships. 7. Evaluation should take place continuously in the teaching/learning process. An evaluativeclimate in which both the educator and the learner are receptive to new perspectives onthemselves and willing to evaluate themselves, is important. The learner needs feedback from theeducator in order to make progress. Both need to evaluate the learning climate as well aslearning outcomes. Both must be flexible and cooperative in making adjustments to the learningclimate whether it deals with information, skills, attitudes, or a combination of these three aspects.



8. Learning takes place when learners interact positively with each other. When learners create apositive learning climate in a group of learners, progress can be more rapid and more significant.Trust, security, and mutual confidence must exist to support learning in groups. Competitiveaspects of learning (getting the highest grade) should be eliminated. The same relationshipsbetween educator and learner, discussed above, must be developed among the learners in thelearning group.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. How is an adult learner different from a student in primary school? From a student in highschool? From a university student? 2. How are they similar (in each case)? EXERCISE: Look (again) at a community group that you wish to teach. If possible use a group of adults. Writedown a list of guidelines to help you use principles of adult education with this group. For

example, "I will take more time at the beginning to get to know each member of the group that Iam teaching." Share your list of guidelines with a partner or with the members of your learninggroup to get their response. Discuss how you are going to put these guidelines into practice.Incorporate your guidelines into your lesson plan (if you are not familiar with lesson plans, look amodules C-8 on using teaching/learning techniques or module LT-1 on organizing workshops.)




Nonformal Education E-3

School isn't the only place where you can learn.

An understanding of nonformal education is essential for any educator who works outside of theclassroom. Most of our conscious educational experience comes from schools. Yet if we try to actlike classroom teachers when we are outside the classroom, we are likely to have problems. Thismodule will look at the difference between formal and nonformal education with an emphasis onnonformal education.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After finishing this module you should be able to: 1. Explain the difference between formal and nonformal education to someone who does notclearly understand the difference.2. Plan and teach a topic in a formal classroom and in a nonformal educational setting (i.e. anextension workshop).

WHAT IS NONFORMAL EDUCATION? According to Philip Coombs (1973) it is

...any organized educational activity outside the established formal system--whether operating separately or as an important feature of some broader activity--that is intendedto serve some identifiable learning clienteles and learning objectives.

Nonformal education is difficult to define satisfactorily, and some educators even feel thatdefinitions confine more than clarify. Since nonformal educational activities are numerous anddiverse, a single definition which applies to all is difficult to develop. Further, because educationtoo often tends to be thought of in terms of schooling, we must be careful to state our assumptions so that this misconception is avoided. Certain key dimensions can be identified for particular nonformal educational settings. Thesedimensions are contextual. They may vary from one educational setting to another. A review of literature on the theory and practice of nonformal education found that six dimensions tend to

dominate .

1. Learner-centered means that emphasis is on learning rather than on teaching. The learner participates in determining educational objectives and exerts substantial control over content andmethod. Attitudes of self-awareness and power to control environment are fostered. Localinitiative, self-help and innovation are encouraged in order to equip learners to analyze criticallyand take action to resolve their own practical problems.



2. Cafeteria curriculum (options, variety and flexibility) is featured in place of the sequential,prescribed curriculum associated with schools. Curriculum is generated primarily by learners. Astrong entertainment feature is included. Examples include local radio, village newspapers,market day exhibits, posters, mobile libraries, drama, role play, games, puppets and epicnarrative. Resources and skills need not be imported or professional. 3. Informal human relationships are essential. Learners and educators are roles which, ideally,switch back and forth among participants. Informal relations based on mutual respect arenecessary if education is to be learner-centered and if learners are to choose from a cafeteria of learning opportunities. While this value position is often difficult for professional teachers toaccept, local nonprofessional "facilitators" who see their role as catalyst, helper, or enabler areoften more effective than lecturers or academics. 4. Reliance on local resources means that costs are kept low without sacrificing quality, that bothconventional and unconventional sources are used, and that available resources are deployedefficiently. Expensive technology is not necessary and often undesirable. Because learners oftenbear part of the costs, higher motivation and greater program accountability usually result. 5. Immediate usefulness refers to educational content and methodology directly related tolearners' life styles. Formal schooling often has a delayed impact through its orientation to futureapplication. Nonformal education should involve short term activities with a present timeorientation and immediate impact. 6. Low level of structure is necessary when local situations vary tremendously between and withinthemselves. Since a high level of structure means a high level of control, learner-centeredapproaches, informal human relationships and immediate usefulness are all difficult under tightlycontrolled situations. Flexibility is sacrificed for control. But flexibility is necessary for the needs of individuals, subcultures, and minorities. Voluntary organizations and amateurs who learn on the job are favored over governmental programs featuring bureaucratic approaches managed by civilservants. Decentralization is necessary to allow local approaches to local problems.

If these six dimensions are carefully considered by nonformal educators, participatory planningand decision making will be much easier. These dimensions need to be considered in thestructure of the educational organization, in its mission statement, in its choice of priorities, in itsinservice training of educators, and in its use of educational methods and techniques. To be trulyeffective in the future, nonformal educators will need to shape their organization, both at thenational level and at the local community level, to be flexible in responding to the needs of clientsrather than requiring clients to adapt to a rigid and unresponsive organization. Educators will need to give special attention to the way educational programs are planned. Thesteps in program planning (see module E-4) do not change with formal and nonformal education.The involvement of people and the techniques used to plan programs collaboratively, however,are strikingly different.



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Extension agents and other nonformal educators often have difficulties when they try to teach aclass in a formal educational setting. Likewise, classroom teachers often have difficulties whenthey try to teach a group of youth or adults who are not part of a formal class. Why is this?2. Can an educator develop skills to move effectively between the formal classroom and

nonformal educational settings?3. How will this educator behave differently in each setting? EXERCISE Chose a topic with which you are very familiar. Write a plan for how you would teach that topic toa group of adults who have finished their formal education and just want to learn about your topic.Then write a second plan for teaching the same topic in a formal classroom for 50 minutes. If youhave never written a lesson plan for a class or a workshop you may want to look at module C-8(using learning techniques) for a format to plan a class. The module on workshops (LT-1) givesyou two different planning formats.

EXERCISE: Teach the topic that you have just planned in a classroom and in a workshop. Have a colleagueevaluate you using the instruments found in E-10 for a workshop and for a classroom session. If possible have a teacher, who is recognized as an effective classroom teacher, evaluate your formal presentation. Have an effective extension agent (or other professional nonformal educator)evaluate the workshop.




Program Planning E-4

By trying to do too many things, you end up with nothing done very well. Program planning is a process which takes you from ideas to action and then to an evaluationwhich tells you if (or how well) you were able to accomplish your ideas. In "moving from ideas toaction," you first need ideas, then you must put them into action. Module E-5 shows you how toidentify the educational needs of a group, organization or community. This module will help yougenerate ideas. Module E-6 will show you how to determine priorities from the ideas. Module E-7will give you practice in writing objectives. Module E-8 will give you specific techniques for assessing resources to tell you if your objectives are realistic. Module E-9 then shows you how toput all of the work of these other modules into a written plan. Module M-2 describes how toimplement a written plan and module E-10 describes how the plan can be evaluated. To becomecompetent in program planning you will need to complete each of these modules. This module will briefly review the steps in program planning. It will show the relationship of theseven steps and the importance of each step to the program planning process.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES After studying this module you should be able to: 1. Explain the essential steps in "moving from ideas to action."

2. Describe how each of the seven steps is related to each other. MOVING FROM IDEAS TO ACTION

Why are some groups able to plan and complete one project after another? Why do others seem to get little accomplished except complaining and bickering? Why are outsiders sometimes ableto quickly help a community identify problems and plan solutions which have perplexed localpeople for years? Part of the answer to each of these questions is in knowing how to organize and what steps tofollow. The process outlined below is one way to guide leaders and workers through the essentialsteps to project accomplishment.

Basically, this process is like any planning process with one key difference. This process cannotwork without complete collaboration on the part of all people involved. Assumptions about thecommunity and decisions for it must be made openly by community members. Leading a groupthrough this process means guiding, not controlling, so that ownership of the project stays whereit belongs--with the people, not just with the "leaders."



Identify Issues - Step I Find out what is on people's minds--their concerns, needs and wants. Write these issues down,checking with the person who suggested each one for clarification. Include as many people aspossible in this step. Take plenty of time to be certain that everyone has been encouraged toexpress all concerns. Several sessions and more than one technique may be needed to carry out

this step. Techniques which may be used to identify the issues include brainstorming, the nominal groupprocess, a community survey and force field analysis. These techniques must be used correctlyto be effective. Set Priorities - Step II Now separate needs from wants. People who are emotionally involved in an issue may confusetheir own "wants" with community "needs." Sort out issues that are important to only one or twopeople. Focus on the really important issues. Determine which is most important, second inimportance, third...etc. Then decide the correct sequence for attacking the top priorities. In most

cases, the nominal group process is the best technique for setting priorities. Others which may beconsidered include an attitude survey, group discussion and consensus building. Again, involve as many people as possible. At least be certain that all viewpoints are representedin the group which is setting priorities. Set Goals and Objectives - Step III Determine what needs to be done about each priority and state that as a goal. Then break thegoal down into more specific objectives. Here is an example of how this worked in one communityorganization: Issue - Tourist accommodations are inadequate. Goal - Provide more tourist accommodations. Objectives -

1. By June 1, a local sales team will be formed by the town. 2. By December 31, a contract will be signed by the Town Council and the motel chainspecifying agreements to construct a motel.

A goal is a general statement of intent. An objective tells who will do what by when. Well-writtenobjectives are challenging, realistic, specific, measurable, simple, and not too confining. Assess Resources - Step IV What human, financial, and physical resources are available to carry out the objectives? If theresources are inadequate, for any reason, then the objectives may need to be rewritten to makethem more realistic.



Techniques which may help assess resources include a local resource inventory, public meeting,or discussions with individuals who are aware of the area, state, and federal resources.Communities should overlook neither local nor outside resources. Form a Plan - Step V Once the available resources are in line with the objectives, a plan should be written down.People involved will want to discuss alternative strategies for meeting the objectives. The planrepresents the best alternative. The objectives as well as activities for meeting the objectives should be included in the plan. Theplan should specify individuals' responsibilities and a time by which each activity will becompleted. The plan coordinates all of the resources so the overall goal is accomplished logicallyand efficiently. In delegating responsibilities, keep in mind that some people are willing to help plan, some willlegitimize, some will provide resources, and some will be workers. If planners are called on to beworkers, they may rebel and fail to deliver. Using people in the wrong roles is a common mistake.

Be sure people are committed to do specifically what the plan requires of them.

Implement the Plan - Step VI Constantly refer to the written plan to guide the work. Techniques needed at this point includeeffective communication, conflict resolution, group dynamics, and publicity. If the plan has beencarefully written, individuals who have the necessary skills will have the responsibility to usethose skills at the right time. In some communities, people lack some of the critical skills or at least the confidence to usethem. In that case, the community should organize training to develop necessary skills beforeplunging ahead. Evaluate Results - Step VII Encourage feedback from everyone who is involved. As people implement the plan, they willinvariably run into snags. Everything cannot be anticipated in the plan. At this point, it may bedesirable to adjust the plan to make it more realistic before proceeding. Maintain an attitude of flexibility which will enable minor adjustments or, if necessary, a major adjustment where theentire plan must be rewritten due to a major snag. When you think the project is completed, check the objectives to be certain nothing has beenoverlooked. You may want an outsider to conduct a formal evaluation in some cases. You will atleast want to record what you did, right or wrong, to improve chances of success on futureprojects.

Other Considerations The process described above is sequential. Step three cannot be accomplished until steps oneand two have been done. However, once you get into step three, it may change your thinking onsteps one and two. When you backtrack to make changes, follow the effects of those changesthrough each succeeding step.



In any educational program, readiness is an issue. The best plan will have little chance of success if people aren't ready for it. Finally, use consultants if they are available. Don't get intothe rut of trying to do too much by yourself. Ask for help and use it.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What happens if you skip one of the steps? How will that omission affect the process? ...thesuccess of your group in accomplishing its ideas? 2. Which of these steps is most commonly ignored by the groups, organizations or communitiesin which you work? Why? 3. What personal actions can you take to help these groups to be more productive, moreinteresting to its members, and more useful to the larger community of which it is a part?




Needs Assessment E-5

We all view life in terms of our own wishes. Needs assessment is the first step in the program planning process (see module E-4). We useneeds assessment techniques to discover what people need. Usually their wants are mixed inwith their needs. We will be able to identify the group's priorities when we complete the prioritysetting session that is described in module E-6.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Define needs assessment.2. Identify six techniques for assessing the needs of a particular group.3. Plan a needs assessment that uses one of the techniques.

A DEFINITION Needs assessment is: a systematic process for documenting relevant needs. Every word of this definition is important.

THREE CRITICAL QUESTIONS In order to conduct a needs assessment you have to answer three linked questions: Who needsWhat according to Whom? Who refers to the target group of clients. What refers to their needs.Whom refers to the informants who have reason to know the needs of the target group.



EXAMPLES OF TARGET GROUPS AND INFORMANTS arget groups Informants H Youth me

ew 4-Hers nior non 4-H youth enior parents ban adult leaders ture 4-H agents ospective members 4-H specialists oupouts from 4-H agencies for youth milies donors

olunteers critics H staff (secretaries)

NEEDS ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES To determine the needs of a group we may use one or more of the following techniques: 1. group discussion (ask a group what they need and record the answers),2. brainstorming (see module LT-*),3. nominal group process (see module E-6),4. resource inventories (see module E-8),5. census data (from government census office or from school district office),6. evaluation results (from previous programs),7. informal interviews (as people express their needs in your office or on the street),8. formal interviews (planned questionnaire completed in your office or over the phone) and9. written surveys.

Examples of 8 and 9 accompany this module. After using any of these techniques the results canbe summarized on a sheet of paper that has three columns: Who -Needs What - According to Whom?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Which technique will you use to assess the needs of a group, organization or community of which you are a member.2. Why did you choose this technique?3. Is it the most appropriate technique for your group considering the situation?4. Should you use more than one technique to be sure of the needs?5. Do you have the time and other resources to use more than one technique?



EXERCISE: Do a needs assessment. Work with a partner. Choose a small group or organization to keep theneeds assessment as simple as possible. Records the results of your needs assessment. Whatdid you learn form the needs assessment (the process as well as the results).

NEXT STEPS Now that you have identified the needs (issues) of a group, you are ready to set priorities. Moveon to module E-6.

RESOURCE Etling, A. W. (1994). Needs assessment for extension agents and other nonformal educators.University Park: Cooperative Extension, College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania StateUniversity.

INSTRUMENTS

Two examples, a phone interview and a written survey, come from the resource listed above.Contact the author for copies: [email protected]




Setting Priorities E-6

People are more willing to do the legwork if they are also involved in the planning.

Before beginning this module you should review the program planning process (module E-4) andcomplete module E-5 (needs assessment). Now that you have identified the needs of the group with which you are working, you have a list of ideas (needs). You cannot hope to attack all of the needs at once. You need to set priorities.Don't try to do this alone. Involve a representative group of people (including representatives of those individuals who are most knowledgeable about the group's needs and those who are mostaffected). Generally, people are more willing to do the legwork if they have had a say in the planning.Rarely do people get as excited about someone else's idea as they do about their own. Takingtime annually at the start of the program year to convert individual needs and concerns into grouppriorities (goals) not only provides needed direction for the organization but also can be amotivational experience.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After finishing this module you should be able

1. To describe the "nominal group process."2. To lead a priority setting session using the nominal group process.

A GOAL SETTING PROCESS There is no single best way to set goals. Goal setting can be as simple or as involved as you wishto make it. A simple process is described below. This process should help you tailor a goal settingexercise to the circumstances and needs of your group. This process is patterned after a goal setting technique called "nominal group process" developedby A.H. Van de Ven and A.L. Delbecq of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It provides astructured process which allows people to express their individual priorities, and then converts

them to group priorities. If those present will agree to follow a few simple yet firm rules, theprocess can be extremely effective--even when disagreement and controversy are present. Theprocess maximizes the creativity and input of each participant, and produces more and higher quality suggestions than ordinary group discussion. It also prohibits any single speaker or topicfrom dominating the meeting.



Set the Stage. Take time to explain goal setting, and its value, to the group. Set a date and timefor your goal setting session, preferably of two hours duration. Ask members to prepare for themeeting by clarifying in their own minds what they would like to see the group accomplish duringthe coming year. The setting of group goals is difficult until the individuals involved have first setpersonal goals. Ask members to take time to clarify for themselves what is important to them andhow they want to spend their time, within and outside this group.

Prepare: Arrange for a comfortable room, large enough to hold the expected number of participants in such a manner that tables seating 5-8 persons can be placed adequately apart for independent group activity. Arrange to have one Group Leader/Recorder at each table, and anoverall coordinator for the meeting. The following supplies are also needed for each table: six toeight large sheets of newsprint(*), four or five 5 x 8 index cards per person, a broad felt tipmarking pen, masking tape, pencils and an easel with a back (handy, but not essential). (* Sheetsof newsprint, approximately 28" x 32", can be acquired from your local newspaper or office supplystore. Butcher paper or the paper used to cover tables can also be easily cut into the size of sheets needed. A blackboard could also be used.) At the start of your goal setting session, clarify the task, the specific question(s) to be discussed.Write out this task on newsprint or a blackboard for all to see. For example, "What are the two or

three things you would most like to see the group accomplish during the coming year?" or "Whatwould you like to see the Chamber of Commerce do toward expanding tourism?" or "What shouldbe emphasized in the 4-H program during the coming year?" or "What are the principle concernsof the farmers in the county?" The wording of the problem, question, or task is crucial in obtainingthe focused response desired of participants. Before the meeting, the organizers shoulddetermine precisely the wording of this task. Make it simple, clear and straightforward. If the group is larger than ten, break into small groups of five to eight. Ask each small group to gothrough this exercise independently, and then share its small group recommendations with thelarger group at the end of the session. Individual Writing Exercise: Pass out index cards or sheets of paper. Have each person jot downsuggestions in response to the question (task) before the group. Individuals are to work alone andin silence. This individual writing exercise gets each person's concerns and desires down onpaper, and thus ensures input from everyone. It helps people clarify in their own minds what isimportant to them. It is much easier for people to write something down and then read it than it isfor them to speak spontaneously. Ask participants to limit their suggestions to what they wish tocommit themselves to accomplish during the coming 12 months. Break large goals into specificactivities that can be completed this year. After everyone has completed the writing exercise, you may want them to go back and rank theitems each has listed, in order of personal preference. Place a "1" by your first priority/biggestconcern, a "2" by your second, etc. Round Robin Sharing: Have everyone in turn read what s/he has written. Prohibit group

discussion during this period, except for questions of clarification. The purpose of this segment isto share, to listen and to understand and appreciate the opinions of others. The pros and cons of each will be discussed later. The round robin insures input from everyone, encourages people tospeak up without fear of being criticized or put down by others in the group, and it keepsindividuals from dominating the discussion. As it is shared, list each suggestion on newsprint or a black-board. When you fill a sheet, tape itto a wall for all to see. The Recorder should take care to list each idea as stated and not try tocategorize or restate the individual suggestions. The process of listing gives the participant



immediate recognition, guards against miscommunication, and serves as an official record of themeeting. Each idea should be numbered, in sequence, for later reference.

Have each person in turn read the #l suggestion only. If their first suggestion has already beenmentioned by another participant, they should read their second suggestion. Then go around theroom again for everyone's #2 suggestion, etc. This facilitates priority setting. Continue the round

robin until all ideas have been expressed. Set Priorities: After each person has shared suggestions for the goals and objectives of thegroup, the session is now, and only now, opened to group discussion. Participants can nowclarify, lobby for or defend the listed statements. Set a time limit, preferably 15-20 minutes. Keepthe groups aware of how much time is left. After the period of discussion ends, everyone votes. On a clean index card, have each personwrite FIRST VOTE in the upper right hand corner. Then, using the numbers assigned to thestatements in the preceding step, everyone ranks the top three items listed on the large sheets.Individuals must work in silence.

Scores should be tallied by the Group Leader. (This is a good time for a 5-10 minute BREAK.)Give a score of three to each individual's top priority item, two to each second priority, and onepoint for each third place vote. Record these scores on the master list. Highest overall score isconsidered the item of highest priority, the second highest score is second priority, etc. Call for reports from each of the small groups. Identify commonalties, and star (*) thosestatements that have the greatest support among all group members. Review each of the starred(*) statements. Ask, "Is it the consensus of the group then that this should be one of the prioritieswe focus on during the coming year? Is there anyone who is not comfortable with this priority?" If there are objections, modify the statement to meet the group's approval. If there is not an obvious consensus, you might wish to undertake a second voting after a periodof debate. The second voting is just like the first except that each participant votes for his/her top

three ideas from all of the lists on the wall (the lists from all of the small groups). Program planning is meaningless unless priorities are set. By setting priorities, a groupconcentrates its limited time and resources on those actions which are most important to it. Veryfew organizations are able to focus on more than two or three priority items at once.

AFTER THE PROCESS Put in Writing and Distribute Widely: Assign to someone the task of writing the formal goalsstatement. Such writing is best not done by committee. Assign each of the top priorities (2-5 of the highest priorities) to someone to turn the priority into a general goal. This goal will tell whodoes what (action or activity) by when (date or deadline) but not in any great detail. After the

goals statement has been prepared, it should be discussed and approved at a regular meeting.Then you are ready to turn the general goals into specific objectives (see module E-7). Once your goals and objectives have been formally adopted by the group, make sure all members areprovided with a copy. Mail a copy to all possible supporters, e.g., city council, local newspaper,and state agencies. Formally review your goals and objectives at least quarterly.

Update Annually: If group opinion changes, modify your goals to reflect it. When a group'sobjectives fail to keep up with the changing needs and interests of its members, they drop out or become spiritless and apathetic.



In conclusion, priority setting can be an invigorating exercise, if done properly. When people havethe chance to share ideas and to be directly involved in setting priorities for the group, theyassume greater ownership of the goals set, and are generally more committed to carrying themout. When goals are set for the group by its officers or board of directors, the level of commitmentis not the same. Often we try to speed up the goal setting process. Only the most vocal membershave their say, and the remaining members feel railroaded. They then sit back and let the officersdo the work. The above process can be easily modified to fit the constraints and desires of the group. If time islimited, the round robin exercise alone can be very productive. If you short-change the process,however, benefits will be lost. The biggest mistake groups commonly make is to do goal setting inone large group. In groups larger than ten, it is physically impossible for everyone to make inputand to be directly involved in the discussion (within reasonable time constraints). Most of themotivational dynamics is lost with groups larger than ten. Instead, break into small groups of fiveto eight to complete the exercise.

FACILITATING THE GOALS PROCESS Goal setting will be a motivating experience only if someone takes the responsibility to make it so. A facilitator should be selected to guide the goal setting process. The facilitator strives to enhancethe dynamics of the exercise. The facilitator remains neutral, controls the process but does notparticipate in or try to influence the content of what is decided. The facilitator's tasks include: Set the stage. Introduce the concept of goal setting and describe its potential value to the group.Help the group design a goal setting exercise tailored to its particular needs, circumstances andtime. Insure that the questions (tasks) to be addressed in the goal setting exercise are clear. Orient participants as to what to expect in the goals meeting. Urge participants to prepare, tohave clear in their own minds what they would like to see the group accomplish. At the start of the goals session, explain how the session will be conducted. Serve as a "traffic

cop" in ensuring that the prescribed process is followed, that everyone has an equal opportunityto make input with no one dominating, and that no one is put down or criticized for anysuggestions. (People often do not speak up for fear of being disagreed with, criticized or madefun of by others in the group.)

Strictly enforce the ground rules, e.g., no discussion during the round robin. Keep the discussionmoving by calling on each person in turn. "John, what do you suggest?" Encourage and giverecognition: "Good idea." Record all input on newsprint or blackboard for all to see. Prepare a written statement of the priorities set, to be reviewed, modified and adopted at thegroup's next meeting. Once adopted, distribute copies to members and other interested parties. Below is an outline that you can follow when leading a nominal group process (NGP).

A FACILITATOR'S OUTLINE TO CONDUCT NGP Introduction The purpose of this process is to identify needs of youth in Blizzard County for thenext 12 months. Nominal group process is a tested and refined process that works. It isstructured into steps. Staying on time is important. Rules will be followed to ensure opportunitiesfor everyone's opinion. We will move from individual opinions to group priorities. We need your serious effort, cooperation, and trust. The statement we are addressing is: "By this time next year



the following needs of youth in our county should be met." This process will consist of seven steps which are .....(see below). Step 1 - Individual Writing (5-10 minutes) Write as many brief (2-5 words) answers to thestatement as you can. Step 2 - Small Groups List Individual's Answers on Newsprint (10-20 minutes) Break into smallgroups of 5-12 individuals. Use a round robin--each persons gives one response in turn. Thediscussion leader (or a recorder picked by the leader) writes the response on the newsprint andgives it a number. Keep going around the group until each person has all ideas listed (noduplication). No discussion, elaboration, evaluation, or comments are allowed. Move quickly. Step 3 - Small Group Debate (15-20 minutes) The ideas on the newsprint now belong to thegroup. You may now clarify, lobby, defend or attack ideas (not people). Which ideas are mostimportant for the group to address this year? We will vote in 15 minutes so this is your chance toconvince others of what is important. Please be brief in your comments in order to give everyoneplenty of chances to speak. Do not repeat the comments of others even if you strongly agree.

Step 4 - Small Group Votes (5 minutes) Time is up, we are now ready to vote. (Handout a newindex card of another color to each group member.) Mark your card 1st- then put the number of the idea from the newsprint that you think is most important. Under 1st, write 2nd- followed by thenumber of the idea from the newsprint that you think is second in importance. Then write 3rd- andrecord your third place vote. If you vote for more than three ideas your vote will not be counted. Coffee Break While Votes Are Counted (10 minutes) The small group leader picks an assistantto read the votes and records them, in pencil, on the newsprint beside the ideas receiving thevotes. A first place idea gets 3 points; a second place idea gets 2 points; and a third place votegets 1 point. Add the points for each idea. The idea with the most points is the #1 priority. Number all of the priorities in order until you have a top 10. Then quickly rewrite the top ten priorities, inorder of priority, on a clean sheet of newsprint. Step 5 - Reports And General Discussion (15-30 minutes) Each small group leader reads the top10 priorities for the small group. Do not give any additional explanation unless absolutelynecessary for clarification. The meeting facilitator then thanks the small group leaders and asks if any of the ideas are duplicated by more than one group. Duplication is eliminated by crossing off duplicate ideas.

Now we will debate all of the ideas on the newsprint, just like we did in the small groups, and voteagain in 20 minutes. Please follow the same debate rules that we used for the small groups. Step 6 - Vote And Tabulate (10 minutes) (Hand out a new card of a different color.) Vote for onlyyour top three ideas from all of the ideas now before the group. Step 7 - Announce Results And Wrapup (10 minutes) Our top ten priorities are the following.....How many do you think we can accomplish in the next year? Who would like to volunteer to writethe first priority as a goal that tells what actions should be taken, by whom, by when, in order toaddress the priority? Who would like to work on priority #2? Priority #3? Enough? The goal statements will be presented at our next regular meeting for discussion and approval.Thank you all for your cooperation. This has been a very productive meeting thanks to you.



EXERCISE: Work with a partner to plan and conduct a nominal group process. You may want to use a groupof volunteers to role play members of your organization before you try the process in a livemeeting.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Did the process work for you and your group?2. Were any modifications necessary?

3. Do you now feel confident to lead the process with othe r groups?



A Toolkit for Volunteer LeadersEducational Design

Writing Objectives E-7

A strong rooster can sing in any chicken coop. (a weak plan won't work anywhere)

Relevant objectives can be written only after issues are identified (module E-5), then turned intopriorities (module E-6) which are then stated as goals. These steps are described in module E-4on program planning. You may wish to read (reread) those modules. Completing module E-6 willgive you a set of goals (general statements of intent). Now you are ready to turn these goals intospecific objectives which will be the key part of the plan of work that you write in module E-9.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES


1. Describe the criteria for a useful specific objective.2. Identify objectives which do not meet the criteria.3. Write specific objectives which can be evaluated.

EXERCISE:

Write from 1 to 3 specific objectives for each goal. To get started, look at the objectives describedin step III of the program planning process described in module E-4. You may also refer to the"learning objectives" at the beginning of this module. Use the check sheet below to evaluate eachobjective and rewrite until each objective meets all criteria on the check sheet. Work with apartner to evaluate the objectives that you have written alone. Be patient if this exercise seemsunnecessarily detailed and boring. Do not cut any corners.

CHECKLIST TO EVALUATE OBJECTIVES

The objective should be: 1. Clear - anyone in your organization can understand it.2. Challenging - requires some effort.3. Realistic - does not require more time or resources than you have.4. Specific - it states who does what by when.5. Observable - accomplishment of the objective can be observed; there is no doubt that theobjective has been met.6. Measurable - accomplishment of the objective can be measured (you can say that it was 100%accomplished, 50% accomplished, etc.)7. Simple - complexity is no virtue in writing objectives.

8. Not too confining - there is some flexibility to allow for changes in the overall situation. If theobjective can only be achieved under optimum conditions, then it is too confining.

IN CONCLUSION

Writing objectives is boring to some people who don't like detail work. However, objectives arethe key to any plan. Without clear, specific objectives, members don't know where your group is



heading. At the very least, you will have a fuzzy plan of work; at the worst you will have completechaos with everyone going in different directions and getting in each other's way. Objectives arecritical in moving from ideas to action. So don't ignore or downplay objectives.

NEXT STEPS

Later you will use the objectives as a part of your plan of work (module E-9 and then to evaluateprogress (module E-10). The next step in program planning, however, is to assess resources(module E-8). If the resources that you have (or that you can get) are not sufficient to accomplishthe objectives that you have written, then you will need to rewrite those objectives to make themmore realistic.




Assessing Resources E-8

Be careful with your pennies and you will have plenty of dollars

This module can be studied on its own if you only want to learn some techniques for helping your group, organization or community identify the resources that exist within. The module, however, isa part of a sequence of steps on the program planning process. To understand this module as apart of that process you need to review (or do) modules E-4, E-5, E-6, and E-7.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES


1. Describe five techniques for locating resources.2. Select and adapt one or more of the resource assessment techniques to your group,organization or community.

TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING RESOURCES

After you have written specific objectives for the group with which you are working (see moduleE-7) and before you develop a written plan, you need to make sure that you have the resourcesto carry out your objectives. If you do not, then the objectives may need to be rewritten or somemay need to be dropped. You may, however, have more resources available than you think. Some groups keep aninventory of resources and add to that inventory constantly. Different organizations use different techniques to inventory resources. Examine the followingexamples which are described below and found on the following pages.

A. 4-H Parent Interest List - Parents are an often unused resource in youth groups. Thisquestionnaire asks parents to check skills and resources that they are willing to share. Could your group use a "spouse" interest inventory? (See the next page)

B. Community Church Needs - This inventory is posted on the church bulletin board. The pastor reports that he is continually amazed at what he gets merely by asking.

C. Inventory Wall Chart - A civic organization in a small community uses this wall chart on a largepiece of poster board to keep track of resources. Periodically, it is brought to meetings andupdated (resources added or deleted).

D. Notebook of Resources - The Chamber of Commerce in a small town keeps track of resourcesin a notebook. The Vice President is assigned to keep the notebook current. Whenever aresource is identified, the Vice President has someone fill out the notebook form.

E. Inventory Worksheet for Committees



4-H PARENT INTEREST LIST Please check the things you are willing to do if your 4-H club needs them. _____ Encourage my son or daughter to participate in community, as well as project 4-Hclubwork and we will participate as a family with the club as much as possible. _____ Lend kitchen, backyard, living room or garage for an occasional meeting. _____ Help provide light refreshments. (Your son or daughter serves them. A committee helpswith clean-up.) _____ Share a special interest or hobby with the group. Name the interest: _____ Help in a car pool for transportation to 4-H meetings. _____ Chaperone and/or provide transportation for a tour, picnic or party. _____ Help telephone parents for last minute announcements. _____ Encourage my son or daughter to start and complete projects on time. I will take an activeinterest in him (her) and encourage pride in his (her) own achievements. _____ Urge my son or daughter to attend all meetings or to notify both host(ess) and leader if unable to attend. _____ Assist 4-H project leaders. . .List:

My Hobbies: Other volunteer interests: 4-H Committees Exhibits Clerical Ticket sales Hostessing Program planning 4-H Camping Fine arts



Assist at Fair Registration Local 4-H Committee 4-H Tours Host 4-H member at Civic Club meetings NAME PHONE ADDRESS NAME OF SON OR DAUGHTER

COMMUNITY CHURCH NEEDS

Our church or individual members need the following items. If you can provide them, or have anysuggestions, please leave your name and number.

I can provide it !! I would accept the following payment:

NEEDS Name Phone

Part-time secretary 5 hours/week 1 used refrigerator for parsonage Babysitter for nursery on Sunday Someone to write news releases Someone to design posters and banners Old bed sheets for art projects Use of portable generator for three days

----------Questions? Check with the Secretary inside.----------



INVENTORY WALL CHART Organization or Individual Volunteers Funds Equipment Supplies Facilities Expert Advice Other

NOTEBOOK INVENTORY FORM Name of Individual or Organization: Updated (Date): Who to contact: Phone: Address: Resources Available: People: Name Skills Equipment Interests

Facilities: Supplies: Services: Funds:



Others: What do we do for them: Comments:

INVENTORY WORKSHEET FOR COMMITTEES Project or Activity:

What do we need?

Who has it?

How do we get it? Ask Trade Buy Other

Questions for Discussion 1. Would any of the five examples (above) be useful to your organization?2. Could you adapt one of these resource inventory techniques to your organization?3. How are you going to assess resources in your organization? EXERCISE With a partner who is also familiar with your organization, choose one of the inventory forms. Fillit in to the best of your abilities. Then take it to other members of your organization and add moreinformation to it. Finally, use it regularly. Update it monthly. Refer to it when you need ideas for resources.




Writing a Plan E-9

A long journey consists of many short steps. Before you are ready to write a plan for your group, organization or community, you mustcomplete the other steps of the program planning process (modules E-4, E-5, E-6, E-7 and E-8).

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE When you finish with this module you should be able to: 1. Write a plan which will tell your group what needs to be done, by whom, and by what date. EXERCISE: You should now be ready to organize activities which meet each objective written earlier (moduleE-7). Sometimes one activity will fulfill several objectives. Other times, several activities will beneeded to accomplish one objective. Use the "planning worksheet" (next page) to begin a plan of work. Write down the activities(events, actions) that are needed to complete the objectives. If you need more pages, keepgoing. Discuss your plan with colleagues and refine it until it appears to be complete, specific andpertinent to your objectives.

PLANNING WORKSHEET Objective(s):

WHO? DOES WHAT? BY WHEN? Responsibility - Agenda, Activities or Comments - Resources Needed

How will this objective be evaluated? When? By whom?



COMPLETING THE PLAN OF WORK By now you realize, if you didn't already, that writing plans of work is time-consuming. You can'tdo it in one sitting. To write a plan of work for an organization, you must allow plenty of time andinvolve many people. Go back to your group's priorities for the coming year (see module E-6) andassign one priority to a committee. Ask each committee to restate its priority as a goal then write

from 1 to 3 objectives using the "checklist to evaluate objectives." Then decide if you want thecommittee to fill out a "planning worksheet" for its objectives. You may decide to do the planningworksheet yourself or delegate the planning of all objectives to yet another committee. Review each planning worksheet using the following criteria: 1. Is it clear (impossible to misunderstand)?2. Are activities in a logical sequence?3. Can the responsibilities assigned be done by the individual assigned?4. Is the plan complete (no steps are left out - nothing is assumed to happen without being writtendown)?5. Are the time lines reasonable?

NEXT STEPS Bring the completed plan before the officers then the general membership for their approval. Allow time for debate and be willing to accept useful amendments. Then provide a copy of thefinal plan to each member and to other groups or individuals who are affected by the plan. Refer to the written plan throughout the year to keep everyone working on the same priorities.Some flexibility is necessary to take care of problems and opportunities which arise after the planis written. One purpose of the plan is to keep individuals from forgetting about the group's goalsbefore they are accomplished. Without a written plan the group is likely to chase the latest fad or idea-of-the-day until they are exhausted and frustrated. Without a plan which reflects the desiresand interests of its members, a group may see its members lose interest and drop out.

Many organizations write a calendar of activities which is simply a simplified outline of theactivities in their plan of work (see module E-11). See module M-2 to help you implement the planyou have written. Remember to evaluate your plan of work (see module E-10) and use theevaluation results to get started on next year's plan of work.




Program Evaluation E-10

If you want life to be easy, you must pay for it. This is the last step in the program planning process. Yes, evaluation should be consideredduring the planning process. It should not wait until the program has been completed. In order to understand evaluation's place in the program planning process you will need to reviewmodule E-4. In order to plan an evaluation correctly it should follow the other steps in programplanning (described in modules E-5 through E-9 and M-2).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Define "evaluation."2. Plan for the evaluation of some aspect of your group's educational program.

EVALUATION DEFINED Evaluation is simply "a process to determine if objectives have been met." Well written objectivesare essential to planning an evaluation. When planning an evaluation, start by reviewing the

objectives. If you lack a set of clear, appropriate objectives, you will find it difficult to getagreement on any plan for evaluation. LEVELS OF EVALUATION

Dr. Claude Bennett, Evaluation Specialist, Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, hasoutlined seven levels of evaluation which will help us understand the benefits and limitations of particular evaluation techniques and instruments. 1. Resources How many dollars, how many handouts and exhibits, what resource people, whatmaterials did we use in the educational program that we are evaluating?

2. Activities How many planning meetings, demonstrations, workshops, field trips, contests,telephone calls, newspaper articles did we complete? 3. Participants Who participated in the activities that we organized? What were their ages, ethnicbackgrounds, gender, socio-economic status, area of residence, organizations represented (andhow many of each category)?



4. Reactions Did the participants like the activities? What comments or suggestions did theymake regarding the activities? 5. Changes in Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills and Aspirations (KASA) As a result of your program'sactivities how did the participants improve (or regress) in KASA? Was there really any differencein the participants as a result of the program? 6. Adoption of New Practices Did the participants retain the KASA changes over time? Werethese changes of short duration or did they become part of the participants' lifestyles? 7. End Results What were the long term effects of your program on the local community or society in general? Did the number of teen pregnancies decrease? Did the production of wheat(bushels per acre) increase? Were new organizations created? Was the lifestyle of communitymembers improved? Can the improvements be attributed to the educational program that youprovided? These levels of evaluation represent an increasing time requirement and increasing difficulty for the evaluator. They also represent an increasing value of evaluation results. Determining

resources, activities and participants is relatively easy--it can be done by observation andcounting. To determine reactions you will need an organized technique (a trainedobserver/recorder or a post-meeting questionnaire). To determine changes in KASA and adoptionof new practices you will need to gather evidence before and after the program in a reliable andvalid procedure. End results take time and great sophistication of measurement by evaluators. On the other hand, if you can gather evidence about changes in KASA or adoption of newpractices, you will have stronger evidence for continuing your program or for getting funding for similar programs.

EVALUATION ALTERNATIVES

To most of us, evaluation means completing an evaluation form at the end of a meeting or training program. Other, often more useful, forms of evaluation are described below. Round Robin The round robin evaluation simply involves calling on each person in turn to share reactions to agiven activity. For example, "What was your evaluation of last week's meeting (4-H horse show,training session)? What did you particularly like, and where might improvements be made?" Appoint a secretary to record responses. An important ground rule is no discussion, except for questions of clarification. This keeps the group from getting bogged down in defending, disputingand discussing individual comments until everyone has been heard. The round robin insuresinput from everyone, without debate. Once everyone has been called upon, the composite listingcan then be discussed, if necessary, and conclusions drawn. One of the most commonly used forms of evaluation is a call for public input. The chair (or other official) poses a general question to the group as a whole, e.g., "Any comments on last week'shorse show?" Experience shows that only a few people respond to such calls for input. The roundrobin, in contrast, will insure greater input and involvement. If members find that their input isrespected and used, they will be more willing to speak openly in the future, and the quality of evaluation will increase.



Buzz Groups Buzz groups, often called Process Groups, involve quickly breaking into small groups of two tofive people. Each buzz group is to assess the meeting (workshop, etc.). Each person is asked toshare his frustrations, concerns, suggestions and satisfaction with how things are going. Wherethere is consensus, the buzz group should initiate action to improve the meeting or workshop,

e.g., propose to the group that..., or talk to the chair about..., or suggest.... Set a time limit of 15 to 30 minutes for this exercise. One option is to incorporate the processgroup assignment into an extended break. The advantage of this exercise is that people tend toshare more openly in smaller more private groups than they do in larger public groups. Also thefocus of the exercise is on action rather than complaints. Periodic process breaks are invaluablein developing a cohesive team spirit along with an added sense of personal responsibility.

Observer Arrange for one or two individuals to serve as a process observer. They will not enter into thediscussion but instead sit back and observe how the meeting is progressing, (i.e., what are the

group dynamics, who is and isn't talking, how are decisions made, what team building roles wereexhibited). The observer is to identify strengths as well as weaknesses. The checklist providedearlier in this chapter can serve to guide the observer in analyzing a group. The observers are then called upon at the end of the meeting to share their observations andsuggestions with the group, and to pinpoint team building skills the group could work on. Theadvantage of designated observers is that they are removed from the operation of the group andcan be more systematic and objective in their assessment. It is difficult for individuals who aredirectly involved in a meeting to step back and critique what is happening. Review Goals

Every organization should plan time at least quarterly to review its goals and objectives. What hasbeen accomplished? What has not? What adjustments (additions or deletions) need to be made?How do individuals in the group feel about the group's accomplishments? How well is the group(or designated committees) working together to accomplish those goals? Do these goals stillreflect the priority interests of group members? What are the group's short-comings? Such evaluation has the advantage of focusing the group's attention on accomplishments.Changes in the group's goals, committee organization, or how meetings are conducted can bemade now rather than put off until next year. One-on-One Consultation One of the most useful forms of evaluation is face-to-face consultation. Good managers are infrequent contact with workers (group members). They seek feedback and advice. Most peopleare reluctant to give advice unless it is asked for. To get useful feedback, ask specific questions.

Quickly get any areas of potential awkwardness out in the open, i.e., "I heard you were upset withme about. . .Let's talk about that first." Be an active listener. Don't respond defensively.

In giving feedback that has not been requested, one-on-one communication also works best. Noone likes to be criticized in public. (Review module V-6, for guidelines in giving constructive



criticism.) Written Evaluation Survey The traditional evaluation form asks participants to rate the meeting (workshop or event)according to certain listed criteria. Several open ended questions should also be included for a

more detailed and personal response, e.g., "Where might improvements be made?" Twoexamples of survey evaluations forms are attached ("End of Meeting Suggestion Slip" and"Workshop Evaluation," pages 10-11). Such surveys have the advantage of being anonymous. Also, the results lend themselves to statistical analysis. Take care in preparing the evaluationform to insure that the questions asked are easily understood and that they provide informationthat can be used.

WRITTEN EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS A. End of Meeting Suggestion Slip 1. Please rate today's meeting on the basis of the following criteria.

Low High a. Participation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 b. Productivity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 c. Team Building 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 d. Chair Effectiveness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 e. Consensus Building 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 f. Interest & Cooperation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2. What were the strong points of this meeting?

3. What were the weak points?



4. What improvement would you suggest?

(You need not sign your name.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

B. Workshop Evaluation

Title of workshop: _____________________________________________________________

1. How would you rate this workshop on each of the following items? Please circle appropriate number:

Poor ExcellHow interesting did you find the workshop? 1 2 3 4 5 6 How useful was the information provided? 1 2 3 4 5 6 How did you like the way the workshop was conducted? 1 2 3 4 5 6 Was there discussion among the participants? 1 2 3 4 5 6 How were the room arrangements? 1 2 3 4 5 6

Overall rating for workshop content. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Overall rating for workshop presenter. 1 2 3 4 5 6

2. Specifically how has this workshop helped you?

3. In what areas would you like further information or help?



C. Module ____ Evaluation 1. How long did it take you to read this module and complete the prescribed exercises? (Checkone) _______ less than 30 minutes _______ 30-60 minutes _______ more than 60 minutes 2. How helpful was the information provided in meeting your leadership needs? (Circle one of the seven numbers on the following continuum.) 2 3 4 5 6 7

Limited Value Helpful Very Helpful

3. Was the module well written and easy to follow? (Circle one of the seven numbers on the following continuum.) 2 3 4 5 6 7

rd to Read Readable Easy to Read

4. I found this module (Check one or more) _____ too elementary for my needs. _____ too advanced for my needs. _____ overly academic. _____ very practical.

_____ well matched to my needs and leadership experience. _____ provided little I didn't already know. _____ stimulated my thinking. _____ provided me with lots of good information.



_____ difficult to put into practice _____ __________________________________________

5. Specifically the information in this module has helped me by .....

6. How could this chapter be improved?

7. Considering the content of this module and comparing my knowledge and confidence beforeand after I completed this module 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I feel no moreknowledgeable andconfident.

I feel somewhat more knowledgeableand confident.

I feel much moreknowledgeable andconfident.



D. Overall Program Evaluation Getting Results: A Guide to Effective Leadership 1. How did you undertake this program? (Check one) _____ independent self-study _____ as part of a study group 2. Did you find the program motivating? (Circle one of the four numbers on the following continuum.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I had a hard time motivatingmyself to complete theprogram.

I was motivated to keep at it. I couldn’t put it down; Ilooked forward to eachchapter.

