Community involvement and partnership are key to the success of National Service programs. The best way to show members and the community - the importance of working with the community is to incorporate the community Into every aspect of your program, including your training - from pre-service training and continuing through in-service and close-of-service activities

Shumer, Robert D.

English

The University of Nebraska, Omaha

University of Nebraska at OmahaDigitalCommons@UNOPartnerships/Community Barbara A. Holland Collection for Service Learningand Community Engagement (SLCE)1998Integrating Community into TrainingRobert D. ShumerUniversity of MinnesotaFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcepartnershipsPart of the Service Learning CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Barbara A.Holland Collection for Service Learning and Community Engagement(SLCE) at DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion inPartnerships/Community by an authorized administrator ofDigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contactunodigitalcommons@unomaha.edu.Recommended CitationShumer, Robert D., "Integrating Community into Training" (1998). Partnerships/Community. 47.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcepartnerships/47_act~ 1990 22:46:23 Via Fax The Center for Nonprofit Development and Pluralism CORPORATION FOR NATIL~NAL l:ISERVICE I -> RUB SHUHER Integrating Community into Training OCTOBER 1998 NUMBER 10 "In TrainingBriefs. MosA1CA uses the term member to refer to individuals (including members, volunteers, and participants) providing service in National Service programs. National Service program staff. site supervisors. and trainers share responsibility for member training and development TrainingBriefs provide these Individuals with useful information and innovative ideas for training and development. TdM Tr111n11111 Assistance MH'-J\11:J\ rruvidcs telephone rechnica 1tssisrance free of char~e ro Corpor:ttiull fm N attonal Service-funded programs on their trainin~ concerns. Call Dan HaMn or Diane Cabrales toll-free at 888) 409-2600. , ~ -,,.ainingBriefs are produced by I MOSAICA under Cooperative Agree-ment #98CADC0009 with the Corpora-tion for National Service. This TrainingBrief (#10) was written by Dan Bal6n and designed by La Tosha Joseph. This material represents the opinion of MoSAICA, and does not neressanly represent official Corpora-tion policy. To begin or stop receiving MoSAK:A's T rainingBriefs by fax, or find out abOut training and other available assistance, contact: Diane Cabrales, Project Director. MoSA1CA, 1000 16th Street, NW. Suite 604, Washington. DC. 20036. e-mail <diane@mosaicaorg>. website http:// www.mosaica.org/natl.htm, telephone J202) 687-0620, fax (202) 887-0812. ~ Community involvement and partnership are key to the success of National Ser-vice programs. The best way to show members• - and the community-the importance Of working with the commu-nity is to incorporate the community Into every aspect of your program, including y0ur training - from pm-service train-ing and continuing through in-service and close-of-serviee activities. Members are adult learners (see starling Strong,pp.193-196)who need training that is e e practical, realistic. and relates to their servioe in the community; members also need opportunities to learn about and to build trust with the community. Incorporating the community in your training Improves training effectiveness and enriches your program's relationship with the community. Members will see the natural link between training sessions and practical applications in their community sites, feel strongly invested in the communities they serve, and genuinely appreciate the value and assets inherent in the community. Show members your respect for the community In one easy way: demonstrate it! Read on for some reminders on how to integrate community Into training. Invite guest trainers from the community. Always look first to local experts - agency staff, community volunteers, community residents. etc. -who have relevant knowledge and experience to provide skills training for your members. For ex.ample, ask a public offlclal or local leader to take the lead on topics such as where the community can access services or local demographics. (For infonnation on finding effective guest trainers, see TrainingBriBfs #7 and #8.) Involve community resource people. Beyond your program's training sessions. identify local residents (I.e .. people within the community) and community service providers (i.e., people who serve the community) to serve as resources for additional skilkJevelopment opportunities that expand on topics of interest to members. For • • each training topic provide a list of local experts to serve as Hresource people." Consider a variety of individuals with specific experience and skills and ensure that they are willing and able to serve this role. Ask local leaders and resource persons to assume visible roles (e.g., keynote speaker, graduation guest, brown bag lunch participant) at your kick-off ceremony, in-service training. and continuation-of-service events. ThroughOut the year, they can serve as resource people and role models for members for both possible careers and continued community service. Incorporate the community Into training activities. Throughout the year, use community-based examples in your training sessions. While including these examples makes sense for some content-specific skills training topics (e.g., teen mentoring, public safety skills), also consider community-based examples for general