PASSPORT TO SUCCESS TRAINING OF TRAINERS (TOT) Final Summary Report November 2015 Table of Contents Background ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Training of Trainers (TOT)s............................................................................................................................ 4 TOT Objectives and Agenda ...................................................................................................................... 4 Summary of TOTs ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Summary of Results .................................................................................................................................. 5 Summary of Challenges ............................................................................................................................ 8 Summary of Recommendations................................................................................................................ 8 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 Annex I: List of NGOs Participating ............................................................................................................. 10 Annex II: TOT Agenda .................................................................................................................................. 11 Background In August of 2015, The International Youth Foundation (IYF) engaged in work sponsored by the World Bank to build the life skills training capacity of key stakeholders from Lebanon’s civil society and government sectors under the World Bank supported National Volunteer Service Program (NVSP). The NVSP is a four-year project that seeks to increase youth civic engagement and improve social cohesion across communities and regions by: (i) expanding youth volunteerism among 15-24 year olds, particularly in communities other than their own; and (ii) improving the employability of youth through enhanced soft skills. Within this context, IYF designed and implemented a series of life skills training of trainers (TOT) sessions for MOSA staff (which includes those social workers in charge of administering the volunteering summer camps), the NVSP Program Independent Unit (PIU) and selected staff and trainers from participating NGOs utilizing its proven Passport to Success® life skills program. Prior to the implementation of the TOTs, IYF staff worked closely with work with the WB, NVSP PIU, and selected MOSA staff to establish a protocol for the successful and effective integration of the PTS program into the WB supported NVSP program. Subsequently, and at this, stage IYF is providing coaching and mentorship to newly trained trainers as they deliver the life skills training to 1000 youth participating in the program’s community engagement and service learning projects. This training is intended to target an additional 1000 students per year for the next three years. The following report summarizes the activities of the four TOT sessions that took place in August 2014 and includes training objectives, activities, discussions, statistics, evaluation results and other relevant information. Detailed reports of the results of individual TOTs as well as the assessment of each individual were provided (In Arabic) to the WB and NVSP staff. Training of Trainers (TOT)s Within the context of this program the IYF / PTS team implemented 4 TOTs in Beirut with as follows:  Two concurrent TOTs, 17-20 August, 2015 for 42 participants from 22 NGOs. (See list of NGOs in Annex I)  Two concurrent TOTs, 24-27 August, 2015 for 6 NVSP team participants and 26 participants from MOSA staff. TOT Objectives and Agenda The Objectives of each TOT were to:  Equip the new trainers to deliver PTS lessons to youth utilizing the PTS experiential training methodology.  Create a safe and enjoyable workshop environment where learning can take place.  Allow trainers to learn/relearn skills, strategies and techniques needed for the effective delivery of a life skills and employability development program.  Allow trainers to examine and experience the program’s components and materials.  Provide trainers with opportunity to explore the steps for successful implementation of the Passport to Success program Two IYF Master Trainers (MTs) facilitated each of the TOT workshops. During the workshop, training participants learned about the PTS program, its goals, program units and lesson topics, how to use the lessons, the trainer’s role, teaching skills, and strategies for implementing the program in a variety of settings and for participants with different educational backgrounds and skill levels. Training participants also had the opportunity to see life skills lessons modeled by IYF MTs, and subsequently planned and delivered a sample lesson with a small group of peers in a practicum setting and received feedback on the delivery of their training approach. The training workshops were extremely “hands-on” and allowed the participants to experience and practice the training techniques and teaching methodologies employed by this program. The agenda of the TOT can be found in Annex II. Summary of TOTs After each TOT, IYF MTs developed a detailed report and individual trainer assessments (in Arabic) that were shared with the WB and NVSP that detailed the main success stories, challenges, and recommendations from the perspective of the MTs. It also included an attendance sheet with detailed trainer assessments providing a starting point towards the certification process that was detailed to the participants in the training. The following is a consolidation of the 4 TOT reports. Summary of Results IYF utilized two methodologies to evaluate the TOTs: a) Trainer Evaluation: an evaluation from the perspective of IYF MTs through a general summary report as well as individual assessment of the performance of each participant. These were shared with the NVSP and WB. b) Participant Evaluation: an evaluation from the perspective of the participants/trainees through engaging them in two surveys: o A post-TOT assessment that measured their perception of the different TOT components which was filled by 76 participants. o A pre/post self-assessment survey that measured their perception of the change in their training skills as a result of the TOTs which was filled by 67 participants. Trainer Evaluation IYF MTs positively evaluated with the training capabilities and attitude of the participating trainees. The MTs observed that:  The participants were very motivated and highly engaged especially when they got introduced to the experiential aspects of the workshops activities such as the practicum lessons.  Several trainers were identified as highly skilled and capable of employing the program effectively. This bodes well to the future of the implementation. Only 6 out of the 42 participants were recommended not to continue to train youth due to low assessments in their evaluations.  