Interchange

No 7

Training the Trainers Programmes: Effective

Management and Monitoring

Research and Intelligence Unit

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Training the Trainers Programmes: Effective

Management and Monitoring
Jim Rand, Pamela Robertson and Iain Smith
Jordanhill College
Scottish education is currently faced with a number of
changes in both curriculum and management. Staff at all
levels need to be trained to understand and carry out
these innovations; yet the task of direct, face-to-face
training of all teachers and managers would be
unrealistic. Training of trainers or cascade methods
are being used increasingly to spread new ideas and
practice in education. These strategies involve using a
central group of staff to train more staff who then, in turn,
go on to train teachers or managers or more trainers.
Some notable examples are the development programmes
associated with Standard Grade and Management
Training for Headteachers in Scotland, and with GCSE in
England and Wales. In 1988, the Scottish Office
Education Department commissioned Jordanhill College
to investigate training of trainers approaches in
education and to make recommendations about good
practice.

Training of trainers approaches

are seen as an effective way of
training many staff in a short
time.

In what fields of education would

these approaches be an
appropriate way of introducing
innovation?

Project aim
The main aim of this project was to identify factors which
contribute to the effective planning, management, delivery and
monitoring of training of trainers programmes.
Some writers, in both industry and commerce, believe that the
quality of training which the intermediary groups of trainers
receive is the key to success in any cascade method. The diagram
overleaf illustrates a training of trainers structure for
disseminating a programme of development.

Project methods
The first stage of the project involved establishing a set of ideas
about good practice, by surveying 42 staff development
programmes across Scotland which used elements of training of
trainers methods. The findings of this stage were further developed

Cascade method of training

Trainers of trainers
FIRST
LEVEL

Train

Trainers

Trainers

SEC0ND
LEVEL

Trainers

Train

Trainers
THIRD
LEVEL

Teachers

Train

Trainers

Teachers

Teach

Managers

Students

Managers

Manage

Teachers
Employees

by a wide-ranging review of literature relating to training of

trainers programmes outwith Scotland. It also included a study of
theories of adult learning; teacher development; curriculum
implementation; and managing change in education.
In the next stage the initial set of ideas was further refined by
carrying out a series of detailed case studies of a variety of
educational programmes. These were chosen from different
geographical locations, subject areas and sectors of education.
Most of the case studies were written up individually (see page 8).
The final stage of the project involved action research, that is,
putting some of the findings into practice and evaluating how they
influenced the effectiveness of different staff development
programmes. The recommendations contained in the project report
were based on analysis of all the case studies.
The data was collected for the case studies using questionnaires,
observation, review of documents and extensive interviewing.
Efforts were made to gain as complete a picture as possible by
including the views of all types of staff involved at every level:
planners, organisers, course tutors, and participants.
The following two sections outline some of the key project
findings. The first refers to issues in planning and monitoring
complete training of trainers programmes which may involve many
discrete courses; the second relates to the planning and delivery of
these single courses.

Managing complete training programmes

Planning

In planning and maintaining

training of trainers frameworks,
effective communication between
managers at different levels is
essential.

What steps need to be taken by

planners to ensure momentum?

A central factor limiting the effectiveness of training of trainers

programmes was that managers at different levels were often
unclear about the whole training framework and how the levels
would interlink. Training of trainers initiatives often cross a series
of boundaries between national, local authority and institutional
agencies and it is essential to clarify who is responsible for
managing, resourcing, delivering and monitoring the scheme at
each level.
The following factors were identified as important at the planning
stage:
planning the entire programme in outline and considering how
to support trainers at each level;
identifying a person or a team who will have responsibility for
managing and monitoring the whole programme;
ensuring that management at each level is committed to
providing adequate resourcing;
designing a system to monitor, provide feedback and refine the
whole programme;
deciding on an appropriate time-scale for each level of the
programme;
selecting trainers who have appropriate training skills as well
as knowledge about the subject;
selecting teams of trainers and potential trainers at each level
rather than individuals;
ensuring that all those involved have a clear picture of the
overall training framework and its aims at each level.
Monitoring and evaluating

Evaluation, monitoring and

refinement systems are essential
for whole training of trainers
programmes.

What are the roles of monitoring

and evaluation throughout a
training of trainers programme?

Review and evaluation are seen by many eminent writers and

practitioners as essential in any training programme. It is surprising
then that, although several of the programmes studied had
evaluated single courses, none had systematically monitored the
whole cascading framework. It may be significant that one of the
programmes with the most impact had developed ad hoc
monitoring procedures which contributed substantially to keeping
the whole programme going. The organisers of whole programmes
and individual courses often attributed the ineffectiveness of
training programmes to the absence of monitoring and feedback.
Monitoring is particularly important to avoid inconsistencies
multiplying from level to level.
The findings of the project in relation to monitoring corresponded
closely with studies of the structure of the GCSE cascading
programme which identified a lack of monitoring procedures as of
crucial significance in limiting the impact of staff development for
teaching the new courses (Radnor, 1987).