skills topics (e.g., group problem solving, professionalism). For example, with the topic of conflict resolution, create a role-play scenario that builds conflict resolution skills based on a situation that Oct ~7 1998 22:47:38 Vid Fdx -) ROB SHUttER may arise In working with community residents or community-based staff (e_g_, a local resident upset when a member organizes a community meeting without including neighborhood leaders)_ For a session on cross-cultural communication, develop a case study that addresses cross-cultural corm1unicatlon skills needs related to community-focused issues (e.g., an adolescent's immigrant parent who is ashamed to have her child receive assistance from tutors of a different ethnicity). Whatever the training. use realistic examples that members are likely to experience in their service with community residents and community-based staff. Invite community members to observe. evaluate. and provide feedback on both the community-based example and the skill-building training topic. Move training Into the community. Design training opportunities In which members interact with community residents and resource people. When training on oommunity needs, go beyond traditional lectures and activities by having members undertake an interactive community assessment. For example, for a session on teen pregnancy issues, have cooperative learning teams interview community members (e.g., teen parents, clinic staff person. prevention specialist. etc_)_ Encourage members to visit community neighborho<X.ls and sites for the interviews. Then, facilitate a session where members report back atJout what they learned. Also, look beyond your routine meeting spaoe by reserving a room or lounge in the service area. Rotate training to different community agencies and sites to acquaint members with different environments within the community. Train membarS to be eff&ctlve with the community. Offer members training sessions to develop both general skills needed to interact effectively with community members (e.g., cultural competence,interpersonal communication, listening comprehension), and specific skills needed for successfully planning and implementing community service activities (e.g., establishing a parent tutoring project in an elementary school, identifying steps In carrying out a home visit)_ During the ACTIVITY: The Community Insider/Outsider Purposes: year, build in regular opportunities for members to discuss their community involvement activities, share ideas, and identify additional kooNledge and skiUs needs. To effectively meet member training needs. check in regularty with members using refledion activitieS-lntegrating the community into various aspects of training demonstrates your program's respect for the many assets of community residents. resource people, and community-based organizations_ By integrating the community in your training, you can help members gain important knowledge and skills. develop genuine connections with people within the community, and most important, make a big difference in the llves of those they serve. Special thanks to participants of MosA1CA's training seminar in Columbia, South Carolina. May 1998, whose ideas and discussions formed the basis for this T rainingBrief. To assess member perceptions about the benefits and challenges of members who are both community insiders and outsiders. To develop a llst of realistic action goals to deal with insider/outsider issues as a basis for developing an effective oommunity partnership. Instructions: Have members think individually for 2-3 minutes and write down both potential benefits and challenges of members who are community "outsiders" - people who come from outside the service population or area - in developing partnerships with oommunities. On a newsprint shoot, write "Outsiders" at the top and draw a vertical line that splits the shoot into "Benefits" and "Challenges." Lead a large group brainstorm that allows participants to share their ideas about outsider benefits. Write down their ideas on the newsprint sheet in the "Benefits" column_ Complete the same process for outsider challenges. Once again. have members think individually about benefits and challenges in developing partner-ships with communities. but this time for ''insiders- - people who come from within the servioe oommunity. Complete the same large group brainstorming process as described above. Facilitate a large group discussion around member perceptions of what benefits and challenges insiders and outsiders bring. Have members think about how their perceptions relate to their roles in interacting with people from the community. Develop an action plan - with delegated responsibilities, clear timelines, and an evaluation method - to maximize benefits and address challenges of both member outsiders and insiders. Variation: With 16 or more participants, consider dividing members into small groups (4-6 persons) that each brainstorm issues and set action goals in one category among the following: outsider benefits. outsider challenges. insider benefits, and insider challenges. Use cooperative learning roles - facilitator. recorder, reporter. timekeeper, and observer - and have each group's reporter share their ideas and goals with the large group (For information on cooperative reaming roles. see Starting Strong, pp.197-202). 

Integrating Community into Training

https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=slcepartnerships

Integrating Community into Training

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

The University of Nebraska, Omaha