3. How many weeks did you dedicate to this program?

4. Which of the modules did you find most beneficial?

5. a. During the past five years, in what other leader training programs have you participated?(List them in the space below.)

b. How would you rank this program in comparison to those?



6. How have you used the information you've gained through this program?

7. In what areas would you like further information or help?

8. Would you recommend this program to others? _____ Yes _____ No

E. Evaluation of Classroom Teacher EXERCISE: Use (or adapt) one of the evaluation instruments to your group or organization. Discuss thefindings and the success of your evaluation with a partner who is also interested in evaluation.

EXERCISE: Start a notebook (or a file) of evaluation instruments. Ask different groups, organizations,agencies, etc. for copies of evaluations that they use, especially of of educational programs for community groups.




Calendar of Activities E-11

A walking ant accomplishes more than a sleeping bull.

This module follows module E-9, writing a plan. If you have not completed that module, do sonow.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE

After you finish this module you should be able:

1. To develop a calendar of activities.

DISTRIBUTE ACTIVITIES OVER THE CALENDAR YEAR

You need to make sure that the activities planned are evenly spread over the year. Put the major activities together on a "calendar of activities worksheet" (next page). Each of these major activities may involve several events, meetings and responsibilities. These are all noted on theplanning worksheet (see module E-9) so they need not be written in detail on the calendar of activities. (See the example Calendar of Activities after the next page.)

The calendar of activities has uses beyond organizing the plan. It can be used for publicity, torecruit new members, to seek contributions and to coordinate with other organizations. It shouldalso be distributed to all members so they can keep track of upcoming activities.

You may wish to assemble and edit all of the planning worksheets (completed as a part of module E-9) to distribute to the members. Whether you do this or not, you will need to getcommitment from each person who is responsible for an activity on the planning worksheets. Getthat person to initial the planning worksheet to signify agreement and commitment.

EXERCISE

Use the worksheet on the next page to write down a calendar of activities. If you have difficultyyou may want to refer to the example calendar of activities on the following page. You may dothis exercise alone. If you are working with an organization, however, you will need to consult withas many of the officers and members as possible in developing a calendar of activities.



CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES WORKSHEET

Priorities this year: 1. 2. 3. September October November December January February March April May June July August

CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES Example

Priorities this year: 1. Recruit 25 new members. 2. Raise $2,000 for charity. 3. Sponsor a community leadership training course.



September -

• Officer installation ceremony. • Discuss ideas for membership drive. • Pass out annual plan of work.

October - • Appoint membership drive committee. • Discuss fundraisers.

November - • Membership drive committee makes assignments for publicity and contacts. • Appoint committees for fundraisers.

December - •

Publicity goes out for membership drive. • Assist schools with annual Christmas safety program. January -

• Membership blitz. Sign up 25 members. • Review current plan of work.

February - • Assignments for first fundraiser. • Discuss leadership training course.

March - • First fundraiser nets $1,000. • Assignments for second fundraiser. • Plan for leadership training seminars.

April - • Assist with annual antique show. • Contact community groups to participate in leadership training.

May - • Second fundraiser nets $1,000. • Annual recognition night. • Discuss priorities for next year's plan of work. • Call for nominations for officers for the coming year.



June -

• Weekly leadership training seminars. • Summer picnic with families. • Complete plan of work for next year. • Close nominations for officers. •

Announce the slate of candidates for elections. July -

• Election of officers for new year. • Weekly leadership training seminars. • Annual evaluation and report.

August - • Vacations - no activities.

NEXT STEPS Module M-8 discusses how to develop a budget from a plan of activities. Module M-2 will describehow to implement a plan after you have completed the planning process. Module E-10 discussesevaluation of programs.




Curriculum Development E-12

Curriculum is usually understood as an organized program of educational offerings. Ornstein &Hunkins (1988) define curriculum as "a plan for action, or a written document, which includesstrategies for achieving desired goals or ends."

Before attempting this module you may wish to review the discussion of nonformal education inmodules E-1 and E-3.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By studying this module you should

1. Understand how curricula are developed for Pennsylvania 4-H.

2. Develop a plan for curriculum development for a particular audience in nonformal education.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR PENNSYLVANIA 4-H

In Pennsylvania curriculum development for the 4-H youth development program is the processwhereby curriculum is planned and organized to meet 4-H program objectives. A 4-H curriculumincludes written materials (project guides, leaders guides, supplementary bulletins, etc.) as wellas the activities (meetings, workshops, competitions, community service, etc.) needed to meetspecific project objectives as well as the 4-H program objectives (including positive impact onyouth and society). Attached is a diagram which depicts this curriculum development process.This diagram describes how curriculum has been successfully developed in the past as well as

how it should be developed in the future. There is nothing strikingly new or innovative about thisdiagram but it does include all of the steps in a written sequence.

This diagram describes a model which can be used in at least three different settings: 1) for acommittee composed of state 4-H specialists, state subject matter specialists, county 4-H agents,and volunteers, to plan and write a new curriculum at the state level; 2) for a committeerepresenting county 4-H agents and project leaders to plan and write a new curriculum for aspecial need at the county level; and 3) for any 4-H professional to adapt and rewrite a curriculumbased on a project in another state.

The process starts with needs assessment. County agents may call on colleagues who havesuccessfully completed a county needs assessment as well as state specialists for help inplanning their respective county needs assessments.

Based on the needs of 4-H clients, the curriculum developer must choose the program areawhere the developed curriculum would fit. Those areas include: animal science, plant science,mechanical science, natural resources, careers, citizenship, leisure and cultural education, familyliving, communications, leadership and "other." Specialists will need to be contacted and writtenmaterials reviewed to determine what exists (or what existed before) that is related to theproposed curriculum. The key questions at this point are "where will this new curriculum fit" and"how will the organization support it?"



Next, specific project materials and supporting activities are reviewed. Gaps, problems andopportunities must be identified if the new curriculum is to be relevant, complete, and not inconflict with existing curricula. Resources (people, time, money, materials) needed for proposedactivities should also be considered. Sources of information for writing the new curriculum shouldbe thoroughly reviewed. Information should be organized in outline form according to anapproved format to insure consistency and completeness. This format will vary according to thedelivery system. Activities needed to support the information should be outlined. Each activity willhave its own agenda (schedule of events).

Now the outlines can be "fleshed out" with attention given to the reading level of the intendedaudience and to the ten life skill areas. Written materials should be reviewed and edited bysomeone different than the author. The agenda for each activity should be developed in detail,then criticized and refined. At this point the activities and written materials can be piloted with asmall target audience. If necessary, materials and activities can be revised after the pilots toeliminate problems in implementation.

The written materials are than disseminated and supporting activities implemented. Formativeevaluation in the early stages of implementation will be critical. Following the initial stages,periodic evaluation may be formative or summative as decisions are made to continue, revise, or abandon the curriculum. Major revision of the curriculum may be desirable at some point. Then

the entire curriculum development process can be initiated again beginning with needsassessment. Part of that needs assessment would be the summative evaluation of the oldcurriculum.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Pennsylvania 4-H uses three supporting documents in curriculum development. These are thestate 4-H objectives, a list of life skills of youth identified through research by 4-H specialists, anda two-page summary of curriculum design elements important to 4-H curriculum.

These design elements include:

1. action -- make certain youth are not treated as passive learners, build in fun, build on their

interests, let them see that they are making progress;

2. interaction -- provide ample opportunities for youth to interact with people, ideas and things;

3. decision making -- teach and use the decision making process increasing youth's experience inmaking decisions;

4. recognition -- reinforce learning by a wide variety of informal as well as formal types of recognition for accomplishment, participation and teamwork;

5. public affirmation -- provide opportunities for youth to publicly share what they have learned byspeaking, exhibiting, performing, etc.

6. leadership (helpership) -- provide a variety of opportunities for youth to help teach others bygiving them responsibility, guidance and support;

7. flexibility -- provide a variety of learning opportunities on various topics in different settings witha minimum of unnecessary rigidity which restricts participation;

8. utilization of resources -- help youth to recognize and use such resources as themselves, other people, things, family activities, etc.




1. Does your organization provide education for clients or members?

2. Is it formal or nonformal education?

3. What is the curriculum (written materials AND activities)?

4. Where is the curriculum weakest?

5. What new curriculum do you need? Can you get it elsewhere or should you develop itinternally? Who should be involved?

EXERCISE:

Find a piece of written curriculum that your group uses for educational purposes. Follow thecurriculum development process described above to revise and strengthen the curriculum.Review your organization's mission, goals and objectives at the beginning of your revisions. Askyourself if there are specific curriculum design elements that should be included.

EXERCISE:

Plan a new curriculum piece to meet educational needs that are unmet so far. You may do this for your own organization or work with representatives of another organization who need a newcurriculum for an emerging educational need. Start by reviewing this module. Then outline a planfor involving other key people in the process. Write a least a page outline that tells who does whatby when in order to produce a draft of the new curriculum with its written materials and supportingactivities. Share your draft with a colleague for critique and feedback.




Mission Statement E-13

If you don't know where you're going, you're bound to end up someplace else.(attributed to Casey Stengel, former baseball manager)

Many groups lack a clear sense of direction. Each member has different ideas as to what thegroup should accomplish. These individual perceptions often differ, leading to misunderstandingand conflict. In this module you will learn to involve group members in a process which will notonly clarify group purpose but also inspire and motivate membership. Then you can develop anorganizational structure that gets results.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Write (or revise) a "mission statement." 2. Develop a unified sense of direction for your group or organization

WHAT IS YOUR MISSION? A group with a clear mission and a set of goals and objectives which are mutually accepted by itsmembership has an achieving force that is almost irresistible. People are motivated throughideas, programs and results--not merely by being members. A clear statement of the mission andgoals of a group provides the basis on which people can judge the merits of that group relative totheir own needs and interests. Group identity doesn't just happen. It is developed. New members may identify with anorganization merely because they have joined. That reason, however, will last only for a fewweeks or months. New members' initial enthusiasm will quickly dissipate if the organization failsto address their individual concerns. The same thing can happen to older members.

CLARIFYING YOUR MISSION A mission is a general statement of a group's ideals and purpose. A mission statement tells whatthe group represents and what general issues it addresses. A mission statement explains thegroup to outsiders as well as providing focus for its members. Many groups are associated with astate or national organization which has a formal statement of mission, along with organizational

guidelines. Such groups should periodically review that mission and clarify its meaning. The localgroup should be encouraged to expand on that mission statement, putting it into its own wordsand, therefore, establishing its unique identity. It is important that the mission statement bedeveloped and internalized by group members, rather than imposed upon them. Otherwise, thereis limited ownership. A group with no outside affiliation is in the fortunate position of being able todevelop its own mission, tailored to its unique situation and needs.



EXERCISE: Set aside time at a regular or special meeting to develop/review your mission statement. Call oneach member in turn to express what s/he feels should be the purpose and ideals of theorganization. Record these on newsprint or a chalkboard for all to see. Once everyone has beencalled upon, review the list. Ask for comments. "Is this an ideal to which we all wish to commit

ourselves?" If there are objections, modify the statement to meet the group's approval. Ask for suggestions as to how the wording of the statements might be improved. After a period of discussion, form a committee to combine and condense the listed statements into a missionstatement, to be presented at the next meeting. Time is taken at that meeting to discuss andrevise the condensed statement until consensus is reached. This consensus building processmay require several meetings, with the committee incorporating suggestions into the statementfor the group's review. The more that individual members are directly involved in developing and revising the missionstatement the more meaning it will have to them. Otherwise, the exercise becomes one of indoctrination with limited motivational impact.

IF YOUR GROUP LACKS ENTHUSIASM, IT MOST LIKELY IS DUE TO EITHER: 1. The lack of a clear understanding among members as to what the purpose and goals of thegroup are. In other words, you haven't done enough planning or goal setting.....or 2. The group's goals are not seen as personally important to many of the members. In other words, the members weren't really involved in the planning and goal setting.....or 3. Members fail to see how many of the group's activities really contribute to the agreed upongoals. In other words, your goals are not being followed.

You may wish to refer to other groups' mission statements as you write or revise yours. Three

examples are offered below.

MISSION STATEMENT EXAMPLES Country Living Fair Mission Statement

The overall mission of our organization is to provide awareness of alternatives for decision-making on family self-sufficiency. We will focus on information related to health and nutrition,energy, construction, food production and preservation, cottage industries, and use of leisuretime. We encourage wide diversity of viewpoints and will not endorse any particular viewpoint.We will remain independent from control of any particular organization. We will operate on a non-profit basis. Our principal activity will be an annual educational fair.

Arizona 4-H Mission Statement. 1. The Arizona 4-H Program is one of four educational programs of the University of ArizonaCooperative Extension Service. This program involving youth and adults is:

a) nonformal and out-of-school



b) county oriented and locally determined c) primarily group focused and family oriented d) volunteer staffed and supervised by professional salaried faculty.

2. 4-H employs planned "learn by doing" experiences to enable youth to develop essential lifeskills, i.e.:

a) be socially, physically, and mentally healthy b) explore and evaluate job, career and leisure time opportunities c) acquire subject matter skills and knowledge reflecting current and new technologies d) learn and practice leadership skills and fulfill leadership roles e) participate in community and public affairs f) understand and appreciate cultural similarities and differences.

3. 4-H is staffed by youth and adult volunteers under the supervision of professional salariedfaculty:

a) The volunteers may do one or more of the following: teach, recruit, train, organize,provide support service, advise, counsel. b) The professional salaried faculty uphold the principles of 4-H and the use of its

emblem. They plan, recruit, supervise, enable and evaluate. They teach volunteers touse subject matter, educational methods, and the democratic process to achieveprogram objectives.

4. 4-H is publicly supported by county, state and federal governments. Private resources, bothhuman and material, are used to enrich the learning experience of youth and adults.

Cooperative Extension Service's Community Resource Development Program

Our mission in this state is to provide educational assistance to communities for improving the

physical, social, economic, and cultural environment. High priorities which we support include: • development of educational programs which will assist leaders in their understanding and

application of the community development process; • assistance to individuals and groups in securing and using available resources; • encouragement of citizen awareness and understanding of public issues; • stimulation of effective organization at community, area, and state-wide levels and to

provide guidance and educational assistance in the processes; • the provision of educational programs for leaders which will expand their effectiveness in



making decisions that improve the quality of living in their communities; and • the encouragement and involvement of citizens in the conservation of natural resources.

Typical programs that we offer include: • local workshops in leadership skills; •

leadership training at the State level; • organizing and maintaining volunteer programs; • consultation on organizational development and on strengthening organizations. • economic surveys to help communities to strengthen local business or to attract new

industries; • assistance for small communities with community planning; • consultation with groups on planning educational programs; • public policy education on controversial issues; • organizing self-sufficiency fairs; • assembling resource guides to assist rural groups; • providing assistance to towns and counties on improving public utilities; • referring questions to other local, state or federal agencies; • providing training for local boards or for local government; and •

assisting other Cooperative Extension agents with needs assessment, program planning,training, or evaluation. Our overall goal is to increase the effectiveness of local groups and communities in solving their own problems and in achieving their own goals.




Organizational Philosophy E-14

Whoever doesn't look ahead will always be behind. Before you develop a "statement of philosophy" for your group or organization, you need toreview module E-13 on developing a mission statement. A mission statement tells your purposeand general goals. An organizational philosophy describes how you operate, what you offer and how you areorganized to meet your goals.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

This module will help you to revise or develop a statement of philosophy for your organization. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS

1. Does your organization have a mission statement? If the answer is yes, is it up to date...does it still describe your organization to itsstakeholders (groups of individuals who are affected by the organization's success or failure)? If the answer is no, does it need a mission statement?

2. Who are your stakeholders? What are their concerns? What do you wish them to know aboutyour organization? EXERCISE: Review the mission statements of some organizations that you know. Include the example below.Review the exercise for developing a mission statement (module E-13) and adapt that process toyour group to develop (or revise) your organizational philosophy.

AN EXAMPLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL PHILOSOPHY Pennsylvania 4-H has printed their philosophy statement on a four-fold, multi-color flyer. On thefront panel is a large 4-H clover. Then the statement, "Take a look at us now!" At the bottom isthe full identification of the organization, "Youth develop programs, Cooperative ExtensionService, The Pennsylvania State University.



Inside the flyer are four panels devoted to a short explanation of the four H's. Another panel liststhe projects offered through 4-H and a paragraph which touches on important philosophicalelements (youth learn by doing; they prepare themselves for the future; they learn in groups of youth; they have fun; they meet in their local community; they are taught by professional agentsand adult volunteers; they participate in fairs, trips, tours, and camps; they host internationalyouth visitors; they can choose the projects for which they have an interest).

Three panels of the flyer give short answers to the following questions: how does one become amember of 4-H; how much does it cost; if we live in the city can our youngster join; what ages areincluded; what activities will my youngster do in the local club; am I required to be a leader; can Ibe a leader if I have no children; do I need to be an expert to lead a project; will my youngster besafe at all times; who sponsors this program? The last panel is a list of the county offices andtheir phone numbers so parents can contact their local 4-H agent.

NEXT STEPS When you have a philosophy statement that is supported by your organization you will need toprint it and be sure that every member of the organization has a copy. You may want to have itprinted in an attractive format (such as a multi-color flyer) to be used for publicity and recruitment. An organizational philosophy, along with the mission statement, are valuable tools to use duringthe program planning process (see module E-4). Use them during the priority setting part of program planning (see module E-6) when youare deciding on which needs of your members (or clients) your organization should address in thecoming year.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Program Management

Social Action Process M-1

Lip service is one thing, doing it is something else. Working on community projects is not the same as working for a business or an institution. Thereare many more unknowns. There are fewer rules that are understood. Two sociologists from IowaState University, Dr. George Beal and Dr. Joseph Bohlen, studied this problem and developed amodel to explain how projects happen in a community. Understanding this model can helpleaders to carry out their plans and manage projects more effectively.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this reading you should be able to: 1. Describe the steps in the "social action process" model.2. Explain how community projects get started.3. Define "the initiating set, legitimizer, the diffusion set."4. Compare this model to the program planning process (module E-4).

TWO BEGINNING CONCEPTS All social action takes place in some sort of SOCIAL SYSTEM...never in a vacuum. Someexamples of social systems may be the state, the county, the community, a church, or a club.

Social action must be related to one of these social systems. A project may or may not involve allof the broad social system as it moves step by step through the Social Action Process. For every social action program, there must exist, within the social system, some past experiencewhich relates to the social action under consideration. This is known as the PRIOR SOCIALSITUATION. Somewhere in the background there is a similar program, or one related to the ideawe want to put across, with a history of success, failure, crisis or conflict. If we are to workintelligently we must look at: 1. the overall social system in which the action will be taking place,and 2. the past experience or present situation relating to the program we want to accomplish bysocial action.

WHAT--OR WHO--STARTS THE PROCESS? Two or more people agree that some kind of a problem or situation exists and that somethingshould be done about it. Quite often there may be a feeling on the part of the people within thesocial system that a problem exists and that it is important enough for them to try to getsomething done about it. It may even be an "insider" connected with the system...but whorepresents "outside" interests. This member might be a minister, a superintendent of schools, or the county agricultural agent.



Very often there is some kind of force totally outside of the social system that tries to get actionstarted on a given problem within the system. Perhaps a pressing problem has stimulated someoutside force such as a health specialist or some state or federal agency to become interested inthe problems within the system. The problem might be weed or pest control and the outside forcemay decide that action should be taken. In such cases, the initiative to define the problem andstart action would come from outside the system.

THE INITIATING SET Convergence of interest around the problem is the initial step in the Social Action Process. Thepeople who feel that "something should be done" about a problem are the INITIATING SET. Theydecide that the problem is important enough to do something about it. They are willing to initiatesome action. The people involved in the initiating set are all of those who actually originate actionon the idea or program.

THE LEGITIMIZERS In almost every community, or every social system, there are certain people or groups whose

approval or acceptance of proposed projects is necessary to make things "legitimate." They putthe stamp of approval upon an idea. The initiating set usually takes the problem to the legitimizersand asks them to pass judgement on it. To bypass this group usually spells failure. Legitimizers may be one or two people. Sometimes it is an informal group of three, four, five or six people. Sometimes it may be a formal group such as a church, the chamber of commerce, aservice club, or public officials. Legitimizers have a reputation for doing things that are good for the community. Thuslegitimization is the giving of sanction by key persons or key groups which leads to publicacceptance of an idea. The ultimate legitimizers of any idea are the people themselves. Beforethe idea gets to them, however, the "stamp of approval" is needed from the key people or groups.

THE DIFFUSION SET After an idea has been "legitimized," it is ready to be moved on to the "diffusion stage." TheDIFFUSION SET takes the program to the public. Up to this point the idea has been consideredby only a few people who are in the initiating set or who are legitimizers. Careful consideration should be given to the selection of those to serve as the diffusion set. Theyshould have the promotion ability of sales people, the appeal of an advertiser, the zeal of amissionary, and the dedication of an educator. The "idea people" (i.e., initiators) may notnecessarily be the best people to convince others that a problem exists. The diffusion set shouldbe recognized by the public as action leaders.

DEFINING THE NEED Once the diffusion set is ready to function, its task is to make the problem become the people'sproblem. This is done by helping the people DEFINE THE NEED as one of their own. Thisdefinition of the need is often a very difficult step in the social action process.

Several techniques may be used to get large numbers of people to see a problem and identify itas one of their problems, too. They are: 1) basic education, 2) program development committees,



3) survey or questionnaire, 4) comparison and competition, 5) exploiting a crisis, 6) trials or demonstrations, 7) building on past experience, and 8) channeling gripes.

COMMITMENT TO ACTION Quite often, people appear to accept an idea and to recognize a need, but they're not motivated

enough to act. It's easy to get them to nod their heads...to say, "This is a problem, we should dosomething about it." When the time comes to give time, money, or resources to solve theproblem, however, that's another matter. We can't assume that just because we have anagreement, we have moved people to a willingness to act. We must also get from them a commitment to take action. Such commitments to action can beobtained in terms of 1) votes of confidence, 2) agreements to attend meetings, 3) agreements toact at the proper time, 4) agreements to pledge so much money, and 5) agreements to participatein the program. A commitment to action is one of the most important steps in the social actionprocess.

GOALS Once there is a felt need established, we must establish some concrete targets, GOALS or objectives. These are the goals which the group is willing to try to reach to solve the problem.Whatever we are going to try to accomplish must be spelled out as to: 1) our destination (this maybe likened to the goal line in a football game), 2) the content area (this can be compared to theplays we need to defeat the other team to bring home a victory) and 3) human behavior changesthat we hope to bring about (this can be represented by the school spirit generated by having awinning team).

MEANS Once we have decided what objectives we want to accomplish, we must then decide HOW we

are going to do it. Usually we have more trouble agreeing on HOW we are going to do somethingthan on WHAT we are trying to do. This then is the "huddle" stage where the quarterback decideswhat play will gain the most yardage for the team. We should analyze the play (plan) in terms of consequences and have an alternate plan in mind if we are stopped for "no gain" on the first plansuggested.

PLAN FOR ACTION After we have set up our goals and have decided on the basic methods we should use, we willthen want to set up a PLAN OF WORK -- an action guide with the organizational structure tocarry it out. Too often this seems to be the starting point. We do not fully consider the other stepswhich lead up to the plan. We must design a plan which will carry out our goals and use themethods we have in mind. In the plan of work we should consider 1) time schedule, 2)

committees needed, 3) kinds of personnel needed, 4) buildings and facilities required, 5) contentmaterials, 6) visual aids or other methods needed, 7) the need for meetings, 8) communications(personal, group and mass media), 9) publicity requirements and 10) all other planning details.

MOBILIZING AND ORGANIZING RESOURCES Once we have written our plan of work, then we must MOBILIZE and ORGANIZE theRESOURCES so that the plan can be carried out. The people involved have to begin to takeresponsibility for their program in terms of time, expense, skill, work, etc.



LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM As we move into action most programs will need some sort of a "launching" process which mighttake the form of a fund drive, a series of tours, a well publicized kick-off dinner, a full pageadvertisement campaign in the local newspaper, a telephone call network, or a multi-mediapublicity splurge. In other words, this "launching" is made into a big event so the people will know

we are now in the action stages of the program. Some programs do not lend themselves to a "sky-rocket" type launching. We must move intothem slowly and ease them along carefully but without allowing them to lose momentum.

CARRYING OUT THE PROGRAM Whether or not there is a big launching for the program, once it is started we must follow throughwith our plan of work. So we go through the various action steps (described in our written plan) aswe carry out the program. We take as many action steps as necessary to move us to thecompletion of our specific objectives and, therefore, of our overall goals.

FINAL EVALUATION Between each of the action steps, as at all other places along the Social Action Process, we stopand evaluate. We must evaluate what we have done, our next immediate step, how well we aremeeting our immediate objective, and alternative methods for reaching that objective. In other words we decide as to what our next move is going to be. Then we plan our next move. Finallywe act in relation to that plan. Eventually we get to the point where we have a final evaluation to "sum up" the project. We needto know:

--did we accomplish what we set out to do? --were the methods we used the best? --did we make effective use of available resources? --what parts of our project were successful? why? --what parts of our project were unsuccessful? why? --what would we do differently if we could do the project over? --what did we learn that could be used for other projects? --where do we go from here?

Evaluation can be defined as a process to determine if objectives have been met? Depending onyour specific objectives, the evaluation instruments you use will differ from one project to another.

Module E-10 has examples of some evaluation instruments and a more complete discussion of the evaluation process. QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION

Does the social action process fit with the program planning process explained in Module E-4?How are they alike? How are they different?



EXERCISES: 1. Analyze your organization or a group or institution with which you are familiar. Whichindividuals usually are the initiating set? Which ones are the legitimizers? Which individuals wouldyou expect to do the diffusion? Who would usually carry out the project. If the answers to these questions depend on the specific type of project, then pick a project(current or future) and use that project as the frame of reference for answering the questionsabove. 2. Pick a project which you would like to introduce in your community. Use the social actionprocess to help you "think through" how you would plan, implement and evaluate that project.This exercise could take you several hours if you really get involved in the details. You may wantto work in pairs or show your preliminary ideas to a friend who can comment on the accuracy andcompleteness of your plan.




Implementing a Plan M-2

Perseverance is what gets us to our goals. After you plan your work (modules E-4 through E-9), then you should "work your plan."Implementing the plan requires considerable skill and attention.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After mastering this section, you should be able to: 1. Identify skills needed to implement plans.2. Distinguish between "immediate" concerns and "important" concerns.3. Choose actions which will help you to be a better manager.4. Carry out your plan of work.

CARRYING OUT YOUR PLAN When moving from ideas to action, several steps are involved. First, you must have ideas. Thenyou must choose the most important ideas (priorities) to work on. Next you must write those ideasas goals and objectives. Then you must make sure you have the resources to carry out thoseobjectives. And you must write down a plan which tells how the objectives will be met. The plantells who does what by when (deadline). Modules E-4 through E-9 discusses these steps in detail.Now you are ready to carry out the plan. Here you put your ideas into action. At this pointleadership is critical. In the broadest sense you need to apply everything you know about leadership in order to getaction on your plan. You need to understand yourself and how to best lead given the currentsituation (modules L-1 and L-5). You must use teamwork (L-2) and stay within your organization'smission and limitations (E-13 and E-14). You must get people to do the various tasks and keepthem moving forward (V-2, V-3, V-4, V-5, V-6). You must communicate effectively with others andhelp people working on the plan to communicate effectively with each other (C-1, C-2, C-3). Youmust expect conflict to arise and then deal with it constructively (M-3). You must stay on trackwith your plan, but adjust it as necessary. You must use meetings carefully to make decisionsand keep everyone together (L-3 and L-4). Finally you must do all of the above at the same time.You must use your leadership resources where they are most needed to keep everything elsegoing.

There are, however, some specific skills that will help in carrying out activities described in theplan. These skills need attention. They include supervision, time management, coaching and self discipline. Supervision is discussed in the next section as a separate subject.



Time management is mostly a matter of working smarter--not so much harder. The self-management exercise in module M-4 is a time management technique. To strengthen your timemanagement skills complete module M-4.

Coaching is familiar to most of us. That doesn't mean, however, we are all natural coaches. Goodcoaching begins with explaining and demonstrating the fundamentals. A good soccer coach

doesn't just tell a beginning player to "kick the ball hard." The coach demonstrates how to backup several steps, to approach the ball at a 45 degree angle to the direction of the kick, to plant thenon-kicking foot beside the ball, to bend the knee of the backswing, to lock the knee and ankle just before contact, to keep the shoulders over the ball with head down and eye on the ball until itis kicked, and to follow through with the kicking foot in the intended direction of the ball. The coach breaks down a complex task into easy parts, demonstrates each part, then puts theparts together. Next, the coach watches the athlete in action (a drill or a game), observes errors,and goes back over that part until the athlete understands and performs correctly. You can use this same approach in supervising volunteers. You observe the volunteer in action,suggest an improved way to do the job, and check to see if the suggestion was understood (andcarried out if accepted by the volunteer). It is through coaching that a supervisor trains anddevelops people. A coach needs to spend plenty of time at it, especially when the volunteer isinexperienced. Self-discipline means staying calm, composed and confident whatever happens. Easy to say, butoften hard to do! It's like the cartoon of the guy in the middle of the swamp who says, "Whenyou're waist deep in alligators, it's hard to remember that your original purpose was to drain theswamp." Under pressure we all have trouble keeping track of what's important (draining the swamp) whilehandling the immediate problem (fighting off the alligators). If we do not deal with someimmediate problems, we may not make it to the important one. On the other hand, if we spend allof our time on immediate problems, we never make it to the important ones either.

Following is a checklist to help you evaluate your needs and do a better job of carrying out theplan. It is divided into two parts: 1. fighting alligators (dealing with immediate problems of programmanagement) and 2. draining the swamp (dealing with long-range problems of programmanagement). Don't try to do everything on the list at once. Work on one or two key things at atime. Fighting Alligators 1. Keep a listing of things you want to do. Do this on a pad or in a notebook. Cross off things asthey are finished. One refinement is to make a weekly list, then transfer any unfinished items tonext week's list. 2. Learn to listen--by practicing listening skills. 3. Ask why? --about everything. 4. Develop, maintain, use, and later on, evaluate a schedule or timetable for the things you wantto do. The next year should be quite general; the next week should be quite specific.



5. Keep an eye out for things--little or big--that your people (volunteers and staff) do that deserverecognition, either by you, your boss, or the organization head--then see that they get it. Mighty easy to overlook this. 6. Never ignore your people. Praise them certainly--or criticize them out if you absolutely must--

but never ignore them. 7. Use the services of your staff. Help them to work effectively, keep up to date on their subject-matter and on the organization. 8. Delegate everything you can that your people can handle and that isn't a major decisionmatter. You can't be everywhere at once or do everything that has to be done. Be as sure as youcan of the abilities of each of your people in this regard. Tell 'em - "Do the best you can. I'mcounting on you." 9. Get people to your meetings (such as regular staff conferences) by having the last person inwrite up the minutes of the meeting, get them typed, and distributed to all members. Once this

policy is set up, nearly everyone gets there early.

10. Watch--and guard against--the intrusion of the assembly-line philosophy in the work your people do. Variety is important. The business of doing something from start to finish--the whole job--is important. Too much fragmentation of jobs may lead to boredom and quits. 11. Get to know all the jobs of all the people you supervise. Get them to show you, they'll love it,and you'll know better what your people are up against. 12. Watch your staff meetings. They can be deadly dull, or fascinating. You need (1) news, (2)training and development, and (3) management improvement at just about every such meeting.Don't short necessary business, of course. Have a program developed ahead of time. 13. Make use of the resources in your community. Local bankers, food store managers, State andmunicipal, as well as federal officials all have things to say about management and how theypractice it. They're almost always glad to cooperate, by speaking at one of your staff meetings,for example. 14. Treat auditors and inspectors royally. Be sure they understand your organization--itsstructure, functions, philosophy, unsolved problems you're tackling, etc. Show your pride in theorganization. Most auditors and inspectors aren't used to such treatment. They'll respond bydoing a much better job for you. 15. When a crisis subsides then concentrate on details. Don't just relax and wait for the next

crisis. Anticipate it and prevent it by handling the details in advance. Be thorough and persistent. 16. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it and move on. Draining the Swamp 1. Develop and maintain a 3-ring binder to contain notes, clippings, quotations, excerpts, etc.,important to you in your job of supervision or management. Classify the material in some



appropriate manner. This becomes your handbook of management. Review the material fromtime to time. Take things out that are no longer of interest. 2. Develop a list of planned reading, containing books and magazines you'd like to read, andperhaps study. Get the cooperation of a librarian--they'll love to help you if they understand thatyou really do want to read.

3. Learn to write--by writing. Get help from an editor, and pay attention to his or her suggestions(above all, don't get mad at an editor who's trying to help you). 4. Update your knowledge all the time by every means you can. Don't let yourself get out of date.Remember, times are changing rapidly. 5. Send copies of interesting, useful clippings, brochures, quotes that you find, to your supervisor,and to members of your staff with appropriate notes. Also, send a book now and then, marked, as"See especially Chapter 12" or whatever. Ask for a brief book review occasionally at a staff meeting. Make one yourself to get things started. 6. Be sure you have, in writing, the goals or objectives of your organization, and that all your people know what they are. If you are in charge of one segment or part of your organization,what's your objective in relation to the larger one of your agency or company? Get your people tohelp you develop this. (see also item 11 below) 7. Keep everlastingly at the job of developing people on your staff. Help them help themselves, of course. You can take pride in seeing your people leave you for better jobs than you can offer. 8. When you're recruiting, look for the underemployed. You may be surprised how many people--waiters, post office employees, cabdrivers, waitresses, secretaries--have college degrees or important skills. 9. Keep an eye on your organization structure, in relation to your objectives. Will it do the job nextyear? Five years from now? Span of control too large? Too small? What effects will forthcomingchanges make? 10. Make files for use next year (if the program is repeated). Put notes, clippings, addresses,ideas, etc. in a manila file folder to help you next time or to help your successor. 11. What's in the files that people won't miss if it's removed? Are there any unusual bottlenecks inyour procedures? Does it take too long to get some things done? Are some people in your unitoverloaded while others are idle? These things can be changed by adjusting assignments andresetting priorities. Involve people, however, in making any changes. Delegation Problems with delegation usually result from leaders with delegation blockages. 1. Untrained leaders. Delegation does not occur to them. They can't see the value. 2. "I" leaders. They want to satisfy personal needs that may be unhealthy or destructive to others.They want to deny feelings of weakness, prove adequacy, enhance self-esteem. To expose the



problems of their business may be viewed as evidence of a personal defect, so ideas presentedby others, regardless of their value will be rejected. 3. Competitive leaders. Motivation to compete may be based on such things as desire for promotion, for power, for wealth, control of people, etc. These individuals want to presentthemselves to others in best possible light--even at others expense. 4. Fearful leaders. They are insecure regarding their competency and adequacy. It is not so muchthat they must be right and the other person wrong, they simply can't tolerate mistakes. Theycheck and double-check the work. They strive for perfection. 5. Incommunicative leaders. They don't deliberately refuse to communicate; rather, they don'tknow how. Interpersonal difficulties develop because people do not like to be in the dark. (Maytell one person, but not others. Directions are often oral, and are garbled.) EXERCISE: ITEMS THAT CAN BE DELEGATED How Do You Rate? Do You Delegate the Following? Yes No

1. Fact finding and analysis 2. Formulation of goals - not final determination 3. Preparation of first drafts 4. Performance of routines and details 5. Tasks others can do better, sooner, cheaper 6. Representing you at meetings, conferences, etc., where your points of view can beexpressed 7. Tasks which will help subordinates to develop through experience 8. Tasks after decisions are made

***Note: A key point in delegation is to hold people more accountable for results than for methods. B. Items That Can't Be Delegated: (Do You Handle Them Yourself?) Yes No

1. Making final decisions - deciding on goals, etc. 2. Executing tasks where goals are not clear 3. Hiring, discipline, firing of immediate staff 4. Unique or highly personalized tasks that will not come up again



5. Things that must be kept absolutely secret 6. Personal representation where your presence is important 7. Emergency, short term tasks where there is not time to explain

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. In which of these skills do you need improvement? 2. How can you do a better job in these skills? 3. How can you get feedback on skills to improve? 4. What resources do you have for personal improvement? 5. Can you organize "self training?" (see module LT-10) EXERCISE: Work through this module with a colleague before you need to guide the implementation of aprogram. Anticipate, using the plan for the program, where difficulties may occur and what actionsyou will take. Refer back to this module with your colleague as the program unfolds. Makechanges in your actions as appropriate.




Managing Conflict M-3

An ignorant person has little tolerance.

Every community group experiences conflict from time to time. There will be differences whicharise between individuals (or factions) within the group, as well as between group members andinterests outside the group. The ability to manage and ultimately resolve conflict is essential tothe development of effective relationships, whether within the family, at work or in communitygroups.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:

1. Identify causes of conflict.2. Recognize different ways of managing conflict.3. Resolve conflict through collaboration.4. Use the skills of third party mediation.

CAUSES OF CONFLICT Conflicts occur because people care, because something that is important to them is threatened--their ideas, their values, their goals, their success, their relationships. Most conflict has one or more of the following causes. Misunderstanding. Conflicting parties may simply misunderstand each other or the situation. Theymay not communicate clearly. They may not listen carefully. They may not have all the facts or

the right facts about the issue. Most conflict is based in miscommunication. Disagreement about the nature of the issue and its solution. The world is seen differently by everyperson, and while that is an exciting aspect of the human condition, the conflicts of thesedifferences are inevitable. The organizational situation itself. Conflict is likely when authority and responsibilities within thegroup are not clear, when roles are poorly defined, when group goals are uncertain or whengroup procedures are unclear or unreasonable. Personal needs are threatened. All of us have certain needs and interests. Every group member enters into a group to meet some personal need or want. When that need or want is threatened

or perceived to be threatened, members lash out at what they see as the source--group officers,leaders, co-members, the institution, etc.



WAYS OF MANAGING CONFLICT There are many ways of managing conflict. To manage conflict is different than resolving conflict.To manage it is to hold it in control, to keep it from getting out of hand, but it will not necessarilyget rid of it. All of us as individuals have ways in which we manage the conflicts in our lives. Asmembers of an organization or group, we also have ways of managing conflict either individually

or corporately.

Each of us handles conflict differently. I may choose to ignore conflict, hoping the issue will goaway. I may blame the conflict on someone else. I may deny that there is any conflict. I mayconfront or attack the other person. I may use persuasion to convince that person that I'm right. Ican also choose to work with that person, one-on-one, to manage the conflict to our mutualsatisfaction. I might also seek the services of a third party to help mediate the conflict. Our effectiveness in dealing with conflict is largely dependent on how we choose to react to it. Wehave basically three choices. (1) Let it pass and forget it, hopefully without resentment. (2) Workto improve the relationship which may require considerable effort and emotional energy. (3) Attack, depreciate or terminate the relationship, and be willing to live with the consequences. Wecan either whine, undermine, shine or recline. It is our choice.

Some of the approaches we may use to manage conflict are: Avoid involvement in the conflict. There are times when we simply don't want to get involved. Wemay feel the issue is not worth it or we don't have the energy to involve ourselves in it. We mayuse this method to keep ourselves out of the conflict and leave it to others to handle. The risk isthat the decisions made may not be of our liking or the conflict may mushroom into a larger issue,drawing us into it whether we like it or not. Groups as an entity may choose to avoid a conflict andit may go away, especially if it's a trivial issue. In other situations, the group may find that theconflict is growing, requiring more time and more skill to handle it. Give someone responsibility to solve the conflict. When time is short, responsibility may be given

to a group's officer or committee leader or another person in charge to make a decision. Thistakes the burden off of us as group members or off of the group as a whole. It is an effectivestrategy when time is short and the group has a great deal of trust in those who will make thedecision. The risks of this approach are obvious. In the long run, this method can create highlyfrustrated and dependent group members. Also, the short range choice may prove not to be avery good one.

Confrontation. There are times when direct confrontation is necessary to bring your needs,interests, or concern to the attention of another. The other person or group may be unaware or insensitive to your needs or the impact of their behavior on you, or they may be avoiding or denying the conflict. In either case, you may need to assertively speak up for yourself, to "rattletheir cage," before conflict management can begin. We often avoid such confrontation for fear of what might happen. To use this approach we need skills and experience in how to confront in apositive, caring manner. Compromise. Compromising means all parties discuss the issue and then accept the minimumthey can all live with in order to stop the conflict. The goal is to stop the conflict quickly rather thanthoroughly working out the basic conflict issues. The risk is that compromise may stop this conflictsituation but leave the door open for similar or even larger manifestations of the conflict later.



Collaboration. This process ultimately is the most effective in managing group conflict, but it canbe a time consuming process. It also requires that the parties involved be willing to work together at resolution. The benefit of collaboration is that a good and long lasting solution is found whichaddresses the root causes of the disagreement. To collaborate, those in conflict state their goals,their needs in the conflict and then listen to the other parties do the same. They then attempt towork through the conflict to a mutually satisfactory outcome. In collaboration, the parties involvedattempt to understand the root causes and basic issues of the problem from the perspective andgoals of the other, and then work together to find a mutually acceptable long-range solution. (Theskills of collaboration will be described later.

Coercion. Often in conflict situations we find ourselves trying to control others, to impose our willor our way on them. We have concluded that the other party is either ignorant, hard-headed or atroublemaker. We don't have the time nor patience to practice the prescribed skills and "besides itwouldn't do any good anyway." We have allowed the relationship to deteriorate. Power politics or majority rule may be used in our attempt to coerce others. Such strategies can produce short-term gain but often at considerable cost to the individuals involved, with destructive long-termeffects on the group or community. No one likes to be pushed around or taken advantage of.

SKILLS IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT For the effective management and perhaps ultimate resolution of conflict, there are two skillswhich are absolutely necessary--active listening, and the clear sharing of concerns through "I-statements". LISTEN: The area in which we most often fall short in our efforts to manage conflict is in listening. We failto really listen to the other person--his needs, wants, concerns, fears and the feelings behindthem. Rather than listen, we come on strong. We confront, argue, defend, use power andinfluence to overwhelm the other person. We feel we have heard and understand the other person's view. We thus focus on getting our point across. We try to convince the other person of

how right we are. We bring rational, logical ideas to bear, but with limited results. In order to effectively manage conflict, we first have to listen. This means: * Stop talking. * Give the person your total attention. You are not listening if you are thinking about what you aregoing to say next. Clearly show through your actions that you wish to listen. * Invite the person to share thoughts, feelings, frustrations about the issue at hand. Use phrasessuch as "Tell me about it," "Go on," "Good point," or "Please explain what you meant by..... "Seekto clarify the person's needs, interests and concerns. * Reflect, that is, summarize back to the person what has been said. "You feel....." "You areconcerned with....." Reflect the feelings as well as the words spoken, e.g., "You were quiteannoyed over....." Paraphrase, don't parrot. Reflective listening clearly shows you are listening,develops rapport, and "nips in the bud" miscommunication.

* Show genuine interest. Not until the other person feels listened to, understood and respectedwill she be open to your views.



I-MESSAGES: Active listening is key to your effectiveness in conflict management. Conflict is not, however,resolved through listening alone. You must also clearly convey your opinion, needs, concerns andfeelings--hopefully to the other person' s understanding and respect. Only then can collaborativeproblem solving begin.

An "I-message" simply involves expressingyour concern, needs, opinion or feelings

through an honest straightforward statementthat begins with the word "I". "I'm concerned

about. . . "I would prefer if we . . ." "I wasembarrassed by . . ." "I suggest. . ."

ROADBLOCKS

GIVE ADVICE, DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM You should have. . . . The problem seems to be. . . . The best solution is. . . . That happened to me and I . . . . You should apologize to her.

Care should be taken to express yourself in adirect but non-threatening, non-judgmentalmanner. Ordering, advising, threatening,

criticizing, and defending become roadblocksto collaborative problem solving. They tend togenerate a defensive rather than a response.

(See the sidebar for examples of commonroadblocks.)

PERSUADE WITH LOGIC, DEFEND

Did you realize that . . .? You're mistaken. You haven't considered. . . . It stands to reason that. . . Look at it this way. RIDICULE, SHAME, MORALIZE You're being inconsiderate. If you had stopped to think. . .. You're making a mountain out of a cooperativemole hill. If you really cared, you'd . . . . . You shouldn't think that way. You only want to look good. You are being a bit paranoid.

Avoid "you-messages." "You should have. . ." JUDGE, BLAME, CRITICIZE



Once you have expressed your concern, stop. Your silence allows the other person to think aboutwhat you have said, and to speak whatever is on his mind. Seek feedback. The information youreceive through listening may overcome a misconception or otherwise modify your need topursue the issue further. Counter any defensive response with reflective listening. Summarizeback in your own words what you understood the person's verbal message and feelings to be:"You feel....." "You think....." "I can see your point." When people become defensive, it isgenerally useless to keep hammering at them with further I-messages. Instead, take time to

listen. Restore mutual respect.

Most conflict is resolved through a simple process of shifting back and forth from active listeningto I-messages, back to listening and more I messages as we seek to clarify and understand eachother's needs and concerns and the feelings behind them. As you begin to understand morecompletely one anther's points of view, you move on to collaborative problem solving--to theresolution of the conflict. The key is our willingness to be involved in the process of listening andsharing clear I-messages. For more information on I-messages see Dr. Thomas Gordon, ParentEffectiveness Training 1970, 1975, A Plume Book; Dr. Robert Bolton, People Skills, 1979,Prentice-Hall.

"You didn't consider. . ." "You hurt my feelings.""You don't care what I think." "You don't know

what you're talking about."