There was a high level of commitment from the participants to commit to the extensive training agenda despite the fact that some of them traveled long distances to attend the training. Moreover, we were encouraged that certain trainer groups initiated ad-hoc support groups using social media. For example, a WhatsApp group was initiated by one of the trainers to facilitate communication among the trainees and IYF MTs. This innovation contributed positively to sharing of PTS experiences and allowed better coordination and planning of the subsequent youth trainings. Trainer/Participant Evaluation Additionally, the positive findings of our MTs were supported by the comprehensive evaluation conducted at the end of the fourth day in which the participants evaluated their experience of TOT and which indicates very strong overall satisfaction with the program. The table below summarizes the opinions of the 76 attendees. Weak Strong 1 2 3 4 5 Workshop Evaluation in General 23.80% 76.20% Not Extremely Useful Evaluation of Program Components Useful 1 2 3 4 5 Getting to know each other activities 2.62% 15.20% 82.18% PTS introduction and basics 3.90% 21.65% 74.45% Materials reviewing 9% 24.62% 66.38% Qualities of Effective People who work 2.63% 24.93% 72.45% with Today’s Youth Experiencing a Life Skills Lesson 2.75% 25.50% 71.75% Leading Effective Discussions 7% 22.50% 70.50% Creating Effective Presentations and 1.125 6.38% 22% 71.25% Visuals Successfully Structuring Small Groups 2.38% 22.50% 75.13% Practicum sessions 2.63% 21.75% 75.63% Managing Difficult Participants 9.88% 24.75% 65.38% Qualities of Effective People who work 1.13% 1.50% 28.90% 68.45% with Today’s Youth Further supporting the above, and in terms of the perceptions of the training skills acquired, the analysis of the pre/post self-assessment indicates that trainees/participants overall perceived that their training skills have improved by an average of 20% (aggregate score). In particular, trainers exhibited:  23.6 % improvement in their assessment of their ability to prepare lessons/lesson plans.  16.1% improvement in their assessment of their ability to prepare a youth friendly training space.  23.6% improvement in their assessment of their ability to utilize interactive training methodologies.  20.9% improvement in their assessment of their ability to customize content based on the youth audience.  19.1% improvement in their assessment of their ability to involve all participants in the training. From IYF’s perspective, this is very positive signal when coupled with the overall evaluation of our MTs that the majority of the trainers were already experienced and strong. Summary of Challenges In any extensive engagement when four TOTs were implemented in a short timeframe, it is expected that a series of challenges could arise. Based on the observation of IYF MTs, the following were the main challenges encountered in the TOTs:  There were no selection criteria for the participants / trainers from the NGOs. This was due to the short timeframe from planning to implementation. Few trainers were young and some had no training experience. This factor affected the flow of some of the program components because extra attention was needed to be given to those trainees.  Most of the trainees arrived daily from outside of Beirut. That caused some delays in the agenda of the training. Moreover, some of them had to also leave earlier. This also resulted in some of the trainees missing on some components of the program.  As in any training, some of the participants were more difficult to manage and unintentionally engaged in activities and discussions outside the scope of the trainings. This also hindered the flow of the already extensive agenda. Despite the above, and consistent with the positive results, IYF MTs felt that these challenges were limited and did not severely diminish the quality of training. In the next section we will propose some of actions that can be taken to mitigate such challenges. Summary of Recommendations Based on the above, IYF recommends the following in order to improve the quality and delivery of any future TOTs as well as the training of youth following:  Allow ample time for a more deliberate selection process for the trainers / participants. This will reflect positively on the TOT and the subsequent training of youth.  Ensure all requirements in terms of objective of the program, time commitment, and logistics at the TOTs as well as later time commitments in terms of training the youth are communicated to the participants before the training. This will ensure the flow of the training process.  Follow-up with trainees who will go on to implement the training with youth to ensure they receive proper coaching and supervision. Conclusion Overall, and despite the condensed timeframe allotted for their preparations, the TOTs were implemented without any major issues. We thank the WB staff and the NVSP staff for their continuous follow-up and cooperation as we engaged to implement this ambitious project. Following the TOTs, IYF has been engaged with the staff from NVSP to arrange coaching visits and follow-up trainings to ensure the training of youth is being run effectively. Annex I: List of NGOs Participating 1. Permanent peace movement 2. Arc en ciel 3. Lebanese environment forum 4. Makassed philanthropic Islamic association 5. Amwaj 6. Caritas Lebanon 7. Donner sang compter 8. Al Nadwa Al Thakafiyya 9. Charity mission 10. Anta akhi 11. Green square 12. Vision 13. Rayon d`espoir 14. Rawda alumni 15. Labbayka Loubnan 16. Appel 17. Zgharta Zewiya 18. Byblos Ecologia 19. Baldati association 20. Ma'an loubnan association 21. UTOPIA Organization 22. YES WE CAN ASSOCIATION Annex II: TOT Agenda Day One: Preparation of room, charts, nametags, etc. Registration Welcome & Introductions Project Overview and Goals Community Building, parts 1, 2 & 3 – Getting Acquainted Coffee Break Community Building, part 4 – Establishing Ground Rules Workshop Goals and Agenda Qualities of Effective People who work with Today’s Youth Lunch Qualities of Effective People who work with Today’s Youth (cont.) Overview of Materials Review of Lessons by Participants Closure to Day One Day Two: Preparation of room, charts, etc. Welcome Back to Day Two Experiencing a Life Skills Lesson (Listening) Coffee Break Leading Effective Discussions How to Conduct Health Lessons Lunch Managing Difficult Participants Experiencing a Life Skills Lesson (Making a Positive First Impression) Coffee Break Review of “Making a Positive First Impression” lesson Closure and review of Day Two Day Three : Preparation of room, charts, etc. Welcome back to Day Three Creating Effective Presentations and Visuals Successfully Structuring Small Groups Coffee Break Practicum Guidance Preparing for the Practicum (includes working lunch) Practicum session #1 Coffee Break Presentation session #2 Closure of Day Three Day Four: Preparation of rooms, charts, etc. Welcome back to Day Four Practicum Session #3 Coffee Break Practicum Session #4 Trainers: Practicum Closure Lunch Welcome back from Lunch Trainers: Adapting Lessons in the Classroom Coffee Break Trainers: Program Evaluation Requirements & Implementation Planning Workshop Evaluation & Closure for the Training