It is important, therefore, to view training of trainers programmes

as involving a whole structure of dissemination. Monitoring and
evaluation strategies should be agreed both for whole programmes
and for individual component courses. While specific ways of
evaluating courses might be designed at local levels, a
comprehensive monitoring system with a cycle of evaluation,
feedback and refinement should operate within, and between,
levels of the whole programme.
The monitoring process should look at the effectiveness of:
communication between managers at different levels of the
programme;
each level in preparing potential trainers to take the programme
forward;
evaluation, feedback and refinement strategies within the whole
programme;
evaluation strategies for individual courses;
the balance between training to train and developing skills and
knowledge related to the curriculum or subject which the
whole programme promotes;
longer-term monitoring of training activities which (potential)
trainers have mounted and what factors have been influential;
the whole programme have the goals been achieved?
It is important to include experts
in training as well as those in the
subject area.

Design and delivery of individual courses

Course aims

What qualities make an effective

trainer of trainers in an education
programme?

Many programmes did not put

enough emphasis on developing
training skills.

What strategies can be used to

ensure a clear focus on training to
train?

Many of the courses surveyed early in the project focused solely on

increasing potential trainers knowledge about the educational
changes at the heart of the programme. For example, a national
course for trainers who would be going on to train teachers about
necessary changes in curriculum and classroom practice would
concentrate almost solely on these changes, with little
consideration of the training implications, such as effective
course design for adult learners.
There has been for many years in the United Kingdom an
assumption that the trainers of teachers do not need special
training: that the effective teacher of young people automatically
develops into an effective educator or trainer of adult teachers. In
the last 20 years, many educational thinkers have challenged this
idea, pointing to theories of adult learning and to education and
training in other professions (Brookfield, 1986). Evidence from the
project case studies strongly supports this argument.
It emerged from the case studies that potential trainers felt that they
needed to be trained in training; to develop skills in enabling adults
to learn.
Even when courses had a specific training focus, difficulties often
arose. Potential trainers tended to focus on the substance of

educational change rather than on acquiring training skills. In

moving to the next level, where they would become trainers
themselves, trainees felt ill-equipped in terms of training skills.
This deficiency contributed to the low impact of several of the
programmes studied. The importance of this finding is confirmed
by studies of staff development to support the GCSE programme in
England and Wales.
Two case studies demonstrated the value of providing training for
potential trainers who were already familiar with the curriculum
knowledge and skills they would transmit. Because these potential
trainers felt comfortable with educational content, they could focus
more readily on training issues.
It is important for course designers to decide on a balance between
developing training skills and fostering skills and knowledge
connected to the educational changes which the whole programme
promotes. This balance affects the following aspects of course
design for training trainers:
the skills needed by trainers at the first level they should be
experts in training;
the possibility of designing separate courses to train trainers
one focusing on knowledge and skills which teachers need to
put educational changes into practice; another building up the
training skills of potential trainers;
the use of pre-course activities to build up potential trainers
knowledge and skills about change in the curriculum so that the
course itself can concentrate on developing training skills.
Some ways of training trainers
are more effective than others.

What methods of training trainers

within an educational programme
are most effective?

Building training skills

There is evidence that the elements of effective training for
training correspond to established theories of adult learning. Many
of the principles of effective learning are similar for adults and
young people learning by doing; positive reinforcement;
learning from each other; and starting from the learners
experience. However, many writers claim that adult learners have
more specific requirements according to their prior experience and
their projected needs. The previous, professional experience of
adult learners means that, as a group, they have a varied set of
learning needs and also that they provide a considerable resource
for each others learning. To ensure that courses are tailored as
closely as possible to the requirements of the participants and of the
external system, training needs must be identified and analysed;
and aims and objectives should be negotiated. Professional adult
learners demand that any course and its resources should be seen as
relevant to their projected needs. Potential trainers need to be
equipped to provide effective training at the next level of the
programme.
In several of the courses, teams of participants planned and tried
out training strategies on their course colleagues. This

experiential approach was seen as valuable in developing

competence in the planning and delivery of courses; and in refining
skills by reviewing the experience of being a trainer and receiving
critical but supportive feedback.
Another important factor is the self-confidence of potential trainers.
Many training of trainers programmes lift teachers or
headteachers from their routine posts to be trained as trainers of
their peers. Potential trainers often stated that they found this role
stressful. Two factors were seen as important in reducing anxiety:
working as part of a team of potential trainers; and being able to
build self-confidence through practising training.
Setting an example of good training practice

Effective methods for training

trainers share characteristics with
good adult learning practice.