You-messages tend to be directive and judgmental, leading to a defensive rather than a collaborative response. (Notice howmany of the roadblocks in the sidebar are

you-messages.) Instead, use clean, direct "I-messages" to express your need or concern, eliminating elements of blame, judgment and

sarcasm from your statement.

That doesn't make sense. You are out of line. That was the wrong thing to say. You are being hard headed. WARN, THREATEN If you don't . . ., . . will happen. It would be best for you if . . . You don't have the authority. That is not how it is done around here. You must...I expect you to... QUESTION, INTERROGATE, INTERPRET Why did you. . . . .? What made you think that you could. . . .? What have you done to try to solve it? You feel that way because . . . You have problems with authority.



MANAGEMENT VERSUS RESOLUTION The management of conflict, as covered above, is the first step. If we can manage conflicteffectively, we can keep it from getting out of hand. By deciding to do nothing or by lettingsomeone else solve the problem, or through active listening or compromise we can manageconflict. None of these approaches, however, will insure resolution of the conflict. Below we will

develop skills in conflict resolution. COLLABORATION

Conflicts can be resolved only if conflicting parties are willing to participate in the process of resolution. It is hard work, but when the process is used, it is effective and those involved feelpositive about the outcome. The following six steps are a general guide for effective conflictresolution. Each conflict is unique, and it is important to adapt the process to fit specificcircumstances. STEP ONE: ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY Only as the individuals involved accept responsibility to do something about a conflict cananything be done. A decision has to be made as to whether this conflict can be resolved andwhether you as an individual or group want to resolve it. In deciding, consider: (1) Is the personwith whom I have the conflict important to me? (2) Is this issue important enough to work on? (3)Will talking about it improve our relationship? (4) Am I willing to spend the time necessary toresolve it? (5) Do I have the emotional energy necessary to work on it at this time?

If the answers are yes, then approach the other parties in the conflict to see if they are willing towork on resolution. If they are, proceed with the process. If they are not willing, you have only onechoice, which is to try to manage the conflict. There will be times when you do not perceive a problem. But if the other person says "I have a

problem" or indicates such through her actions then there is a conflict that needs to be workedout. It takes both parties willing to resolve the conflict for the process to work. If in considering the above questions some of your answers are no, you may decide to avoid theissue at this time or take other action. There are times when you may not want to take the time or spend the energy to resolve the conflict and you will instead choose to manage it as best you canat that time. All of us do this from time to time, but it is easy to build up resentments when there isno resolution. As you enter into the process, some basic beliefs about conflict resolution should be kept in mind(Filley, 1975, pp. 60-71): belief in cooperation rather in competition; belief that everyone is of equal value; belief in the views of others as legitimate statements of their position; belief thatdifferences of opinion are helpful; and belief in the trustworthiness of those involved. STEP TWO: SET THE STAGE Preparation is essential if the process is to be effective. Approach the process as calmly aspossible. Emotions are a part of any conflict and must be dealt with, as we shall discuss later. If emotions are out of control, however, wait until the parties involved can cool down. Schedule atime later that day or the next to discuss the conflict in order to set up the process for resolution.Some guidelines for the process are:



Establish a date and time which will provide enough quality time to get through the process. Sinceeach conflict is different, there is no way to set an exact amount of time needed. Agree at thebeginning to work for a set period of time at the end of which another time will be set if there is noresolution. Choose a place to meet which is comfortable and private. A neutral location, one not associated

with either party, is best The place needs to be quiet. Let the other person know that you respect him and his concerns. If there is no respect betweenthe parties, resolution cannot likely occur. Decide the roles each person will play in the process. If the conflict involves several people,decide if all will take part in the process or if there will be a spokesperson for the conflictinginterests. If a mediator or a arbitrator is involved with the parties, clarify that role. Agree to work on only one issue at a time. STEP THREE: CLARIFY THE PROBLEM A common mistake individuals (and groups) make in trying to resolve conflict is to focusimmediately on solutions to the problem. We spend our time debating the pros and cons of each--before the underlying problem is clearly stated or understood by all parties. For conflict resolutionto occur, time must first be taken to clarify the problem from each party's perspective. Effective problem solvers spend proportionately more time in problem definition thanin problem-solving. The most effective way to approach conflict resolution is first to discuss theproblem, then discuss its resolution. In every conflict there are feelings and these MUST be dealt with BEFORE the problem can besolved. To resolve conflict, focus first on the emotional aspects--the anger, distrust,

defensiveness, resentment, fear and rejection. Full expression of feeling is an essential part of the problem clarification process. If the emotions get too high, either take a break or set another time, but they should not be ignored. A number of methods can be used in this clarification step of the process. One is illustratedbelow. It can be used by two individuals or by a large number. If there is a large group andeveryone wishes to speak, it is recommended that a mediator be used. If there is a large groupand each conflicting party has selected a spokesperson, a mediator may or may not be needed.(The role of the mediator is described later in this module.) In the clarification of the problem, the skills of active listening and I-messages, as describedabove, can be used throughout the process. Decide who will speak first. All persons involved are to have an equal opportunity to talk. Person A speaks for a set amount of time (five to ten minutes). Stick to one specific issue. Use I-statements to describe your feelings, "I was hurt by . . .," etc. Describe specifically thebehavior/issue/action which is of concern. Avoid loaded words. Eliminate sarcasm, blame,exaggeration and judgements from your statements. Say what you mean. Mean what you say! Person B listens to A without interruption.



Upon A's completion, B summarizes back to A what was said without mixing in his own thoughts,ideas or interpretation. If A feels that B has not heard and understood, A clarifies while B againlistens. This continues until A feels the message has been heard. Person B then speaks for the allotted period of time. Person A listens and summarizes back. Person B acknowledges having been heard. This process continues for as long as both parties have anything to say on the issue. It isimportant to stay with one issue even though the temptation will be to bring up more. As othersarise, write them down for discussion at another time. If there are several persons to speak on theproblem, then move from one side to the other with each side listening as stated above beforecontinuing. Often, having heard all sides of a problem and vented feelings, conflicted parties will recognize animmediate resolution, acceptable to all. At this point parties can move quickly to step six. More

likely, parties will need to proceed with steps four and five. It is this step in the process that is most important. If the problem in conflict is not fully exploredand clarified so that all parties understand each other's position, it is doubtful there will beresolution. STEP FOUR: SEARCH FOR COMMON GOALS Clearly identify what is most important to each party in the conflict. In every conflict, there aregoals which are held in common. People may disagree strongly about how a job should be done,but probably agree that they want the job done. They may have trouble working as a team, butprobably agree that if they could work well together all would benefit. It is easier to mobilize joint

problem-solving when common goals have been identified.

During the process of step three, some common goals (needs, concerns, frustrations) will comeout. Identify these as they come up, stating your agreement. What will emerge is a more narrowspecific focus of the conflict, which is then easier to resolve. STEP FIVE: COLLABORATE IN PROBLEM-SOLVING Only after step three has been fully completed can step five work. Only to the extent that there isclarification of the problem can it be resolved. The next step is collaborative (joint) problem-solving: You want ___________________________.

I (we) want _____________________________. Brainstorm possible solutions. In order to keep conflicting parties from prematurely adopting andfighting over solutions, brainstorming is used to generate as many solutions as possible to theconflict. The rules of brainstorming include generating as many solutions as possible withoutregard to their feasibility.



Think creatively. Don't discuss or argue or question these possible solutions at this time. Justmake a list of them. Brainstorming will fail when emotions resurface and people insist onevaluating the suggested solutions as they are brainstormed. This means that the clarification of the problem hasn't been completed and parties need to return to step three. Evaluate the possible solutions. After both parties are satisfied that an adequate number of

options has been proposed, then evaluate them. Each party asks questions about each proposedsolution so they understand what is meant. Each party has the right to mark off any of thesolutions that are unacceptable to them stating honestly why they are not acceptable. If most of the solutions get marked off, go back and brainstorm more options. As each alternativeis discussed, look for a solution which integrates and builds on the best aspects of each. Modifyand combine solutions to come up with a better solution. Decide on a solution. Often an original solution will emerge and will be recognized andimmediately accepted by all parties. If that does not happen and a list of several possible andacceptable solutions remains, then each conflicting party should take paper and, in priority order (1-2-3), write down what each considers the best solution. Lists are then shared. Usually one or two acceptable solutions will appear on each list. Since they are acceptable, take one solutionand act on it. If arguments persist at this point as to which solution to act on, the process has notworked and parties need to go back to step three.

STEP SIX: AGREE ON A PLAN OF ACTION Having decided to implement one solution, parties need to decide who will do what, when, howoften, etc. Set a time limit (if applicable) as to how long this solution will be tried (usually severalweeks or months). Schedule another meeting to continue the discussion and evaluate progress. If the solution is working, continue. If the solution has not worked, go back and repeat the process.If the other party does not follow through on her commitment, confront the person (using theconfrontation skills learned in Chapter 9): "Hey, I don't feel it's fair to me that I stuck to my end of the bargain but you didn't. I thought we had our problem solved, and I'm irritated that weapparently haven't." Don't threaten penalties or punishment. Then go back to step three.

There is no guarantee that the problem will be satisfactorily resolved as a result of this process,though it usually is. It does ensure, however, that all persons involved will have a better understanding of the issue. Persons, having been heard, usually feel better about each other andthe issue, even when it is not resolved. An option: Some people find it easier to write about the problem/issue which concerns them. Insuch cases, each person writes down what she thinks the problem/issue is and her feelings andthought about it. These papers are then exchanged, read and each person writes back to theother about what has been learned. This process continues until both parties agree that theproblem has been clarified. At this point (or earlier if agreed by both parties) the process needs tomove from a written to a verbal exchange. This option is found to work especially well for families

with adolescents. MEDIATION

Conflict resolution can often be assisted by a third party mediator. From time to time each of uswill have the opportunity to serve as a mediator in helping others work out differences. To be helpful, the mediator must remain neutral. The role of mediator is similar to that of a traffic



cop. His responsibility is to direct traffic, not promote a given solution or solve the problem for theother parties. The mediator suggests different approaches to resolving the conflict, insures anopen and balanced conversation flow, enforces ground rules and protects the individuals involvedfrom personal attack. The mediator treats everyone as a responsible adult, and does not judge or parent. The mediator controls the PROCESS by which decisions are made, but not theCONTENT of those decisions. The mediator is effective only as long as he or she is trusted by both sides of the conflict. If themediator intervenes on behalf of a given solution, credibility is lost. It is best not to assume themediator role on issues on which you have a strong opinion. Adherence to the following steps willincrease your effectiveness: Clarify your role as a mediator. This can be done either formally or informally. For example,"There seem to be strong differences of opinion on this. Can we work together to explorealternatives until we find a solution that is agreeable to everyone? I wish to remain neutral and tryto serve as a discussion facilitator in helping you work it out to your mutual satisfaction. Is thatagreeable?" As chairperson or just a member of the group, you may choose to intervene, and ultimatelyassume the role of mediator. On other occasions, you may offer to serve such a role in able tofacilitate discussion. As you become known for your mediation skills, the group will ask you toserve that role when needed. Initially, some form of personal intervention is often necessary toinitiate the mediation process. Often it is helpful to call a break to allow emotions to cool, and theninitiate the mediation process when you come back.

Set rules for discussion. For example, "I would like each side to clearly state its concern anddesires with no interruptions. Then the other side must summarize its understanding of whatwas said to the other party's satisfaction before stating its concern and desires (and rebuttal).This will continue until both sides feel they have been understood." Clarify the ground rules (e.g., equal time for each side; no interruptions; we will work until we find

a solution that is agreeable to both sides; be respectful; no put downs; keep to one issue). Youmay wish to set time limits on how long each person (side) can speak before having to give upthe floor to the other side (five to ten minutes is suggested). Clarify underlying problems, objectives, needs and desires. For example, "Bob, would you pleasesummarize for me your concern (what you see the problem to be, what you hope to accomplishthrough this)?"

Combat "solution-mindedness" (the tendency of people to propose solutions before agreementhas been reached as to the problem). Focus attention on problems to be solved rather than onproposals, recommendations or solutions to be approved. When solutions are proposed in thisstage of the process, ask the person to define specifically what she wishes to accomplish with theproposal. Continue your questioning until a problem, goal or obstacle is defined. Probe, (e.g., "I'mnot clear why.....," "What do you hope to accomplish with.....?"). Defining and reaching agreementon the problem is 75% of the solution. Encourage the sharing of feelings, the airing of emotions. Get everything out in the open. Onlyafter the "real" problem has been clearly defined can a cooperative search for solutions. Be anactive and supportive listener. Summarize the words and feelings expressed: "Mary feels weshould....." "Bob suggests....." "Jill, you were disappointed in....." "John, you feel their motive isto....."



Use feedback to check for accuracy of communications. Focus the conflict on facts rather thanon hearsay and speculation. Accept the views and feelings of each individual as legitimate. Don't judge. Empathize. Call on individuals from the other side to summarize their understanding of what was just said.Have the parties communicate directly to each other rather than through you. An important role of

the mediator is to slow down the discussion and get each side listening to the other. Only after both sides state they feel they have been understood do you proceed to the next step. Brainstorm alternatives: The mediator helps a group that is bogged down in arguing the pros andcons of a given proposal (solution) to consider other approaches. Set aside a period of time for brainstorming. Get both parties to agree that during the brainstorming no discussion or evaluationof the alternatives suggested will be permitted. People will be more willing to suggest newapproaches if they are protected against ridicule and criticism. If possible, list these alternativeson newsprint or blackboard for all to see. See module LT-3 for specific directions for brainstorming. Seek to expand possible alternatives. Encourage both parties to search for other acceptablesolutions, e.g., "What other approach might work?" Focus attention on defeating the problemrather than each other. At this point, the mediator might also suggest alternatives. Care should be taken, however, toexpress those suggestions through questions. "Have you thought out.....?" "Would it help if.....?""How about.....?" This questioning technique involves the mediator in identifying possiblealternatives with the conflicting parties, in contrast to developing "answers" for the conflictingparties. The mediator must remain neutral.

Evaluate the alternatives. Eliminate and modify the identified alternatives until a solution is foundthat is agreeable to both sides. The mediator identifies and builds on common concerns andfocuses attention on points of agreement. "It seems that both of you share a concern for.....""There appears to be agreement on ....." Where disagreement remains, the mediator helps clarify those differences and seeks to modifythe identified alternatives to overcome stated objections. For example, "Side A, what is it about..... that is not acceptable to you?" "OK, side B, what might be done to overcome that concern?""Side A, would that be agreeable with you?" The mediator should continue to use the questioning technique to identify further alternatives andto seek compromise. "Would it be acceptable to you if .....?" "Would you (side A) be willing to.....,if you (side B) did .....?" Seek a solution that both parties would be willing to give a trial run. Clarify the implementation strategy, once an agreement has been reached. Agree on a testperiod after which further modifications can be made if the selected approach is not working.

Clarify what success is to look like. Reflect on group behavior. At times, it may be necessary to confront the group on its behavior.Freeze the discussion long enough to focus attention on the general behavior of the group. "I'mpicking up a take it or leave it attitude. This troubles me." Don't single out individuals. If anindividual continues with disruptive, annoying behavior, wait for a break, then take the personaside and share your perceptions with him in an open, frank but caring manner. Serve as a mirror in heightening the group's awareness of its own behavior and the possible consequences of suchbehavior. Suggest alternatives.



If the discussion gets heated, reflect on what is happening, and then call for a break. If thediscussion becomes emotional, it probably indicates the need to go back to clarifying the problemand underlying feelings. If conducted properly, mediation can be very helpful in resolving conflict in family, work andcommunity situations. EXERCISES Part I: Several conflict or potential conflict situations are described below. Review each, andindicate how you might handle the situation using the techniques prescribed in this module. Situation 1: Joe is hot under the collar. He keeps interrupting, arguing against the proposal under discussion. He is dominating the discussion and keeping others from being heard. As a member of the group, how would you respond? Use the following space to pencil in the words you woulduse. Situation 2: How do you handle people who say they'll do something but don't follow through?

You are the president of the Chamber of Commerce. Clint is chairman of the Retail PromotionCommittee. The year is half over and the committee has only met once. Clint had promised a bigpromotion in the summer; but it turned out to be a hastily conceived, poorly coordinated sidewalksale with poor customer turn-out. 1. Draft several I-statements that might be used to confront in a firm but caring manner. 2. From your own experiences, pencil in what you think Clint will say in responding to your I-statements. Consider the following:

a. A combative, defensive response: b. Makes excuses: c. Apologizes: Makes further Promises (of questionable commitment): d. Conveys hurt feelings: e. Other possible responses:

3. Now indicate how you would handle each of these responses. Pencil in the specific phrasesyou might use. Indicate how you would shift back and forth from active listening to I-messages.

a. Combative, defensive response: b. Excuses: c. Apologies and further promises: d. Hurt feelings:



e. Other responses: 4. Review the roadblocks listed earlier in this module. Review your responses to #3 above. Couldany of your responses be considered roadblocks? Rewrite those responses into cleaner I-messages and non-judgmental listening.

Situation 3: The City Parks and Recreation Commission is holding its regular monthly meeting.The major topic on the agenda is a larger swimming pool. This item has been a part of theagenda at summer meetings of the commission for several years, but has been consistentlyvoted down. This year Tom Donavan, an influential banker in the community and recentlyappointed to the Commission, has taken upon himself the task of pushing for the pool. He isopposed by Carol Watson who feels there is a much greater need for tennis courts. Another

member of the commission, Bill Valenzuela, has been the swing vote for several years, and hedoesn't like the emotional bickering. Tom: (Heatedly) We must get a new swimming pool. The old one is overcrowded. It is becomingboth a health and safety hazard. It is the most used recreational facility in this town. For five yearswe haven't done anything about it. Now is the time. Carol: But it is only used for a few months each year--five months at the most. If we had tenniscourts, we could use them year around. We need them worse than a new swimming pool. Tom: The high school has courts. People can use them. Carol: They don't have lights. They are run down and some people think they are only for students and won't use them. Bill: Maybe we need to study this issue a bit more. It can't hurt to get more information. 1. If you were Carol, what approaches might you take to better manage, and hopefully resolve,this conflict? List at least five options. 2. Review your list, and categorize each according to one of the six approaches to managingconflict described earlier.

3. Evaluate each of the listed options. Indicate the pros and cons of each in the space below. Star (*) the option that you feel would be most effective in managing this conflict. 4. Use the space below to rewrite Carol's two responses to Tom. Indicate the listening phrasesshe might use to restore respect and open communication. 5. Having used the listening skills to show respect and understanding, indicate below the phrasesCarol might now use in setting the stage for collaborative problem-solving (review the six stepsfor collaboration in conflict resolution).



6. What are some common goals that might bring Tom and Carol together? 7. Brainstorm, below, a list of alternative solutions that might be acceptable to both Carol andTom in moving from a win/lose to a win/win situation. List at least five. 8. Assume that you are the fourth member of this commission. How would you go about trying to

mediate this conflict? Indicate the phrases you would use.

Part II: If you are in a study group, break into groups of three. Review the three situations. Compare anddiscuss your responses to each of the questions. 1. Role play situation 2. One of you is to play Clint as described in the situation statement. One of you is to be the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and confront Clint with the prescribed

three part I statement. Clint is to respond to the confrontation in a defensive manner. TheChamber president is to then respond with appropriate active listening. Shift from active listeningto I-statements and back again as appropriate. Keep the role play going for at least five minutes.Clint can make up his own details. The third person is to serve as observer and after the role playis to reflect on what happened. 2. Role play situation 3. One person is to play Carol. She is to use the techniques of collaborationin trying to move the situation from one of confrontation and coercion to one of cooperation andmutual respect. Carol is to speak directly to the person who plays Tom. Tom is to be persistent,but open to cooperation. Role play for at least five minutes. Make up your own details. The thirdperson is to serve as observer then reflect on the role play and make suggestions for improvement.




Time Management M-4

It's better to be hours ahead than minutes late. DAILY SELF MANAGEMENT Do you waste a lot of time? Most of us do waste time occasionally. This module will look at themore common time wasters and give you some ideas about how to improve your timemanagement. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After you complete this module you should be able: 1. To identify common time wasters.2. To better manage your own time. EXERCISE: Let´s start with a personal assessment of problems in time management. How Do You Rate?* (Circle One) (yes) (no) 1. Start a job before thinking it through? (yes) (no) 2. Leave jobs before completion? (yes) (no) 3. Schedule less important work before more important (and possibly more unattractivework? (yes) (no) 4. Oversupervise subordinates? (yes) (no) 5. Undersupervise subordinates, with consequent crises? (yes) (no) 6. Spend too much time on problems brought to you by subordinates? (yes) (no) 7. Do things that can be delegated to others? (yes) (no) 8. Do things that can be delegated to modern machines?



(yes) (no) 9. Do things that actually aren't part of your real job? (yes) (no) 10. Spend too much time on your previous area of interest or competence? (yes) (no) 11. Do unproductive things from sheer habit? (yes) (no) 12. Keep too many, too complicated, or overlapping records? (yes) (no) 13. Pursue projects you probably can't achieve? (yes) (no) 14. Pay too much attention to low yield projects? (yes) (no) 15. Fail to anticipate crises? (yes) (no) 16. Handle too wide a variety of duties? (yes) (no) 17. Shrink from unfamiliar duties? (yes) (no) 18. Fail to build barriers against interruptions? (yes) (no) 19. Allow conferences and discussions to wander? (yes) (no) 20. Allow conferences and discussions to continue after their purpose if fulfilled? (yes) (no) 21. Conduct unnecessary meetings, visits, and phone calls? (yes) (no) 22. Chase trivial data after the main facts are in? (yes) (no) 23. Engage in personal work or conversations before starting business work? (yes) (no) 24. Socialize at great length between tasks? (yes) (no) 25. Read trade journals, newspapers, and unimportant documents and reports duringmost productive time each day? If you circled "yes" for any statement, it may be a problem. Can you correct it? How? *Adapted from Lloyd T. Westbrook, Arkansas Cooperative Extension.



TIME WASTERS The following "time wasters" have been found to be the most commonly encountered bymanagement personnel and volunteer workers. In addition to these time wasters, possible causesand solutions are listed as ways of correcting the problems. This list is not complete, but rather a

list of those more frequently encountered. Circle the ones that apply to you. me Waster Possible cause Solution Lack of planning Failure to see the benefit Recognize that planning takes time b

saves time in the end. Action orientation Emphasize results, not activity. Success without it Recognize that success is often in sp

not because of, methods. Lack of priorities Lack of goals and objectives Write down goals and objectives. Dis

priorities with subordinates. Over commitment Broad interests Say no.

Confusion in priorities Put first things first. Failure to set priorities Develop a personal philosophy of tim

Relate priorities to a schedule of eve

Management by crisis Lack of planning Apply the same solutions as for lack planning.

Unrealistic time estimates Allow more time. Allow for interruptio

Problem orientation Be opportunity oriented

Reluctance of subordinates to break badnews Encourage fast transmission of inform

as essential for timely corrective actio

Haste Impatience with detail Take time to get it right. Save the timdoing it over.

Responding to the urgent Identify what is important. Lack of planning ahead Take time to plan it. It repays itself m

times over. Attempting too much in too little time Attempt less. Delegate more.

Paperwork and reading Knowledge explosion Read selectively. Learn speed readin

Computeritis Manage computer data by exception

Failure to screen Remember the Pareto Principle. Delereading to subordinates.

Routine and trivia Lack of priorities Set and concentrate on goals. Delegnonessentials.

Over-surveillance of subordinatesDelegate; then give subordinates thehead. Look to results, not details or methods.

Refusal to delegate; feeling of greater security in dealing with operating detail

Recognize that without delegation it iimpossible to get anything done throuothers.

Visitors Enjoyment of socializingDo it elsewhere. Meet visitors outsideSuggest lunch if necessary. Hold staconferences.

Inability to say noScreen. Say no. Be unavailable. Modopen-door policy.

TelephoneLack of self-discipline. Desire to beinformed and involved.

Screen and group calls. Be brief. Stauninvolved with all but essentials. Maby exception.



Meetings Fear of responsibility for decisions Make decisions without meetings.

Indecision Make decisions even when some factsmissing.

Over communication Discourage unnecessary meeting. Coonly those needed.

Poor leadership Use agendas. Stick to the subject. Preconcise minutes as soon as possible.

Indecision Lack of confidence in the facts Improve fact-finding and validatingprocedures.

Insistence on all the facts – paralysis of analysis Accept risks as inevitable. Decide with

the facts. Fear of the consequences of a mistake. Delegate the right to be wrong. Use

mistakes as a learning process. Lack of a rational decision-makingprocess

Get facts, set goals, investigate alternaand negative consequences, makedecision, and implement it.

Lack of delegation Fear of subordinates’ competence Train. Allow mistakes. Replace if neceDelegate fully. Give credit. Insure corpgrowth to maintain challenge.

Work overload on subordinates Balance the workload. Staff up.

*Adapted from Lloyd T. Westbrook, Arkansas Cooperative Extension. Note: Taking a short break now and then to re-energize yourself is not wasting time. To thecontrary, it is time well-used. Spending time with your family is not wasting time. Taking vacationtime is not wasted time. Do not feel guilty about these activities and similar ones. Wasting timehappens when you have a job to do and you use one of the time wasters to avoid or delay the job. Following is an exercise to help you manage daily time more effectively. You will set priorities andmake a flexible schedule which will help to avoid wasting time. EXERCISE: A DAILY SELF-MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE Pretend that you are beginning your next work day. Use the boxes below to fill in the jobs youneed to do sometime soon. List the things that you need to do under the appropriate column. Listeach item in one of the three rows using these criteria:

A - Must be done today or unpleasant consequences will result. B - Should be done today if possible.

C - Can be put off with no unpleasant consequences.



Then go back to the A row and number each item (of all four columns) according to priority. 1means it's most important, so I'll do it first, 2 = second priority, and so forth. (Refer to the examplebelow.) The meeting with the publicity committee at 2:00 p.m. becomes the first priority at thattime. If you get everything done in the A row, then number the items in the B row and start doingthem. You'll need to be somewhat flexible in following the priorities you set, but don't allowyourself to skip an item merely because it may be unpleasant. As the day goes on, priorities maychange; new priorities may appear. Add them to the list in terms of their importance.

Phone Write Meet With Other Misc

- - - -

- - - -

- - - -

Example:

Phone Write Meet With Other Misc

3. Joe--Agenda for tonight

6. Sara-Contract

7. Al-Appt. for tomorrow

1. Outline for Boss

5. News Release

2. Sec. – Xerox

Publicity Committee 2 p.m.

8. Landscape Crew

9. Pick up medicine

10. Pay elec. bill

11. Groceries

4. Drop off file

Dr. Chang - Appt.

Background Paper onCENTRALProposal for facility

Lisa - LoanJim's Teacher

Check on Tia

Buy calendar

Mail package to Andy

Jason - His trip

Lenore - Plans for weekendMagazine article onleadership

Service Car

Pay credit charge

Fix faucet

Try this techniques several work days in a row before you judge its effectiveness.



REFERENCES

The Time Trap, by R. Alec Mackenzie, McGraw Hill Paperbacks, 1972.

The Management of Time, by Jeames T. McCay, Prentice-Hall, Sixth Printing, 1977.




Stress Management M-5

What cannot be fixed must be endured. When did you last have one of those stressful days. . .the kind that proves Murphy's law abouteverything going wrong that possibly could: - The alarm didn't go off and you missed your 7:30 meeting. - The stove went on the blink as you were fixing breakfast. - The secretary of your community club resigned so you answered letters all day. - Club members decided they didn't have time to prepare for the Fair booth next week and youare going to lose the $50 deposit that you made from your personal account. - You got stuck in a traffic jam on the way home. As the pressure mounts, so does your blood pressure and soon your head aches or your stomach hurts. You begin snapping at everyone (including strangers). Your heart pounds and youfind yourself either becoming more aggressive or withdrawing into yourself. What you are experiencing is a stress attack, and it is one of the most common phenomenon intoday's world of work. According to management expert Karl Albrecht, stress-related illness costsindustry over 150 billion dollars a year. It has become known as the "quiet killer," as it contributesto most of the major health problems (i.e., heart disease, hypertension, ulcers, cancer).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the time you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Anticipate situations and events that cause stress.2. Prepare yourself to better deal with stress.

UNDERSTANDING STRESS As a leader in today's world, you not only need to understand stress, but you must also learn tomanage it effectively if you are to survive in a healthy, productive, and successful manner. Your very life may depend on your skill in anticipating and handling stress!



Let's examine that hectic set of events we listed above. There are three components of stress ineach of them.

1. The stressor - that event or incident in the environment that arouses stress. 2. Your perception of that stressor (how it will affect you). 3. Your reaction or physical and emotional response to the stressor based on thatperception.

This information explains why some people view a seemingly stressful incident so much morecalmly than others. Let's take the traffic jam for instance. One person impatiently views it as amaddening inconvenience. Another person in the next car may see it as a chance to listen to afavorite tape and unwind before re-entering his or her life with the family. It's the same traffic jam--but both the perceptions and reactions are very different. Therefore, it is stress-inducing to oneand stress-reducing to the other. What this points out is that in coping with stress, we have three options:

1. remove ourselves from the situation or stressor; 2. re-engineer the situation so it is no longer stressful; 3. teach ourselves to react differently (change our attitudes) regarding things we findstressful that we cannot change or leave.

Research has shown that it is prolonged, unrelieved stress that is the most debilitating, so thoseare the situations to work on first. Two frequent responses to stress are either anger or fear andthey evoke different reactions: Anger - fight Fear – flight

Both responses involve the entire body. The stress response pumps the necessary adrenalineand blood throughout our system to help us mobilize for action. When we stay in a stressfulsituation too long, we end up "stewing in our own juices" and this can have serious consequencesto our health and well being. Dr. Donald Tubesing, a well-known author and lecturer on stress management, sounds a hopefulnote. He states that most people handle 98 percent of potentially stressful situations successfully.The other two percent are what cause the problem. He and other experts remind us that not all

stress is bad, as it is often what provides the excitement and zest that counteracts boredom andstagnation. The key is to find your appropriate and healthy stress level and to choose whichstresses to keep and which to shed. Tubesing also notes that this sorting out process can beaided by asking yourself these three questions:



1. Does a threat exist? 2. Is it worth a fight? 3. If I fight, will it make a difference?

By answering these questions, it will help you keep from "spending $10 worth of adrenaline on a10 cent problem." The goal is to try to learn to expend the appropriate amount of energy onproblems or stressors based on their long term importance to you. If you overreact to small things(like traffic jams and lost socks) you will use up your stress energy inappropriately. One of the most seductive temptations for leaders is be all things to all people. This is sometimesreferred to as the "Messiah Complex." It is what leads to longer and longer hours, more and moreprojects, weekend and evening commitments, and eventual burnout. It so often looks easier,quicker, and more effective to do things yourself rather than going through the time and effort torecruit, train, and supervise volunteers to help you. Besides, it's kind of nice to feel you haveclimbed on that pedestal called "indispensable." Remember--the only way to get off a pedestal isdown and it behooves you to climb down before you fall off! A large part of your job as a leader is to be a manager: someone who works with and throughothers to accomplish organizational goals. And how those "others" feel about working with youhas a tremendous impact on both the quality and quantity of work they will do. . .which has atremendous impact on your own perceptions of your effectiveness as a manager. . .which has atremendous impact on your own stress level . . .which has a tremendous impact on your healthand peace of mind.

In the book Survival Skills for Managers, several suggestions are listed to help manage the stressin your life:

1. Clarify your values. Be sure that most of your time and energy goes towards those

things of greatest value to you;

2. Take good care of yourself physically through exercise and nutrition; 3. Create and use personal support systems where you can share your successes; 4. Learn to let go of past resentments, toxic relationships, and bad health habits; 5. Seek variety and a well-rounded personality--avoid being a one-dimensionalworkaholic; 6. Maintain optimism and keep some optimists around you; 7. Try to make the workplace and work itself more enjoyable; 8. Don't let small things become a hassle; 9. Take responsibility for yourself,

a. Take action today to change what needs to be changed,



b. Develop creativity and flexibility, and c. Have faith that things can be different.

Most effective leaders have been, first of all, effective as persons. They are well-rounded,involved, enthusiastic life-long learners who always see themselves on a "journey of becoming." EXERCISE: THE SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE*

Instructions: Check off each of these life events that has happened to you during the past year.Total the points for the items checked.

LIFE EVENT MEAN VALUE

1. Death of Spouse 100

2. Divorce 73

3. Marital separation from mate 65

4. Detention in jail or other institution 63

5. Death of a close family member 63

6. Major personal injury or illness 53

7. Marriage 50

8. Being fired at work 47

9. Marital reconciliation with mate 45

10. Retirement from work 45

11. Major change in the health/behavior of a familymember 44

12. Pregnancy 40

13. Sexual Difficulties 39

14. Gaining a new family member (e.g., through birth, 39



adoption etc.)15. Major business readjustment (e.g., merger,

reorganization, bankruptcy, etc.)39

16. Major change in financial state (e.g., a lot worse off or a lot better off than usual)

38

17. Death of a close friend 37

18. Changing to a different line of work 36

19. Major change in the number of arguments with spouse(e.g., either a lot more or a lot less than usualregarding child-reading, personal habits, etc.)

35

20. Taking on a mortgage greater than $10,000 (i.e.,purchasing a home, business, etc.) 31

21. Foreclosure on a mortgage or loan 30

22. Major change in responsibilities at work (e.g.,promotion demotion, lateral transfer)

29

23. Son or daughter leaving home (e.g., marriage,attending college etc.)

29

24. In-law troubles 29

25. Outstanding personal achievement 28

26. Wife beginning or ceasing work outside the home 26

27. Beginning or ceasing formal schooling 26

28. Major change in living conditions (e.g., building ahome, remodeling, deterioration of home or

neighborhood)

25

29. Revision of personal habits (dress, manners, 24



associations, etc.)

30. Trouble with the boss 23

31. Major change in working hours or conditions 20

32. Change in residence 20

33. Changing to a new school 20

34. Major change in usual type and/or amount of recreation

19

35. Major change in church activities (e.g., a lot more or alot less than usual)

19

36. Major change in social activities (e.g., clubs, dancing,movies, visiting, etc.)

18

37. Taking on a mortgage or loan less than $10,000(purchasing a car, TV, freezer, etc.)

17

38. Major change in sleeping habits (a lot more or a lotless sleep, or change in part of day when asleep)

16

39. Major change in number of family get-together (e.g., alot more or a lot less than usual)

15

40. Major change in eating habits (a lot more or a lot lessfood intake, or very different meal hours or

surroundings)

15

41. Vacation 13

42. Christmas 12

43. Minor violations of the law (e.g., traffic tickets, jaywalking, disturbing the peace, etc.)

11



There seems to be a well-documented and clear relationship between life change and physicaldisease. It is impossible to make accurate predictions on an individual basis, since most of thesefindings are statistical. In our subjective judgment, we would estimate that you might be able tointerpret your life change scores as follows:

LIFE CHANGE SCORE FOR PREVIOUS YEAR PROBABILITY OF ILLNESS WITHIN NEXT 2 YEARS

Less than 150 (low stress)

150-199 (mild stress)

Low

30%

200-299 (moderate stress)

300 or more (major stress)

50%

80%

*From Holmes, Thomas H., and Rahe, Richard H., "Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment RatingScale," Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. II, Pergamon Press, Ltd., 1967.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION: Now go back and look at each item that you checked. What can you do to lessen the stress? Canyou 1. remove yourself from the situation, 2. re-engineer the situation so it is no longer stressful, or 3. teach yourself to react differently to stressful situations that you cannot change? Write down any answers that occur to you: EXERCISE: RELAXING Teaching yourself to react differently to a stressful situation may seem difficult. There are manytechniques for relieving your own stress. Try this one: Sit on the edge of a straight chair, your knees about 12 inches apart, your legs slanting forward atan angle greater than 90 degrees. (To relax, it is important not to be distracted by tight clothing,and to set aside your watch and glasses.) Sit up very straight. Now let yourself collapse like a ragdoll, your head forward, your spine rounded, your hands coming to rest on your knees. Checkyourself to be sure you are comfortable and then talk to yourself: "My right arm is heavy, my rightarm is heavy..." Repeat this 10 times while concentrating on your arm from the armpit to thefingertips. Then make a fist, flex your arms, take a deep breath and open your eyes. Repeat theprocedure three or four times a day. After you become adept at making your right arm heavy, youcan extend the heaviness to legs and the whole body until you can relax from head to toe. Use



this technique when you feel yourself getting tense. Another technique is to sigh deeply, making a sound of deep relief. Let all of the air out of your lungs. Then simply permit the air to come back in. You do not have to force yourself to inhale; itwill happen naturally. Do this 10 times. When it becomes natural and pleasant to breathe "into your stomach," practice it at odd momentsduring the day, taking three or four deep breaths and putting all your attention into the relaxationof breathing. When you have learned to get that relaxed feeling from the breathing, you canpractice every time you start to feel tense. When your throat tightens as you are driving and youhave to stop at a red light, use this time to breathe. When something upsetting happens at theoffice or at home, stop and breathe. These simple, natural breaths, given some attention, have apotent effect as circuit breakers for tension. Try the relaxation techniques at least once each day for a week--when you feel tense. Are there other simple relaxation techniques that you have used successfully? Share them with afriend.

RESOURCE FOR FURTHER STUDY Survival Skills for Managers, by Marlene Wilson.




Using Advisory Groups M-6

The person who can't take advice doesn't reach old age Many organizations could benefit from a strong, active advisory committee. Many groups whichhave advisory committees could benefit more if the advisory committee were better organized,better informed, or better motivated.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES This module will help you to: 1. Form (or reorganize) an advisory committee.2. Evaluate an advisory committee meeting.

BEFORE YOU START RECRUITING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Take a look at your organization's mission statement (module E-13) and philosophy (E-14).These two documents tell your purpose, how you are organized, how you operate, and what youoffer. If you do not have a clear mission statement or organizational philosophy, you shouldconsider writing them as an activity of your organization. They will help you to form the committeeand to recruit specific committee members. Next make a list of your organization's stakeholder groups. Stakeholders are groups or categoriesof individuals who are affected by your organization's success or failure. List groups andorganizations who are involved in programs of your organization that are currently important andlikely to continue. List groups which might be important resources to new programs that areproposed for your organization. Consider the geographic region that your organization serves.Should you have representation on your advisory committee from each distinct part of thatregion? Consider client groups (and potential new clients), gender, ethnic groups, age categories,socio-economic categories, and any other category or group that should be represented on your advisory committee. Make a list of these groups in a column on the left third of a sheet of paper. Itmight look something like this for a youth soccer program:

High school teacher Primary school teacher

Parks and Rec. Committee Interested Parents Business (Potential Sponsor) County 4-H agent Towns involved:



Sedona Cottonwood Camp Verde

Jerome Native Americans Hispanics Kiwanis Youth (teen)

(pre-teen)

Pop Warner Program

Take plenty of time to make certain the list is complete. Then begin writing names in the middlethird of your sheet of paper. You will find that some names will fit in more than one category.Draw a line from the name to each of the categories that it fits. More lines (categories) to aparticular name may mean that this is a stronger candidate for the committee. You should be ableto pick your top candidate from the list at this point. Now avoid a common mistake in formingadvisory committees. Avoid the temptation to choose six more people who look just like your top

candidate (why have six people if they are alike). On the contrary, look for contrasts andcomplements in your second candidate, then the third, etc. The idea is to end up with acommittee (five or seven is a good number) that cover all (or most) of the categories yet can worktogether. Now you are ready to recruit. Refer to module V-3. There you will find instructions that use theother third of the worksheet you have started above.

THE FIRST MEETING Carefully consider the agenda for the first meeting after forming the advisory committee. You willwant to be certain that all members know each other and why each was appointed to the

committee. They need to know the purpose of the advisory committee and any limitations on itspower. They need to know how it fits in your overall organization. Make certain that each member has an opportunity to express any concerns or ideas that have been brought to the meeting(sometimes friends and associates have requested that a specific matter be discussed). A jobdescription for committee members may be developed at this point (if you did not already use onein the recruitment). If you are developing a job description for the first time, refer to module V-2.You may also want to introduce some ground rules for advisory committee meetings (see moduleL-3). Most of advisory committee work is done in meetings so the following checklist (in additionto the one in module L-3) may be helpful.

ADVISORY GROUP MEETING CHECKLIST

The following items should be used to evaluate how the leader and participants perform in anadvisory committee meeting. ___ 1. Was preparation for the meeting adequate? Members had necessary preliminary information? The meeting room and visual aids were ready? The meeting started and stopped on time?



___ 2. Was the purpose of the meeting clear to all? Meeting objectives were clearly specified? The leader introduced the agenda clearly and concisely?

___ 3. Was a free and open climate established for the meeting? Tension was dissipated? All members participated?

___ 4. Was nonverbal communication in tune with the meeting purposes? ___ 5. Did the meeting stay on the agenda? The group had enough freedom to work? The leader exercised an appropriate amount of control? The participants kept their contributions concise and pertinent?

___ 6. Did the meeting come to sound conclusions? The leader helped the group to reach consensus? ___ 7. Did the leader handle difficult situations well? The talkative member? The quiet member? Conflicts?

___ 8. Were plans made to follow up and tie loose ends together either by another meeting, sub-committee meetings, or memoranda? ___ 9. Does each member seem to be comfortable in the group and contributing positively? EXERCISE: Use the information in this module to form or reorganize an advisory group.




Marketing Programs M-7

Laziness is one path to poverty.

Many organizations periodically engage in "marketing campaigns" to publicize meetings, expandmembership, seek community support, raise funds, elect someone to a political office, or otherwise promote their cause.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this module you should be able to: 1. Describe principles of marketing.2. Plan a marketing strategy for your group or organization.

PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING The principles of marketing, usually associated with the operation of a business enterprise, areequally pertinent to the promotion and support of non-profit community organizations. Marketingis about creating and retaining customers (supporters) for your organization. Adherence to thefollowing steps will increase the effectiveness of your promotional efforts. Clarify your objectives. What specifically do you hope to accomplish through your marketingcampaign? Are your objectives realistic? Many groups are unsuccessful in their promotional

efforts because their objectives are vague (e.g., "educate the public"). Define your product. What are your organization's goals? What goods and services are you"selling"? What is your present image? Are you viewed as a credible organization? Do you needto update your product or change your image for greater appeal? Modules E-6 and E-7 in this series discussed priority setting and writing objectives . Your objectives determine your product. The more specific and appealing your goals are, the easier itwill be to market them. Organizations like businesses are effective when they offer somethingpeople want. Assess your competition. What other groups are offering similar services or resources? How well

do you stack up to that competition? What is unique about the goods and services you offer? Youmay wish to modify your product or combine forces with your competition. Target your audience. Develop a list of "prospects" (specific groups and individuals that youwould like to reach with your message). Concentrate your efforts. Good salespeople do not wastetime making calls on people who are not in the market for what they have to sell. Collect



information on this target audience. Become familiar with their concerns, needs and interests.Target your appeal to those needs. Develop a marketing strategy. using one or more of the following forms of promotion, to reachyour targeted audience:

• *Personal selling--oral presentation to an individual or group. • *Direct mail---a printed message directed to a specific individual or group. • *Publicity--the planting of newsworthy information with news media. • *Printed materials--handouts, brochure, fact sheet, fliers, general mailer. • *Advertising--any paid for, non-personal presentation of information.

These promotional techniques are listed in order of declining cost effectiveness. That is, theapproaches at the top of the list tend to get more results per dollar spent than those at the bottomof the list. Which technique(s) would be most effective in reaching each of the individuals or groups you have targeted? Make contact. Decide who will do what by when. Review the individuals and groups on your prospect list, and assess who in your group has the strongest contacts with each. The morepersonal the approach, the more potent. Most people get involved in (or support) a group or acause because a friend, relative, business associate or neighbor asked them to. In using the mass media for public relations, concentrate your efforts on meaty, timely featurearticles (in contrast to meeting announcements and reports). Suggest eye-catching headings:"Women's Club To Donate Kidney Machine" instead of "Women's Club Holds Meeting." Suchpublicity can help people become familiar with who you are. Focus on the good works of theorganization rather than on your need for support. In conclusion, good marketing involves clear objectives, defining your product, targeting your audience, developing a marketing strategy, and then making personal contact. Notice how thesemarketing principles were incorporated into the process of recruitment (module V-3. The

marketing process will now be applied specifically to fund raising.

FUND RAISING Any organization or program needs money to operate. Fund raising involves "getting people toserve" through their financial contributions as well as time. A group will be more effective in itsfund raising efforts if the preceding principles of marketing are adhered to. The experience of fundraising professionals [2] show the following marketing principles to be particularly important. Have a good product. What are the services (direct and indirect) you intend to offer people inreturn for their contribution? Are your group goals clear, specific, and action-oriented? Clarify what your group will do with the money raised. It is easier to raise money for specificprojects than for the general support of an organization. People donate money in direct relation to how strongly they believe in the program or group. Your success in fund raising indicates the popularity of your program. If contributions are not comingin, it may indicate the need to revise your program, to update your product, to change your imageto be more responsive and appealing to the concerns and interests of prospective contributors.Publicize the good works of your organization. Sell your program rather than the need for money.People don't buy Buicks because GM needs money.