In what kinds of learning

activities should potential trainers
be involved?

Several case studies showed that potential trainers found it valuable

to watch and review the example of adult training behaviour
provided by course leaders . Effective trainers of trainers made sure
that potential trainers were involved in:
discussing and clarifying their needs and relating these to
course aims;
participative learning;
undergoing experience from which they could gain learning
linked to the aims of the course;
situations which challenged them, emotionally and/or
intellectually; and in which they were supported by course
colleagues and/or tutors;
a variety of learning situations each chosen to be appropriate
to its aim;
experience and resources which they could see were relevant to
the course aims and their projected needs;
sharing the expertise of all participants as a resource for the
course;
planning, in groups, action which would take place after the
course;
monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the course experiences in
relation to its aims and their needs;
suggesting refinements and changes.
Through experiencing and reviewing the types of activities listed
above, effective adult learning becomes the subject of the course
potential trainers focus on training techniques and strategies.
Trainers of trainers of adults need to understand and be familiar
with these processes in order to set them in motion for others.
Many potential trainers felt that to be able to learn effectively from
their own experiences, it was important that course activities should
be expertly reviewed. Some felt that this was often not done well
enough and also that they needed considerable help to be able to do
it adequately when they ran their own courses.

Teaching and learning resources

Providing customised and adaptable teaching resources is one
major way in which an entire training of trainers programme can be
supported. The study has shown that resources which are relevant
and easy-to-use at subsequent levels of training make a major
contribution to the effectiveness of programmes. They enhance first
level training for trainers; and they keep the momentum of a
programme going by forging a tangible link between the levels.
Participants appreciated having course materials which had a dual
purpose: providing both assistance for their role as trainers; and a
resource for learners at subsequent levels. Such resources increase
the effectiveness of the programme because they:
increase potential trainers confidence;
save time which trainers would spend preparing materials;
maintain the quality of the programme from level to level;
enhance the credibility of trainers at subsequent levels ;
ensure that the body of knowledge and skills transferred is
consistent between levels.
Planning for implementation
The effectiveness of several courses studied was seen as enhanced
by opportunities for planning activities which would take place
after the course (action-planning) as part of the whole training of
trainers programme. Potential trainers felt that they benefited from
discussing the wider roles they would have following the course,
such as:
designing staff development policy;
working with teachers on curriculum or management changes;
preparing staff development and classroom resources.
Potential trainers believed that the usefulness of action-planning
was increased by including managers from subsequent levels in the
discussion; and by working in groups which would carry over into
the next level.

Summary
An extensive set of conditions is
necessary if training of trainers
programmes are to have an
impact.

What are the criteria for success in

training of trainers programmes?

The following broad issues emerged as centrally important:

the need to view training of trainers initiatives as long term
with planning and resourcing involving management from all
appropriate levels national, local authority and institution;
the importance of appropriate course teaching methods on
training of trainers programmes in general trainers need
expertise in adult learning techniques;
the importance of monitoring and evaluating both whole
programmes and single, component courses.
Key recommendations from the research are presented overleaf.

Further reading
Full report
Training the Trainers. A study of factors contributing to the
effective management and monitoring of training of trainers
programmes and to the design of courses. Jim Rand, Pamela
Robertson and Iain Smith. This is the full report of the research
project. Price: 5.00.
Other papers available
Training the Trainers: Guidelines for Practice . A summary of the
project findings in a clear and concise format, with
recommendations relating to planning, delivering and monitoring
training of trainers programmes and courses.Written for policy
makers and course planners. Price: 3.00.
The Training of Trainers Project: Technical Report. A full account
of the project rationale, design, strategy, research processes and
findings. Price: 3.00.
Individual case study reports
Most of the project case studies have been produced as freestanding reports. Price: 2.00 each. Several have been summarised
to produce short bulletins which incorporate practical
recommendations relating to the specific context of each case
study.
School Board Training For Headteachers
The Management of In-Service Provision: A Course For Senior
Guidance Teachers
A Local Authority Programme for Standard Grade Office and
Information Studies
A Curriculum Development Teachers Scheme
The 5-14 National Seminars (bulletin only)
The most significant case studies from the action research were:
Developing Training Skills
Staff Development for the 514 Programme
All the above reports are available from the authors at:
The Inservice Division, Jordanhill College, Southbrae Drive,
Glasgow G13 1PP. Telephone: 041-950-3217.

References
Brookfield S D (1987). Understanding and facilitating adult
learning. Milton Keynes, Open University Press.
Radnor, H (1987). GCSE the impact of the introduction of GCSE
at LEA and school level. Windsor, Berks, NFER-Nelson.
The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
those of the Scottish Office Education Department who funded the study.