Map out your strategy. It is what you do in advance that counts the most. Develop a "prospectlist" of individuals and organizations with an interest in your product. Your market is everyonewho will benefit directly or indirectly from your organization or cause. A source of prospects for aBoy Scout fund raising effort, for example, might be the members themselves, their parents,volunteer supporters, alumni, outdoor and environmental groups, city parks and recreationagencies and people with concern for youth. Evaluate each prospect's gift potential. Professional fund raisers recommend asking for a specific"target" amount. One of the most common mistakes amateur fund raisers make is asking for toolittle. Assess what you feel would be the maximum amount each of your individual prospectswould be willing to give. Write that amount beside each name. Solicit. Decide who in the group has the best inroads with each of individuals and groups on your prospect list. Divide the list accordingly. If necessary, do some "intelligence work"--becomefamiliar with each prospect's special interests and concerns. Understand that you must work with the world as it really is, rather than as it should be. Peoplecome prepackaged with different ideas, emotions, and values. To make your fund raising plansucceed, you have to do your homework and take the time to think about what makes thetargeted donor tick. Each person give for a different reason. Tailor your appeal to the specificconcerns, needs and interests of the individual. A recent study [3] found "the most effective fund raising techniques were those in which oneperson asked another for a contribution. When a donor is being asked to contribute by a friend,the fund raising approach is more likely to succeed. Telephone calls, telethons, advertisements,and mailers were found to be much less likely to produce contributions." In short, people give topeople. Give value for value. Clearly indicate what donors will receive in return for their contribution. Thismight include:

• A statement of exactly what their contribution will buy, (e.g. $75 will send two kids tocamp; $150 will get your business' name on the billboard at the entrance to town).

• A statement of how the donor will directly or indirectly benefit as a result of your group or program, (e.g., we will lobby on behalf of you and other ranchers to....").

• Personal recognition. • Good public relations for the donor. • A tax deduction. • Feeling good about themselves and what their contribution makes possible. • A sense of immortality.

Give your personal testament as to the benefits of the group or program. Be upbeat and positive.The advantage (or disadvantage) of face-to-face communication is that your personalcommitment and enthusiasm (or lack of it) are going to show through. Be specific rather than

speaking in generalities (e.g., "I would not be able to speak to you except for the public speakingskills and confidence I've gained through Scouts. Your support will provide other young peoplewith the same opportunity.") Look the prospective donor in the eye, and ask for the targetedamount. Practice. Never ask for a donation without having practiced first. Our natural fear and discomfortin asking people for money is overcome through good preparation and practice. Follow-Up. Acknowledge the gift with a personalized letter. Report on results. Be accountable.



EXERCISES Exercise 1: Think back to times when you were asked to do something, to take on a particular responsibility.Did you find that certain people were more skilled at getting your positive response than others?

Why? What worked best in getting your help? What approaches turned you off? Make a list of "do's" and "don'ts" from your own experience. If you are completing this exercise with a studygroup, share your responses with one another. Exercise 2: Focus on a particular group or organization in which you are active. Develop a list of recommendations toward improving the manner in which that organization goes about recruitingpeople to serve. You might focus on one or more of the following tasks: develop a strategy toexpand membership; get better turnout at meetings; elect officers; form a needed committee; or recruit community help. If you are completing this program as part of a study group, divide into small groups of 3-5people. If more than one organization or club is represented, group each separately. Ask eachsmall group to develop recommendations toward improving the manner in which that organizationgoes about recruiting people to serve. Each group could be assigned a different task, (e.g.,develop a strategy to expand membership, get better attendance at meetings, elect a slate of officers, form a needed committee or recruit community help.) Conclude the exercise by havingeach small group share its recommendation with the larger study group.

Exercise 3: Outline a marketing strategy for your group or program. Select a specific objective on which tofocus (e.g., fund raising, a membership drive, get turnout to an important meeting, develop

political support, increase public awareness of your program or cause, or conduct a benefit drivefor some charity). Use the following worksheet. (If you are undertaking this exercise within a studygroup, break into small groups of 3 to 5 to complete the exercise.)

WORKSHEET A. What is the objective of your marketing effort? What do you hope to accomplish? Be specific. B. What is your competition? How do the goods and services you offer differ from what thecompetition offers? What is your community image? C. Who is the target of your marketing effort? Make a list of the specific individuals and groups

that you wish to reach. D. Which of the following forms of promotion would be most effective in reaching each of theindividuals and groups on your list? - personal selling - direct mail - publicity printed materials -advertising? E. Outline your contact strategy: Who will do what to whom by when.



F. Outline what you would say (or write) in making that contact. G. What do you plan to do in follow-up?

REFERENCES [1]Source: Execu Times, NOVEMBER 1979. [2]Anita Brook, Consultant, 4-H Alliance, National 4-H Council. Mack Burton, Vice-President,Tucson Medical Center Foundation. Joan Flanagan, The Grass Roots Fund Raising Book,Swallow Press, 1977. Rich Wetzel, Economic Development, City of Scottsdale. [3]"'The Charitable Behavior of Americans", 54 pages, Independent Sector. 1828 L Street, N.W.,Washington D.C. 20036.




Budgets M-8

Take care of your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves

Writing a budget for a program may be a little scary, especially the first time. Budgets are not,however, any more difficult than any other aspect to program management.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

After completing this module you should be able to plan a budget for an educational program withwhich you are familiar.

BASE THE BUDGET ON A WRITTEN PLAN

After you have completed the program planning process (modules E-4 through E-11) you willknow exactly what activities and resources, including evaluation, are included in your written plan.The key question now is, "What will each activity cost?" If you have never attempted the programdescribed in your plan of work, you need to take plenty of time and talk to a variety of people tomake certain that you have anticipated all expenses and have an accurate estimate of their cost.

Below is an example of a program plan (summary that does not include details) and the budgetthat was developed from the plan.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

Pennsylvania 4-H Program for the Inbound Delegation from Japan:

July 25 Group arrives at Harrisburg Airport (6:00 p.m.) and is taken by charteredbus to camp in Berks County. Camp lasts until 6:00 p.m. on July 28. Campactivities include crafts, workshops, recreation, and cultural assemblies.

July 28 Host families meet their delegates at camp and take them home for homestays until August 22. Families will pay all meals, lodging, andtransportation during the homestay with the exception of a chartered bus trip toNew York City on August 15.

Aug. 22 Host families bring their delegates back to Harrisburg for a departureceremony (one hour) at 3:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. After the host families leavethe Japanese delegates will complete an evaluation of the previous four weeks.Then we will have dinner together, go shopping and stay overnight in the motel.

Aug. 23 Delegates must check out of their rooms by 7:00 a.m. After a continentalbreakfast they will board a chartered bus to the airport. Their flight home departsat 10:00 a.m.



A SAMPLE BUDGET FOR THE EXCHANGE

JAPANESE GROUP INBOUND TO PENNSYLVANIA

Projected Expenses for 45 participants for 30 participants for 20 participants

I. Bus tour $1,500.00 1,500.00 1,500

II. Orientation Program 500.00 400.00 300

Materials/Souvenirs ($5.00 person)

225.00 150.00 100

III. Insurance 300.00 200.00 150

IV. Camp Facilities 1,000.00 1,000.00 800

Food (10 meals @ 2.50) 2,500.00 1,700.00 1200

Crafts 300.00 250.00 200

Staff Cook & Nurse (andWorkshop Leaders)

1,200.00 800.00 600

Lifeguard ? ?

V. Program Assistant at

P.S.U.(and WorkshopLeaders) expenses

800.00 700.00 600

VI. Travel Allowance for Host Families

500.00 400.00 300

VII. T-shirts and group photo($15 + setup)

800.00 675.00 425

VIII. Departure Program 1,500.00 1,000.00 700

Total 11,125.00 8,775.00 6,875

Per Person 247.22 292.50 343



FINAL THOUGHTS ON BUDGETS Leave a little flexibility in the budget. Allow for unanticipated expenses. Provide some options (as in the budget above where costs for different sizes of groups areindicated). EXERCISE: Do it! Based on a written plan that you have developed, prepare a preliminarybudget. Use a friend or a study group to critique your budget.




Reporting to Sponsors M-9

The one who lies (exaggerates) will not be believed.

If you are perplexed about how to report one of your sponsors, something is wrong. You probablyskipped an essential step in program planning or program management. Read on, however, andyou should be able to clarify your concern as well as determine how to prepare a specific reportfor a particular sponsor.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Discuss how "marketing programs" and "program planning" are closely related to reporting tosponsors.2. Outline an oral or written report for a specific sponsor.

HAVE A MARKETING STRATEGY This module is closely related to module M-7 which tells you how to develop a marketing strategy.If you have a well developed marketing strategy you will know your own organization, what it hasto offer, and what the sponsor expects from you. Your end-of-program report or progress reportwill come directly from your marketing strategy. You may wish to refer back to module M-7 now or after you have read through this module. In your marketing strategy (if you have one) you identified what your sponsor wanted. Thatsponsor gave you some kind of support based on the expectation of some specific return (even if that return was something intangible like "a positive public image"). Focus your report on theoverlap between what you offered the sponsor and what the sponsor expected as a result of thesupport given to your organization.

HAVE A PLAN Even without a great marketing strategy, if you have a well-written plan which your sponsor hasagreed to support, you may still be able to prepare an effective report for that sponsor. Look atthe objectives for your plan. Look also at the goals of your sponsor. By comparing these two lists

you should be able to identify overlap. Focus your report on this common ground.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What has been our relationship with this sponsor (how long, based on what common interests,current expectations)?



2. Do we have any formal agreement? 3. Why did this sponsor agree to support us? 4. What have we accomplished that would interest the sponsor? 5. What have we done for the sponsor? 6. Why should the sponsor continue supporting our organization? 7. Does this sponsor have a preferred format for reports? 8. Can we get copies of previous reports that may help us with the format or content of thisreport?

OUTLINE THE REPORT If the sponsor has a specific form or format for the report, review it and follow it carefully. If not,use the following outline: 1. Purpose of the report (i.e., "this is a final report since the program ended last month"; or "this isa progress report because some new opportunities have arisen and we would like your input onsome proposed changes in our program"). 2. Background (i.e., "we have been working together for the past five years and you havesupported two other major programs of our organization which include . . . ."; or "according to theproposal which you funded we agreed to . . . ."; or "the objectives of our program which you havebeen supporting are . . . ."). 3. Summary of Accomplishments (brief overview of highlights). 4. Inputs (what your organization contributed to the program in terms of time, money, materials,services, expertise). 5. Review of Activities 6. Results (reported according to the objectives with at least one paragraph for each objective).

Who participated? What were participants' reactions to the program? How did the participants change their knowledge, skills, attitudes or aspirations? What did participants do as a result of the program? What long term impact did the program have on the participants or on the community? How did the sponsor benefit from this program?

7. Lessons Learned 8. Future Plans



9. Summary and Conclusions (review highlights and tell how sponsors support was essential tothe program activities or results). EXERCISE: Prepare an outline of a report for a particular sponsor. This exercise will be much more effective if

it is applied to a real situation rather then a hypothetical situation. Decide if the report will bewritten or oral. If oral, prepare appropriate audio-visual aids to illustrate and strengthen the impactof the report.




Inter-organizational Coordination M-10

When life gives you scraps, make a quilt.

We talk a lot about working with other organizations in order to avoid duplication and shareresources. Then when we have an opportunity to collaborate we drag our feet. Why? Maybe wetried it once and had a bad experience. We were forced to work with someone who was nottrustworthy. They took all of the credit for successes and we got all of the blame for anyproblems. You can find a dozen reasons NOT to collaborate with other organizations. If you are not reallysincere about wanting to collaborate, better to admit it and leave this module until you really need

to do it. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After finishing this module you should be able to: 1. List 5 reasons for and against working with another organization.2. Describe 5 "degrees" of coordination between two organizations.3. Describe a process for implementing coordinated programs.4. Make a sincere effort for coordinating an educational program with another organization.

OPTIONAL EXERCISE:

If you are not really certain about interorganizational coordination maybe you need to clarify your own thoughts. Work with a partner or a learning group to list the potential advantages anddisadvantages of working with other organizations to accomplish an educational program. See if you can list 10 reasons on each side of the issue.

DEGREE OF COORDINATION

Agreeing to collaborate with another organization does not necessarily mean "all or nothing."Note the following degrees of coordination.

1. No Coordination (no activity nor desire to work with the other organization even though theymay provide similar programs).

2. Low Degree of Coordination a) informal and infrequent contacts between individuals

b) exchange of general information to keep each other informed

c) clients are referred to the other organization when it can better respond to the clients'particular needs.



3. Moderate Degree of Coordination

a) formal exchange of information (planned joint meetings, exchange of newsletters,annual report, meeting agendas)

b) exchange of personal and resources for particular programs

c) joint projects or programs.

4. High Degree of Coordination

a) written agreements or contracts

b) joint budgets

c) same (or overlapping) boards of directors

d) joint ownership (of building, offices, equipment).

5. Merger (the two organizations become one).

This list should give you some ideas about coordination with another organization. This list of degrees of coordination, however, does not tell you how to work together to get to a preferreddegree of coordination. That comes from a process which we will examine next.

PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTING COORDINATED PROGRAMS

1. Identify the area (i.e., program) to be impacted.

2. See if the other organization is willing to discuss a coordinated program.

3. Carefully and thoroughly define the needs of each organization and the potential problems thateach organization might encounter.

4. At this point each of the organizations needs to independently determine that the opportunitiesare important enough and the potential problems are small enough to proceed in discussions.

5. For each of the problems, specify optional solutions. Agree on the best solution for bothorganizations for each problem.

6. Examine resources and agree on who provides what.

7. Write goals and objectives.

8. Incorporate the answers to 5, 6, and 7 into a plan which tells Who does What by When.

9. Each organization should study the plan and approve it or amend it and continue with theplanning until joint agreement is reached.

10. Joint agreement should be formalized by signing the plan or a memorandum of understandingthat states why and how the agencies will coordinate their efforts. This document can be a verysimple one- page document or it can be a legal contract which anticipates possible eventualitiesthat are not addressed in the plan.

11. Both organizations should agree on situations where each may need to abandon the effort tocoordination. Worst case scenarios are better discussed in advance (privately) than dealt with in



the middle of program implementation (publicly).

12. Follow the plan (or the agreement).


1. Which organizations have similar programs and interests as yours?

2. Which organization would be easiest (and most beneficial) to coordinate a program with your organization?

3. Would coordination benefit your program and theirs?

4. What problems might your organization (and theirs) encounter?

5. What benefits might be anticipated with a successfully coordinated program?

6. What would be the worst case scenario? How would you deal with it?

EXERCISE:

Work with a partner in your organization to answer the questions above and anticipate the outlineof an agreement with another organization for a joint program.

If the plan looks good, get a general approval from your organization's decision makers toactually try it--to enter discussions with the other organization. Determine who to contact in theother organization and follow the steps of the process outlined above.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Voluntarism

Basic Human Needs V-1

No bread is too hard when you are really hungry .

One of the theories most basic to nonformal education is Maslow's hierarchy of basic humanneeds.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this module you should be able to: 1. List Maslow's five categories of basic human needs.2. Discuss what each category means for planning educational programs.

MASLOW'S HIERARCHY

Psychologist Abraham Maslow grouped the various motivating drives each of us has into fivecategories:

PHYSICAL NEEDS:

• Income, health, shelter, sex, food, and sleep. SECURITY NEEDS:

• Safety, continuing employment, healthy environment, freedom from fear, anxiety and the

threat of punishment. SOCIAL NEEDS:

• Love, sense of belonging, atmosphere of acceptance, prestige, recreation andentertainment.

SELF-WORTH:

• Ego satisfaction, a feeling of value and importance to others. The desire to achieve andto be recognized for it.

SELF-REALIZATION:

• Personal growth, higher education, spiritual development, the drive to realize and utilizeone's potential capabilities, the desire to contribute to the betterment of mankind.



Maslow's hierarchy is often shown as a pyramid:

(IMAGE)

As shown by the illustration, there is a hierarchy of needs. Only when the lower needs aresatisfied will the higher level needs be felt. Once lower needs are satisfied, they stop being strongmotivating forces. The priorities each of us places on these needs varies with time as lower needs are met, and as we grow and mature as individuals. Likewise, the behavior used to fulfillthese needs varies from one individual to another. For example, one person meets his or her economic needs through farming, while another meets them through retail business. One persongets recognition by being cooperative, while another gets recognition by being disruptive.

The important thing for groups to realize is that the real motivators in most of us are the "higher level" needs: social needs, self-worth, and self-realization. But we often forget this. In motivatingothers, we tend to exaggerate the importance of economic rewards, food and entertainment,intimidation, and arm twisting. On the other hand, we tend to under-emphasize the importance of people's social and self-worth needs--to be accepted by others, to accomplish somethingmeaningful and be recognized for it, to share ideas and be respected for them, and to contributeto community betterment. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What significance does this theory have for classroom teachers? 2. What significance does it have for nonformal educators (see modules E-1 and E-3 if you needhelp distinguishing between formal and nonformal education)? 3. Can you think of educational programs (or activities) that have violated this theory? 4. Why is this theory considered to be one of the most basic theories for educators?




Job Descriptions V-2

The fires I have started cannot be put out by anyone else .

For effective recruitment, orientation and supervision of volunteers you need a job description.This is one of those details that people like to skip. It takes a little time and thought about details -- not very exciting -- but can make the exciting part go much better. Without a job description for the volunteers with which you work, you may feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the job of keeping volunteers going. The volunteer may have the same feelings and decide to drop out. LEARNING OBJECTIVE When you complete this module you should be able to write a job description for a volunteer inyour educational program. EXERCISE: Study the following format for a job description. Then fill in the information for each number in theformat using a position which you need to fill (if you are familiar with the job to be filled, thisshould present no problems - - otherwise this can be done as a hypothetical job description whichis less effective than the real thing). Then use the completed job description along with themodule on recruitment (V-3) to recruit a volunteer to fill the job.

A FORMAT FOR JOB DESCRIPTIONS 1. Job Title. 2. Brief and general statement of what the job entails. 3. Specific expectations of the person who fills this job. 4. To whom is this person responsible?

Supervisor: Organization or agency:

Which is a part of: 5. State how the volunteer fits within the overall work of the organization.



6. Competencies needed by the volunteer for this job. Skills: Knowledge: Attitudes: Experience: Resources (car, telephone, tools,):

7. Time required per week: 8. Benefits (training provided, expenses paid, materials provided, opportunity to work with peoplewho have ___ experience): 9. Job site (address & telephone number): An example of a completed job description may be helpful in completing this exercise.

AN EXAMPLE OF A COMPLETED JOB DESCRIPTION 1. Title: 4-H Project Leader - Gardening 2. Job: Teach interested youth in your community 4-H club about home gardening. 3. Expectations: Attend leader training on Feb. 1 at the county 4-H office. Announce the formation

of your project group to start no later than March 15. Meet with youth and parents who respond tothe announcement. Meet between March and September according to the schedule that isagreeable to most of the group. Encourage your members to be actively involved in thecommunity club as well as your project club. 4. Responsible to: Yavapai County 4-H agent and Cottonwood Community Club Leader. 4-H is apart of the Cooperative Extension Service in Yavapai County which is directed by the CountyExtension Director who is responsible to the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture. 5. The project leader works with other leaders at the local and county level and with the 4-H agentto plan and deliver the 4-H program to youth who choose to participate. County activities areplanned and implemented by the County Leaders Council. Every project and community clubleader is automatically a member of the Council and may participate as actively as s/he desires.The 4-H Leaders Handbook provides more information on your role, responsibilities, and thepolicies which govern 4-H. 6. Competence needed: Experience in growing home gardens in the Cottonwood area. Enjoy working with youth in aninformal setting. Enthusiastic, well organized, patient. Willing to answer many questions fromyouth and their parents. Enjoy working as a team with other volunteer project leaders of the



Cottonwood Community 4-H Club. 7. Time required: Varies according to the interest of your project group and how much youchoose to participate at the county level. You should be prepared to offer (1) two one-hour projectmeetings each month between March and September, (2) to attend a community club meetingonce each month and (3) to attend a meeting for project leaders in Cottonwood once each month. 8. Benefits: The county 4-H agent will provide you with a four hour workshop on how to organizea project club. You will receive a 4-H Leaders Handbook and a Project Leaders Guide for HomeGardening. The County Agricultural Agent provides technical training for "master gardeners"which you are welcome to attend. The county office has many technical bulletins on differentgarden plants. The Cottonwood Community 4-H Club offers a chance to share your expertise andenjoy other educational and social activities with families. 9. Job Site: Your home is your office. You will need access to a garden plot where you candemonstrate the techniques of home gardening. You need a place for your club to meet. Thismay be at your own home or at the home of one of the members.




Recruitment V-3

In order to convince another person, we must see the world through her eyes. Getting people to support your cause by giving their time is an on-going challenge for mostgroups. This module will provide pointers on recruiting people to serve. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. Describe a three-step recruitment technique.

2. Recruit another person to help with a specific task in your organization.

GETTING PEOPLE TO SERVE Getting people to turn out and to volunteer in filling needed positions has become an increasingchallenge for many groups. Several pointers are listed below as part of a three-step process.While the following principles are common sense, and are readily used in filling paid positions,they are often violated in our recruiting efforts for volunteer positions. STEP 1- WHAT

In filling positions, whether it's getting turn out for a meeting or selecting a committee chair, focusfirst on WHAT--what are the specific skills, interests, view points, prior experiences, personalitytraits, and resources needed. Make a list. Check the 2 or 3 most essential. At this point, theimportant question is not who but what--what do we need on the committee, what do we need inthe chair, what do we need at the meeting to make it effective? Recruitment will be easier andmore effective if preceded by a conscious, well-thought-out selection process. How do we usually recruit people to serve? We call for volunteers. "Willingness to serve" often isour only criteria. Be cautious with this approach. Calling for volunteers implies that the job is sounimportant that the group is willing to accept anyone. Did you ever think of it this way? Nowonder few people volunteer. Also, when you call for volunteers you often get the egocentric, theaggressive and the outspoken person with a bone to pick. Then you wonder why you haveleadership problems.

Most people won't volunteer themselves. Yet we often insist that people do so. Calling for volunteers eliminates from our consideration a large pool of qualified individuals. This is not tosay that you should never call for volunteers. It is very appropriate for lesser positions, e.g., "Whocould work at the food booth Saturday?" Key positions, however, are too important to be left tochance.



STEP 2: WHO Once you've decided what, then ask yourself WHO--who (what person or persons) can providethe essentials you've just identified. Your objective is to match the needs of the position with theskills and interests of the individual. Often we reverse these two steps. We decide who, and thendream up reasons why they should serve. Our "pitch" comes across phony. Clarify what is

needed, and then identify who. Individuals tend to respond favorably to an appeal to their uniqueabilities and interests. A 4-H leader, whose annual plea for an assistant received no response, decided to try the aboveapproach. He invited all parents to a meeting and then handed out a list of the tasks with whichhe needed help if he were to continue serving as 4-H leader. To his amazement, the groupimmediately responded by volunteering themselves for specific tasks or recommending othersthey felt would be well suited and interested. Having decided what is needed, and who would be well suited, you are now, and only now, readyto recruit.

STEP 3: RECRUITMENT In recruiting others, use a one-on-one, personal approach. Only then can your personalcommitment and enthusiasm show through. Mass appeals are generally less effective. "But I don't have time to contact people personally" is often used as an excuse for relying solelyon mail-outs or mass media. If each member would take only five minutes to contact one person,using this approach, participation problems could be quickly reversed. The number one reasonpeople give for participating is "a friend (neighbor, family member) asked me." Use a personal appeal; indicate in very specific terms what that person would gain from joiningthe group or in serving in the position. Indicate how that person's interests, hobbies, skills, prior

experiences, contacts and personality are well suited to the position. Use the informationgathered in the preceding what/who exercise. Relate to both the person's altruistic and personalinterests. A rule of thumb: If you can't readily identify at least three specific personal reasons why theperson being considered would want to serve/participate (reasons that the person recognizes andvalues), don't ask. Rather than target our appeal, many of us get lazy and use generalizedappeals, with limited results. Recruit with a clear, straightforward I-statement. "I would like (the specific nature of the request)because.........(person's unique qualifications and/or personal benefits that can be expected).""I've heard you complain about (suggest, express interest in).... We are organizing a group to lookinto that. We'd like to invite you to join us." "I'm familiar with your experience (abilities, knowledge)

in.... We would like your help in...." Avoid questions, e g., "Would you be willing to...?" A librarian called several public meetings with very poor response, in an attempt to form a localFriends of the Library. She then went through the above three steps, selecting and thencontacting 12 individuals. She now has a large active organization. Clearly and honestly indicate what will be involved, how much time it will take, and what isexpected of the individual. Don't down play what is involved. We often tell people, "It won't takemuch time," and then complain afterwards when they don't give it much time.



Clarify your expectations. People are reluctant to take on indefinite tasks for indefinite periods of time. When your request includes a specific time commitment, the response is often, "Oh, if thatis what you want, I can handle that." If you find everyone is turning you down, go back to thedrawing board and redefine the position to make it more realistic and attractive. Be positive. Focus on what you feel are the personal benefits of serving in the position. Convey

your own enthusiasm and commitment to the project. If you are not excited, it is hard to exciteothers. Unintentionally, many people come across more negative than positive in their efforts torecruit others. Some common examples of negative requests are: "It's a thankless job, but somebody has to do it." "We've already asked six people, and no one else would do it." "It's not much of a job; you can handle it." "We all have to take our turn." In short, we make service sound like drudgery rather than fun. Avoid "should" and "ought", andappeals to the person's moral and civic responsibilities. Arm twisting and the use of guilt andshame can get a person to say "yes," but rarely motivate commitment and follow-through. Brieflymake your spiel in a straightforward manner, and then stop and listen. Allow the person thefreedom to say "no." Practice. Think through how you are going to approach the individual, before you do lt. Role playor use mental imagery to prepare for what might happen. In conclusion, the way you recruit clearly conveys how important you feel the position is. Casualand careless recruitment will likely lead to casual and careless participation. The process outlinedadvocates a positive, well thought out, straightforward approach that makes the person being

recruited feel important and genuinely needed. It matches the needs of the group with the talents,interests and concerns of potential volunteers. Close adherence to these steps will result in acommitted, self-motivated group in contrast to an aimless group that needs constant prodding. Itcan make recruitment a form of recognition rather than an imposition. EXERCISE: Identify a need for a volunteer for your group or organization. Outline a strategy for recruitment: 1. clearly state the position or task to be filled; 2. list all of the skills, knowledge, attitudes, experience, resources, contacts, characteristics thatyou would like this person to have; 3. write down the names of at least three candidates for the position; 4. pick the best candidate and write down three reasons why the prospect should want tovolunteer (from the prospect's point of view); 5. rehearse and role play your statements to the prospect; and



6. ask the group you are in (or a colleague) to evaluate your "pitch" and tell you if it is positive,

convincing, reasonable, clear and sincere.




Motivation V-4

Interest has feet. When people are really interested in something, they find a way.

Getting people to volunteer is one thing, but getting them to follow through in carrying out thedecision of the group is another. How do you inspire people to action, and then keep themmotivated? This section is about how to get things done working with and through others.Motivation of people in volunteer groups is different than motivating students in schools or employees in business. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this module you should be able to: 1. Be aware of common barriers to participation, and how to remove them.2. Describe how to motivate volunteers.3. Describe how to successfully delegate a responsibility to a volunteer.

BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION Forget about trying to recruit and motivate people until you first learn how to stop chasing themaway. What are you now doing that discourages people from participating more actively in your

group or cause? We need to recognize the costs as well as the benefits (disincentives as well asincentives) to participating in any activity or organization. People make choices as to what groupsand activities they become involved in, and how much time they give to each, based on their perception of these costs and benefits. They consciously, and unconsciously, weigh one againstthe other. If the perceived costs outweigh the perceived benefits, they drop out of the group or become less active. These costs then become barriers to participation. These costs include not only monetary outlays for travel, baby sitters, dues, etc., but also time,effort, and the giving up of other activities (e.g. missing your favorite TV show). Other costsinclude social and psychological costs such as the risk of embarrassment, having to sit throughboring meetings, criticism and rejection of your ideas, being imposed upon by others, ridicule, andfeelings of inadequacy. Other barriers to participation include the lack of clear goals (an unclear sense of group purpose), failure to recognize individuals for what they have contributed, a

pessimistic group atmosphere (with much complaining and criticizing), weak or autocraticleadership, not feeling listened to, being given too many responsibilities too soon, and the lack of group accomplishment.

Such experiences constitute very real costs, and people will not accept such costs unless theyperceive sufficient benefits to make it worthwhile. These benefits are social and psychological



(e.g., prestige, fellowship, sense of accomplishment, recognition, feeling good about oneself) aswell as economic. A group motivates participation in the same way a business generates sales,by offering something people want at a reasonable cost. Participation can be increased byreducing costs and removing barriers as well as by increasing benefits.

What can be done to reduce the costs of participation? Some of the costs of participation are inevitable and unavoidable, such as dealing withdifferences of opinion, uncertainty of the future, unpredictability of people and taking responsibilityfor decisions made. These costs are best relieved through mutual support and understanding. Other costs, particularly those resulting from interpersonal strife, can be avoided or reduced byexhibiting behavior which is more accepting, supporting, encouraging and rewarding than it isignoring, rejecting, and coercing. Help others feel secure within the group so they can focus their energy on the work to be done rather than upon their personal insecurities or the possibility of rejection by others. Still other costs are more perceived than real. They are primarily the result of an individual's

fears. Help the person acknowledge those fears, and talk them out. Don't be critical of them, or minimize the problem. Don't give hasty reassurance and pat solutions. The fearful person needsempathy more than advice. So far, we've looked at potential barriers to participation--things you may be doing, oftenunintentionally, that discourage people from becoming more active. Motivation begins withidentifying and removing such barriers. Let's now turn our attention to the positive motivation of people, and the actions each of us can take to encourage and motivate others. WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE? How do you get people to serve? How do you get turn-out at meetings? How do you get people to

pitch in and help? How do you recruit good volunteer workers? How do you raise money tosupport an organization? We must acknowledge the obvious, that people become involved in different issues, activities andgroups ONLY to the extent that their personal needs and interests are appealed to and met. Inshort, individuals must perceive a reason for becoming involved. They, not you, must perceivethat reason. In our zeal, we often get carried away with what we think should be done, and fail togive adequate attention to the concerns and interests of others. We tell ourselves, "but theySHOULD be interested, after all it affects the whole community" or "they OUGHT to support this,it's for their own good." We label people as "apathetic" who don't have the same interests wehave. We each have different concerns, needs and interests. We each have our own priorities. You

motivate group participation by focusing attention on areas of common concern and interest.Group participation and commitment cannot be forced through hard sell or majority vote. Thepersons being recruited must feel that the proposed action will result in something meaningful tothem and that the effort required is worth it. How do you find out what people's priority concerns and interests are? How do you find out whatmotivates them? By listening, and by asking. People naturally talk about what they're interestedin, if we'll just listen. Effective recruitment requires listening, more than telling.



In understanding what motivates people, we need to acknowledge that people's needs andinterests go beyond the "selfish" motives of what will benefit their business or their lifestyle or their prestige and influence in the community. Harold Kushner in his best seller "When All You'veEver Wanted Isn't Enough: The Search for a Life That Matters," finds that "the key to happiness isthe opportunity to use our special abilities, to be appreciated for them......and to make adifference. People today are doing an increasing amount of volunteer work, he says, becausethey are not getting those three basic needs fulfilled through their eight-to-five jobs. Thus wemotivate people to serve by appealing to their altruistic sense as well as personal needs andinterests. A review of the research of Frederick Herzberg, on what motivates people in the work setting,indicates that the leading motivators are: 1. Achievement (accomplishment and a sense of contribution)2. Recognition (support, praise, respect)3. The work itself (meaningful, stimulating, fulfilling)4. Responsibility (and advancement)5. Creativity and growth (learning; giving of oneself to others)6. Economic benefits (reward; pay check, profit)

7. Companionship (acceptance, a sense of belonging)8. Supervision (rules and policy)9 Working conditions (comfort)

Those factors at the top of the list (1 to 5) are what motivate people to strive, to excel, to commitand to feel good about themselves. The factors at the bottom of the list (6 to 9) are more potentialsources of dissatisfaction than they are motivators. Lack of these can make us unhappy, but theyhave limited impact in inspiring us to excel. You motivate others by providing items 1 through 5. THE BASICS OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT With the above introduction to human motivation, let's now look at how each of us can become amore effective people manager--in getting things done, working with and through others. Fivekeys to effective people management are outlined below. [1] 1. Set goals and clarify objectives A clear sense of direction is essential to individual and group achievement. Without it, peopletend to wander in their efforts, with limited accomplishment. A good people manager helps theindividual or group clarify their objectives in specific, concrete, realistic terms. What is to be theend result, and how is it to be accomplished? Who is to do what by when? Who is responsible? Isthere agreement? To be a motivating force, goals must reflect the personal interests and commitment of theindividuals involved. Commitment comes out of involvement--of people deciding for themselves,rather than having it decided for them. Rarely do people get as excited about others' ideas asthey do about their own ideas. A good people manager knows how to help a group identify,common concerns and interests, and to build on them. (For more information on the goal settingprocess, see module E-6.)

Once goals are set, periodically take "one minute" to review and clarify those goals/objectiveswith the individual(s) responsible. Keep in touch. Check their progress. Let them know you care.



In conclusion, if your group lacks enthusiasm, it is likely due to either: 1. The lack of clear understanding within the group as to what your goals and objectives are (inother words, you haven't done enough goal setting), or (2) Group goals/objectives are not seenas personally important to many of the individuals involved (in other words, members weren'treally involved in setting those goals), or (3) The individuals involved fail to see how group

activities contribute to the agreed upon goals (in other words, you've lost sight of your objectives). 2. Give frequent recognition To be appreciated, to feel important and needed is a basic human need. Encouragement andrecognition are essential to human development and motivation. Module V-8 gives specificsuggestions for recognition. Review that module now or at the end of this module. 3. Take Time To Listen People are not going to open up to you until they first feel accepted. See module C-2 for adiscussion of how to listen. 4. Speak Up For Yourself Most people view motivation as a form of persuasion. We see motivators as smooth talkingsalespeople who can persuade others to their point of view; who know how to twist an arm ingetting their way. Motivation, however, is as much or more a function of active listening as it is of persuasion.Motivation is not something that can be imposed on others. It rather is something that must comefrom within the individual. We motivate others only to the extent that we appeal to their personalneeds and interests. Being a good people manager/motivator does, however, require being able to speak up for yourself, in sharing your interests, goals and concerns with others. (Module C-3 deals with thistopic in more depth.) 5. Confront Unacceptable Behavior There are times when confrontation is necessary to work out problems and rekindle initiative.Blanchard and Johnson in their book The One Minute Manager [2] speak of "one minutereprimands." How then do you give constructive criticism and work out problems--in a manner that encourages rather than discourages the other person?

One option in dealing with unsatisfactory performance is to let it pass, and forget it . Letting it pass

is particularly appropriate when your disapproval is primarily based on a value judgment as tohow you feel the job should be performed, rather than on results. If, however, you are not willing and able to drop it and forget it, then letting it pass is notappropriate. If you harbor resentment, it won't help the relationship. Instead, confront: Do it now. Talk with the person as soon as possible following the unacceptable behavior or work. The longer you wait after the fact, the less helpful it will be. Don't gunnysack . Don't save up wrong doings for later confrontation. Keep to the here and now.



Confront the person privately, face to face, never publicly. Express your concern in a direct, butcaring manner through the use of an I-Statement. "I'm concerned with...." "I am confused by....""I'd like to talk to you about...." "I've observed...." Avoid accusatory You-statements: "You shouldhave...." "You didn't...." "Why did you ...?" Describe the problem behavior, and its impact on you and/or others. Be specific; don't generalize.

Describe behavior that can be changed. Trying to change people's values (personality) is difficult,if not impossible. Focus on facts, without making judgments. "I'm concerned about your tardiness.You have been over 15 minutes late three mornings this week." "I was confused and frustrated bythe poor attendance at our planning meeting last week. As an officer, I find it difficult to planactivities when I am not sure what members want." "I feel uncomfortable when someone makes jokes during our meetings. I feel they distract from the discussion and may cause members totreat lightly the suggestions (information) being presented." Don't judge, analyze or parent the other person. ("You're always late." "You never...." "You'reinconsiderate." "Set your alarm earlier." "You should have known better." "You're doing thisbecause....") The more accusations you make, the more resistance you'll get. Instead, focus onthe specifics of the unacceptable behavior and its impact on you and others. Stop, be silent. Let it sink in. Allow the person time to focus on what you've said, and to respond,clarify, question, or suggest possible remedies. Listen, and show it. Probe for further clarification,"I'm not clear on.....Tell me more about....." Counter any defensive response with reflective listening . Summarize back in your own wordsyour understanding of the person's explanation and feelings. Don't dispute them. Reflectivelistening acknowledges and helps dissipate the emotions involved. If necessary, adjust or repeat your concern. Adjust your concern based on the information gained.OR Repeat it. Don't get sidetracked into an argument over who is right. Don't tack on moreaccusations or evidence. Avoid heating up the criticism. Instead, calmly repeat your concern or request, then try to better understand what happened. "In the future, I do however wish to start

our meetings on time." Encourage collaborative problem-solving. "How can we resolve this?" "I'd like your help inworking this out." "Could we find a solution that would be agreeable to both of us?" "Would it beacceptable to you if we...?"

Summarize the discussion and the solution you've worked out. Clearly remind the person that you value him or her. Give non-verbal reinforcement --a handshake, an appropriate touch, supportive facial expressions. Thank the person for being frank andcooperative. Your objective is to communicate openly, to improve the situation, to build self esteem andstrengthen the relationship. It is not to punish or put the person in her/his place. (See Chapter 9,"Working Out Differences" for more on conflict management.)



REFERENCES [1] Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson, 'The One Minute Manager, Berkley Books. [2] The One Minute Manager, and Russ Moxley, "Direct Language Helps EmployeePerformance", Dallas/Ft. Worth Business Magazine. EXERCISES Exercise 1: a. Why DO people join groups? Why are you active in different activities? Use the space below to indicate what motivated you to become involved in different communityactivities and groups. Why are you more active in some groups (activities) than in others? If you are in a study group, share your lists with each other. b. Why DON'T people become more involved in different community activities? What causespeople to drop out and become inactive? Use the space below to indicate why you chose not to participate in certain activities or groups inyour community. Have you ever lost interest in a group (or activity) and as a result dropped out or became less active? Why did that happen? If you are in a study group, share your lists with each other. Then ask participants to comment onwhat they have learned through this exercise, part a and b. (A common reason given for notparticipating is "don't have the time." Yet people find time to do what they want to do. "Not havingtime" means the activity is not perceived as providing the benefits, over costs, of other activities.) Exercise 2: List in the space below what you feel are the qualifications of a good leader (people manager).Think of people you've worked for or with in the past (paid employment as well as volunteer work). Some people were better to work for than others. Why? What were the traits they exhibitedthat motivated you to give more of yourself? If you are in a study group, break into small groups of 5-7. Share your experiences with thegroup and develop a composite list. Encourage discussion. Exercise 3: Focus on a group in which you are now active: __________________________________ (name of group) Review the discussion of barriers to participation (the first two pages of this chapter). Then take aclose look at your meetings and how the group functions. Make a list below of individual andgroup behaviors that may be negative motivators (they discourage rather than encourage



participation and follow-through). Then identify actions that might be taken to reduce thoseinhibitors. (This exercise can be completed as either an individual or study group endeavor.) a. Possible inhibitors to participation.b. What can be done to reduce those inhibitors? DELEGATION The preceding principles are also key to your success in delegating tasks to others. Special care

should be taken to: 1. Delegate the right tasks, namely anything for which you have no unique competence. Be

specific in what you delegate to others. Don't delegate if you want the credit. 2. Delegate to the right person(s). Consider the individual's special knowledge, interests, relevant

experience, and motivation to do the job. Match the person's abilities and interests with the needsof the job. Giving a person more responsibility will generally increase job satisfaction- -if suchresponsibility is seen by the person as both challenging and within his or her own capabilities. 3. Help the person succeed by sharing as much information, background and "other

considerations" as you can. Clearly indicate your expectations. Then let go. Requiring the personto check everything with you before taking action is not delegating. If you can't let go, do ityourself. 4. Delegate and follow-up. Get briefed on progress but do not pester. Offer advice and

suggestions--but tactfully. 5. Give frequent, specific recognition. Praise progress.




Orientation V-5

Experience gives advice. Orientation is sometimes called "preservice training." It refers to the process of imparting basicskills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for a person to successfully complete assigned or chosen tasks. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After finishing this module you should be able to: 1. Plan an orientation workshop for a group of volunteers entering an organization with which youare familiar.2. Evaluate the orientation workshop. PLANNING THE ORIENTATION WORKSHOP Include volunteers throughout this process--both experienced volunteers who know what isnecessary to do the job, and the volunteers to be trained. Use a job description (module V-2) tohelp you focus the training and to include as a possible workshop topic. Identify issues: What knowledge, skills and attitudes are needed by the volunteers to be

successful at their tasks? Do not neglect social skills. The tendency is to focus on skills, but amisplaced attitude can damage the effectiveness of a skilled volunteer. Set priorities: Answer these questions. Which of the issues (above) (1) are most essential?(2) do the volunteers lack most?(3) do the volunteers need to build their confidence? Select topics: these will come out of the issues and priorities but may include (1) mission andphilosophy of the organization, (2) the job description, (3) how to recruit participants and helpers,(4) how to obtain the cooperation of resource people, (5) how to obtain facilities, (6) where to find

teaching aids and other resources, (7) how to use certain teaching techniques or methods, (8)how to assess the needs of the participants, (9) how to determine the norms and values of participants, and (10) where to get more technical subject matter related to the job. Avoid detailedtopics, advanced technical information, and topics already taught unless requested by theparticipants.



Goals and objectives: These can be either short-term (the effects on the volunteers immediatelyfollowing the training) or long-term (the effects that this training will have in the program over thenext several months or longer). The objectives should be observable and measurable. Determinehow to evaluate whether these goals and objectives have been met (see module E-10 for help). Assess resources: Look at resources both within the organization and from without. Don't forget

that the volunteers being trained have access to resources, and are themselves resources. Whatexperiences and abilities do these volunteers have? Form a plan: Write a detailed schedule of who will do what and when (starting and ending timefor each presenter or activity.

--plan to teach larger tasks as a series of smaller ones.--take into account knowledge, skills and attitudes currently held by the volunteers--use a variety of methods and techniques.--teach only competencies (skills, knowledge, attitudes) that will be put to use within avery short time.--make the length of the workshop sufficient, but not burdensome.--teach basic, not in-depth, material.

IMPLEMENTING THE WORKSHOP Work the plan: Use the written plan to guide the orientation. Put it into effect in a comfortablesetting, at a convenient time, referring constantly to the plan. Motivation. The motivation level of the volunteers will be maintained or increased if the followingare included in the orientation.

--Reinforce reasons to participate.--Recognize the accomplishments of other volunteers.

--Reinforce your goals and objectives.--Conduct stimulating meetings.--Reduce risks of participation by increasing their skill and confidence.--Provide an opportunity for the trainer to listen to the volunteers--their questions andideas.

Who should do the training? Whoever is most qualified. Qualification, however, should not belimited to academic degrees or administrative titles. Previous workshop evaluations might beused to select trainers. Current trends are for more participatory training--less training designedand delivered by outside experts. More control by trainees is more cost- effective, moremotivating and more effective, in most cases, than the traditional expert-oriented approach. Where and when should the training be held? Convenience to the trainees should be a

primary concern. Facilities should be comfortable and allow for flexibility. A location which createsan informal feeling and encourages trainees to get actively involved is best. Timing is importantas well. Convenience to the trainees is, again, the principle criterion. The nature of the orientationtopics might also be important. Volunteers need to receive orientation before they are expected todo the work, but not so far in advance that they forget or lose enthusiasm.



Duration of the training program. This varies according to the subject matter, the availableresources, the time frame required for learning, and the commitment of the trainees. Longer sessions require more planning for variety and motivation. Long lectures are particularly deadly.Provide for a change in activity or speaker every 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom. The ideal number of trainees. Usually trainers and those who plan training programs have

limited control of the number of trainees. Large groups require different teaching/learningtechniques and prevent much individual contact with the trainer. Large groups can be broken intosmaller groups for skill practice. Experience from small group work indicates that 5-7 is a goodsize for discussion that involves all members or for skill practice where each participant mustreach a minimum level of competence. Resources and facilities. These will also vary according to the orientation plan. Look at moduleL-3 for tips on effective meetings and module LT-1 (workshops) to anticipate resource and facilityneeds. Don't forget to consider the following categories of resources in the orientation plan:

--personnel (trainers, clerical staff, helpers for meals, drivers).--equipment (audio visuals, models, camera, lab equipment).--materials (handouts, packets, evaluation forms, transparencies,newsprint, tape, markers, pencils, note paper for participants).--facilities (meeting room, breakout rooms, sites to visit, food and lodging, transportation)

EVALUATING THE ORIENTATION Consider four areas to be evaluated: (1) physical elements such as the facilities, time, schedule;(2) the instructor's preparation and skill; (3) the material covered; and (4) the effect on thetrainees. Below is an evaluation instrument which you can use for your orientation. It can also beused as a base to plan an evaluation which better suits your needs. Evaluation for _______________ Orientation ___1. The setting was comfortable. ___2. The instructor answered questions or referred us to people who could. ___3. The participants expressed more confidence than before this orientation. ___4. The instructor was knowledgeable about the program in which the volunteers will serve. ___5. The instructor was knowledgeable about the material covered. ___6. The material was at a level appropriate to the participants. ___7. The training was relevant to the jobs of these volunteers. ___8. The time required for the training was not excessive. ___9. The pace of the program was appropriate. ___10. The program was interesting and varied.



___11. The objectives of the orientation program were met. ___12. The sessions stimulated ideas to help me do my job.

EXERCISE: Plan an orientation session for new volunteers in your organization. Do this in a study groupwhich can critique your plan, or work with a partner to critique the plan. Conduct and evaluate the orientation that you have planned.




Supervision V-6

Loafers and talkers get in the way of the doers. Few jobs in a volunteer organization are more difficult than supervision. At the same time, few jobs are more interesting. This job takes more skill, more common sense, more foresight, andperhaps more intelligence than almost any other kind of work. It often holds more grief, moretrouble, and more difficulties than any other job, especially for the person who has not learned theart of working with other people. LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you finish with this module you should be able to: 1. Describe seven basic principles for supervising people.2. Anticipate common problems of supervisors.3. Describe how to handle the common problems. THE SUPERVISOR

A good supervisor is not born that way. Neither is an artist, nor a writer, nor a technician of anykind. A good supervisor gets good by study and practice--the more, the better. It does not followthat a good business person is also an expert supervisor--in fact, it is often just the reverse. Some

of the real horror stories in volunteer organizations come from successful business people whotry to supervise volunteers like they supervise employees. Volunteers are not employees andcannot be treated the same. Unfortunately, very few of us have actually studied supervision,although many of us practice it either on a small or large scale. But there is no question that mostpeople can learn how to supervise, and that is what this discussion is all about. Supervision is of tremendous importance. With the right kind of supervision, an organization canbecome smooth-working, hard-hitting, high-producing, and filled with people who have a highmorale (i.e., collective good feeling). Poor or indifferent supervision results in trouble all day long,inefficiency, snarls, low production, and, of course, low morale. Before we go on, let's define "supervisor." We can distinguish between a boss and a leader. Theboss drives people, uses authority, dominates everyone, and lets no one forget who is running

things. The leader uses very little authority, leads people by example, works with them, and getstheir good will. The boss gets production very frequently, in spite of hard feelings. The leader getsit too, but all feel good about it. The only kind of supervision in which we are interested is of theleadership kind.



PRINCIPLES OF SUPERVISION Seven general principles are important for supervisor to know and to use. 1. People must always understand clearly what is expected of them. 2. People must have guidance in their work (information, techniques enabling better work,coaching, and personality improvement suggestions). 3. Good work always should be recognized. 4. Poor work deserves constructive criticism. 5. People should have opportunities to show that they can accept greater responsibility. 6. People should be encouraged to improve themselves. 7. People should work in a safe and healthful environment. THE ART OF SUPERVISION The skill with which you go about supervising comes only with practice. How to supervise, how toput the foregoing principles into practice, makes up the art of supervision. Some people, of course, seem to have more natural ability at this than others, but even so, everyone can profit byexperience. No one can tell you how to supervise intelligently. There are many good rules andmany do's and don'ts. Some of the most important are listed below in about the order they needto be used. How to begin supervising. Since you are directing people, it follows at once that you will need to know a lot about them inorder to supervise them sensibly. You should know their temperament--which you can get onlyfrom keen observation over a period of time. You ought to know about their background, their schooling, their philosophy, and their habits. This may seem to be a big order, and it is clear thatyou will never know all about everyone. But you must know enough to be reasonably sure whateach person is likely to do in a given set of circumstances, and how each will react to your guidance. How you learn this is up to you. A good supervisor learns what to look for. A poor supervisor usually jumps to conclusions. Be guided accordingly, but first: know your people aswell as you can. How to give instructions. The crudest, worst possible way to give instructions is to give a direct command. There may betimes when there is nothing else that would be effective, but the times are rare and should alwaysbe last-resort matters. The best way of all--and the one requiring the greatest skill--is to suggestthat so and so ought to be done. If the person that you are supervising is deaf to suggestions—and some people are--then courteous requests indicating your desires are next best. Alwayskeep a sting out of instructions unless the matter involves a disciplinary measure. Learn to gainagreement rather than force it.



When you give instructions, always explain the reasons behind them. You will get quicker resultsif you do, and the people you give instructions will be able to carry them out more intelligently. Agood supervisor is able to analyze a situation, then help the people to analyze it to a point wherethe situation itself gives the instructions. How to get help from your people. There are many ways of doing a job. You can do everything of importance yourself. Or you canpass, in advance, on everything any of your people want to do. In either case you may be able toget the job done. In both cases you will probably get stomach ulcers eventually, and you maywonder why you are always having to replace people who are leaving your organization. You willbe, to put it mildly, a rotten supervisor. The people under your guidance are there to do a job. But they are also volunteers. Eventually,as you acquire skill, you will let them do it. Basing your actions on how well you know your people, you will judiciously delegate authority to act and to make decisions. Systematically youwill make certain that what you want done is done the way you want it. Gradually, as you buildyour group into a team, you will find them referring to you for help whenever they really need it, atthe right time, and in the right way. As your confidence in your team grows, you will at last beginto experience the warm feeling a topnotch leader gets from guiding a loyal, hard-hitting capablebunch of people. It may even be said that you seem to have a soft job because your people seemto do all the work! How to make decisions. When a definite decision is called for, make it with as much promptness as possible. Be sure youknow whether you have authority to make it. Be sure you have all the facts you need, or at leastall you can get. Be sure you know whether you have weighed all angles. Then decide--and makeit stick. People will excuse a mistake now and then but they will not excuse someone who never makes a clean-cut decision. If your people are kept well informed on where you stand and howyou feel about the work, and how it should go, the decisions they make will be more nearly what

you want. How to criticize. When you praise people, do it in public if you possibly can. When you criticize or reprimandpeople, do it privately, never in the presence of fellow-workers. When you criticize it is good tostart out by telling the person what was done correctly. Then tell what you don't like. Always tellwhy, and always do it in a friendly way with due regard for the situation. The point is to give theidea you are trying to help. Finally, be ready with a suggestion or two on what the person can doto redeem himself/herself. People usually know when they deserve criticism. If they don't get it, they may lose respect for

you as a supervisor. Timeliness, therefore, is important in criticizing. Incidentally, it pays to avoidridicule or making fun when you criticize. Keep in mind that the dignity of people is very important.

How to settle grievances. Two things are important here. (1) Get all the available facts about the grievance and if twopeople or factions are involved, get both sides, and (2) settle the matter promptly.



How to deal with the problem child. Sooner or later, every supervisor gets a person who is lazy, opinionated, tactless, too slow, toofast, too talkative, too moody, who has a persecution complex, who is nervous, who can't getalong with other people, who is disloyal, discourteous, always late, never prepared, an apple-polisher or who has some other fault that is extremely annoying or that disrupts the work

generally. Each problem is different, and must be met and solved on the basis of its owncharacteristics. Avoiding problems like these, because they are unpleasant, is the distinguishingmark of a poor supervisor. Attacking such problems always requires that you gain the person'sconfidence first.

1. As soon as you are entirely sure of your ground, talk to the person about the fault. Seeif you can find out the reason for it. Be sure you explain clearly what the person's faultmeans to you, to that person, and to the organization. Agree on a course of action. 2. If the first talk fails, try it again after a reasonable interval. Go over the situation again.Search for more reasons. Try to get a promise to do better, and agree on the steps totake. Follow up again; give praise for any progress. 3. If the fault persists, and is getting serious, meet again and go over the same groundonce more. This takes patience, but do it with care. 4. If there is still no progress, talk it over with your own supervisor or the officers andagree on a course of action.

Summary. All considered, a good supervisor is one who is able to get people to do an effective job. The measure of success is to be found in how well people do their work and how high their morale is while they do it. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Does the idea of supervising volunteers scare you? Why or why not? 2. What do you think will be your greatest problems in supervising volunteers in your organization?

EXERCISE: PREPARING TO SUPERVISE Write down a plan to help you do a better job of supervising volunteers in a particular project(preferably a real project that is approaching). Include in your plan: (1) anticipated problems insupervision, and (2) what I am going to do to deal with the problems before they occur and after (if) they occur.




Inservice Training V-7

Practice makes perfect, if you practice the right thing in the right way.

Before starting this module, review the module on orientation (V-5). LEARNING OBJECTIVES After finishing this module you should be able to: 1. Describe three basic training approaches.

2. Design a training program. APPROACHES TO TRAINING

Training is often approached within the unique context of service industries. Hence, highlysuccessful training programs are commonly found within the context of clerical, vocational,teacher, medical, and a host of professional and technical areas. Individuals who plan and deliver training consider the level of expertise or competency of the employees to be trained. Kenney(1972) discusses office training for selling, craft training, technician training, technologist training,and management training. DePhillips (1960) links training to various kinds of learning such assensory-motor, conceptual, attitudinal, and associational learning. Wight and Hammons (1970)discuss the traditional as well as the experienced-based approach while Elam (1971)distinguishes between experience-based and performance-based training. From these approaches to training, a typology can be constructed that is relevant to nonformaleducational settings. These are traditional training, experiential training, and performance-basedtraining. An understanding of each approach will enable extension workers and farmers to choosethe best approach. Traditional Approach to Training DePhillips (1960) and Kenney (1972) describe a traditional training model wherein the focus is onintervention by the training staff. Figure 1 illustrates the traditional model of training. In this model,the training staff determines the objectives, content, techniques, assignments, how learners willbe motivated, and how they will be evaluated. Individuals who use this model often find that

learners assume passive roles. This model creates a setting which resembles a formalclassroom. Most of the training is instructor-oriented. The instructor decides what learners needto know, selects the content or the subject matter areas, writes the lesson plans, and then servesas the chief purveyor of the information. The instructor is clearly the focus in the traditional modelof training because this person is to perform while the learners are to listen, observe, andperhaps imitate the instructor's behaviors.



Figure 1. Traditional Model of Training According to Rao and Hanumanthappa (1985), traditional methods of imparting knowledge,efforts to change attitudes, and structured courses that are supposedly guaranteed to solveproblems, do not always bring about the desired behavioral change in trainees. Further, theseauthors suggest that experiential training which (1) uses adequate methods of training, (2)

includes feedback systems, and (3) adapts experimental concepts to learning can be effective inbringing about desirable behavioral changes in trainees. An examination of the experientialtraining approach merits further discussion. Experiential Approach to Training Experiential training incorporates experiences wherein the learner becomes active and influencesthe training process. As opposed to the academic approach inherent in the traditional model,experiential training emphasizes immersion into real or simulated situations in which the trainee iseventually to operate. In this model, objectives are determined collectively by trainers andtrainees who (1) identify problems and resources, (2) explore and evaluate alternative solutions toproblems, and (3) reflect on and conceptualize the total experience. Trainers are responsible for structuring a training process in which trainees can internalize skills, knowledge and attitudes for use after the training program is terminated. Figure 2 presents a schematic conceptualization of the experiential training model. In experiential training, the trainer serves primarily as a facilitator, catalyst, and resource person.This individual (1) provides the rules and structure, (2) helps trainees develop the skills andunderstanding to perform effectively, and (3) works with all trainees to help them continuouslyimprove their performance. The trainer emphasizes cooperation and teamwork so that all teammembers can assist in the development of each individual. Such a collegial and supportiveapproach enhances teamwork. Experiential Learning Model

Step 1:

ExperienceActionProblem Solving

Step 2:

ReflectionDiscussionEvaluation

Step 3:

Discover InsightUnderstanding

Step 4:

SynthesisConceptualization

Step 5:

ModificationElaborationRestructuring

Step 6:

GeneralizationsExpectations

Step 7:

QuestionsIdeas, NeedsHypotheses

Step 8:

Setting ObjectivesPlanning

Step 9:

OrganizingPreparing Acquiring Skills

Step 10:

Seeking OpportunitiesIdentifying Resources



...Step 1 Performance-based Approach to Training In the third approach to training, performance-based goals are specified. The trainee isaccountable not for achieving passing grades, but for attaining a given level of proficiency.

Emphasis is placed on a specific skill that is observable while the trainee performs essentialtasks. This approach to training is task- or skill-centered and stresses practical skills andknowledge that can be used in work or community settings. The performance-based teacher education (PBTE) model developed by Elam (1971) is alsoapplicable to nonformal educational organizations. The implied characteristics of this modelinclude individualization, feedback, systematic programming, and learner and programaccountability. In addition, some related and desirable characteristics of the model include its fieldsetting, broad base for decision making and training materials, learner participation in decisionmaking, and research orientation. Elam's model employs methods which are relatively flexibleand allow learners to progress at their own rate with many alternatives and options.

The model emphasizes specific skill training as well as attention to knowledge and attitudes of trainees. In addition, the model provides for congruence between objectives and evidence usedfor evaluative purposes. The PBTE model enables participants to be active learners whoseviewpoints are important in shaping the educational activity. To be used effectively, PBTE'sresearch orientation must be adapted to field situations. In addition, special attention will berequired to orient the training toward the use of scarce local resources, a problem in many areasof the world. Consideration should be given to having participants bear some of the costs of thetraining. Not only will this policy help overcome training costs, it will also help make the training(1) oriented to local conditions and (2) responsive to learners' needs. In designing an educational solution for a particular situation, components from various trainingapproaches might be used. Elements of the experiential as well as performance-based approachthat are appropriate to the training needs of extension personnel and farmers should be used.

The traditional training approach should be used sparingly and carefully. SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR TRAINING FARMERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES (or other

special groups) Farmers are more interested in agricultural production and improving the quality of their lives.Training for farmers, however, should take account of their particular needs. Below are someconsiderations for trainers who are developing a training program for farmers. Matching the literacy level of farmers Current literature indicates that a majority of farmers worldwide do not have a basic minimum

education. Therefore all training provided for this special group must be carefully matched to their literacy levels. Appropriate media and methods should be selected. Clear and simpleexplanations should be given. Visits to demonstration plots, tours, demonstrations, anddiscussions are just a few of the variety of methods that will help farmers to see the value of thetraining and to apply it to their own needs.



Matching the demographics of farmers Demographic factors such as age, ownership of land, education, previous participation in similar programs, previous contacts, wealth, and availability of resources are associated with theadoption of improved practices. An understanding of these factors helps improve theeffectiveness of training for farmers.

Matching social and cultural expectations Bowen and Carey (1990) indicate that training conducted without appropriate consideration of thesocial and cultural aspects tends to have limited long term effectiveness. Therefore, trainers mustconsider social and cultural factors such as the village, friends, community, farm organization,work group, family, cooperatives, and religion. Another issue is the timing of the training. If the training is not scheduled at a time when thetrainees can comfortably participate, it may fail. If the trainees are not "ready" for the subjectmatter of the training, they may reject it. Readiness of the learner is required for all types of education. EXERCISES: 1. Remember a training session in which you were a participant. How was it organized? What didyou like about the session(s)? What changes could have been made to improve the training?Redesign the training using the ideas from this module so the training is more effective and youwould be more comfortable. 2. Choose a group that you want to train. Plan the training using the ideas from this module. Youshould also look at the module on workshops (TL-1) and perhaps some of the other modules onteaching/learning techniques (they all have "TL" before the number).




Recognition V-8

Sooner or later God will give everybody what they deserve. To be appreciated, to feel important and needed is a basic human need. Encouragement andrecognition are essential to human development and motivation. Before looking at this modulereview the more general discussion of motivation in module V-4. LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Describe a range of actions that you can take to recognize accomplishment.2. Describe how you will practice some of these actions. WHY GIVE RECOGNITION? According to world renowned management consultant Peter Druker, the major cause of lowproductivity among today's workers is the lack of meaningful recognition. "Failure to commendgood performance is management's single greatest mistake. Good performance that isunrecognized deteriorates. When it comes to the managing of people, rarely can there be toomuch positive, reinforcement. "In their best selling book, The One Minute Manager, Blanchardand Johnson prescribe the use of "One Minute Praisings" to inspire and motivate others. Theyrecommend that you: "Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they aredoing. Then catch them doing things right, and tell them about it in no uncertain terms." HOW TO GIVE RECOGNITION Your recognition-giving will be most effective if it is: Spontaneous, expressed on the spot. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to say, and theless effective the compliment becomes. Say it now, rather than saving it for the annualrecognition night. Sincere. If you don't mean it, don't say it. If you try to deceive, your non-verbal communication

will give you away, and you will end up sounding artificial and contrived.

Specific. Give attention to details. Unfortunately, much of our recognition-giving consists of lightweight "marshmallow compliments" that are delayed, vague, and unconvincing, e.g., "It wentwell." "Good job." Such compliments are nice, but really don't carry much weight, or have muchimpact. Be specific in indicating exactly what the person did that was so important, and why.Compliment the "little" as well as the "big" things.



Non-verbally reinforced. A warm pat on the back, a wink, a smile, an agreeing nod of the head,excitement in your eyes will more than triple the impact of your words. The desired effect of praise can be amplified (or negated) by how it is given. Compliment people's ideas as well as their actions. A major determinant of our personal self-esteem is how others respond to our ideas, what we say. Also, share your compliments with the

"significant others" in that person's life--his or her spouse, parents, superior, friends. Many of us have difficulty in freely praising others, and we make excuses for not doing so, e.g.,"they'll get a swollen head," or "people should take pride in what they're doing and not need to berewarded." Take a close look at yourself, and how you are showing your appreciation to others.Recognition is meaningful only if the people receiving it feel important, needed and inspired as aresult of your comments and actions. If they don't, change your approach. Experiment withdifferent forms of recognition-giving until you find ones you feel comfortable with and that work inmotivating others. The better people feel about themselves, the better they perform. Listening is also a form of recognition. Review module C-2 for a discussion of specific listeningtechniques. IDEAS FOR RECOGNITION Below is a checklist of ideas that county 4-H agents in Pennsylvania use to recognize youth intheir counties. 1. To recognize 4-H members for their PARTICIPATION, reward them with ___ a trip to a 4-H camp ___ a newspaper ad listing their names ___ a letter of commendation to their parents ___ a trip to a 4-H or non 4-H educational event

___ a personal "thank you" face to face (preferably in public) ___ a party or other social event ___ participation ribbons ___ an announcement of their participation by their community club leader at a community clubmeeting. 2. To recognize 4-H members for meeting STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE, use

___ scholarships ___ 4-Her of the month article in the county newsletter ___ plaque in the county office ___ hall of fame at the county fairgrounds ___ gift certificate

___ recognition night ___ merit badges ___ appointment of 4-Her to the advisory committee for that event or activity ___ a letter to the 4-Her's school teacher or school administrator ___ request for the 4-Her to help with leader training.



3. To recognize 4-Hers for COOPERATION, use ___ letter of appreciation to the 4-Her ___ 4-H "team of the month" article in county newsletter ___ interagency cooperative recognition night ___ appointment of the youth to the county leader council

___ appointment of the youth to the planning committee for an event ___ television interview for local news ___ radio interview for the local extension report or talk show ___ rent billboard space for public congratulation ___ school assembly to recognize teamwork throughout the community. 4. To recognize 4-Hers for PROGRESS TOWARD PERSONAL GOALS, use

___ exhibit of the member's portfolio in the county office or a downtown business ___ news article ___ appointment as a "peer mentor" for that event or activity ___ appointment as a "county ambassador" ___ a prize (such as a self-improvement book) ___ announcement at the member's project club meeting ___ special mention at the county 4-H recognition night. 5. To recognize 4-Hers for PEER COMPETITION, use

___ ribbons (Danish system) ___ ribbons (placings) ___ trophies ___ prize money ___ banquet recognition ___scholarships to State Days (Roundup) (Camp) ___ appointment of the member as a consultant to improve the contest. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. How does your organization or group give recognition? 2. Can you identify some other occasions when recognition might be appropriate? 2. How could you do a better job of giving recognition? EXERCISE: Use the answers to the questions above to develop an outline plan for expanding the recognitiongiven by your group. Identify occasions when you could give (more) recognition. Tell what youcan do in the next few weeks. Tell what your organization can do in the next 12 months.




Legal Considerations V-9

Rights come from responsibilities. Increasingly volunteer organizations are facing legal challenges and the need to anticipate legalissues before situations occur. LEARNING OBJECTIVE After finishing this module you should have identified important legal issues for volunteer organizations. By identifying the issues you can consider which ones affect your program and if you should consult legal counsel to prepare for the issues. INSURANCE 1. What kind of liability insurance does your organization carry? Under what conditions is it valid?What situations does it cover? 2. What health and accident insurance does the organization carry? Is it primary or supplementary insurance? 3. What insurance are volunteers expected to have?

4. What insurance is in effect for rental vehicles if rented by professionals or volunteers?

5. Do certain activities (food sales, animal events) require notification or special event insurance? PARENTAL PERMISSION 1. What forms does your organization use for emergency medical treatment (most hospitalsrequire a release form signed by parents)? 2. Is parental permission required for field trips or other activities? VOLUNTEER SCREENING Some organizations, especially those involved in youth development, now require all volunteersbe screened at the local level for previous record of criminal activity. Does your organization require volunteer screening? Who is responsible? What is the process?Who must be screened? Are clearances from other organizations valid for yours?



LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS 1. Do you need a special license for any of your activities? 2. Are food handlers permits required? 3. Are raffles or games-of-chance controlled in your area? CODES OF CONDUCT 1. Does your organization have a "code of conduct" for volunteers? For youth? For other categories of people? 2. Are participants aware of these codes and the consequences for violating a code of conduct? 3. Has the code of conduct been checked lately and brought up to date? FUND-RAISING 1. What policies govern fund-raising activities in your organization? Can anyone carry out anyfund-raising event as long as it is legal? 2. Is any clearance, permission, or notification required for fund-raising? HANDLING MONEY 1. Does your organization have any guidelines for club treasurers? 2. Who may open bank accounts? Under what conditions? Is a tax exempt status desired? 3. Are audits or reports required? CIVIL RIGHTS 1. Does your group or organization exclude certain groups or individuals from membership or participation in any way? 2. Is an affirmative action statement required for any announcements or publications of your group? 3. Is an equal employment opportunity statement required? 4. How and where do you recruit volunteers, employees, or participants? Do your methodsdiscriminate against any group or individual?

5. Is your group required to consider the needs of handicapped individuals in scheduling facilitiesor equipment for public meetings?



USE OF PROTECTED MATERIALS 1. Does your organization have a logo that is protected by law? Who may use it and under whatconditions? 2. Does your work involve use or endorsement of other trademarks or logos? What precautions

are required? Recommended? 3. Is permission required for copies of handouts or audio-visual software?

Can you think of any other legal considerations that are relevant to your organization or any of its programs or activities? EXERCISE: Check with your superiors if you have any doubt about any of the items on the list above. If theyaren't certain of the answer, suggest that they check with legal counsel to clarify the question or issue. You may also want to go over this list of issues with someone from another organizationwhich is similar to yours to see how they deal with legal issues.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Personal Development

Ages and Stages of Youth P-1

My kids change so fast I can't keep up with them. Young people change as they grow. While physical growth is obvious, sometimes growth inthinking, social growth and emotional growth are not quite as visible. When working with youth inan educational program like 4-H, you need to be sensitive to growth and development in all four areas. The ages and stages of develpment of youth greatly influences how they learn and what isof interest to them. Teaching methods must be adapted to the physical, mental, social andemotional capabilities of the age group(s) you are working with. Research on youth developmentprovides insight into what to expect in terms of the physical, mental, social and emotionaldevelpoment of youth aged 6-8 years, 9-11 years, 12-14 years, 15-17 years and 18-19 years.

That research is summarized in "Ages and States of Child and Youth Development: A Guide for 4-H Leaders," RP-292, available from your local Nebraska Cooperative Extension office or theState 4-H Office. Other states may hsve their version of this Nebraska Cooperative Extensionpublication.




Family Strengths P-2

When times are good, parents are taken for granted.

Today the home and family life are sometimes remarkably similar to a busy airport (refueling,servicing the equipment, directing traffic --getting people to other places). It is of crucialimportance to its passengers but hardly an isolated place of retreat from the surrounding world.No family is immune from the change, pressure and new ideas of the world which invade eachhome in both benign and damaging ways. We now increasingly recognize that parents cannot be held solely responsible for the ways inwhich their children develop. Families are perceived as open systems heavily affected by themore powerful systems of society (political, social, religious and economic). Problems, however,lie within individuals and families as well as systems. Individuals can make a difference. Parents, educators, researchers, counselors and ministers are among the many people who areincreasingly aware that if we are to strengthen families in America we must learn more aboutwhat strong families are like. What are the characteristics of successful families? How can familystrengths be developed? How can we enhance the quality of our family relationships? Family strengths are defined as those relationship patterns, interpersonal skills andcompetencies, as well as the social and psychological characteristics which create a sense of positive family identity, promote satisfying and fulfilling interaction among family members,encourage the development of the potential of the family group and individual family members,

and contribute to the family's ability to deal effectively with stress and crises in everyday life. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the time you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Describe characteristics of "strong families."2. Identify a dozen new ideas to strengthen your family.3. Choose three family strength builders to complete in one month.4. Complete the 3 strength builders and discuss the results with family members.

CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG FAMILIES Through research and educational program experience, characteristics of families whichsuccessfully cope with pressures, changes and threats, have been identified. They include atleast six general characteristics.



Time together -- These families organize their lives (not just free time) to make sure they spendtime on activities that everyone enjoys. This means individual family members make sacrifices tobe together. Able and willing to communicate -- which includes skill in listening and expressing feelings.They do not allow individual members to be laughed at or "put down." Each individual makes a commitment to the family -- which promotes the general welfare of the family over personal desires. Problem solving -- includes skill in resolving conflicts and commitment to help each other asproblems arise that threaten the family or its members. Community involvement -- The family is viewed as part of a community which provides supportto community members and expects members to contribute to the community. IDEAS FOR STRENGTHENING FAMILIES Following is a list of specific ideas to enhance these characteristics of strong families. 1. Plan time to be together. Put these plans ahead of other opportunities or demands. Chooseactivities that interest everyone to some degree. Gradually include activities which are a primaryinterest to each family member. 2. Establish a balance between outside activities, work schedules, and the family. This may meancutting out some of the current outside activities and overtime commitments at work. 3. Post a family master calendar on a wall so all can see and remember their family commitmentswell into the future. 4. Set aside time to talk to each other and to really listen. See module C-2 for a

review of listen skills. 5. Work through module C-1 (interpersonal communication) as a family. 6. Give recognition to family members (see module V-8 for specific guidelines and ideas for givingrecognition). 7. Show each family member consideration and appreciation for everyday sacrifices. 8. Resolve problems and conflicts constructively and creatively (see module M- 3). 9. Help each other and be willing to accept help from each other. 10. Contact and build ties with other families. 11. Develop a spiritual focus within your family (this may or may not include attending religiousservices together).



12. Take part in community activities and use community services (i.e.., go to the librarytogether). 13. Designate one meal each week as a special family time when everyone will participate, talkand listen. 14. Make a family tree together. Discuss where your family came from. An exercise for thisactivity is described in the 4-H leaders guide, "And My World, Unit I" on page 30 (currentlyavailable through the national 4-H Catalogue). 15. Start a "Celebrate the Family" group (through 4-H or another organization). Get materials likethe "Strengthen Your Family" series available through Penn State Cooperative Extension to giveyour group ideas for activities. 16. Plan an "intergenerational family meal" where each generation of your family is involved inmenu planning, cooking, and serving. Don't be afraid to try a new dish -- start a new familytradition. Discuss what it was like for each generation to be young. 17. Play a board game together. Do a jigsaw puzzle together. 18. Have an intergenerational songfest where each generation teaches the family a favorite song. 19. Start a family band. Play something simple together. Rhythm instruments and singing areacceptable for those who do not play other instruments. 20. Adopt an older friend who is not part of your family. Include the friend in family activities. Helpthe friend with some chore (like shopping or yard work). 21. Host an international guest. Many opportunities are available from many organizations for short or long term hosting. Involve all family members in the planning and preparation for theguest. 22. Conduct a home energy check. Get a checklist from your county extension office, a utilitycompany, or a community organization interested in energy efficiency. 23. Ask older adults to teach quilting, carpentry, stamp collecting, sewing, or cooking skills to your family. So something similar for them. This is called a "skill exchange." 24. Plan a community beautification project (clean up, landscape, paint trash cans). 25. Plan and conduct a physical fitness seminar. 26. Grow a family garden. Let each family member have a special area to experiment withsomething special. 27. Plan a nature walk. Make it a photographic expedition. 28. Discuss heroes. Who were your past heroes, current ones?



29. Interview an older member of your family...perhaps with a tape recorder. Have a prepared listof questions but follow the direction that the interviewee wants to go with the interview. 30. Begin a collection (stamps, coins, rocks) that everyone in the family can help maintain andexpand. 31. Create holiday decorations such as snowflakes from paper. 32. Make a book of leaves. 33. Start an album of family photographs and keepsakes (school programs, postcards). 34. Go fishing together; take a picnic. 35. Make a get-well card for someone. 36. Make a meal for someone and deliver it. 37. Plan a family holiday that is something you don't normally celebrate (i.e.., presidents day,United Nations Day, Arbor Day, May Day, birthday of a famous person). 38. Design a family ceremony for a special occasion. Select music, or a poem, or a reading, or acombination of these. 39. Prepare a secret supper. Each family member is responsible for part of the meal but noattempt is made to coordinate or reveal who is fixing what. 40. Make a family flag. Design and make it to express unique things about your family. 41. Have a garage sale of things you need to get out of the house. Do it with two or three other families in your neighborhood. EXERCISE: Choose three of the ideas from the list above to complete during the next month. Involve all familymembers in the decision. EXERCISE: Use the following scale to evaluate your family. Have each family member complete the scale

then compare answers and discuss.



Assessing Your Family Strengths Rate your family overall for each of the following characteristics of strong families. Remember that every family has strengths and weaknesses. Low ratings will help identify areas tostrengthen. The list above will give you ideas for activities to help strengthen your family.

weak 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (str

he family spends time together. he family is a priority for all members. ommunication is frequent among members. amily members listen to each other carefully. eelings are expressed without fear. ppreciation is expresses and accepted. embers support each other in times of crisis. elf-esteem is promoted for all members. embers work together. Members play together. Problems are quickly noted and do not get ignored. Problem solving is practiced Family participates in community activities. Members are allowed to participate in activities apart from thely. Family can accept help from outside.




Values Development P-3

Whoever wishes ill on someone, invites ill onto himself. What goes around, comes around. We all have values--a personal idea of what is good or bad. While helping other people buildcommunities we need to be aware that they have values too and that their values may be (andoften are) different from ours. To be effective in helping communities we need to recognize our own values and practice tolerance and empathy for other peoples' values. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the time you finish with this module you should be able to: 1. Identify at least 10 values that you hold.2. Describe how you should work with a community whose values are different than your own. WHAT ARE YOUR VALUES? Everyone has personal values, as well as values related to family, community, nation and world.People who say "I think we ought to take care of our own backyard before we go running aroundthe world trying to fix other countries' problems," are expressing a value about the world.Personally I find that statement extremely naive and objectionable. If I want to work with peoplewho hold that value, however, I have to accept the fact that it is one of their values. I can respect

them as persons without sharing all of their values. If, however, I do not clarify my own valuesand try to understand the other person's values I may simply conclude that the person isobjectionable. Then I have created a barrier to working with that person and I have created anunnecessary conflict. So let's start by identifying some personal values. EXERCISE: State some of your own values by answering the following questions. You should be able to givemore than one answer to many of these questions. 1. Who am I? 2. What is important to me? 3. What is my purpose in life?



4. How should I treat other people? 5. What are my key religious beliefs? 6. When I die I hope this will be my epitaph (the way people remember me): 7. My responsibilities to my family include: 8. I believe that people should never put their elderly parents in a rest home. Yes No Why: 9. I believe that parents should teach their kids to: 10. Among the things that my parents taught me are: 11. I believe that all citizens should vote in elections: 12. I vote (do not always vote) because: 13. All citizens should pay taxes. Yes No Why: 14. Every adult should have the right to own automatic weapons. Yes No Why: 15. Schools have the responsibility for: 16. I believe the following actions are immoral: 17. What makes my community a community (what keeps it from falling apart) is ..... Share your answers with a friend or with the discussion group. Does everyone agree on everyanswer given? Can you tolerate values that you do not hold and still respect the person whoholds that belief? NATIONAL VALUES Review the discussion of "American values" in module P-4. Do you agree with all of the valuesdiscussed as American values? EXERCISE:

Write down (add to your list of values in the answers to the 18 questions above) any values thatyou find in module P-4 with which you strongly agree. Should all Americans hold the same values? How do differences in values strengthen a country?How do they lead to conflicts? How should citizens deal with value conflicts?



WORLD VALUES Many writers, philosophers, religious leaders, and political leaders say that too many Americansare apathetic about the world, that we can no longer afford to isolate ourselves as a country or asindividual citizens. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? EXERCISE: Answer the following questions.

I Agree - I Disagree - I don't c

Environmental problems like global warming and acid rain need international solutions. The world economy affects me greatly. Unrestricted immigration between all countries should be allowed.

can do something about world hunger. The issue of "global survival" concerns me. All strategic nuclear weapons should be eliminated. The violation of human rights around the world concerns me.

strongly identify with the slogan, "Think globally, act locally."

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT VALUES Following is a set of guidelines (values) that were written by a community development specialistto guide his work in international community development. Review the guidelines and mark thosestatements which you find useful in your work as a community leader. Add any other statementsto the list which are important to you. Preparation 1. Get as much background as possible on the community situation. 2. Clarify my own values of nonformal education (module E-3) as they relate to the situation. 3. Anticipate issues and problems. 4. Prepare alternative approaches for resolving the issues and problems. 5. Review this checklist before working directly with the community. My Personal Value Positions 1. The learner should help determine learning objectives. 2. Educational efforts should increase the independence of learners. 3. Community development (C D) efforts should encourage local initiative, self-help andinnovation. 4. C D efforts should foster critical awareness to identify and analyze problems.



5. C D efforts should promote action to resolve problems. 6. C D efforts should emphasize common sense approaches rather than theoretical approaches. 7. C D efforts should have immediate and practical benefits to learners. 8. C D efforts should avoid excessive structure, programmed systems, and centralization. 9. Educators (community leaders) should treat learners (community members) as subjects, notobjects. 10. Community developers should help find local solutions to local problems. Introducing Myself 1. Start with an informal dialogue in a relaxed environment. 2. Establish credibility by showing interest, asking questions, and indicating preparations made towork with the community. 3. Invite community members to describe the situation, then clarify it by tactfully asking questions. 4. Accept the needs identified by clients as the starting point. 5. Establish myself as a catalytic consultant (collaborator) by: a. dialogue on personal values b. encouraging teamwork c. modeling facilitator behaviors d. emphasizing the problem rather than my expertise. When I am Viewed as an Expert 1. Offer options not solutions. 2. Dialogue, explore alternatives. 3. Emphasize their expertise. 4. Demonstrate respect for others. 5. Build confidence in others. 6. Support their efforts to define or redefine the problem.



7. Question, listen and point out possible solutions from the answers. 8. Use nonverbal communication to support others. 9. Avoid paternalism and manipulation. 10. Keep the responsibility for solving the problem on the community members. As the Situation Develops 1. Transfer leadership to others but share responsibility. 2. Transfer skills and information in order to make myself more dispensable. 3. Try to lower my own profile as time passes. 4. Observe local ceremonies, customs, and hierarchies while keeping the problems and values infocus and foremost. 5. Emphasize participatory and "hands on" discussion and learning. 6. Avoid "pulling rank" by using my titles or experience as a defensive or offensive weaponagainst those who disagree with me. 7. Suggest procedures that might be followed to gather more information. 8. Treat others as equals as much as possible (slightly more than the client is comfortable with,but not enough to destroy communication). 9. Avoid taking myself too seriously. 10. Review this checklist occasionally. Analyzing Alternatives 1. Consider the effects on all involved. 2. Check each alternative against the personal value positions (above).

Post Mortem 1. Communicate problems/issues yet unresolved in a final discussion or by letter (preferablyboth). 2. Communicate confidence in community members to carry on.



SUMMARY The answers to the questions in the first three exercises tell you about some of your values.Remember that these are not cast in stone. Values change. Be open to new ideas, consider themcarefully, and when appropriate rewrite your values. Writing them down helps you to solidify themand remind you of them. The last exercise will help you to identify your values as a community developer or nonformaleducator. These statements, when modified to express your personal values, will provide youwith guidelines to help you in your role as an educator, community development worker or community leader. The guidelines can also help you to evaluate your actions when your effortsappear to be unsuccessful.




Cultural Awareness P-4

No matter how long the log lies in the river, it will never become a crocodile.

Cross-cultural awareness is very important. If you can become more sensitive to your owncultural biases, you will become a more effective leader. If you can become more aware of minority group values, you will be able to work more effectively with members of that minoritygroup.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After mastering this chapter you should be able to:

1. Become more aware of your own cultural values.2. Become more sensitive to cultural values which are different than yours. CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

"Culture" refers to the accumulation of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, religion,roles in society, concepts of time and concepts of self and universe that a large group of peopleacquires over generations. We can discuss "traditional Hopi culture" more easily that "American"culture since the first group is smaller and concentrated mainly in one small part of Arizona.However we need to be able to define American culture, even though our definition may be full of exceptions, so that we may begin to see ourselves as others see us.

Time is very important to Americans. We treat it as a material thing ("time is money"). We value

promptness and often criticize people who are not time-conscious. Non- western people are notnearly so concerned about time--they often think we are very strange to try to "master,manipulate, or save" time.

Americans value scientific reasoning. They try to analyze and understand everything in a rationalway. Nature is a resource to be controlled and used for ones benefit. Other people may rely moreon religion, tradition or mysticism, in order to understand their world. They may see nature assomething to work with rather than something to master.

Americans are materialistic. They seek results that can be measured, delight in gadgets, andoften judge other cultures by the presence or quality of their refrigerators. Other cultures are morelikely to emphasize aesthetic or spiritual values.

Tradition has a unique meaning to Americans. We have no aristocracy, no bourgeoisie, no

peasantry--just people. But other cultures often view us in terms of our "Puritan" values:moralistic, humanitarian, competitive, certain that our way is best, and sometimes arrogant. Weput great emphasis on "progress." These attitudes often collide with other cultures that have adifferent history than ours. Our Puritanism often strikes them as "cold, impersonal and naive."

Americans value individualism which includes autonomy, resourcefulness and success. As aresult we are often indifferent to laws, rules and regulations which may limit our freedom. In other



cultures much more value is placed on family, on ancestors and on the good of the group.Decisions are more often made by groups or by an authority.

Religion has generated more conflicts among cultures than any other factor. The Christianreligion tends much more toward sharp distinctions between good and evil, right and wrong. Wesend out missionaries to convert "them." Other religions are more accepting of the world as it isand are less inclined to want to change it.

In our interpersonal relations Americans tend to be hospitable, generous and informal. We makenew friends easily. We are often viewed as "careless" in our manners, our dress, our homes, andour friendships. Other cultures place more emphasis on correctness of actions, on ceremony andloyalty to old friends.

Finally Americans tend to be romantics. We have enjoyed almost unlimited natural resourcesthroughout our brief history so we usually take a "can do" approach to any challenge. We expectto be happy. As a result of these values other cultures sometimes view us as self-indulgent andnaive.

If we carefully consider our "American values" we can find many strengths and weaknesseswithin each of the categories discussed above. Likewise we can find many strengths and

weaknesses to the values of people in other cultures.

When we compare other cultures to our own to discover who is right and who is wrong, we erectbarriers to understanding. We also make leadership and cooperation difficult if not impossible.

Of course cross-cultural sensitivity is also important within our country where "American" valuesoften come in conflict with the values of minority groups. Ironically we are often less tolerant of cultural differences within our own communities than we are in our international relations.

In order to work with members of minority groups, in order to recruit them as members of our organizations, in order to respect them as leaders or potential leaders, we need to understand our own cultural values as well as "their" cultural values. We need to be continually sensitive topotential conflicts in values.

Even understanding cultural differences may not be enough. Minorities in the United States areconstantly being torn between their traditional values and those of the "dominant" majority.Sometimes a Navajo may appear to act from "American" values in one situation and fromtraditional Navajo values in another.

Answers to these problems are not easy. Awareness, however, is the first step. Then a constanteffort to be sensitive is required for those who would work in cross-cultural situations. EXERCISE:

Read the following article silently.

FROM "BODY RITUAL AMONG THE NACIREMA" by HORACE MINER

Professor Linton first brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twentyyears ago, but the culture of this people is still very poorly understood. According to Naciremamythology, their nation was originated by a culture hero, Notgnihsaw.

Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which was evolved in arich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large partof the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. Thefocus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant



concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonialaspects and associated philosophy are unique.

The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is uglyand that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, people's onlyhope is to avert these characteristics through the use of the powerful influences of ritual andceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerfulindividuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the opulence of ahouse is often referred in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses.

While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not familyceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally only discussed with children, andthen only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysteries. I was able,however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have therituals described to me.

The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept themany charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live. Thesepreparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of theseare the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the

medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredientsshould be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing isunderstood only by the medicine men and herbalists, who, for another gift, provide the requiredcharm.

Beneath the charm box is a small font. Each day every member of the family, in succession,enters the shrine room, bows his head before the charm box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font and proceeds with a brief rite of ablution. The holy waters are secured from the Water Temple of the community, where the priests conduct elaborate ceremonies to make the liquidritually pure.

The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth rite. Despite the fact that thesepeople are so punctilious about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the

uninitiated stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a smallbundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving thebundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.

The ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a magic-ridden people. It is hard tounderstand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposedupon themselves. But even such exotic customs as these take on real meanings when they areviewed with the insight provided by another anthropologist, Malinowski, when he wrote:

"Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easyto see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic. But without its power and guidance early mancould not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advancedto the higher stages of civilization."

----------

Now answer the following questions silently. Do not consult with anyone else! 1.Where (area, country, continent) do you think the Nacirema live?

2.Why do you think the Nacirema live there?



3.What words best describe the Nacirema culture?

Write down your answers before you go on to the next page.

Share your answers with the group or with a friend before you read the next section. REFLECTIONS ON THE PREVIOUS EXERCISE

*****Do the exercise above, if you haven't already, before reading further.

Nacirema is "American" spelled backwards. This description is how Americans might appear toan anthropologist from another planet. The facts are accurate but the assumptions andinterpretations may seem distorted.

All of the terms refer to American culture:

Notgnihsaaw = Washingtonshrine = bathroom

box or chest = medicine cabinetmedicine men = doctorsherbalist = pharmacistfont = bathroom sinkbundle of hog hairs = toothbrush

The moral of this exercise is that unless we are sensitive and careful, we may make assumptionsabout other cultures which are equally distorted. Cross-cultural awareness is especially importantwhen we desire to work with people from other cultural backgrounds either as members of our organizations or as clients or partners of our organizations.

One common (and insensitive) reaction to cultural differences is to say, "Well, they are living in America so they ought to act like Americans." In this case, "American" is understood to refer to

the majority (usually White Anglo Saxon Protestant) values, language and behaviors. To becomemore sensitive culturally we need to be aware of our own culture, then become aware of commonmistakes in cross-cultural contacts. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Skim the section above on "American Values," noting the key phrases (underlined). Which onesare most often in conflict with minority groups or individuals in our community? What adjustmentscould we make to be more culturally sensitive? For example:

Dressis a problem. - We might all dress less formally and stop making negative comments aboutthose with long hair.

Religious differences may become a problem. - We might all agree to stop arguing about which isthe "true" religion. We can agree to disagree and to stop talking about it.




Career Skills P-5

To get a job you must become a warrior, not a victim .

After setting personal goals (See module L-5) an individual needs to develop and update aProfessional Improvement Planning guide to reach those goals. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After finishing this module you should be able to:

1. Identify activities which will help prepare you for (or grow in) the job you want.2. Prepare for a job interview. PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING GUIDE

Use the following outline as a planning form to identify personal development activities.

I. GOALS

What are my long-range professional goals? (Type of position, responsibilities, activities,accomplishments, clientele).

What are my academic goals?

1. Degree - M.S., Ph.D., focus/major, supporting area:

2. Non-degree:

What are my personal goals? (lifestyle, geographic, financial)

What are my job-related goals?

II. NEEDS

What are my content needs which would help me meet any of the above goals? (subjectmatter, background information, experiences)

What are my process needs which would help me meet any of the above goals?(interpersonal skills, personal characteristics, educational methods, communication

techniques)

Which of the needs listed above fit the needs of the organization for which I am currentlyworking?



III. ANNUAL OBJECTIVES

What are my personal improvement objectives for this year? (from goals and needsalready identified)

1.

2.

3.

What activities will help me meet those objectives?

A. Courses at ___________________ university, school.

B. Short courses or correspondence courses.

C. Professional conferences and conventions

D. Workshops

E. Contacts with colleagues

F. Reading (books, journals, field manuals)

G. Writing (articles, field manuals)

H. Organizing workshops, conferences, meetings

I. Using community resources

J. Dialogue with Experts

K. Self-training

What are my expectations of my family and my current employer in helping meaccomplish these activities?

Keep a copy of this guide for your files. Update it annually or when you are tempted by anew position.

INTERVIEWING SKILLS

We will assume that you have prepared yourself to do the job that you want. Now let's turn our attention to landing the job. You will need a resume. Many books are available on writingresumes so that topic will not be discussed here. Do not, however, underestimate the importance

of a well designed resume that has been reviewed numerous times by a variety of individuals andrefined until it is error free and accurately presents your strengths and experience.

In preparing for an interview, three steps are important: (1) find out as much as you can about the job, the organization, and the people you will be meeting; (2) prepare yourself mentally; and (3)practice, practice, practice.

Step one has no secrets or magic tricks involved. You simply have to do as much homework inthe time you have using as many sources as you can. When you have contact with the peoplewhere you will interview (usually a secretary) ask lots of questions (without pushing the person



beyond her/his level of patience). Be prepared and organized in the questions that you ask. Askfor brochures on the organization, annual reports, descriptions of current activities, etc. Find outabout who was in the job before you and why that person left. What did the organization likeabout that person and what changes do they want. Assess your strengths and weaknesses inview of the expectations expressed by the organization for the person in the job. Write down 3 or 4 key attributes that you have for the job that you want to communicate to the interviewers. Withthese written attributes you know what the content of the interview should be if you are in control.

Next let's discuss the mental attitude. You have to convince yourself that YOU WILL BE INCONTROL OF THE CONTENT OF THE INTERVIEW. You must convince yourself that you arethe hunter, not the hunted, the person in control, not the victim. Think of yourself as alreadyhaving the job that you want. See yourself "performing and producing"¨in this job. Now all youhave to do is sell the interviewer who will decide if you get the chance. The interviewer controlsthe outcome of the interview but you can control the content by communicating your attributesevery time the interviewer's questions give you the slightest opening. One of the questions youwill likely be asked is "tell a little about yourself." Another is "why are you interested in this job."These are perfect openings for you to talk about your attributes and how you acquired them. Inthis way you control the content of the interview. You can also control the content by preparingquestions for the interviewer which allow you to get to your agenda (communicating your attributes). These might be used if the interviewer is getting away from the content you wish to

emphasize or if the interviewer is not well prepared and wanders. Keep telling yourself, "I amqualified for this job and I am going to decide, as a result of this interview, if I really want to workfor this organization.

In summary the hunter is in control, is confident and shows it, controls the content of theinterview, and will decide if this job is the right one (the hunter knows that there will always beother opportunities). The hunted is not in control, is scared to death and shows it, does not controlthe content of the interview, and puts himself/herself at the mercy of the interviewer. The hunter isunlucky if s/he does not get the job. The hunted is lucky if s/he does get the job.

Look at job hunting as a game where you can strike out 99 times then get a job on the 100thtime... and be a success.

For the third step in preparation, the practice, use the checklist below to gradually improve your interviewing skills. Role play the interview with a friend asking you questions. If possible, videotape an interview and evaluate yourself using the checklist. Get other friends to evaluate you asyou rehearse for the interview. CHECKLIST FOR INTERVIEWEE

1. Did the interviewee know as much as possible about the job before the interview.

2. Was the interviewee well aware of the qualifications and characteristics s/he possessed thatapplied to the job?

3. Was the interviewee aware of what to expect at the interview?

4. Did the appearance of the interviewee show self-confidence and interest in the job? Neatdress? Promptness? Nonverbal communication?

5. Did the conduct of the interviewee show attention and confidence? Sincere tone of voice?Poised and professional? Answered questions fully and honestly?

6. Was the interviewee appropriately aloof?

7. Did the interviewee ask appropriate questions?



8. Did the interviewee maintain eye contact?

9. Was the interviewee relaxed and natural?

10. Did the interviewee communicate qualifications?

11. Did the interviewee interject appropriate humor?

12. Did the interviewee know how a decision will be reached and communicated?

13. Did the interviewee offer to provide additional information?

14. Was the interviewee's overall impression positive and professional showingcompetence? Did it show the interviewee to be a team member who would not be difficult to workwith?




Current Issues P-6

Everyone knows where the shoe pinches.

We have already discussed a technique for identifying community issues, the nominal groupprocess (module E-5). This technique works well for community meetings of 15 or moreindividuals. For smaller groups, and for individual work, you need another way to identify currentissues. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the time you finish this module you should be able to:

1. Identify issues which are currently important to your community.2. Use other resources to identify "future" issues which may affect your group, organization or community. A CHECKLIST FOR COMMUNITY ISSUES*

Use the following checklist to determine issues which may be important to members of your community. For this checklist "community" is defined as a geographic area where people live.This may be a small town, a city, a neighborhood, or a rural area with an identifiable shoppingcenter. Not all of the items on the list will be relevant to your community.

Need to ImproveNow --- In the Future

Community Appearance

Entrance(s) into town are attractive.

Business district is clean & attractive;

landscaping,attractive street signs.signs to points of interest,attractive window displays,program for eliminating "blighted areas,"recommended architectural "theme,"trash disposal containers.

Public parks are adequate (number & size),

generally attractive and clean,landscaped,painted, attractive play equipment,attractive benches,clean, attractive bathrooms.



Public buildings are attractive & clean,

attractively landscaped,painted and identified,recommended architectural theme is used.

Streets & sidewalks - adequate amount,

attractively landscaped,clean & maintained,well lighted,attractive fire hydrants,dying & diseased trees are replaced.

Residential areas have clean yards,

nicely landscaped homes,homes painted & maintained,house numbers visible from street,generally attractive neighborhoods.

Ordinances or programs for dust control,

control of litter, junk cars, shacks, etc.,maintain clean vacant lots,recycling center,placement of utility lines & signs.

Community Facilities & Services

Public water.Gas service.Telephone.

Electricity.Sewer.Fire Department -- Fire house.Police Department.Garbage collectionTrash pick-up.Civil Defense.Community center.Courthouse -- City hall.Jail.Water works.Flood control.Street cleaning.

Drains & gutters.Park maintenance.CemeteryPublic land fill or dump.Public library.Planning & Zoning.

Newspaper.Radio -- TV.Bus.Railroad access.



Airport access.Stop lights.Crosswalks.

This checklist can be expanded for items related to: Health Services personnel,Health Services facilities,Health Services equipment,Health Programs (immunizations, AA, insect control, etc.),Housing Options (including finance, building codes, rentals),Industrial Development (sites, buildings),Services for Industrial Development (electricity, security, access to highways, waste disposal,etc.),Labor Force for Industrial Development,Promotion & Financing for Industrial Development,Outdoor Recreation facilities,Indoor Recreation facilities,Recreation programs (personnel, funding, organizations),Retail Services (variety, organizations, cooperation, sales tax, training programs),Shopping (parking, quality merchandise, competitive prices, sales),

Tourism (promotion, lodging, food choices, special events).

*This checklist was developed by Eldon E. Moore and Edward A. Parmee, CommunityDevelopment Specialists, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arizona, 1976. FUTURE ISSUES

To be effective a community leader, whether educator or community development worker, needsto be aware of future trends, projections and predictions. Many community issues can beanticipated and planned for before they become problems or concerns of local citizens. Some of the long term predictions are in the realm of science fiction. Other short term projections are ascertain as death and taxes.

A variety of sources will help you to keep aware of wild predictions and solid projections based oncurrent trends.

The Futurist magazine can be found in many local libraries.

In late December and early January many news magazines focus on national and internationaltrends that will affect people in the coming year.

American Renaissance: Our Life at the Turn of the 21st Century, by Marvin Cetron and OwenDavies (second edition, 1994), St. Martin's Press,describes 74 trends that will affect America'sfuture. Reprints of the 74 trends can be ordered from the World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD, 20814.

Libraries have a variety of books on future trends. Check under "future."




Problem Solving P-7

If your only tool is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the time you finish this module you should be able to: 1. Describe the traditional problem solving process.2. Identify 20 techniques for solving different types of problems. THE TRADITIONAL PROCESS Most problems can be solved by using a five step process. 1. Identify the problem. One of the most common mistakes in problem solving is to work on aproblem that is not well understood. Sometimes we start working on a problem (or worrying aboutit) only to find that the problem was different than we originally thought. In order to avoid wastingtime we have to carefully identify the problem. If other people are involved we need to get their agreement to the precise way we have defined the problem.

2. Accumulate information about the problem. This can be done in a variety of ways. Usingmultiple sources of information usually benefits the problem solver. We usually cannot afford toknow everything about a problem before we start solving it. Neither can we afford to know toolittle about a problem (which leads us to a wrong conclusion and the necessity to go back andstart over). 3. Evaluate the body of information. Decide what is important and what is not. During thisprocess several optional solutions usually emerge. Then more questions are raised and we mustgather more information in order to select the best option. 4. Choose a solution. If we have carefully done the first three steps, this step will usually beobvious. Now is the time to be decisive. If we decide too soon (during steps 1, 2, or 3) then wewill be biased by the time we get to step 4 and the solution will not work. Then we have to start

over and deal with a failure as well as the original problem.

5. Implementation and evaluation. These usually happen simultaneously during problemsolving. We begin working on the solution and get feedback that our solution is working or notworking.



TWENTY TECHNIQUES Most of these techniques fit into the traditional process at one point or another. A problem solver can be more effective more often by understanding and using different techniques depending onthe specific problem. 1. Library research 2. Interview an expert 3. Hire a consultant 4. Use a program planning process (see module E-4) 5. Mapping (works well when the problem is "how to use a plot of land") 6. Brainstorming (see module LT-3) 7. Role playing (see module LT-13) 8. Small group discussion (see module L-4) 9. Self Training (see module LT-10) 10. Simulation games (see module LT-11) 11. Debate 12. Nominal Group Process (see module E-6) 13. Needs assessment (see module E-5) 14. Resource assessment (see module E-8) 15. Program evaluation (see module E-10) 16. Consensus decision making (see module ___) 17. Conflict resolution (see module M-3) 18. Checklists 19. Mind storming 20. Force field analysis



Many other problem solving techniques can be used. These twenty are often used. Someadditional description is needed for 18-20. Checklists are all around us. If you problem is that people are unhappy with your workshop, usethe checklist in module LT-1 (on workshops) to prepare your next workshop then to evaluate thatworkshop. If your problem is preparing for a job interview, use the checklist in P-5 to prepare for

the interview, to evaluate yourself during practice, then to evaluate your actual interview. Mind storming is a technique for dealing with a very perplexing problem. It is an alternative to"worrying." When you find yourself worrying, find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted.State the problem clearly, write it down, then put it on your bulletin board or in a place which youwill see occasionally. Now tell your "mind" to work on the problem and give you some possiblesolutions. Then forget about the problem for a while. Answers will "pop" into your consciousnesswhen you least expect them. When this happens you need to write the answers and begin toevaluate the options and eventually resolve the problem. Force field analysis is a four step problem solving technique. (1) State the problem in very clear and precise terms then check the problem statement with a friend to see if it is very clear andprecise. (2) List factors that contribute to the problem (which make it a problem or make it worse).(3) List factors which alleviate the problem (which make it less of a problem). (4) What actionscan be taken to eliminate factors which contribute to the problem or to strengthen the factorswhich alleviate the problem ? By completing step 4 can the problem be resolved? If not tryanother problem solving technique. An example of how it works:

Force Field Analysis; A worksheet for problem solving

1. The Problem: Should I accept a job offer in another town? 2. It will mean time and expense to move.

I know my current job.My kids do not want to leave their school.I would lose part of my health benefits.

3. It would mean an increase in my paycheck.New opportunities.I'm tired of my current job.I would be closer to my family.Vacation benefits are better.Retirements benefits are better. 4. I can negotiate with my new employer to see if they will help me with moving expense and if Ican delay the starting date until June so the kids will at least finish the school year. If I can getthose two concessions from my new employer the benefits (column 3) will far outweigh the costs(column 2) and the problem will be resolved.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Communication

Interpersonal Communication C-1

Too much talk spoils everything.

How well we communicate is key to our effectiveness in life. Some people use the excuse, "I'mnot a public speaker," to avoid assessing and improving their communication skills. In thischapter, participants will learn how to speak up for themselves more effectively, whether speakingto one person or one hundred. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After finishing this module you should be able to:

1. Describe the difference between task and relationship-oriented communication.2. Assess your present communication style.3. Describe the difference between "I" and "You" statements, and their impact on others.4. Plan specific actions to become a more effective speaker. TASK OR RELATIONSHIP ORIENTED COMMUNICATION The way we express ourselves can either turn people on or turn them off. It can either gain their support or lose it. Sometimes, we turn people off, unintentionally. It is through communication thatdiffering needs and opinions are expressed and worked out. It is through communication thatinformation is shared, consensus developed and superior group decisions made. Also, it is

primarily through communication that people are motivated. How then can each of us becomemore effective in motivating others through our communications? Much of our communication is task oriented, that is, we communicate with a purpose, to workthings out, to make a decision, to accomplish a desired goal. We become more persuasive bybeing logical, well organized and prepared with good information. Effective communication,however, goes beyond winning and getting your way. Most of our accomplishments, andpleasures, in life come out of on-going relationships. Effective communication builds andstrengthens those relationships. Some people are very task oriented, down to business. They quickly become impatient. Theyoften have strong opinions as to what is "right." They use their power to pressure people, and are

willing to sacrifice relationships to get a decision made and the job done. They do more tellingthan listening. Other people are very relationship oriented--"We're all a big happy family." They are afraid tospeak up for fear of hurting feelings, and as a result shy away from substance.



Good communication must be both relationship and task oriented. The objective of effectiveinterpersonal communication is to share openly and meaningfully with one another in a caring,respectful manner. ON BEING ASSERTIVE Many of us could become more effective in speaking up for ourselves by being more assertive.

Unfortunately, many people misunderstand what being assertive means. They incorrectly assumethat being assertive means being aggressive. The distinction is important. The study of assertiveness identifies four styles of behavior in communicating with others.[1] Most of us use allfour of these styles, to varying degrees, in our daily interactions. Passive or submissive behavior, involves allowing others to take advantage of you--by failingto speak up for yourself. When non-assertive persons do express their thoughts and feelings,they often do so in an indirect, apologetic, timid, self-depreciating manner that others can easilydisregard. "It won't do any good, anyway" is a common excuse used by non-assertive people for not speaking up. Such people often have a strong need to please others, and disguise their truefeelings for fear of offending. Rather than being open and honest with one another, they areguarded in their comments. The choice of a passive role can be appropriate when the issue is notof great concern to us, or when we trust the superior knowledge and skills of others. The passive

role becomes negative when we choose it habitually. Aggressive behavior, at the opposite extreme, is based on accusing, directing, overpoweringother people, intimidating them, putting them down, making them feel guilty--in order to get your way. The aggressive person forces his feelings, needs and ideas on others. Aggressive peopleare often blunt, have a need to control, are often insensitive to the needs and feelings of others,are poor listeners, and exhibit a selfish single-mindedness that often results in domination. Aggressive behavior often triggers a guarded, defensive response from others, and a breakdownin communication results. Aggressive behavior can be a sign of an insecure person. Such peopleovercompensate for their insecurities through domineering behaviors.

People who typically behave in submissive ways often accumulate enormous amounts of frustration that finally erupt in an aggressive outburst, followed by feelings of guilt and a return toa submissive behavior pattern. This is called passive-aggressive behavior. In both passive andaggressive behaviors, people typically disguise what they really want to say by downplaying or exaggerating. This gives others a confusing message. Martyr behavior uses pessimism and guilt to manipulate others. Martyrs are often closed to newideas, are prone to use the past to predict the future in negative ways, and like to blame others.They get their way by making others feel sorry for them. We may appropriately choose to be amartyr by knowingly risking our reputation and public image to support a controversial cause or person we strongly believe in. Assertive behavior provides an alternative to the extremes of the previous three behaviors.Being assertive involves expressing your needs concerns, ideas and feelings openly in a

straightforward, but caring, respectful manner without dominating, judging, directing, or depreciating the other person. The objective of assertive behavior is improved communication--the sharing of information in getting yours and the other person's feelings, needs, concerns out inthe open where they can be dealt with constructively. Being assertive involves confronting in astraightforward, but caring manner that maintains the other person's self-esteem and strengthensyour relationship. The goal of assertive behavior is to get and give respect, to jointly resolvedifferences, and to allow for compromise when conflicts arise.



Not only does being assertive lead to more pleasant interpersonal relations, it also is generallymore effective in getting what you want. Why? Because most people become cooperative whenthey are approached in an open, straightforward, respectful, non-manipulative manner. These four models of behavior are presented to help you assess your communication style andits impact on others. You will from time to time use all four. This is to be expected. Most

important, you have a choice as to which style you use. As you face different situations, askyourself, "What kind of response am I getting? Would greater use of the assertive style make memore effective?" Specific techniques in how to become more assertive follow.

Before reading further, complete the following Assertiveness Quiz. INSTRUCTIONS: Review the listed responses to the underlined situations: (1) Put an "X" by

those responses you frequently use. (2) In the right hand margin categorize each response aseither passive, aggressive, martyr or assertive. A. When I am disappointed or upset with someone, I usually: 1. don't say anything, because I'm afraid I'll hurt his feelings.2. drop hints, hoping she will get the message.3. put it off, because I'm unsure of what I should say.4. confront him with "exactly how I feel."5. express my feelings sarcastically--getting my point across indirectly through humor.6. whine and complain to others.7. lecture her with "shoulds" and "oughts."8. avoid saying anything, because I know it won't do any good. It will only lead to more conflict.9. speak to the person privately, and express my concerns in a direct, but caring manner.

B. When someone asks me to do a favor and I don't want to do it, I usually:

1. do it anyway.

2. resent the request and act imposed upon.3. make up excuses as to why I can't do it.4. do it grudgingly, and complain to others.5. apologize profusely, and tell her I'm not able to do it.6. say "no," but allow myself to get talked into it.7. in a respectful manner, firmly say "I'd rather not."

I- MESSAGES How effective do you feel you are in expressing yourself? How do people usually respond to whatyou say? Do they become defensive and argumentative? Do they tend to disregard or treat lightlywhat you say? Or do they pay attention and respond cooperatively? A simple technique follows in helping you become more effective in speaking up for yourself. Thetechnique is particularly effective when you have a problem or concern to bring up, when you aredisturbed by someone else's behavior, when you wish to express a differing point of view, or otherwise find yourself in a potential conflict situation.

I-MESSAGES: How to express yourself in a manner so that others will listen to you andtake heed. I-messages involve expressing your need, concern, opinion or feelings preciselythrough statements that begin with the word "I" as opposed to sentences that begin with



impersonal pronouns such as "you" "they" "we" "it." It involves saying "I feel..." rather than "Itwould be best if..." "I don't understand" vs. "It's not clear....." "I would like....." vs "You should....""I'm upset about...." vs "You upset me." "I suggest..." vs "You haven't considered...." "I wouldprefer we not vote on this until we first explore other alternatives" vs. "You are trying to ram thisthrough." "I need your help in distributing the announcements" vs "You're not doing your share." "Iwould prefer you not smoke" rather than say nothing.

I-messages inform the other person of your frustration, your disappointment, without accusinghim or her of causing it. I- messages inform the other person of your needs, your thoughts, your opinions, without judging, or directing, or pressuring the other person to think the same way. I-messages clearly indicate to the other person how his or her behavior is interfering with your efforts to meet your own needs and then leaves responsibility for any change in that person'sbehavior with the other person, where it belongs. When you have a concern, frustration or problem, clearly describe in your I-message (a) thespecific behavior troubling you and (b) the impact that behavior is having on you and/or others.Don't convey judgment or blame. For example, "I am concerned that as chairman you are doingmuch of the talking; as a result, members don't get as involved in the decision" versus "You'redominating; let others have an opportunity to speak, too." "I get annoyed when you arrive late" vs.

"If you cared, you'd be on time." You will be amazed how direct and frank you can be, and still not make the other persondefensive, when you start your sentences with "I." Try it. "I am concerned about...." "I would liketo...." "I'm frustrated over...." "I would like us to consider...." "I was embarrassed by...." "I gotangry when...." "I'm worried about...." ROAD BLOCKS TO COMMUNICATION: Why people become defensive and resist what YOU have to say. Unfortunately, instead of sending an I-message when we have a problem, areannoyed, have a different opinion, or wish to make a suggestion, we usually send a solutionmessage as to what the other person should do. This involves directing, warning, threatening,moralizing, advising and giving suggestions. People generally resist being told what to do. Or we send a put-down message such as "That was a mistake." "You shouldn't have done that.""Don't argue with your mother." "We all know that won't work." "That's a poor idea." Suchstatements communicate blame, judgment, ridicule, criticism, shame. Such put-down messagesusually cause resistance, guilt feelings, excuse making, an urge to fight back and get even,and/or a feeling of rejection. Or we send a you-message: "You made me mad." "You haven't considered...." "You aren't beingcooperative." "You should have...." "You ought to...." You-statements tend to provoke counter you-statements and cause the discussion to degenerate into verbal battle. In short, we tend to "parent" others, and the minute we do, we block communications. Our egooften gets in the way and we become more concerned with straightening the person out than incommunicating and improving the relationship. Catch yourself. Express your problem, opinion,frustration through I-messages. Take full responsibility for what you say. Then allow the other person to take responsibility for his/her own statements, actions and reactions. The I-MESSAGE is not a panacea to improved communication. It is not appropriate in allsituations. It can, however, be a very effective tool in improving communication between yourself and your family as well as in business and community relationships.



An admonition: I-Statements can have a negative impact if they are used in an aggressive, self-righteous manner to impose and threaten, ("I demand that...." "I was insulted by...."). The tone of voice alone can turn an assertive, respectful statement into a threatening, aggressive one. For anI-Message to be effective, it must clearly state your need, wish or opinion without judging,directing or pressuring the other person.

EXERCISE 1: Review your responses to the "Assertiveness Quiz" (above) and compare with thefollowing answers. Several of the responses could be categorized differently depending on howthey were said. Passive: A-l, A-2, A-3, A-8, B-1, B-3, B-5, B-6 Aggressive: A-4, A-5, A-7, B-2 Martyr: A-5, A-6, B-3 Assertive: A-9, B-7 EXERCISE 2: Complete the "I-Messages Worksheet" (below). Share and discuss your responses with others in your study group. EXERCISE 3: On a separate sheet of paper, write (a) passive, (b) aggressive, (c) martyr and (d)assertive responses to each of the following situations. 1. Refuse an extra helping of food at a dinner party. 2. Get a group back on the subject after they have wandered off on a tangent. 3. Control an excessive talker who is dominating the discussion. 4. You have been interrupted, and wish to complete your thought. 5. A second conversation has started up in the back of the room and is distracting from themeeting. If you are in a study group, review each of the five situations, and have different individuals roleplay their assertive response, how they would "speak up for themselves" in handling the situation.Have the person speak directly to the group or to a designated individual who is to role play theproblem person as described in the situation. For example, in situation #1, "June would role playthe dinner host (cook) as she offers an extra helping of food; Bob you refuse it, in an assertivecaring manner." Instruct the role players to speak directly to one another--"don't explain how you

would do it, do it." Ask the group to critique the response. Change role players, and role playanother response to the same situation. There is no single right answer. After 5-10 minutes, move on to another of the listed situations. Be supportive of the role players.Undertake as many of the listed situations as time permits.



I-MESSAGES: WORKSHEET Several potential conflict situations are described below. Indicate how you might handle eachsituation, first using a "YOU" message, and then using an "I" message. Which is likely to get thebest results? Beware of the disguised "you" statements, ("I feel you are dominating the meeting").

CONFLICT SITUATION “YOU”MESSAGE

“I” MESSAGE

A father is upset because his daughter often arrives homeafter her midnight curfew.

“You better bein by 12:00 or else.”

“I don’t sleep well when you get home latebecause I worry about your safety.”

Sharon promises to return a book to you. After a friendlyreminder, she again forgets the book.

You have made a suggestion. Jerry counters with a snideremark. You feel put down.

The chairman (Joe) is dominating the meeting. You resentthis.

Two of your Board members often show up late. You arefrustrated by the resulting meeting today.

You are one of two females in a male dominated group. Youfeel the group tends to ignore you and not give seriousconsideration to your ideas. You wish to get a certain item onthe agenda.

REFERENCES [l] Donna Sweeny, "Express Yourself." Extension Bulletin E-1915, Michigan State University,Cooperative Extension Service, 1985. [2] Jesse Nirneberg, Breaking Through to Each Other: Creative Persuasion on the Job and in theHome, Harper & Row, 1976. [3] "Speechcrafter's Handbook" Toastmaster International, Page 31. [4] For a list of Toastmaster Clubs in your area, contact Toastmasters International, P.O. Box10400, Santa Ana, California 92711.




Listening C-2

Flies (and feet) won't enter a closed mouth.

We spend more time each day listening than we do speaking or writing. Yet we receive lesstraining for effective listening skills than for the other two forms of communication. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the time you finish this module you should be able to:

1. Identify skills and habits of effective listening.

2. Improve your listening skills and habits.

LISTEN TO GET AND GIVE FEEDBACK Good communication is a two-way process. People tend to listen to you when you listen to them.Once you have spoken, the other person often responds. When that occurs, take time to listen. If your mind is preoccupied with what you are going to say next, you aren't listening. Instead, givethe other person the attention and respect that you in turn would like from her. Listening involves more than hearing. It involves a certain physical presence with that person--facing the person squarely, with an open posture, preferably within arms length, with good eyecontact. Listening begins with a door opener, an invitation to give feedback: "Tell me about it,""What is your opinion?" Listening then involves giving verbal and non-verbal feedback thatconveys understanding and respect. Acknowledge and paraphrase your understanding of theother person's message: "You feel that..." "I can see your point." "What do you mean by...?"Probe for further clarification of the person's underlying needs and concerns. Avoid "why"questions, which put the person on the defensive. In short, a good communicator knows how tolisten--as well as speak. Let's review briefly the communication process. In my head I have a certain thought or emotionthat I wish to convey. I convert that image into a coded message that consists of words andnonverbal expression, which I transmit to another person. The receiver then interprets themeaning of that verbal/nonverbal message. Communication breaks down when the sender andreceiver assign different meaning to the coded message sent. In short, what the other personheard was not what I intended.

We must regularly check signals--to insure that both the sender and receiver assign the samemeaning to the message sent. We do this by seeking and giving feedback: "Please summarizefor me what you understood me to say." "If understood you correctly, you think(feel/suggest/want)...." A good communicator takes care to clarify meanings.



TAKE TIME TO LISTEN Effective communication involves listening more than persuasion. It involves tuning in andbuilding on the ideas of others. Rarely do people get as excited about another person's idea asthey do about their own idea. We often turn people off by not responding appropriately. Peopleare more likely to listen to you when you have listened to them. Effective communication is a two-

way process. Feedback is essential to good decisions. Listening is also very effective in resolving conflict and in working out differences. We typicallyrespond to challenges by becoming more forceful in reaffirming the rationale and logic of our position. We point out the weaknesses of the opposing position, and defend ourselves to anycriticism. This heats up the transaction, and triggers our emotions. Listening, in contrast cools thetransaction, uncovers miscommunication, heightens understanding and shows respect. Mostconflict is the result of miscommunication. When people become disruptive, e.g., repeat themselves, raise their voices, dominate thediscussion, become emotional and argumentative, it is a sure sign they feel they are not beinglistened to, understood or respected. This behavior will continue until you prove to themotherwise. Also, listening can be therapeutic in helping volunteer leaders work out the frustrationsthey encounter in community service. Empathetic listening is likewise effective in getting people to open up and share with you, toreveal their real needs and true feelings, to participate and become more active. A major cause of apathy is the failure of you and me to really listen. Good people managers are aware of the importance of listening. They are aware that listeninginvolves more than hearing and understanding the other person.

They know that for listening to be motivational, it must be clearly demonstrated. The other personmust feel listened to, understood and respected. Otherwise the motivational power of listening islost. In short, listening must be active to be effective. SKILLS/ATTITUDES FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING Be attentive. Get in a straight line with the person, preferably within arms length. Make regular eye contact. Look alive and interested. Physically react. Nod, smile, shake your head in agreement or disagreement, take notes, say"mm-hm" or "good point," "tell me more," "I see," "explain that further," "go on," in support of whatthe person said. Your stern unexpressive face tells people you're not interested, whether you areor not.

Reflect. Summarize back to the person, in your own words, what you feel were the key pointsmade: "You feel...." "You are concerned with..." Such reflecting shows you are listening andinterested in what the person has to say. It can also nip in the bud misunderstandings.Paraphrase, don't parrot. Reflect the feelings as well as the verbal content of the message: "You were annoyed by...,""You sound troubled."



Ask questions. Seek clarification of the facts and the feelings. Use questions to get informationrather than manipulate the conversation. Don't judge. Put aside the need to persuade, to defend yourself, to judge and to argue with whatis being said. Instead concentrate on trying to understand the other person's point of view. Givepeople the time they need to express themselves. Show you care. People will be open to you

only after you have been open to them. Show acceptance. Say, "Good point." "It took a lot of courage to share that with me, thanks." "Ican see you've given this a lot of thought." Demonstrate to people that their views are importantto the discussion at hand, even though you may sometimes disagree with them. Acceptancedoesn't have to mean agreement. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Do you use effective listening techniques? 2. What happens to your listen skills when you are under pressure? 3. How might you improve your own habits? EXERCISE: Plan an occasion to visit someone it your office or theirs. Review the suggestions in this modulebefore and after you visit with them. Note which skills you are using effectively and which habitsstill need work. Repeat this exercise for different individuals in different situations. Remember tocheck the suggestions before and after each visit.




Public Speaking C-3

Think (a lot) before you speak. How well we communicate with others is key to our effectiveness and success in life.Communication is particularly important in leadership. We will all find ourselves in differentleadership roles, from time to time, whether we view ourselves as leaders or not. It might be as acoach for a Little League team, or a member of a church group, or an officer in a communityorganization, or it might involve speaking up in a meeting. Our effectiveness in these situationsdepends on our ability to communicate. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this module you should be able to: 1. Prepare a speech.2. Improve your speech delivery.3. Evaluate a speech given by yourself or someone else. PREPARING TO SPEAK Many people are fearful of speaking before others, and they shy away from it at all costs. In anational survey, people were questioned as to their greatest fear in life. The fear listed more often

than any other (41%) was "speaking before others." We can overcome that attitude of fear through preparation and practice. Speaking before others can either become a major barrier, or an avenue to success andaccomplishment in life. Learning to speak before others, in small social groups as well as in larger community groups, provides us with one of the greatest opportunities we have for personalgrowth. How can you become more effective in speaking up for yourself? The following pointers are aspertinent to one-on-one communication as they are to speaking before a group. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: The makeup of your audience (whether one person or one hundred)

greatly influences what you are able to say, and how you say it. People don't have to listen toyou, and they won't unless they want to. People are more likely to give you their attention if youspeak to their needs, concerns and interests. Take time to analyze the person or group you'll bespeaking to. If you don't know the person or group, consult with someone who does. What aretheir expectations of you? Use illustrations that are pertinent and meaningful to your audience.Have your facts together, and adapt them to the needs and interests of the listener. Avoidinflammatory statements.



Analyze your audience not only before you speak but also while you are speaking. Pick up andrespond to your audience's nonverbal reactions. Seek questions and feedback. Adjust your comments accordingly. Getting your point across and getting people to take action sometimes require waiting for the righttime, "the teachable moment." Pushing a point before people are ready for it can become a futile

effort. Know your audience. BE PREPARED: Think through what you want to say, and how you are going to say it. Thebiggest mistake most of us make is not being prepared. We know we might be called upon, or that there is an action we wish to support or oppose, and yet we avoid thinking about what wewould say until that time arrives. THE SPEECH The following suggestions will be helpful in preparing yourself to speak, whether to two or threepeople or to a large group. OPENER Have a prepared opener, a two or three sentence lead-in that grabs your listeners, and clearlystates what you hope to accomplish in speaking to them: "I'm a 4-H member, and I'd like to sharewith you what 4-H has done for me." "I support this proposal (motion), and the reasons I do are..."Get the opening clearly fixed in your mind. Many people suffer a moment of panic just as theybegin to speak. This prepared opener will get you over that moment of panic. As you prepare to talk, take a couple of deep breaths to calm yourself. Stand (If the group is smalland informal, you may choose to remain seated). Standing brings attention to you and willstrengthen your impact on the group. Position yourself so that you can see everyone, with no oneto your back. Make eye contact. Acknowledge any introduction with "thank you". Pause for

attention.

Don't apologize: "I'm not prepared," or "I'm not a very good speaker," or "I didn't know I was goingto be called upon." Don't hem and haw around. Don't use common- place clichés like, "It's apleasure to be here." Instead start right off with your prepared opening statement. BODY Then in the body of your presentation, include the logic, facts, examples, the points you wish tomake. Clearly indicate what you would like your listeners to do with the information you areproviding them. Outline the points you wish to make. Think through the ordering and organizationof those points, and how you will make the transition from one point to the next, from the opener

to the conclusion. Know what you are going to say, and then say it.

Your message will be strengthened if you can: Incorporate vivid examples. Share actualexperience. Make a comparison or analogy that your audience can relate to: "Have you ever...?"Touch briefly on arguments that oppose your viewpoint, showing their weakness. Quote anauthority, or use simple statistics to support your argument.



In your delivery, make eye contact. Speak directly to individuals in your audience. Pick out a face,focus on it for several seconds, then move on to another. Vary your speaking pace and theloudness of your voice. Use gestures and appropriate pauses to keep the attention of your audience. CLOSING Finally, write out a two or three sentence closing that summarizes the key points you've made.Strive for a climax, a challenge, a call for action that will leave your message clearly in thelisteners' minds. Memorize it. The closing is your point of greatest potential impact. Don't give itaway by sitting down abruptly with "Well, that's about all I have to say." If you run out of time,calmly move into your prepared conclusion, and no one will know the difference. PRESENTATION TIPS GET TO THE POINT: Jesse Nirenberg in his book on Creative Persuasion {2] states that peopledo too much beating around the bush, and as a result reduce the impact of their message. Theytend to give too much background information, leaving the listener confused as to their aim. Dr.

Nirenberg suggests that the purpose of your opening remark should be to motivate the other person to continue the discussion. This is best accomplished by getting right to the point andstating your conclusions: "I suggest...." "I would like to see us...." "I'm concerned about...."

Then state the anticipated benefits of your proposal to the listeners and to the group or thespecial interests they represent. If you delay in describing the benefits, your audience will usetheir own imaginations to do so--and their imaginations might be less motivating than yours.Quantify those benefits. Then follow with a question to stimulate the listener to react. The listener's reaction then givesyou a cue as to what you should say next. Explore the other person's position, if he disagrees or challenges you. Give him more information if he agrees. Don't overload. We all have thetendency to say too much at a time. PORTRAY CONFIDENCE: Good speaking is 50% attitude. If you approach a speaking situationwith confidence that you will do OK, you most likely will. If, instead, you approach the situationwith fear and self-depreciating thoughts ("I'm a poor speaker" or "They are not interested in what Ihave to say"), you will likely perform under your capability. Your nervousness, your anxiety as aspeaker, is rarely as obvious as you think it is. So relax. The object of good speaking is not toremove the butterflies from your stomach, but rather to teach them to fly in formation. Be enthusiastic. Show people that you believe in and are excited about what you're saying.Unless you have convictions and are willing to express them, you really have nothing to say.Enthusiasm is contagious. Be Yourself. Develop your own unique style. Learn from others, but don't copy them. HAVE A SUPPORT GROUP: A support group is one or more persons that you feel comfortablewith, that you can rely on for encouragement and suggestions. A support group is formed throughmutual consent, with the purpose of giving each other constructive feedback as to how well youdo in communicating with others. Communication is a learned skill that comes through practice,learning through experience. A support group can be very helpful in assisting you with thatlearning experience. Public speaking is a skill that is difficult to perfect on your own. It is difficult toobjectively evaluate one's own performance.



A support group (person) has two objectives: (1) build the speaker's self-confidence and (2)strengthen skills. Self-confidence is developed by giving nonverbal encouragement throughsmiles, an agreeing nod of the head, or excitement in your eyes, while the person is speaking.Following the presentation, give immediate, sincere feedback as to what the speaker did well. Bespecific: "It was particularly effective when you...." Generalities, ("You did a good job") are lesshelpful. Don't whitewash, with false encouragement.

Skills are strengthened through helpful critique with specific suggestions as to whereimprovement might be made. This is to be distinguished from the more negative approach of criticizing and pointing out "mistakes." In giving feedback: (1) Tell the person in very specific terms what you liked about what she did.Feedback what you perceived as the audience's reaction. Acknowledge progress made over previous presentations. (2) Give one, not more than two, specific suggestions for improvement, e.g., "After you madeyour points, you just stopped and sat down. A two or three sentence summary and restatement of your recommendation might have been more conclusive in leaving your points clearly with thelistener." (3) Conclude with an overall statement of positive regard. Don't combine your likes anddislikes into a single statement connected with a "but: "It was a good talk, but..."

SPEECH EVALUATION (3) The following checklist is provided to help you evaluate yourself and others as a speaker. Themost important criteria is overall impact on the listener. Were the speaker's objectives obtained?Were the people being spoken to motivated to action? What distracted from the presentation? 1. Overall impact of the message on you and the audience. 2. Content and organization of the message:

a. Opening 1) Caught audience's attention.2) Clearly stated speaker's purpose.

b.Body 1) Well thought out and researched.2) Good examples and illustrations.3) Logical; clear transitions from one point to the next.

c.Closing 1) Good summary.2) Concluded with a challenge, call for action, or recommendation.



3. Delivery style: a. Voice

1) Vocal variety (not monotonous).2) Pace--not too fast or too slow; periodic pauses.

3) Projection--not too loud or too soft.4) Feeling--enthusiasm, used vivid words, showed credibility.

b. Appearance 1) Physical appearance--posture, dress.2) Eye contact3) Gestures4) Visual aids.

c. Language 1) Clear enunciation.2) Grammar.

GET A GOOD INTRODUCTION: A much neglected aspect of effective communication is themaking of introductions. A good introduction can make a speaker, new member or guest feelgreat about themselves and the group. Most introductions, unfortunately, are done in a spur of the moment, haphazard manner. In introducing a speaker, your objective is to get the audience's attention, to put the speaker atease, and to set the stage. You are to introduce the topic and purpose of the talk, as well asprovide background on the person. Clearly indicate what and why: On what subject will theperson be speaking, and why is he or she speaking on that topic. Contact the speaker in advance

to get the information you need. In making an introduction, indicate your interest in the personand the topic. Weave the speaker's name into the introduction as much as possible. Be brief.Emphasize the two or three things you personally find most interesting about the person. Illustratethe pertinence of the speaker's subject to the group. Don't provide a pedigree. Once the personhas spoken, stand and compliment the person on the presentation. Lead the applause.

People will become more willing to speak when they receive a supportive introduction, and thencomplimentary feedback on what was said. Recognition and support are key to the developmentof speaking skills and confidence.

PRACTICE: Effective communication can be boiled down to three words. They are practice,practice, practice. Good communicators are so because they work at it. It doesn't just happen.Practice fine tunes our speaking skills, overcomes our fears, raises our comfort level and buildsself-confidence.

A very effective but little used means of practice is mental imagery . Mental imagery involvessitting down in a quiet, comfortable spot, and closing your eyes. Visualize in detail the person(s)you will be speaking to. Visualize yourself delivering your message. Hear yourself speaking thewords you plan to use. Visualize yourself as calm, relaxed and confident, with good eye contact



and rapport with the audience. Visualize every detail of your presentation. Anticipate differentproblems, such as losing your train of thought; anticipate likely questions; anticipate differentaudience responses. Then think through how you would handle each. Clearly visualize yourself as poised and effective--a success. A community resource that can be very helpful in improving your communication and public

speaking skills is membership in a Toastmasters Club. Toastmasters also offers an excellenteight-part educational program called Speech craft, that is available to community groups.Toastmasters develops speaking skills and confidence in a fun, non-threatening, supportiveatmosphere.[4] EXERCISE: Prepare and deliver a short speech. Practice it until it is smooth. Get a colleague (or a supportgroup) to evaluate you using the speech evaluation above.




Writing C-4

If the newspapers can possibly screw up one of your articles, you can be certain that they will. - Advice from the old county agent.

The goal of journalism (writing for mass media) is not just to be understood; our goal must be towrite so that misunderstanding will be impossible. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this module you should be able to: 1. Write a news release for a local newspaper.2. Describe a process for improving your writing skills. PREPARE A NEWS RELEASE We will assume that everyone reading this module has some degree of writing skills. Rather thantry to address grammar, composition, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, rhetoric, style,etc., this module will deal with writing a news release for a local newspaper. This approach willgive you a useful skill and provide the basis for improving your writing for as long or short a periodas you choose. Newspapers, like radio and television, are mass media that can and should be used by educatorsand other community development workers. Mass media are essential for announcing meetingsand events outside of the small circle that can be contacted by telephone or face to face. You do not have to be an expert to prepare news releases. Some knowledge about your organization and its activities is all you need to begin a news release whether it is for anewspaper, the radio or television. What is the event or activity that you wish to publicize? This isyour topic. Write it down. Now ask yourself the following questions and write down the answers.

HO Person, group, or organization involved in the activity. HAT What kind of meeting, activity or event are you publicizing? (contest, sign up, workshop, tour) HEN Exact time and date (day, month, year) for starting and ending. HERE Exact location (address) where the event will be held. (Give directions if the address is not easy to find) OW Exactly how will this event or activity unfold. HY Reasons for the event, likely effects or outcomes. SULTS If this is an activity that has already happened, what happened, what was discussed, what decisions wer

reached? HER DETAILS Who sponsors the event? Other details of interest. Include quotes and photos (black and white) if availab

More details are better than not enough.



Here is an example: HO Boys and girls ages 6-18 HAT Youth soccer league sign ups for fall games (August 15 to November 15) HEN Saturday, July 2 and 9, 1999, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. HERE Verde Valley Fairgrounds, 104 N. Main, Cottonwood (entrance is beside the A & W Drive-in) OW Come anytime. Bring a birth certificate and a check for $25 to pay for uniform and league expenses. A

parent's signature is needed. All can be completed in 10-30 minutes depending on how many people shat the same time.

HY League purposes are to provide a safe, healthy activity for all youth, to teach teamwork, and to strengthefamilies.

SULTS Everyone who registers will be placed on a team. All registered players (who attend practice) will play athalf of every game. Teams will practice twice each week and play every Saturday. Teams are formed ofin two-year age groups: 6- 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, and 16-18. Practices start August 15. Games arescheduled from September 7 through November 15.

HER DETAILS Youth soccer is the fastest growing sport in our state. Last year 814 youth played soccer in our league. Trecreational soccer as opposed to all-star or highly competitive soccer. No league champions are determPlacings are not announced. No body is required to travel beyond the Verde Valley. Parents and other aare needed to be coaches, referees, and "team mothers." No previous soccer experience is needed.

Workshops are provided for coaches and referees.

Now write the essential information in paragraph form. The first paragraph is the most important.It should get attention and tell "who, what, where, when, why." Following paragraphs giveincreasingly less important information which may be cut if space is limited. Example: Everyone plays in the Verde Valley youth soccer league. Sign ups for the fall season will be 9:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday July 2 and July 9, 1999, at the Verde Valley Fairgrounds for boys andgirls ages 8 through 18. A birth certificate, a parent to sign the registration form, and a check (or cash) for $25 is all you need to sign up. Everyone who registers will be assigned to a team. Every team member who attends practice willplay at least half of every game. Teams are made up of two-year age groups. They play teams of the same age. No travel outside the Verde Valley is required. Practices start August 15 and eachteam will play every Saturday between September 7 and November 15. The $25 pays for auniform and for league costs including referees. Adults are needed for coaches, referees and team mothers. No soccer experience is required.Workshops will be scheduled for coaches and referees. The Verde Valley youth soccer league is a recreational soccer program. Its purposes are toprovide a safe, healthy activity for youth, to teach teamwork, and to strengthen families. Nochampions are declared and no team standings are published. This is the tenth year for theleague. Last year 814 youth participated. The Verde Valley Fairgrounds is located at 104 Main Street in Cottonwood. The entrance isbeside the A & W Drive-in. The sign up process will take 10-30 minutes depending on the number registering at any particular time.



EXERCISE: IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SKILLS Show your article to a friend or colleague who has equal or better writing skills. Ask him or her tocritique your article for clarity and to note any errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.Take the article to a news reporter who is interested in your subject (newspapers assign reportersto the "sports beat," community news, school activities, etc.). Many times a reporter will be willing

to critique your article and make suggestions for improvement. The reporter will also tell you howand when to submit such articles for publication. By repeating this process (outline, write, critique, revise) you will strengthen your writing skills. Any writer will tell you that the best way to improve your writing skills is to keep writing.




Non-verbal Communication C-5

You catch more flies with syrup than with vinegar.

During interpersonal communication we communicate in two ways: verbally and non- verbally.Unless the nonverbal message is consistent with the verbal message, we communicatecontradictory or confusing messages.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After finishing this module you should be able to: 1. Recognize the importance of non-verbal communication.2. Observe non-verbal communication which supports or contradicts the verbal message.3. Practice non-verbal communication which is consistent with a verbal message. HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE NON-VERBALLY We communicate non-verbally by facial expressions, gestures, posture, bodily action, eyecontact, and personal appearance. We do this consciously sometimes but usually we do itunconsciously. There are approximately 700,000 non-verbal signals that have been identified. Wecan improve our communication if we can become aware of unconscious signals that we givewhich contradict or distract from our verbal message. We can also consciously use non-verbalmessages to reinforce our verbal message. This takes effort to observe non-verbal messages, tounderstand when they support and when they distract from the verbal message, to anticipatesituations when we wish to consciously use non-verbal communication, and to practice (rehearsethen use) non- verbal reinforcement properly. Consider some examples: Facial expression indicates joy, fear, confidence, attentiveness, sadness, anger, friendliness,hostility, etc. Use the friendly smile to break the ice and communicate openness. Gestures can encourage or discourage contact. Stroking the chin may indicate thoughtfulness--that the listener is considering what was just said. Rubbing the nose may indicate disbelief or

even contempt. Arms locked across the chest may indicate defensiveness or hostility. Clenchedfists may indicate nervousness, fear or hostility. Some "public speakers" have learned to "over use" gestures. Waving arms and mechanically repeated hand gestures can detract from theverbal message. Use natural gestures with the hands to illustrate or emphasize a point. Do notclasp your hands or just let them hang at your sides or always keep them in your pockets. Thesegestures (of lack of gestures) make you appear stiff and/or nervous. The ability to use naturalgestures can be improved with practice and experience.



Posture should be natural, not exaggerated. Slumping indicates laziness or lack of interest. Rigidposture indicates fear or nervousness. Leaning slightly toward a person indicates respect andattentiveness. Leaning slightly backward at the appropriate time can reinforce that you areseriously considering what was said (especially when used with facial expression and gestures).Posture is particularly important when listening to a speaker. People like to "get comfortable" butin so doing they may give the speaker the message that they are not listening or that they arebored. Practice sitting up straight and leaning forward to give the speaker a positive non-verbalmessage (taking notes helps if you lean forward and write on a table or desk arm). Bodily action -- jerky movements may indicate nervousness, impatience or hostility. Theyusually detract from the spoken word. When speaking before groups don't pace back an forth;don't rock from one foot to another; don't bob your shoulders. Don't unnecessarily shuffle your notes or play with jewelry or coins in your pocket. To put a person at ease keep your bodilymovements slow and smooth. Don't persistently groom yourself (ie., brush your hair back withyour hand. This may communicate lack of confidence, or that you are preoccupied with yourself--even self-centered. During an interview or office conference when you are trying to make afavorable impression, avoid tapping your shoe on the floor or your fingers on anything. A variationof this sign of impatience is to cross your legs and move your foot rhythmically. Watch for theperson to sit up in his/her chair. This may mean that your time is up. If you want to give a non-

verbal message that you need to end a conversation in your office, trying shifting forward in your chair. Do it smoothly and slightly the first time. Then try a slightly more abrupt movement. If itdoes not work then you may need to tell the person that you have another appointment or a needto finish your work before you can continue. Eye contact is important to show respect and attentiveness (but not in all cultures). This non-verbal message, like virtually all of them, can be over used and therefore distract. The eyeballitself shows no expression. The tissue around your eyes can be used purposefully (usually for facial expression). Avoid scowls or blank stares. Maintaining eye contact for a few secondsemphasizes a point. Be careful of looking out the window or focusing on an object in the roomwhen communicating interpersonally. When speaking to groups try to establish eye contact withvarious people in different parts of the room.

Personal appearance includes cleanliness, neatness, grooming, and clothes appropriate to theoccasion. You can overdress for some occasions. College professors who overdress or wear reading glasses in informal community meetings support the stereotype of "ivory tower intellectuals who have nothing practical to offer." Many people like to establish their "identity" or individual uniqueness through exaggerated grooming or clothing. This can distract from effectivecommunication. It may stereotype the individual in a way that is detrimental to communication. Caution!!! The examples given above are indications, not absolute rules. Non-verbal signals canbe easily misinterpreted. Before reacting to a non-verbal signal, look for other signals that supportor neutralize it. Likewise avoid using non-verbal gestures to manipulate other people. Your lack of sincerity will

get you into more trouble than occasionally and inadvertently misusing nonverbal signals.



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Can you add to the examples of non-verbal signals which can help or hinder communication. 2. What non-verbal signals irritate you most? 3. What non-verbal signals do you consciously use to reinforce your message? EXERCISE: Take turns role-playing the following situations. Those who are not in the role play should takenotes on non-verbal signals that help or detract from the verbal message. 1. Office visit to get acquainted. Both individuals want to get acquainted with the other person andmake a favorable impression. Both consider that the other person may be a helpful collaborator on some project in the future.

2. Office interview. One person interviews the other person who has applied to be theinterviewer's personal secretary. Three other equally qualified applicants are waiting to beinterviewed. 3. Conflict. Person #1 is the boss of #2. #2 has received an annual evaluation that is slightlybelow last year's evaluation. #2 is unhappy because performance and accomplishment havebeen equal to last year's. #1 firmly believes that the evaluation was correct, that #2 is a valuableemployee but can improve in performance and accomplishment. 4. Conflict. Person #1 is President of a volunteer organization. #2 is a volunteer who is frustratedwith the organization and wants to drop out. Since they have always been friends #2 wants to tell#1 face to face before simply dropping out. 5. Give an extemporaneous speech in which you wish to convince the group (representing theparks and recreation committee) that they should use new funds to build tennis courts rather thana swimming pool. Most of the group favors a swimming pool. 6. Design your own role play situation based on experiences that you have had when your interpersonal communication was misinterpreted. 7. Design a role play based on an upcoming event when you need to use effectivecommunication in a delicate situation. After each role play, discuss what happened (both role players and observers). Discuss non-

verbal signals which were used or misused. Decide how the role players could have improvedtheir non-verbal communication skills.




Preparation to Teach C-6

Exercise makes the master.

Periodically, we all are called upon to teach, to present an educational message. It might be as achurch school teacher, a 4-H leader, a presenter of information to a group, a helper to a friend, or a parent. Our effectiveness as a "teacher" is based in the communication skills covered in moduleC-1. This section will build on those skills. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1. Gain insight into how people learn.2. Use the five steps to effective teaching.3. Prepare and use visual aids. HOW PEOPLE LEARN Considerable research has been done on how children and adults learn. The following principlescan help you create an environment which will facilitate learning. People learn best when they are active and involved in the learning process. People generallyremember: 10% of what they read20% of what they hear 30% of what they hear and read50% of what they hear and see70% of what they say or write90% of what they do[1] Learning is a consequence of experience. The giving of information alone is not enough for learning to occur. Learning must be used to be retained. Group discussion and practice exercisesare seven to ten times more effective in changing attitudes and behavior than a lecture.[2] Learning occurs only when what is being taught has personal meaning and importance to theindividual. The individual must feel a need, for learning to occur. People do not change their behavior merely because someone tells them to do so or tells them how to do so. Educators canincrease their effectiveness by assessing the needs, problems, interests and competencies of prospective participants, and then tailoring the educational experience to those needs andinterests. Involve the learner in setting educational objectives. Interview (pre-test) participants todetermine their present competencies in the subjects to be covered. Since the needs, interestsand abilities of individuals vary, a cafeteria style of teaching, where different levels andapproaches are offered, is often necessary.



Learning is a cooperative and collaborative process in which participants are teachers as well aslearners (and vise versa). This is particularly true in adult learning. Adults have a broad base of experience upon which to draw and to share with others. View yourself as a facilitator of learningrather than as the expert.[1] The appropriate "answer" lies within the learner, not the teacher.People learn more quickly if learning is based on their experiences. Each individual has anaccumulation of experiences, ideas, feelings and attitudes which comprise a rich vein of materialfor problem-solving and learning.[3] Learning occurs in an accepting atmosphere, where different ideas and opinions are valued.(Acceptance does not, however, need to imply agreement.) Learning is facilitated in anatmosphere which recognizes people's right to make mistakes. Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere of mutual respect, where participants are encouraged toopen up and to share with one another. It is paradoxical that the more we try to change peoplethe more they resist. Only until people feel accepted and respected for who they are and nolonger have to defend themselves and their values are they free to look at themselves, to learn,and to change. Behavioral change requires time and patience.[3] Individuals must be free toprogress at their own rate and in their own way. Help people feel comfortable in the learningprocess. Learning is facilitated through encouragement and the development of positive self esteem. Amajor block to learning is a negative self image. Self-image is reinforced by the support or lack of support received in the home. Value the person. Exhibit positive attitudes of warmth, caring,interest and respect. Give frequent praise and recognition. In working with young people, their age and stage of development greatly influence how theylearn and what is of interest to them. Teaching methods must be adapted to the physical, mental,social and emotional capabilities of the age group(s) you are working with. Module P-1 on thegrowth and development of youth [7] introduces these developmental characteristics, for ages 0to 18. you need insights into what you can expect from different age groups, and how to work withthem.

With reference to adults, research indicates that speed of performance and reaction time tend todecline with age. This explains the slower rate of learning among adults, but does not mean their ability to learn is less. Adults learn best when they are able to set their own pace.[2] While research indicates that the basic ability to learn remains essentially unimpaired throughoutour adult life span, it is our attitude toward learning that appears to change. There are times whenthe readiness to learn is greater than at other times. In early adulthood, ages 18-30, learning isfocused on selecting a mate, rearing children, starting an occupation, managing a home. Atmiddle age, 30-55, learning is focused on civic and social responsibilities, coping with teenagers,leisure time activities, adjusting to aging parents. In later years, 55 and over, learning is focusedon decreasing physical strength, retirement and reduced income, adjusting to the illness or deathof a spouse or friend. Adulthood has its transition points and its crises--aging, divorce, child

rearing, death, career development, etc.-- in almost as complete a sense as there aredevelopmental stages for children and adolescents.[4] A good educator conducts programs thatare age appropriate. Adults differ from children in that adult education often involves some amount of unlearning.Learning then can be painful, as we give up old and comfortable ways of believing, thinking andvaluing. Learning involves dealing with feelings as well as facts. The educator who tries toseparate the two will not be effective. Module E-2 discusses adult education in greater depth.



Content is more easily grasped when learning experiences are sequentially ordered andintegrated. Each successive step should build on the previous one. New material should berelated to what is already known. Instruction presented in logical units, with objectives and timeparameters clearly stated, results in the most effective learning. [2] THE FIVE STEPS OF TEACHING [5] Step 1: Prepare Assess the needs and interests of the prospective learner. What is their present level of knowledge and experience on the subject? What do they hope to get out of this? Outline whatyou wish to cover, and how you plan to cover it. What teaching methods do you intend to use?How will participants be involved in this learning? How will your time be budgeted? Step 2: Set the stage Put people at ease. Use a warm-up exercise to get everyone acquainted with one another. For example, have participants pair up, and spend five minutes telling each other about themselves,

and what brought them to the session. Now call on each person in turn to introduce his/her partner to the group. Limit introductions to 30 seconds, to include the two or three things eachfound most interesting about the partner. An alternative would be to call on each person in turn toshare expectations for the session --"What do you hope to gain from this workshop?" List theseexpectations on newsprint or a blackboard. The tone of involvement is set at the beginning. If people come in and are lectured to, they willexpect to be passive learners for the entire program. Clarify to the group your objectives, theformat and teaching methods you intend to use, your expectations of the group, and the timeschedule. Relate your subject to their specific needs and interests. Get them interested inlearning more.

Step 3: Present Ideas

Tell, show, illustrate, explain, demonstrate. Proceed step-by-step from the simple to the complex,from the known to the unknown. Relate the material to their experiences. Teach in small doses.The human brain is only capable of absorbing about four seconds of talk at one time. Then apause is required--a second or two to allow the brain to soak up what was said. Four seconds of talk is 12 to 15 words. A multitude of facts and ideas presented too close together can causeconfusion. Keep to key points.[5] Groups will listen to someone without fidgeting for only a short time, usually 10 to 20 minutes. Alternate short presentations with discussion and practice exercises.

Step 4: Check and Question

Learning is a two-way process. Plan time for reflection and discussion.

Encourage people to ask questions, to share experience, and to internalize the material. Getfeedback. Encourage discussion by asking open-ended questions, questions that begin with thewords why, what, which and how (i.e., "What has been your experience with.....?"). Avoid closed-ended questions ("Is this clear?") that can be answered with a simple yes or no.



Use role playing and work exercises to practice the techniques taught, and give you feedback asto how well they are understood. Remember, learning must be used to be retained. Step 5: Summarize and Evaluate Summarize your key points. Challenge participants to action. Indicate where additional

information and assistance can be obtained. Evaluate. Go around the room and have each person reflect on what they have gained and theactions they intend to take as a result of this training. What other information and training do theydesire? Plan for an evaluation midway through the training session, to get feedback on how things aregoing. Are expectations being met? What adjustments could be made to improve the session?Participants must realize that they are as responsible for the success of the training session asyou are. VISUAL AIDS Eighty-three percent of what we learn comes through our sense of sight. In one experiment, thesame educational material was presented to two different audiences. One lecture was supportedby visual aids, the other was not. A test was given three hours after the lecture. The audienceshown visuals scored 85% versus 70% for the other audience. Ten days after the lecture, the twogroups were tested again. The group that had seen visuals recalled 65% of the material, while thegroup that hadn't could recall only 10%. Visuals, then, increase long-term recall and retention. [6] Some of the various visual aids from which to choose include: --chalkboard--posters

--models--hand-outs--slides--video--role plays. In using a chalkboard, posters or flip chart, use bold block lettering 2" to 3" high. Alternate colorsfor contrast. Include no more than eight lines, 25 words, per visual. Prepare your visualsbeforehand. Use a yard stick to keep lines straight. Include simple drawings. Posters, etc., areparticularly useful in outlining your key points and in presenting tables, charts and graphs. Models refer to the use of objects to demonstrate how something is done. Many topics, such as

sharpening a knife or pruning an apple tree, are much easier demonstrated than described. Suchobjects should be large enough for everyone to see. If not, divide into smaller groups for close upinspection. The hand-out is a written message used to supplement a verbal presentation. The hand-out canprovide more detailed instruction, illustration or a checklist for later use by the participant inputting the material to use. A hand-out can also be used as an outline or listening guide to focusaudience attention and encourage note taking.



Hand-outs are more likely to be read if they are visually attractive. Simple line drawings, clip art,cartoons and other illustrations make the hand-out more inviting to the reader. Material printed intwo 3 1/2 inch columns rather than across the entire page is considered by many easier to read.Use wide margins and plan white spaces of variable sizes to reduce monotony. Crowding thepage with information can discourage the reader. Generally you should not distribute hand-outs before a talk--unless it includes information to bereferred to in your presentation that is necessary for understanding. If people try to read the hand-out during your presentation, it will distract from your message. Slides, video and other projected visuals have the advantage of being able to show the actualpeople, places and things you wish to talk about. These images are projected in familiar, naturalcolor. Tables, charts and typed messages can also be prepared to be interspersed with pictures.Pace your presentation to give adequate time to comprehend the picture and read any message. Educational films, slide programs and videos are available on many topics. They can be acquiredon loan from libraries and other educational institutions and commercial outlets to supplementyour presentation. A disadvantage of most projected visuals is that the room must be darkened for their use, thuslosing important eye contact with the audience. Projected visuals encourage a passive audienceresponse. This can be overcome by interspersing projected visuals with group discussion andother audience participation exercises. Role Playing involves the acting out of a situation in order to demonstrate the use of a particular technique or skill. Role playing can be used to model good (and bad) examples of the techniquesor skills being taught. Role playing is particularly effective in demonstrating skills in interpersonalrelations (how to say "no" to a request). To model a technique, write your script before hand,practice and then present it with the help of a friend. People will retain information longer whenthey have the opportunity to see it in action. Role plays can also be used to give participants the opportunity to practice the techniques beingtaught, in applying them to real life situations. By trying out the prescribed techniques,participants become more comfortable and confident in their use. Such role plays increaseparticipation and stimulate discussion. Role plays give you feedback as to how well thetechniques being taught are understood.

In developing a role play for classroom use, write up a brief situation statement. Keep it simple.For example, your daughter is pressuring you to baby sit your grandson, while she is at work."Mom (Dad) you are my last hope. This is important to me, and I can't find anyone else." You arewilling to help out in emergency situations, but not on a regular basis. You have other thingsyou'd rather do during this time in your life. Tell your daughter "no", using the four stepsprescribed in the hand-out. Call on a participant, present the situation and ask him or her to respond, speaking directly to youor an assigned partner. Once the situation has been role played, ask the group to comment onwhat they liked about how the situation was handled, and then where improvements might bemade. Be prepared with examples. Some people will be more comfortable with role playing thanothers. Be patient and supportive; emphasize that the role playing provides a valuable learningopportunity.



In conclusion, the use of visuals can greatly increase learner retention. Unfortunately, they arerarely used. Common excuses for not using visuals are: I'm not artistic. My handwriting is terrible.I'm not an actor. I don't have the time. It doesn't make a difference. These are cop outs.Experience shows that visuals do not have to be "artistic" and "professional" to be effective. Your objective is to have people remember your message, not your visual.

EXERCISE 1: Ask each person in the study group to stand and briefly reflect on her/his experience, difficultiesand successes in speaking before a group. After everyone has spoken, ask the group as a wholeto make a list of things they each could do to support and help each other in strengthening their speaking skills and confidence. EXERCISE 2: Recall times when you were a student, first as a child and then as an adult. Focus on a favoriteteacher. Then recall a memorable learning experience you have had as an adult. Now focus on aless effective learning experience. Why was one teacher or learning experience more effective

than another? What factors contributed to your learning? List those factors in the space below. (If time permits, have each person share her/his list with the group.) EXERCISE 3: (Optional) Prepare a five minute demonstration or educational message on a topic of your choosing. Keep it simple. At the study group meeting, call on each person, in turn, to deliver his/her prepared presentation. Assign an "evaluator" to each presenter. Following each presentation, call on the evaluator for feedback as to what was done well, plus one or two suggestions for improvement. (Reviewmodule C-3 for guidelines in being an evaluator/support group.)

REFERENCES: (l) Marcia Schekel and Mary Emery, Teaching Others, Cooperative Extension Service,Washington State University, 1983. (2) Mary Pankowski, "Teachers of Adults Will...", Florida State University, Tallahassee, Journal of Extension, September/October l975. (3) Gerald Pine and Peter Horne, "Principles and Conditions for Learning in Adult Education",University of New Hampshire, Adult Leadership, October, 1969. (4) Robert Havinghurst, Development Tasks and Education, David McKay Company, 1961. (5) Ricardo Pino & Kelly Austin, "Leading And Teaching", New Mexico State University. 6) Agricultural Communicators in Education, Communication Handbook, Fourth Edition, TheInterstate Press, 1983.



(7) University of Wisconsin, Growth-Development Booklet, Cooperative Extension Service This module was written by Douglas Dunn.




Teaching Behaviors C-7

What is it that educators do which makes them effective? What teacher behaviors cause learning

to occur? LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you finish this module you should be able 1. to list the top five teaching behaviors, according to research, which are most important topromote learning;

2. to describe what an educator does to effectively use each of these behaviors; and3. to describe small group techniques which effective educators often use. FIVE BEHAVIORS

According to Rosenshine and Furst (1971) the factors which distinguish effective educators areclarity, enthusiasm, providing a learning opportunity for students, a business-like approach, anduse of variety. Clarity means communicating effectively, using examples and repeating the message. It includesasking for feedback and demonstrating actions or results. Clarity means setting standards andrules but adjusting them to the learners. Enthusiasm means showing excitement, showing interest in the subject and the learners, andgetting involved with the learners. Providing a learning opportunity for learners means carefully writing objectives that addresslearners' needs, planning the instruction so that learners will be actively involved then have achance to apply what they have studied. Learning is followed by evaluation by the educator of thelearners, by learner evaluation of the learners and by learner evaluation of the learningopportunity. A business-like approach means that time is well organized and sequenced for purposefullearning. Learners do not respect a teacher that wastes time. Humor

and an entertaining personality are positive attributes in a teacher but they do notsubstitute for thorough organization and careful preparation.

Variety can refer to instructional materials (use different types of materials), teaching procedures(frequent change in routine), activities (give learners choices and learning options) and thepresentation itself.



SOME TECHNIQUES OF EFFECTIVE EDUCATORS Module C-8 describes a fuller range of teaching/learning options. Some of those techniques taketime to understand and experience to use them effectively. The following techniques can be usedfor large groups when they are broken into smaller groups. These techniques are great for varietyand for involving learners as active participants. Co-leaders in group discussions - the use of a team approach of two or more persons in leading adiscussion. Huddle groups - the use of a group of five persons for the discussion of a problem or issue, andthey reporting to a larger group. Buzz groups - the use of a group of 12-15 persons for the discussion of a problem or issue, andthen reporting to a larger group. Phillips 66 technique - the use of a group of six persons for the discussion of a problem for sixminutes, and then reporting to a larger group. Leadership team - the use of a group of four persons to conduct a discussion as follows:discussion leader, process observer, recorder, and resource person. Listening team - the use of two to four persons who listen, evaluate, and then pose questions topersons who have made a formal presentation. Role playing - the use of persons who act out a situation in order to promote additional insights or deeper emotional feelings. Brainstorming - the use of free expression to further creative thinking without the influence of judicial reasoning. Diads - the use of pairs to interview each other or clarify their own ideas. Triads - the use of three people to discuss a problem or interact with each other.




Using Teaching/Learning Techniques C-8

Necessity teaches you more than a year in school teaches you. *Before attempting this module, complete modules E-7 (writing objectives), E-9 (writing a plan),and C-6 (preparation to teach). We are all aware of many teaching/learning techniques. Most of us, however, lack an organizedview of the wide variety of techniques available to teachers and learners. Most people havemisconceptions about these techniques. For example, "brainstorming" is a technique that iswidely misused or misnamed. Few people, including many professional educators, can properlyuse a wide variety of these techniques. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this module you should be able to: 1. list 30 techniques in five categories;2. describe eight steps for learning the proper use of a new technique; and3. write a plan for gaining experience in five of the techniques. AN ORGANIZED LIST Teaching/learning techniques can be listed in five categories: (1) those which are used in one-on-one situations, (2) those used for groups, (3) mass media techniques, (4) teaching or learningthrough community projects, and (5) political techniques. Below 65 techniques are grouped intothe five categories. Study the list until you can list 30 techniques with at least two in eachcategory. If any of the techniques on the list are completely new to you, ask a professionaleducator to explain it or look it up in a book on educational methodology. Individual techniques

• Office visit (make an appointment to get help from an expert) • Farm/home visit (LT-7) • Telephone (LT-19) •

Personal letter (correspondence LT-20)Hire a consultant (for a fee they agree to teachyou something) • Interviewing • Correspondence course (offered through the mail by an educational institution) • Self-training (LT-10) • Personal investigation (usually by reading one or more books or articles that tell you

something you want to know)



• Computer (many learning software options are available) • Intern (agree to assist an expert with routine work in return for learning what she does) • Practice (repeat a skill until you reach a desired level of competence)

Group techniques •

Demonstration (LT-18) • Workshop (LT-1) • Lecture (LT-2) • Educational fair (LT-16) • Discussion (L-4) • Tour (LT-9) • Field trip(LT-9) • Role play (LT-13) or drama/theater • Simulation games (LT-11) • Brainstorming (LT-3) • Study team (research and writing responsibilities are divided among the members of the

team) • Case study (LT-15) •

Formal meeting (L-3)

• Small group discussion (L-4) • Cone of experience (LT-22) • Slide sets (LT-5)Filmstrips and other audio-visual aids • Overhead transparencies (LT-4) • Chalkboard • Flipchart • Camping (with a planned educational program) • Problem solving (P-7) • Judging ((LT-17) • Quiz games and contests requiring recall of facts • Mobile classrooms (like a mobile library unit but may include a wide variety of learning

resources) • Field trial (trying out a crop seed • or other product or a new practice under field conditions to compare the results with

standard practices Mass techniques

• Newspaper articles (C-4) • Radio or television public service announcements (C-4) • Newsletter (LT-6) • Flyer (one page announcement or information sheet) • Magazines, comic books, photonovelas (comic book layout but with photos of actors to

tell the story) • Technical bulletin (LT-8) • Textbook • Exhibit (LT-21)Bulletin board (LT-21) • Poster (LT-21) • Information center (i.e., ask-the-experts booth) • VCR (LT-14) or television or movies



Project techniques • 4-H project • Social action process (M-1) • Community development process (E-4) • Local project such as building a bridge, a road or a water well •

Campaign (i.e., a fund-raiser to preserve a historic site) Political techniques

• An organized protest march or a rally • Public policy education (LT-12) • Lobbying political leaders • Picket or strike or demonstration • Teach-in (i.e., students leave regular classes in order to hold informal study groups about

a current issue or crisis)

A SYSTEMATIC PROCESS FOR LEARNING THE TECHNIQUES 1. Define the technique accurately (see separate descriptions of the techniques or check a bookon educational methodology). 2. Be aware of common misuses (misunderstandings) of the technique. Some of these misuseswill be evident immediately. Others will occur to you as you observe the techniques in use. 3. Describe when the technique should be used and when it should not be used. 4. Incorporate the selected technique into a teaching plan which tells "who, does what, when, withwhich resources (materials, facilities, resource people, audio visual equipment, etc.)." 5. Carefully and thoroughly prepare the resources (make copies, arrange the room, brief anyresource people on their responsibilities, check audio visual equipment to insure proper functioning, etc.). 6. Rehearse -- practice the technique until you can perform it smoothly with confidence. 7. Evaluate -- use a checklist (or have a colleague do this) to point out your successes anddeficiencies in using the technique. 8. Use the evaluation results to plan the next use of this technique -- learn by experience. Note: this procedure may seem unnecessarily detailed and demanding. It will take time. Thealternative is learning by trial and error which will take more time, in the long term, to arrive at thesame level of competence.



EXERCISE -- Gain experience in using teaching/learning techniques. Choose five of the techniques that you would like to learn or improve. Study the technique (usingthe separate descriptions of each technique) until you clearly understand its proper use. Practice(rehearse) the technique using a checklist. This practice is particularly effective if done in a groupof colleagues who are also trying to learn the techniques. Have them evaluate you using the

checklist for each technique. EXERCISE -- When you feel confident in using one of the techniques, incorporate it into a lessonplan and use it to teach other topics. A standard lesson plan format is described below.

Class number & dateTopic (subject)

Learning objectives (tell what the learner will be able to do after completing thissession) Resources needed Before class preparations (in the classroom before classstarts) Activities for the class

1. 2. 3. Review (summarize) Evaluation (determine if the objectives have been met) Assignment for thenext class session QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION Which of the teaching/learning techniques will be most useful with your program (or organization)? Which of these techniques will be most appropriate with the learners that you plan to teach? What is the worst possible outcome of using a particular technique? Do you fully understand the risks and consequences of using the techniques in the "political"category? Are you prepared to accept the consequences if a technique fails, or if it succeeds beyond your expectations? RESOURCE Mass media techniques are treated very lightly in this curriculum. An excellent resource is theCommunications Handbook by the Agricultural Communicators in Education, published by theInterstate Press.



A Toolkit for Volunteer Leaders Learning-Teaching Techniques

Workshop LT-1

A workshop is a meeting or a series of meetings where people work together in groups with aresource person in order to develop new plans, materials, skills or ideas, relevant to eachparticipant's individual needs.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS 1. Focus is on solving practical problems. 2. Production and end results are emphasized. 3. Learning is individualized. 4. Active learners determine their own objectives. 5. Group interaction facilitates personal and social development. 6. Learning is concentrated in intensive sessions. 7. Sequence, duration and content of sessions are flexible. 8. Diverse learning techniques are employed. 9. Informality among participants is encouraged. 10. Participants are usually mature, motivated and willing to focus on the workshop topic.

A WORKSHOP IS NOT. . . 1. merely a series of lectures or discussions, 2. a loosely organized conference or retreat, 3. a time and place where individuals can assemble for independent projects, 4. an excuse for lack of planning and preparation, nor

5. playtime disguised by the name "workshop."

A CHECKLIST TO ORGANIZE AND IMPLEMENT WORKSHOPS A. Before accepting responsibility

1. do I understand the assignment or request? 2. are the reasons for the workshop clear? 3. is a workshop the best technique in this case? 4. are the financial arrangements satisfactory? 5. am I sufficiently motivated to do a high-quality job? 6. do I have ample time for preparation?

B. Planning 1. Are participants involved in the planning stages? 2. What are the participants' needs? Defined by whom? 3. Are anyone else's needs involved? Whose needs? What needs? 4. What will participants expect as a result of pre-workshop publicity?



5. Does workshop success depend on all participants attending all sessions? How willthis be managed? 6. What relationship have participants had with each other before? 7. Is the group homogenous? What advantages and problems can be anticipated due tothis factor? 8. What is the theme, problem or activity which focuses the workshop? 9. Is the general goal(s) clear? 10. Are the specific objectives clearly stated and understood? 11. Is a sequence of activities thoroughly planned and organized? 12. Do the planned activities meet the needs and interests of the participants? 13. What resource people do I need? Are they available? 14. Is diversity among the instructional staff needed? 15. How will resources people be contacted and oriented? 16. Is the ratio of instructional staff to participants appropriate? Should the number of participants be limited? 17. Is variety provided through activities and techniques? 18. Are the major points to be presented clear? 19. Is the time well-planned? Can it be modified if new needs emerge? 20. Are breaks planned? 21. How will small group and individual concerns and progress be shared with other

participants? 22. Are social occasions provided? Is recreation needed?

C. Logistics 1. Are the physical facilities adequate for planned activities? Will they permit flexibility andvaried experiences? Are they isolated from potential distractions (phone, visitors,business)? 2. Have I made arrangements for transport, eating and housing? 3. Are costs to participants reasonable? 4. How will arrangements be checked and rechecked during the workshop?

D. Preparation 1. Is the physical setting appropriately prepared? 2. What materials are needed? Are they ready? 3. Am I experienced in the variety of techniques that I will use? If not, have Icompensated with extra preparation and contingency plans? 4. Have I prepared extra activities in case I have more time. 5. Have I decided what will be cut if time is short? 6. Have participants been sent information on where to arrive, advance preparations theyneed to make, options, assignments? 7. Will a news sheet, published periodically during the workshop, be helpful for announcements, comments, summary? 8. Should I plan for group recorders? Will they need forms for recording conclusions andrecommendations?

E. Orientation 1. How are participants received when they first arrive? 2. How is registration handled? Why? 3. Is an accurate list of participants available? 4. How will participants get to know each other? 5. What will I do to encourage openness, trust, enthusiasm, confidence, relaxation, clarityof purpose and activities and a problem-solving climate.



6. Are participants actively involved in the first session? 7. Are welcoming officials' comments brief and appropriate? 8. Do participants know immediately what will be expected of them? 9. Do they feel stimulated? Do they identify with the agenda?

F. Interpersonal 1. Am I open to new ideas in the workshop? 2. Am I nervous or defensive? What nonverbal messages am I giving off (confidence,openness, irritability, lack of interest)? 3. Do I communicate respect, enthusiasm, concern, sensitivity? 4. Is my role consistent with participants' expectations? 5. Is my participation excessive or deficient? 6. Am I in complete control without appearing to dominate? 7. Am I dependable and reasonable? How do I show that? 8. Are participants encouraged to listen to each other? 9. Is feedback encouraged at all times? 10. Is everyone kept informed of other groups' activities? How? 11. How are participants encouraged to use each other as resources? 12. How is the personal and social growth of individual participants fostered?

G. Sessions 1. Does the content build on participants' experiences and abilities? Is it appropriate tothe participants' level? 2. Am I an expert on the topic? If yes -- how will I keep from dominating? -- how will I insure my own flexibility? If no -- how will I present myself to the workshop? 3. What information is imparted? What skills are taught? What attitudes are promoted?What styles are modeled? Are there contradictions? 4. Are choices and options given to meet diverse interests? 5. Are new skills practiced in the workshop? 6. Is the pacing of activities too fast or too slow? Are sessions too long? Are major pointssummarized from time to time? 7. Do I have clear, thought-provoking questions to ask? 8. Is the bulk of participants' time spent on their own concerns?

H. Process 1. Is opportunity provided for informal discussion and thought? 2. Are the specific problems of the participants allowed to emerge, to be defined, and tobe addressed? 3. How will creativity be stimulated? 4. What process emerges from the group as the workshop unfolds? 5. Is the process productive? Too intense? Too loose? 6. What have I planned to do in each case? 7. Who are the leaders which emerge from the participants? What kind of leaders arethey? How can I encourage them? 8. How can I provide others with leadership opportunities? 9. Do participants have some free time? Time to be alone?

I. Conclusions 1. How do working groups report? ...summarize conclusions?



2. Does each participant develop a plan for implementing workshop outcomes? 3. Do participants know how to relate their experience in this workshop to others at home(caution: others have not had this experience and may have difficulty relating to it)? 4. Is opportunity provided for an expression of commitment to future goals and activities?

J. Evaluation 1. Have I arranged for a process observer? 2. Have I organized a daily staff meeting for formative evaluation and adjustment? 3. Have evaluation instruments been prepared? 4. Have the workshop objectives been met? How do I know? 5. Have participants "professional" problems been solved?

K. Report 1. Is promised information and a summary promptly sent to participants after theworkshop? 2. Is a final report compiled? To whom is it sent?

TWO WORKSHOP FORMATS Format I: Traditional approach Session 1. Coffee -- registration -- informal conversation -- introductions --general announcements --orientation -- discuss purpose and agenda -- set tentative schedule. 2. Form working groups -- get acquainted -- share expectations --decide how to proceed -- agreeon leadership roles -- work. 3. Group and individual work -- summarize progress -- report. 4. Decide on next steps -- readjust -- group and individual work. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as often as desired. 6. Evaluation and conclusions in the small group then in a general assembly. Format II: Creative approach (riskier but potentially more motivating for a more creative or moredemanding group). Session 1. Role-play simulation designed to bring out the aspects and points of view concerning aproblem. 2. Debrief role-play participants and observers -- identify and discuss the problem -- list the partsof the problem -- values clarification (questionnaire or discussion designed to help participantsidentify and specify their own attitudes, values, biases, etc.). 3. Orientation to the resources, preparations and opportunities by workshop organizers. Planworkshop activities and develop schedule (all together). 4. Work sessions (large assemblies, small groups, individuals) which provide options andopportunities for participants to change groups and work on different activities using a variety of techniques. 5. Conclusions and workshop evaluation.




Self-Training LT-10

DESCRIPTION Self-training is a technique for teaching yourself a needed skill where other techniques or resources are unavailable. Self-training can be done individually, in pairs or with a group.

ADVANTAGES 1. You need not wait on others to provide you with skills and knowledge that you need.2. You take charge of your own education.

3. This technique can build confidence if it is successful.4. It is adaptable to individual needs, interests and learning styles.

DISADVANTAGES 1. Self-training requires patience.2. You lose the luxury of blaming someone else.3. It can build frustration if it does not work for a particular individual or in developing a particular skill.4. Sometimes you learn bad habits without someone to help and evaluate your progress.5. Some skills require an expert teacher or the process can be dangerous or unhealthy.

COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION Self-training requires a basic understanding and appreciation of "competency based education." A competency is simply the knowledge, skil ls, attitudes and experience required to perform atask. Most of the modules in this curriculum are designed to build competency. E-7 is designed toteach the skill of writing objectives. L-1 is designed to teach knowledge of leadership styles andwhich style you tend to prefer. Both of these examples are competencies. Both requireknowledge, previous skill, attitudes and experience in order to become completely competent.

PROCESS FOR SELF TRAINING 1. Identify the competency or task that you need to learn. Write it down in general terms. (i.e. I

want to learn how to design a board simulation game to orient a group of high school youth whowill go on an exchange to Mexico).2. Analyze the competency. Break it down into specific skills, knowledge, attitudes andexperience that you will need to become competent. (You may consult books or people withsome experience in designing board simulation games). After some reflection, reading anddiscussion with people who have designed a board game you learn that you need:



Knowledge Facts about Mexico

• Board simulations consist of nine basic components. • Each must be developed and put together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They are:

o General situation (i.e. daily life of Mexicans) o Specific focus (living as a foreign guest of a Mex. family) o Objective (how do you win the game) o Format (use an existing board game as a model or develop an original format --

in this case we will use Trivial Pursuit with questions/answers on cards) o Rules (how you play the game) o Roles (who plays what role) o Decisions versus fate (most games have an element of luck plus decisions that

players make) o Messages (this is the educational content) o Tuning (put all the pieces together and try the game with a small group--only by

playing and refining the game can you work out the rough spots and get it to aplayable form)

• Skills Some curriculum development experience is helpful but not necessary. • Attitudes Anyone can design a game. Patience will be required. • Experience Having played a variety of board games is helpful.

3. Operationalize the competency. (Break it down into the specific activities that you will need tocomplete in order to reach your desired outcome--the design of a playable board simulationgame).4. Write down the steps (procedure) that you will follow to become competent.5. Follow your procedure. Schedule the activities, assemble the materials, arrange for friends tohelp you with specific activities (playing your new game in order to help you tune it).6. Evaluate. State how you will know when you have completed the training and becomecompetent. EXERCISE: Choose a skill that you would like to teach yourself (start with a simple one first). Carefully followthe process described above. Be very thorough with each step in the process. Do not rush. If youcan master self-training, you will open many possibilities for solving problems and keepingyourself renewed as a community educator.




Simulation Games LT-11

DEFINITION A simulation game is a replicated real-life experience involving two or more players who arerequired to operate under clearly defined rules for the purpose of achieving a predetermined goalin a concentrated period of time. The game may involve role play, cards, a board or acombination of these elements.

CHARACTERISTICS

The board (if used) is a visual representation of the movement through time or space. Roles for players may be passive (i.e. everyone is in business to make money and drive out competition asin Monopoly) or active (players are required to speak and act from the role assigned them). Clear options are presented to the players who must choose the most appealing option. Sooner or later feedback is provided to help the player evaluate the quality of the option chosen. Chance is builtinto simulation games through the roll of dice or the draw of a card. Eventually a winner emerges.

ADVANTAGES Simulation games simplify complex experiences making them easier to understand. Because thegame is not "real" players can practice behaviors which they might be reluctant to try under normal circumstances. Time is compressed; therefore players get feedback on their decisionsquickly and can see the relationship of events more clearly than in real life. The games are fun.They are a great way to break up lectures. They involve more participation than most learningtechniques. They stimulate discussion. They can be used for problem solving, evaluation,information, analysis, verbal and interpersonal skill development and conflict resolution. Theyallow players to see themselves and others under different conditions.

DISADVANTAGES Because simulation games are associated with "play" they are often not taken seriously. Playersmay reject game experiences as "just a game." Sometimes the game may excessively simplify acomplex experience and therefore "distort" reality. If the game is not well designed it may confuseplayers and cause frustration. To use simulation games for educational purposes requiresdifferent skills on the part of the educator.



CHECKLIST FOR FACILITATING A SIMULATION GAME PREVIEW THE GAME

1. read the rules, 2. play the game in advance if possible, 3. anticipate questions that can be used to stimulate discussion, 4. determine if the game will meet your learning objectives, and 5. decide if this simulation is the best teaching/learning technique to use in this case.

INTRODUCE THE GAME TO THE PLAYERS

1. explain the purpose and rules of the game, 2. help players choose roles (assign the roles if time is limited), and 3. answer questions but if questions go on too long then suggest that the players get started andlearn by playing.

STIMULATE DISCUSSION

1. ask questions,

2. try to get the group to discuss problems until they agree on a solution, 3. do not dominate discussion, 4. do not try to be the expert on everything, 5. give clear direction to the experience at first, 6. then become less vocal and directive as the players get involved, and 7. determine when discussion has wandered off the subject and gently guide it back.

KEEP THE GAME MOVING

1. enforce the rules, and 2. if the players can't agree on a rule or solution then say something like, "We need to movealong now, so I will declare Jane's solution to be the best one. It is not the only correct answer butfor now it will be the official answer."

SUMMARIZE THE GAME

1. Help each player draw conclusions from the game. 2. Ask questions like, "What did you learn from this game? How can you use the information inyour community? What new ideas can you try? What are the likely benefits and costs of tryingnew ideas? What problems are you likely to encounter that were not in this game? How might yousolve those problems?" 3. Encourage players to help other players as they answer these questions.

REMEMBER a good facilitator is unlike a classroom teacher. A teacher uses authority, disciplineand control to do what he or she wants to do. A facilitator uses compromise and discussion tohelp the group make its own decisions. A teacher lectures and makes statements. A facilitator

asks questions and agrees with other opinions which seem useful. A teacher directs. A facilitator suggests. A teacher often prevents the class from gaining too much control. A facilitator encourages other learners to accept responsibility and to express themselves. A teacher oftenplays the role of expert--has the final word. A facilitator does not try to be an expert, but helps thegroup to come up with the final word.




Public Policy Education LT-12

DEFINITIONS 1. Public Policy - a settled course of action adopted and followed by the public. * 2. Public Policy Education - an organized program to provide information so that public decisionsmay be based on facts rather than ignorance, prejudice, or lies.

EXAMPLES Potentially any issue which impacts the public may become a public policy issue. Issues which

have been, and continue to be of interest include the following: 1. land use 2. water use 3. sewage disposal 4. flood plain ordinance 5. noise control 6. environmental laws

HOW PUBLIC POLICY IS DETERMINED:*

Concerns 9. Evaluate ssues 8. Action Conflict 7. Choices Rank priorities 5. Structure 6. Alternatives

_________________________ *from Shaping Public Policy, by Verne W. House, Westridge Publishing, Bozeman, Montana,1981.

HOW CAN EDUCATORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? By providing information:

1. about how public policy is determined2. about the issue itself

(This should be done carefully and systematically.) As with most programs, communityeducators should:



a. evaluate the situation, b. prepare an educational program, c. organize program resources, and d. guide the program to conclusion.

CAUTIONS 1. Virtually all public policy issues are controversial issues. 2. Determining the teachable moment is critical. 3. Maintaining objectivity and credibility may be difficult. 4. The issue must be one that the public can influence. 5. "Directive" and "laissez faire" leadership styles are often inappropriate. 6. Preparation time is usually short. 7. Advanced preparation must be flexibly used. 8. Be prepared for casualties.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Choose the first issue carefully. 2. Prepare thoroughly but anticipate changes in the way the issue may be approached. 3. Involve all levels of the public and your organization. 4. Program commitment and responsibility must be shared among all levels. 5. Be prepared to step aside when the educational part of the program is over and participantsdecide to take political actions.




Role-Play LT-13

DESCRIPTION Role-playing is a technique of human interaction that involves realistic behavior in imaginary(hypothetical) situations. Behavior of participants is spontaneous since they act freely rather thanfrom a script. Ideally role-playing is very close to real life behavior.

ADVANTAGES Role-plays can 1. motivate,2. help diagnose group needs,3. help to see another person's point of view,4. evaluate information, skills or attitudes,5. reveal various alternatives that were not obvious before,6. be used for problem solving,7. train people for future situations, and8. build a close, supportive and more productive group.

DISADVANTAGES

Role-plays can 1. alienate some people who do not understand role-plays or have had bad experiencespreviously with role-plays,2. cause conflict where it did not previously exist,3. be overdeveloped and therefore destroy the spontaneity,4. put participants "on the spot" and make them uncomfortable,5. require considerable judgment to determine when role-play is appropriate and when the groupis ready for it, and6. be perceived as manipulative.

AN OUTLINE FOR WRITING A ROLE-PLAY 1. State your purpose (what do you want to achieve with the role-play?).2. Briefly describe the characters (who are they -- what are their relationships?).3. Explain the situation and background (including what the characters will be doing in the role-play).4. State the time and place (if these are important considerations).



SUGGESTIONS FOR LEADING A ROLE-PLAY 1. Introduce the role-play explaining what is a role play and what you think it will accomplish for the group.2. Describe the purpose, characters, situation, time and place.3. Encourage an informal atmosphere to help the players relax.

4. Do not pressure anyone to participate if they seem reluctant.5. Let the role-players be self directing.6. Ask the observers to keep absolutely quiet during the role-play and not react in any way to theplayers.7. Stop the role play when the purpose has been accomplished or it is getting away from thepurpose, or one of the participants is really struggling. Never let it drag out too much.8. Lead discussion after the role-play. Start with positive comments; then encourage theparticipants to talk; finally involve the observers with their comments and ideas.9. Avoid "setting up" individuals by intentionally loading the situation so their real life behavior willbe criticized (avoid hidden agendas).10. Do not try to teach moral lessons through role-plays.11. Do not overdevelop the situation or instructions.12. Do not give a predetermined outcome for the role-play, let the interaction of the players take

its own course as long as it is helpful.13. During the role-play, write down questions, observations and ideas for the post role-playdiscussion.

THE POST ROLE-PLAY DISCUSSION The discussion following a role-play is crucial to the experience. At this point new ideas or approaches to the problem are analyzed and synthesized. The role-play will not be a successunless conclusions are drawn. The discussion must be adapted to the situation and the purposesof each role-play; however the following questions may be useful in leading the discussion. 1. Was the role-play's outcome what you expected? 2. Describe the relationships portrayed by the characters. 3. How did they communicate? 4. How could communication have been improved? 5. What could the characters have done to reduce conflict? 6. What conclusions might we draw from the role-play? 7. (For problem solving role-plays) Did the characters resolve their problems? How (or why not)? 8. Can you see any alternative actions that could have helped the role-play?

EVALUATING THE ROLE-PLAY

1. Was the purpose of the role-play clearly defined at the start? 2. Was the role-play directly related to the learning of the group at the time? 3. Was the background information and setting properly developed (enough information to getstarted but not too much to hamper the creativity of the characters). 4. Were the observers quiet and cooperative? Was there any external interference (outside theparticipants) with the role play? 5. Was the role-play stopped too soon? Did it drag out too long? 6. Was the post role-play discussion effective in summarizing and drawing conclusions? 7. Did the role-play bring out new ideas or perspectives? 8. Did anybody feel manipulated in any way? 9. Did the group end up with a favorable response to the role-play technique and the new ideas?



EVALUATION CHECKLIST FOR THE LEADER 1. Did I make certain that the group was ready for a role play before it was used? 2. Did I explain why I thought a role-play would help the group? 3. Did I introduce the issues and create interest? 4. Did I encourage informality? 5. Did I constantly observe the group to be sure that all members were comfortable and that theywere making progress? 6. Did I organization the discussion to cover the main points? 7. Did I encourage all to participate? 8. Did I ask clear, concise questions? 9. Did I close the discussion with a summary, conclusions and ideas for practical application? 10. Did I manage to do all of the above and still avoid dominating the group?




Video Tapes LT-14

ADVANTAGES 1. They are very popular and motivating.2. They are available from a wide variety of sources.3. You can make your own tapes to show specific situations.

DISADVANTAGES 1. Professional tapes may not focus on the skill or activity that you wish to teach.

2. Homemade recordings can seldom compete with professional quality.3. Learners are passive when watching videos.4. This technique can be overused or poorly prepared; it requires careful planning and follow-updiscussion or application. It is not the "magic bullet" that it sometimes seems.

SUGGESTIONS FOR USING VIDEOS 1. Check different sources for videos (libraries, university resource centers, other organizations,mail order rentals).2. Be clear on your purpose for using a video.3. Plan the instruction with appropriate activities to lead in to the video and to follow up (applywhat was learned from the video).

4. When recording from television or copying another tape, be aware of legal restrictions,copyright laws and procedures to get permission for copies, restrictions of use (how often, size of group, purpose).5. Always check equipment for compatibility, to determine exactly how long it takes to set up and"warm up," and how to set the channel, volume, power, tracking, etc., so you do not have tofumble with the controls when it is time to show the video.6. Pre-plan and pre-set where you want to begin on the tape.7. Determine where you will pause in order to involve the viewers in discussion.




Case Study LT-15

DEFINITION

A case study is a detailed description of an event, an organization, or a project. It may bepresented in written form, orally, with audio visual equipment, or with a combination of theseapproaches. Its purpose is for study, analysis and conclusions.

USES

1. To describe in detail a situation that is of concern to the group.2. To create participant interest and involvement in decision making.3. To encourage self-discovery and formulation of individual opinions and solutions.

4. To teach problem solving skills.5. To gain experience without risk.6. To determine needs of groups or organizations.7. To evaluate a project or organization.

TYPES OF CASE STUDIES

CLASSICAL WRITTEN CASE. A comprehensive account of a major problem situation; can bequite lengthy and include charts, graphs, etc.

UNFINISHED CASE. A case study that lacks an ending. It requires a solution from theparticipants.

CRISIS CASE. Presents a problem that requires a prompt solution. The urgency can add adegree of motivation and pressure to the exercise.

AFTER THE FACT CASE. Provides an opportunity for analysis and evaluation to learn fromprevious mistakes.




Educational Fair LT-16

DEFINITION Everyone has been to a fair where there are exhibits, events, food, recreation, and competitions. An educational fair simply leaves out the competition and the commercial aspects. It is usuallyshorter (often only one day). It focuses exclusively on education. It has a purpose or theme.

ADVANTAGES 1. People like fairs. They are naturally motivating.

2. Fairgrounds are often empty or underused for much of the year.3. Flexibility--fairs can vary greatly according to opportunities and resources.4. This is a great opportunity for similar organizations to pool their resources -- to cooperate for an event that brings out lots of people and provides much publicity.

DISADVANTAGES 1. Lots of planning is required but not as much as for fairs that include competitions, lots of rules, judges, ribbons, cash prizes, etc.2. People are sometimes disappointed to come to a fair and find that there is no carnival or rides.3. Funding can be a problem even if expenses are kept low.

AN EXAMPLE: THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY FAIR Economic development is not always focused on the community level. In Arizona the "self-sufficiency fair" aims to improve family finances. Leona Elliot saved $240 in electrical bills the firstyear she used a solar hot water heater. She constructed the heater after attending a workshop atthe self-sufficiency fair in Cottonwood, Arizona. At this fair workshops, demonstrations and exhibits deal with energy conservation, construction,health, traditional skills, cottage industries and food production and preservation. The purpose of the fair is to provide information on alternatives for family self-sufficiency. Organized byCooperative Extension agents with help from many organizations, groups and individuals, the fair is popular with the public. With today's economic stresses, unemployment and energy costs,more people are looking for ways to cut spending and do more for themselves. Extension agents find that the fair is a successful method to respond to clients' needs. Time issaved, in the long run, for the agents. The agricultural agent conducted one pruning workshop for 60 interested participants which replaced four or five workshops to groups of 10 to 20 in smallneighborhood garden clubs.



After five fairs the agents have refined the process for organizing an event that appeals to peoplefrom a wide range of backgrounds and interests. Six steps are essential to the process: 1) form avolunteer steering committee; 2) determine specific objectives and guidelines; 3) develop aplanning calendar; 4) communicate with exhibitors; 5) arrange facilities; and 6) evaluate theevent.

On fair day participants can see a variety of exhibits, films, slide shows, and entertainment.Vendors serve food from nearby booths. Workshops and demonstrations are done in quietlocations away from noise and traffic. The county fairgrounds provides an ideal location for thefair. Fairgoers pay no admission fee. They have several educational choices at any momentduring the day. A printed program lists the choices for each half hour. A partial schedule, shownbelow, gives a flavor of the activities. Commercial and non-profit groups rent exhibit space to tell about solar food drying, wind-poweredgenerators, solar cookers, drip irrigation, steam engines, water conservation, home landscaping,energy efficient windows, roofing treatment, wood stove safety, greenhouses, kitchen appliances,sculptured dolls, woodworking, hydroponics, grain milling, repairing shop tools, and much more. Entertainment is provided for different age groups by performers on stage. Jackpot contests suchas goat milking, cow chip throwing, chili cooking, horseshoe pitching, and sack races, generateexcitement. All activities are planned and executed by a volunteer steering committee which divides itself intosubcommittees to deal with objectives and guidelines, publicity, finances, facilities, exhibits,workshops, entertainment, and audio-visual equipment. Each subcommittee receives itsassignment in writing from the steering committee. It is asked to plan activities and put them on amaster calendar and a master map of the fairgrounds. The map and calendar help eachsubcommittee to keep track of the work of each of the other subcommittees. Frequentadjustments are necessary. Because of its importance, publicity requires extra planning. Radio, television and newspaper

editors receive news releases. Announcements appear in church, school and civic organizationnewsletters and on bulletin boards. Businesses display posters and grocery baggers giveinformation flyers to shoppers. The publicity committee prepares a brochure of guidelines for potential exhibitors. Responses are requested on a tear-off-and-return section of the brochure.Some brochures are mailed to likely exhibitors, some are left in public places, and others arepersonally delivered to those whose participation is especially desired. The tear-off section alsogives exhibitors a chance to indicate special requirements (electricity, sunlight, shelter). Evaluation of the fair is done by three members of the steering committee. A phone survey isconducted three months after the fair with a random sample of participants who are asked if theyenjoyed the far, if it gave them new ideas, if they tried any of the ideas, and if they are still usingany of those ideas. Responses to one fair indicated that 43% of the participants "adopt" one or more ideas worth an average of $100 each. An outside evaluator was hired for one fair to

independently confirm the results of the phone interviews. The fairs are done on a budget which averaged about $1,200 in income and $900 in expenses.Income is basically from the sale of exhibit spaces. Expenses include publicity, programs,equipment rental, office supplies and the costs of the evaluator.



A FINAL THOUGHT This technique does not have a checklist for planning and evaluation. Many of the steps requiredfor planning a workshop (LT-1) would be necessary for this event. Use the checklist for workshops if you need a starting point for planning an educational fair. Probably someone in your community has helped with a county fair and would be available to help you anticipate detailed

planning needs.




Judging LT-17

DESCRIPTION

Judging is making a decision, given choices, based on specific criteria. Successful judgingdepends on the knowledge of the objects to be judged. Typically there are four examples of theproducts which must be placed in order. Sometimes the judges are required to justify their placings with oral or written reasons. The process of judging involves: 1. observation based on information, 2. comparison based on an ideal item, and 3. making a decision.

JUDGING TEACHES STUDENTS 1. to observe carefully, 2. to recognize products, articles, animals, etc., 3. to make their own decisions, 4. to make wise decisions, 5. to appreciate the opinions of others, 6. to express themselves clearly, and 7. to improve on their own work.

JUDGES SHOULD 1. become familiar with the characteristics of a product, 2. learn the terms that describe it, and 3. have some idea of what an ideal product really is.

JUDGING SKILLS CAN BE TAUGHT BY 1. the group leader method -- where a knowledgeable leader describes the positive and negativepoints of the objects being judged, making comparisons and then announcing the final decision,using the thought process expected from the learners (other members of the group); 2. the questioning method -- where the group leader asks key questions about the objects being judged and leads the learners to a decision teaching them to ask the same questions when theyare judging alone; 3. the voting game -- where learners are asked to discuss and vote on the objects being judged,giving reasons for their decisions as they discuss their placings;



4. Individual judging -- where experienced judges are given practice in judging then immediatefeedback on the class they just judged. Judges may be asked to give reasons for a class to thegroup leader or an expert judge, then they are given feedback on their reasons.

EVALUATION FOR SOMEONE TEACHING JUDGING 1. Was the introduction interesting and exciting? 2. Were the objectives of judging clearly explained to participants? 3. Was the judging focused on problems relevant to the participants? 4. Were production and end results emphasized? 5. Was everybody given the opportunity to learn and determine their own objectives? 6. Did the overall process facilitate group interaction balanced between social interaction andwork? 7. Was the session organized in a logical, sequenced and easy to follow manner? 8. Was the session timed well? 9. Was the content of the session(s) useful? 10. Were diverse learning techniques employed? 11. Was informality among participants encouraged? 12. Did participants seem motivated and willing to focus on the topic? 13. Was the session properly summarized?

FINAL OBSERVATION This brief discussion will help you to understand the role of the educator in teaching judging toothers. Very little information, however, is given on the actual judging process or how to organizea judging contest. A useful reference to answer those questions is "Learning Through Judging,EM 4647," by Jan Hiller and Jerry Newman, Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture andHome Economics, Washington State University, Pullman, 1987.




Method Demonstration LT-18

DEFINITION A method demonstration is a teaching technique that combines oral explanation with "doing" tocommunicate processes, concepts, and facts. It is particularly effective in teaching a skill that canbe observed. A method demonstration is different from a "result demonstration" which is a fieldtest, in public, of a particular product or practice. Result demonstrations for crop varieties andpractices are commonly conducted in a "test plot" that the public can observe and draw its ownconclusions. Result demonstrations often last several weeks or months. A method demonstrationis limited to only a few minutes. Method demonstrations are often used during workshops (seemodule LT-1). The audience is passive during the method demonstration but during a workshop itis actively involved in practicing the skill.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS 1. Is appropriate to the audience; 2. Involves doing and telling; 3. Provides a learning experience; 4. Has clear objectives; 5. Is well planned and prepared; 6. Allows for strong rapport with the audience for clear communication; and 7. Allows the audience to ask questions -- the demonstrator should be able to answer thequestions or refer the questioner to sources of information.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SELECTION AND PREPARATION Select a demonstration topic which: 1. is interesting and suitable to the audience, 2. fits the demonstrator's interests, skills, and experience, 3. provides an educational experience for both the demonstrator and the audience, 4. is not limited to material objects or ideas, 5. can be shown and explained, 6. is narrow enough to permit thorough treatment in the time allotted but large enough in scope towarrant a demonstration, 7. is timely, practical and interesting, 8. can be prepared in a short period of time, 9. utilizes equipment and materials that can be easily secured, and 10. can be given in different locations.



Plan and prepare the demonstration: 1. research -- gather information from people, books and personal experience, 2. write an outline in order to organize the information, 3. select a tentative title, 4. collect the material and have everything ready and arranged,

a. use nothing that cannot be seen clearly, b. use actual articles if possible, or models if necessary,

5. anticipate how to transport and store all of the materials, 6. practice, practice, practice

a. be able to answer questions or refer to other sources, b. rehearse until you can deliver the demonstration smoothly but do not memorize,

7. wear proper clothing, a. safety glasses if necessary, b. boots when working with heavy equipment or large animals, c. gloves if safety requires hands to be protected, and

8. make a checklist of all materials. SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESENTATION

Introduction: 1. speak clearly and distinctly, 2. face and talk to the audience -- stay in their full view and make certain that they can hear youat all times, 3. show interest and enthusiasm in the subject of your demonstration, 4. start with a question or a striking statement to gain attention, 5. introduce yourself and the subject, 6. connect the subject to the listeners' experience and interests, 7. explain what is to be accomplished, 8. preview the main points of the demonstration, and 9. do not keep people waiting for the demonstration to start. Body: 1. go step by step stressing key points, 2. tell why each step is important, 3. list steps on a poster, newsprint or the chalkboard, 4. explain new terms and ideas using simple works for clear understanding, 5. perform all operations skillfully and in the proper sequence, 6. do not allow distractions to fluster you, 7. combine telling with showing, 8. keep the table clean and neat (store materials behind you until you are ready to use them --when finished with materials put them out of sight so the audience is not distracted, and 9. decide if you will encourage questions from the audience at any time or wait until you arefinished (if the setting is informal you may ask them questions to check their understanding of your explanation).



Summary:

1. review key points but do not bring up new ideas, 2. give the audience suggestions for application, 3. indicate your sources of information, (have those references available if possible) and 4. thank the audience for their attention.

EVALUATION Do a self evaluation and get evaluation from the audience. The evaluations may include open-ended suggestions for improvement or it may include a formal checklist or scorecard like the onebelow.

possible score actual

oduction - gets audience attention, original, brief, tells why subject is important. 5 mmunication - eye contact, flexible, encourages feedback, nonverbal supports verbal, grammar andabulary are correct, voice, enthusiasm.

15

ject Matter - complete, clear objectives, accurate, focus on main points, knows subject. 20 sentation - uses time effectively, poised, in control of all elements, pace is appropriate, adjusts to theence, clear explanation.

20

ated to audience - information is usable, keeps the audience's attention, responds to questions. 20 erials - quality of posters, neat handouts, equipment is appropriate, well organized and support theonstration, avoids clutter.

15

mmary - reviews main points, asks for questions, lets the audience know when it is over. 5




Telephone LT-19

DESCRIPTION Telephone calls are an important means of personal communication. They make up a largeproportion of all Cooperative Extension contacts with the public. Only by using the telephoneproperly, however, can educators use this tool to its full educational potential. An effective telephone personality will help educators make friends and create goodwill. Theperson on the other end of the line can only judge the attentiveness of the educator and officestaff by the verbal expressions. Everything depends on the voice and telephone habits. Educatorscan develop a pleasing telephone personality by learning and practicing proven skills.

USES OF THE TELEPHONE Information is requested and given over the phone. It is one of the cheapest and most convenientways for clients to request and receive information that they need immediately. The telephone isalso used for introducing oneself, making appointments, arranging programs, schedulingmeetings, getting information from other organizations, keeping in contact with colleagues andbusiness transactions relating to the maintenance of the office.

MISUSES

1. Personal calls to friends that tie up in-coming calls. 2. Monopolizing the telephone -- the educator does all of the talking during a telephoneconversation and does not take time to listen to the other person. 3. Making many long outbound calls keeps inbound calls from being received. 4. Casual manners -- Using slang words and expressions, forgetting to say "please, thank you,you're welcome," or forgetting to personalize the call by using the callers name. 5. Unorganized -- Not having a message pad ready; not having frequently requested informationquickly available; having to put people on hold unnecessarily; allowing distractions to interrupt thephone call; not knowing where people have gone when they are out or when they will return(especially during emergencies). 6. Cultural insensitivity -- Some ethnic groups require face to face contact for transactions andespecially decisions based on trust and personal commitment. The phone, in these cases, cannotreplace an office appointment or a visit to the home or business by the educator. 7. Allowing certain callers to regularly tie up the phone with long conversations which wander off the subject and away from the educational purpose of the phone.



PROCEDURES When the Office Telephone Rings 1. Answer promptly -- This helps build a reputation of efficiency. Try to answer on the first or second ring whenever possible. 2. Identify yourself -- to help assure the caller and start the conversation smoothly. This alsopersonalizes the call. 3. Be friendly -- Show interest, be a good listener so the caller will not have to repeat what wassaid. 4. Be considerate -- Do not try to carry on two conversations at once. Callers should not be maketo feel that they are competing with others in the office. 5. Use a professional voice -- which includes

a. alertness (wide awake and ready to help), b. pleasantness (putting a smile into one's voice) c. naturalness (use simple straightforward tone and language avoiding technical terms,slang and abbreviations like organization titles), d. distinctness (speak directly into the telephone pronouncing words clearly andcarefully), and e. expressiveness (talk at a moderate rate and volume but vary the tone addingemphasis and vitality in what is said).

When Handling Calls for Others or Taking Messages 1. Be informative, courteous and interested in the caller. 2. Offer the caller help if you can replace the one who was called. 3. Be tactful. 4. Take complete, accurate messages

a. caller's name spelled correctly, b. caller's firm or department if offered, c. caller's telephone number, d. date and time call was taken, e. name of person who took the call, and f. briefly double check the information with the person calling.

Establish Effective Office Organization 1. Have a note pad and pencil by the telephone as well as frequently called numbers, localdirectory, and reference material for frequently asked questions. 2. Designate a special place for messages. 3. Try to maintain an adequate number of people and phone lines to handle incoming calls. 4. Instruct office staff exactly how to handle telephone calls. Take Time for Courtesy 1. Treat every call as an important call. 2. Return messages promptly; apologize for errors or delays. 3. Keep promises. Call back with requested information or the reason why it is not yet available. 4. Make certain everyone leaves word where s/he is going and for how long in case anemergency call comes in. 5. If you must make the caller wait longer than a minute, offer to return the call when you find theinformation.



Develop a Variety of Ways to End Calls That Drag On 1. Offer to call back at another time. 2. Thank the person for the call and repeat the answer. 3. Ask, "did I answer your question?" 4. Indicate that you must get back to an urgent task. 5. Indicate that you have someone else in the office who needs to talk to you as soon as youhave helped the caller. 6. Indicate that you have a deadline for completing another job. 7. Be polite but honest and firm whenever possible. 8. If you have someone who chronically abuses the phone just to visit, you may wish to tell themdirectly that because of the volume of phone calls (or other work) you are required to limit calls toa couple of minutes when possible.




Lecture LT-2

Definition: A prepared informative talk given before an audience.

Advantages: It is an efficient way to disseminate information. The audience can see and hear thespeaker. It is easy for an instructor to control since responsibility is centralized. It is easyto stage. Little equipment is needed. There is great potential for flexibility and creativity.

Disadvantages: Holding interest is difficult since audience participation is limited. Considerable time andeffort is required to develop a good lecture. Evaluation is difficult before the end of thelecture. It is a formal technique that does not put the audience at ease naturally. It isoverused.

EVALUATION CHECKLIST PLANNING is complete in that the lecture

•

comes out of the speaker's background, skills and experience,

• is appropriate to the age, interests and experience of the audience, • is limited to one main idea or principle, • is well organized, logical, easy to follow, • is based on accurate information, not slanted or biased, • provides information that appears to be useful, complete and up to date, • has all equipment available and organized for smooth use.

PREPARATION is demonstrated in that the speaker • is appropriately dressed and groomed to avoid distractions, • delivers the material smoothly, • uses examples, stories and jokes which have been rehearsed, •

answers questions with confidence and clarity. PRESENTATION is effective in that the lecturer

• gets attention (answers "why is s/he lecturing; why should I listen?"), holds interest by • using variety in the presentation, • using visuals which are readable,



• showing enthusiasm, • using eye contact, • maintaining appropriate posture, • using gestures appropriately, • projecting with the voice, • using correct grammar and pronunciation, • evaluating audience feedback and adjusting the presentation, and • summarizes key points.

*****Note: if you are unfamiliar with effective speaking skills you may wish to review module C-3on public speaking.




Correspondence LT-20

DESCRIPTION

Correspondence is communication and teaching by exchange of letters. It can be directed at aspecific audience to accomplish a very specific job. Sometimes this is absolutely necessary,however, generally correspondence is not very cost effective as a teaching method. Thecorrespondent has complete control over the message sent. It can be carefully composed andconsidered before it is sent. It can be kept for future reference. It can also be done hastily, withlittle thought, and result in miscommunication. Unlike face to face communication, there is noimmediate opportunity to get feedback and adjust the message.

SOME SUGGESTIONS

1. Determine your purpose. Write it down. Think about it before you start writing. 2. Think about your audience. What do they need to know? What do you need to say? Whatshould you not say? 3. How can you write your message so it will communicate most effectively? 4. Do not strive to be understood. Strive to write so misunderstanding will be impossible. Rereadyour letter at the end asking yourself, "how can this message be misunderstood." 5. As you write, be brief, be clear, use simple language, and be conversational. 6. Make the appearance of the letter attractive, neat, and professional. Use a layout that is easyto read, not too cluttered. 7. If you are recommending an action or giving options, provide the reader with the advantagesand disadvantages. 8. Be enthusiastic and positive. 9. If the letter is on a controversial subject or expressing strong feelings on your part, asksomeone else to read it to see if your feelings color the message too much. Sleep on it. Reread itthe next day, critically, and consider revisions before sending it. 10. Just like other forms of writing, your style and communication ability will improve if youregularly ask for, and use, professional editorial advice.




Exhibits, Posters & Bulletin Boards LT-21

These educational techniques are very important for nonformal educators. They all involve visuallayout. The best way to learn to use these techniques effectively is with lots of examples of goodand bad finished products and through experience with critique from a specialist in design of posters, bulletin boards and exhibits.

Two excellent references are: Carey, H. A. (1991). Posters: Design and production, Special Circular 280. University Park, PA:The Pennsylvania State University, College of Agricultural Sciences. Carey, H. A. (1989). Exhibits: Design and production, Special Circular 273. University Park, PA:The Pennsylvania State University, College of Agricultural Sciences. The author of these extension bulletins includes a score sheet for judging posters and a scoresheet for judging exhibits. They are very similar but the score sheet for exhibits is slightly moreelaborate so it is included below:



SCORE SHEET FOR EXHIBITS

Points Score Comments tracts Attention se of size, shape, texture, color, 20 motion, light. Favorable reaction.

20

ouses Interest courages additional study, Personal appeal to the type of audience for whom

e exhibit was designed. 10

onveys a Message e message should be conveyed quickly. Along with a good 30 second

essage, some additional detail should not be discounted. A viewer shouldave the exhibit understanding something not known before.

30

esign ements of the exhibit should be pleasingly placed to give a sense of unity toe whole. The design should enhance the organization and readability of thepic. The message should be part of the design. Simplicity, the grouping of ements, open space and a lack of clutter or crowding are important.

20

iginality idence of creativity. 10

orkmanship eat. Well constructed for the purpose. This does not imply that expensiveaterials must be used.




Cone of Experience LT-22

This is not really a teaching/learning technique but rather a method which incorporates severaltechniques and a theory about how to use techniques in combination to strengthen learning.

The theory says that some learning activities involve only listening, others incorporate seeing,others lead to doing, and others provide practice and experience outside the classroom or learning group. Refer to the diagram below.

Actual experience (i.e.,on the job)

Working with models

Judging - Dramatic participation

Discussions

Field trips – Tours

Doing Exhibits – Displays

Television – Movies

Photos – Pictures

Illustrated Talks, Charts Posters

Seeing

Reading

Talks

Listening

We can draw a number of conclusions from this theory. Learning is more complete as we moveup the learning cone. For difficult tasks or for lower age groups we may want to start with talksand printed matter then gradually move up the cone of experience over time with moreparticipation and experience in the actual situation where the competency is to be used.

If students are having difficulty learning, maybe we are too high on the cone of experience.Maybe we need to drop down and use techniques which build competence and confidence.

EVALUATION FOR SOMEONE USING THE CONE OF EXPERIENCE

1. Was the learning goal clear to all involved? 2. Were strategies of listening--seeing--doing used to reach the goal?



3. Were they appropriate strategies for the learner(s) and the situation?

a. Listening strategies were appropriate? b. Seeing strategies were appropriate? c. Doing strategies were appropriate?

4. Was the learning goal reached? 5. Do you have any suggestions for follow up? Is the learner now ready for experience in a reallife (uncontrolled) situation?




Brainstorm LT-3

DESCRIPTION

Brainstorming is a great way to get lots of ideas and lots of involvement. It is fun. It getseveryone's ideas out on the table. It does not embarrass individuals. There are no losers if brainstorming is led correctly. Brainstorming is a simple, effective technique for generating ideas. To be most effective,however, it must be done carefully. Brainstorming will produce many useful ideas if the techniqueis properly introduced, if six simple rules are followed, if the purpose is clearly stated, and if thegroup doing the brainstorming is large enough and has ideas about the topic.

WHY IT WORKS

Brainstorming works because the group is encouraged to produce as many ideas as possiblewith no thought for how practical the ideas might be. Any idea is good. Criticism is not allowedduring the brainstorming so people need not be defensive or self-conscious. Everyone isencouraged to participate in a free-wheeling atmosphere. It becomes fun. With a time limitimposed, participants are encouraged to blurt out ideas. Everyone can participate successfullyregardless of prestige in the group or skill in small group interaction.

SIX RULES

Because quantity of ideas rather than quality of ideas is desired, the following rules must bemade clear at the outset, then enforced during the process.

1. Yell out ideas, do not wait to be recognized. 2. Wild ideas are alright; all ideas are good at this stage. 3. Hitchhike on each other's ideas (yell out ideas that are only slightly different than someoneelse's idea), do not hold back an idea just because it does not seem to be original.4. Stick to a time limit. Five to ten minutes, depending on the subject and the participants, isusually plenty of time to generate enough ideas. A sense of urgency helps lower inhibitions andkeep ideas flowing. 5. Be brief, do not attempt to explain, elaborate on, or justify your ideas. 6. Do not evaluate any idea by word, facial expression, or body language.

HOW TO DO IT

A leader for the brainstorming is designated. This may be done in two ways: 1) An officer or committee chair asks an assembled group to help generate ideas. That person assumes theleadership of the brainstorming process. 2) A group gets bogged down and someone suggests,"We need some new ideas; let's try brainstorming; Joe, would you conduct the brainstormsession?"

The leader states the purpose of the brainstorming (i.e. to generate ideas for the coming year'sprogram), and asks the group if they understand and agree with the purpose. Brainstorming maynot work if some participants are unclear about the purpose or disagree with the purpose.



The leader makes sure that a chalkboard and chalk (or newsprint and markers) are available andthat all participants are seated so that they can see the ideas as they are recorded. The leader records the ideas as they are shouted out. A second recorder may be needed if the group islarger than a few participants. Two recorders can alternate as the ideas are shouted out so thatthe brainstorm participants do not need to wait with their ideas while a recorder is writing. The leader repeats the six rules of brainstorming and asks if all participants understand the rules.The time limit is announced by the leader. The purpose of the brainstorming is restated oncemore and the leader asks, "Is everyone ready?"

The leader checks the time and says, "Go!" As long as ideas are flowing the leader records themwithout comment. If the ideas are not flowing, the leader may suggest an idea and record it. If anyrule is broken, the leader politely but firmly enforces the rule without explanation. The leader maycheck the time occasionally to communicate urgency. However, the time limit need not beobserved rigidly. If the ideas are still flowing, the leader may elect to keep going. If the group runsout of ideas the leader may stop early. After the leader calls "time," the group should be complimented on its cooperation andproductivity. The brainstorming is over and the discussion/evaluation begins. First the leader should ask if there is any idea on the list that is not understood. After clarifications are complete,then evaluation may begin. Ideas which are completely impractical may be eliminated from the list

if the group agrees. The group may be particularly enthusiastic about two or three ideas. Thosemay be moved to the top of the list or marked. The leader should ask someone to transfer theideas to a sheet of notebook paper so that they will not be lost. Finally, the leader may indicatewhat will happen to the ideas (i.e. they might be presented to the next regular meeting of theorganization for discussion and voting; they might be referred to standing committees for action;

or they might be discussed by the group that did the brainstorm. The group should be thanked for its help by the leader. This signals that the leader reverts to his or her former role with the group.

CAUTIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Some individuals may have difficulty in getting away from practical thinking. They may see the

process as frivolous or a waste of time. In the wrap-up discussion it is necessary to criticize someideas. Some individuals may have trouble accepting criticism after the free-wheeling brainstormwhere evaluation was prohibited. Many suggestions may be discarded in the end. They mayoffend one or more individuals. (At the end of the brainstorm, before discussion/evaluation, theleader may wish to announce that NOW the group will need to evaluate the ideas which no longer belong to any individual but to the group. Criticism of an idea does not mean criticism of theindividual who offered it.) For other reasons brainstorming may cause problems. Abandon it if necessary and try another technique. But give it a chance before deciding to abandon it. If sprungon people at a meeting, brainstorming may catch some individuals "cold." Sending out a noticethat all members should bring ideas for ..... will avoid this.

USES OF BRAINSTORMING

In addition to simply generating ideas, brainstorming can be used

1. as an icebreaker to create a relaxed group, 2. to get talkative members to listen, 3. to break down formal roles of group members when those roles are inhibiting them or other members, 4. to turn individual ideas into group ideas, 5. to provide material for goal setting, 6. to set the stage to the formation of committees which will carry out the ideas, 7. to evaluate an activity, 8. to help solve a problem,



9. as a needs assessment technique, 10. to get quieter members to speak up, and 11. to add life to an otherwise dull meeting.




Overhead Transparencies LT-4

The overhead projector is a popular visual tool because transparencies are fast and easy toprepare ahead of time, or you can write or draw on them during the presentation. The overheadprojector is considered by many visual specialists to be the most misused visual medium ineducation. Problems occur when transparencies are used for the instructor's notes rather than for presenting or reinforcing selected concepts. Quite often the lettering is too small to be seen fromthe back of the room. Sometimes 12 point typewriter size is used which is usually too small. Attimes, too many concepts/ideas are attempted on a transparency, and with too many words themessage is hidden. Messages are too often presented in copy (word) form, rather than in agraphic or visual manner.

SUGGESTIONS

1. Use large letters, no smaller than 3/8 inch. You can easily enlarge small letters on thephotocopier. 2. Limit the amount of information; no more than 6-8 lines. While more lines might possibly bepresented and read, it may be psychologically undesirable. Use more than one transparencyrather than overcrowd one. 3. Try to present only one idea per visual. Break your information into clear thought-by-thoughtunits that build to a larger story.

4. Use phrases or key words, rather than complete sentences. Choose the wording carefully,for this will affect the ease and amount of recall. 5. Use charts, graphs and illustrations. Learning and recall are enhanced by usinggraphic/visual techniques, rather than copy alone. 6. Use more than one color for variety and interest. Be sure all colors have adequate contrastfor easy viewing, and do not use more than 2 or 3 colors. If using ink pens, choose those withpermanent ink, for they are darker and richer in color. 7. Use one or more "overlays" to progressively build a step-by-step story. In this way, youpresent each thought separately. 8. Reveal each point separately when showing a list of items by using a mask to cover thosenot yet under discussion. 9. Increase interest/learning by using a variety of visual media, rather than relying exclusivelyon overhead transparencies.



10. Good visuals require thought and planning. They cannot substitute for a lack of preparation,instructor enthusiasm, student participation and other recommended teaching techniques.

Prof. H. Carey

Penn State




Slide Shows LT-5

35 mm. slides in 2 inch square mounts are widely used and misused. To help you make the mostof this excellent teaching tool, and to help you avoid the mistakes and problems that can turn agood show into something comic or awful, here are some guidelines to keep in mind.

AN EFFECTIVE SLIDE SHOW HAS • top quality pictures, • logical organization, • variety of both pictures and sound (if used), • a clear, direct, easy-to-follow script that fits the pictures, • no more time required to watch it than is needed to get the point across.

The last item above is crucial. If you can't answer the question, "What's this slide set FOR?" thechances of coming up with something worth the audience's time is very slight. Many slide shows, unfortunately, appear to be FOR the presenter's enjoyment. Remember,nobody thinks your slides are quite as much fun as you do. Your audience did not share in your experience. The slides carry no memories for them. What they see and hear is all they know. Soyou really need to separate yourself from your memories in order to plan something interestingFROM THE AUDIENCE'S POINT OF VIEW.

SO, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR SLIDE SHOW? The answer is not some vague, wishy-washy and foggy generalization like, "to inform peopleabout my organization." NEVER! Instead, you have to have a firm idea in your head about whatyou want the audience to come away with when the show is over. And, to do that, you have toknow what kind of audience you're aiming at. Don't try to build one slide show that will serve ten-year-olds, the Governor, and senior citizens. Itwon't work! Which adds up to stating your purpose, perhaps along these lines: Purpose: To convince 10% of the audience of sixth grade youth that they should join myorganization. Now you know what effect the slides are to have, and on whom they are to have it. This meansyou're ready to start putting the set together. So here's a checklist to follow.

PREPARING THE SHOW 1. Develop an outline with introduction, key points, features and benefits, and conclusion.



2. Write the script on the left half of a sheet of paper. Use a conversational tone, "action" words,short sentences and phrases. Don't destroy the pictures with too many words. 3. Develop a story board: draw (or write a brief description) of each slide on the right of the script. 4. Be sure the photography, graphics and sound are of good quality. Many camera shops and artsupply stores have experts. Consult them when you need help.

a. Put graphics together first. b. Take pictures: if using flash, don't take the pictures too close or too far away. Use thecorrect film and shoot a higher and lower exposure of pictures that you only have onechance to shoot in order to be guaranteed a correct exposure. c. If you are preparing a tape recording -- take your time, breathe normally and beexpressive. For variety, music and two or more voices can be used.

5. Play the sound track or read the script. Organize and rearrange your slides until satisfied. If you change the slides manually, mark the script so you know when to change. Changes shouldusually come in the middle of a sentence. 6. Provide a variety of visual stimulation in your ideas. Use long shots, medium shots andcloseups avoiding a mix of horizontal and vertical slides. Contrast bright, vivid colors with softmonotones. Focus on people in their environment. A scenic shot is much more effective withpeople or a building to show scale. 7. Try to hold your slide show to a maximum of 20 minutes since the attention span of mostaudiences is not very long. It is better to leave the audience wanting more, than having them feel

they have seen too much. 8. If the situation calls for a longer program, have two 15-20 minute segments with a break inbetween. 9. Begin your slide set with the message you wish to convey. 10. Move your slides along quickly, holding them on the screen only long enoughto support your narration, or for the viewer to make visual contact with the picture. This can oftenbe done in 2 to 3 seconds, but never hold a slide for more than 10 seconds.

PRESENTING THE SLIDE SHOW Use this checklist of questions to make certain you have anticipated all of the details that often"go wrong" in slide shows. 1. Have you checked your slides to be sure that none are damaged? Are they clean (a can of compressed air will blow the dust off the surface without scratching the slide)? 2. Are all slides needed in the series actually there? 3. Are they arranged in the correct order? 4. Are they all properly aligned for correct insertion into the projector? Are the trays in order,correctly marked, easy to read in low light? 5. Have you checked your projector? Is it clean and in working order? 6. Do you have a replacement bulb in the case? 7. Do you know in advance where the electrical outlet is located? 8. Is your cord long enough? Do you need an extension cord? 9. Will an adequate screen be available? Best to try it out before you have to use it. Screens varyin size and surface effect. 10. Is there an adequate table for your projector? 11. Is the seating pattern correct for the audience to best view the screen? 12. Have arrangements been make to completely darken the room? 13. Do you know where the light switches are? 14. Has someone been assigned to turn them on and off at the proper time? 15. Do you have a focusing slide (perhaps a title slide)? 16. Do you really have precise directions to the place where you will speak? Do you know howlong it takes to get there? 17. Did you allow plenty of time to arrive and set up (usually other business takes place beforeyour presentation)?



18. Are you prepared for a "worst case scenario" (if the projector crashes can you give your program without the slides?




Newsletter LT-6

DESCRIPTION The newsletter communicates information on a regular basis through the postal system from thesender to a designated reader who is part of a clearly identified audience. Newsletters caninclude short articles, answers to common questions, research underway or completed,legislative actions, results of trial demonstrations, calendar of upcoming events, and reports onevents just concluded. Newsletters can also announce new publications and special opportunitiesoutside the organization. Many approaches to writing newsletters are possible. It must adapt to its audience and theresources available to produce it.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS 1. The newsletter is intended to inform, educate and motivate. 2. The writer must know the needs and characteristics of the audience and construct thenewsletter accordingly. 3. The purpose and objectives must be identified. 4. The essentials of the newsletter should be organized so as to guide the reader through theadoption process (awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adoption).

ADVANTAGES 1. Recipients and their characteristics can be precisely identified. 2. The educational message can be specifically adapted to the audience. 3. Timing and sequence of the message can be adjusted as appropriate to the audience's needs. 4. The contents can be used immediately as well as at a later date. 5. Creativity and flexibility are possible and desirable.

DISADVANTAGES 1. The effect of the newsletter is limited to the mailing list.2. Much time is required to maintain and expand the mailing list accurately and completely. 3. Facilities are required for designing, composing and sending the newsletter. 4. They can take a lot of time and limit the writer's flexibility to respond to other program needs. 5 Newsletters can be expensive. 6 They must compete for attention in the recipient's mailbox.



CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING A NEWSLETTER 1. Does the newsletter have

a. a specific purpose, b. an attention getting salutation, c. an interesting or unusual approach, d. supporting information, e. a motivating closing statement?

2. Is the newsletter used to a. reach a special interest group, b. relay material not relevant to the general population, c. communicate a message to the group, d. convey details?

3. If a news-information letter, does it a. create awareness, b. maintain interest, c. provide new information, d. motivate the audience to respond by taking some action?

4. If a subject-reference letter, does it a. provide accurate information, b. adapt to easy filing?

5. Is the newsletter "appropriate" a. information is suitable to the audience, b. approach is most effective for that particular audience?

6. Does the letter use "movement" a. action verbs, b. active voice, c. vivid, interesting style, d. movement from section to section that is logical and maintains interest?

7. Does the newsletter have force and clarity

a. uses common words (not academic words or jargon), but avoids trite or overusedphrases, b. gives specific examples, c. uses concise sentences with some variation in length and structure, d. uses paragraphs that are concise and clear with effective transition from oneparagraph to another.?



8. Did the writer research the information to insure accuracy, then draft, refine, and polish thecontent? 9. Newsletter format

a. Is the letterhead simple and interesting? b. Does the title create interest? c. Does the letterhead illustration fit the title and the content? d. Is the sponsoring organization clearly identified.e. Are legal requirements observed? Is a non-discrimination clause needed?

10. Appearance a. Is the spacing attractive? b. Is the emphasis effective? c. Are illustrations simple, attractive and appropriate? d. Is the duplication sharp?

11. Mailing lists a. Are names and addresses correct? b. Is the list up-to-date? c. Is there a regular method for updating the mailing list?

*****This checklist does not begin to tell you all of the things you can do in a newsletter. Consult apublication that goes into detail on composition of newsletters. An excellent example is"Newsletters: Designing and producing them," by Colleen Schuh, University of Wisconsin-Extension, 1978.




Farm-Home Visit LT-7

DESCRIPTION

A Farm-Home visit is an educational activity where an educator becomes a consultant to aparticular family in order to help solve a problem or provide information requested. This teachingtechnique was widely used in the earlier days of the Cooperative Extension Service. It has sincefallen in favor with administrators primarily because it is not as cost effective as providingeducational programs through group and mass media techniques. It still, however, provideseducational opportunities that other techniques do not.

USES 1. To answer requests for help that are urgent or unique. 2. To acquaint the educator with clients at their home or business. 3. To become familiar with problems in a direct, personal manner. 4. To observe results of farm, home or business practices. 5. To encourage cooperation and participation in other educational programs. 6. To plan a workshop, tour, field day or a demonstration (i.e. a plot where new garden varietiesare grown and the public has access to observe and adapt the varieties to their own gardens). 7. To discuss policies, proposed programs, and get a grassroots point of view. 8. To explain a practice or a product that has the potential of widespread use among clients but isnot well known. 9. To provide motivation and opportunities for future contacts.10. To contribute to community improvement.

MISUSES 1. Spending too much time with individual contacts in order to avoid developing group and massmedia programs. 2. Leaving the impression that particular clients or client groups receive more benefit from aneducator who is supposed to be helping the total community (favoritism). 3. Using visits to a home or business as an opportunity to learn about clients' personal lives whichmay then become the subject of gossip. 4. Accepting or expecting personal favors in return for the visit. 5. Encouraging clients to expect the educator to be "on call" for their problems at any time. 6. Providing routine services (pruning a client's fruit tree every year) rather than teaching theclient to solve her own problem.

PLANNING THE VISIT 1. Define the specific purpose(s) for the visit.



2. Decide about

a. what will be discussed, b. what materials will be left, and c. what will be accomplished.

3. Make contact with the client to set up the visit at an appropriate time. 4. Prepare for the visit (may include reading about the general problem area or checking withexperts on some technical aspect of the problem).

DO 1. Focus the visit on the purpose of the visit (be open to other problems that may be important tothe client but do not let these problems lead you away from the original problem or purpose of thevisit). 2. Prepare by reviewing information about the client as well as the general problem area. 3. Develop your own style of handling these visits (they are personal contacts). 4. Be direct, positive and informative. 5. Be alert not only to what the client says but to meanings, feelings and causes behind thewords. 6. Use questioning and reflective listening to bring out information about the problem. Encouragethe client to talk about the problem. 7. Suggest options and alternatives unless you are absolutely positive of the solution andqualified to prescribe it. 8. Suggest other sources of help particularly if the problem is complex. 9. Be tactful when your suggestions imply bad habits or weaknesses on the part of the client. 10. Leave the final decision about actions or solutions to the client. Politely but firmly refuse totake responsibility for the problem. The purpose of education should be to create independenceon the part of our clients, not dependence.

DON'T 1. talk too much (give clients plenty of opportunity to participate); 2. spend too much time on a single issue; 3. be afraid to say "I don't know" if you really don't; 4. try to accomplish too much with a single visit; 5. expect to solve all of the problems; 6. close your mind to suggestions; or 7. allow the visit to turn into a social occasion when you have other demands on your time.

KEEP A RECORD OF THE VISIT Develop a personal form (a sheet of paper or an index card) to record the results of the visit. Youmay want to include: 1. date of the visit, 2. client's name, 3. problem(s) discussed, 4. what was accomplished, 5. followup needed.



AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS TECHNIQUE IS USED EFFECTIVELY In Argentina a private educational consulting service to farmers, called CREA, uses an educator to respond to problems of individual farmers. The educator schedules one day each month tomeet with a group of neighboring farmers. They visit each participant's farm as a group observingconditions and suggesting solutions to problems that the host farmer identifies. Many problems

are solved on the spot. Other problems may require followup by the educator (checking with atechnical expert later, providing written information by mail, suggesting other options to solve theproblem).




Writing a Technical Bulletin LT-8

DESCRIPTION

A technical bulletin is a short document (may be only one page) that gives specific informationabout a product or a practice so that the public can immediately apply the information to their needs. Many technical bulletins are available through the county and state offices of CooperativeExtension. Occasionally, however, a need arises for a technical bulletin for local use which is notavailable elsewhere. In this case the educator must write it or do without.

ADVANTAGES

This is a useful way to answer common questions that are asked repeatedly. If the answer is in abrief bulletin it will save the educators time in answering the same question. Many people can bereached. They can deal with the information at their convenience.

DISADVANTAGES

Bulletins can be expensive to keep in print. They can be obsolete very quickly as technicalinformation changes. They are impersonal. They take time to research and write. Any wronginformation in bulletins can cause the educator and the organization considerable grief.

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING A BULLETIN

1. Be certain that a need really exists; that the information is not available in another county or state.

2. Check on your organization's policy for writing technical bulletins. Some restrictions mightapply.

3. Write at the readers level. People are reading to learn, not review technical information withwhich they are already familiar.

4. Research and check all information. Be certain of accuracy. Know the subject matter or havesomeone else write the bulletin.

5. Plan the bulletin. What is the purpose? Who is the audience? How should the information beorganized for clarity?

6. Explain everything. Do not leave unanswered questions in the reader's mind. Do not assumethe reader has basic background knowledge.



7. Use graphics, charts, diagrams, and tables to take less space, make the bulletin interestingand make the information easier to understand.

8. Use plenty of headings to make it easy for the reader to refer back to the bulletin.

9. Use a clear writing style with short sentences and paragraphs. Avoid terms that are not

explained. Avoid jargon. Keep it simple. Do not try to imitate academic writing. Have one or twoeditors check your writing style and encourage them to be very critical. Then revise and have itchecked again.

10. Have a technical expert review the bulletin carefully for accuracy and completeness. Reviseand rewrite as needed.

11. Use the most cost effective means to print and distribute the information so that it is availableto the intended audience.




Tour or Field Trip LT-9

DESCRIPTION A tour is an organized study venture made for purposes of first hand observation. It consists of aseries of stops and observation which may be passive. It can also include other teaching/learningtechniques such as the method demonstration, group discussion, interviewing, case study or judging. A field trip differs from a tour in that the field trip is a visit to a single site. The followingdiscussion generally applies to both tours and field trips.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS AND ADVANTAGES 1. It has a clear educational purpose and is well organized. 2. It is adapted to the facilities and opportunities available. 3. It is effective in influencing adoption of many practices. 4. It requires careful planning for transportation, materials and equipment. 5. It provides an opportunity to clarify, evaluate and confirm previous information. 6. It can stimulate group dynamics. 7. It can be a motivating alternative to classroom instruction. 8. It provides a sense of reality that is not easily duplicated in the classroom. 9. It can encourage participants to try new ideas.

DISADVANTAGES 1. Diverse individual interests may make planning difficult and may cause participants to loseinterest if their particular interests are not being addressed. 2. It can be difficult to plan. 3. Distractions of all kinds can occur. It is easy to lose control. 4. Expense often prevents the most ideal plan from being implemented. 5. Weather can be a factor. 6. Liability issues can take a lot of time and effort. 7. One or two uncooperative participants can cause difficulties.

CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATION PLANNING 1. Were the participants' needs identified (according to whom)? 2. Were the participants involved in the planning process? 3. Were the goals and objectives clear and educationally sound? 4. Was the tour route with all stops clearly shown? 5. Was enough time allowed to consider options and plan the best tour? 6. Did a written plan clearly state "who does what by when" in order to successfully complete thetour? 7. Was a budget prepared for all expenses?

Tool Kit for Volunteer Leaders

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Transcript of Tool Kit for Volunteer Leaders