How do you create good training sessions? How do you meet the aims and the needs of your learners? What are the methods and tools to achieve that? These and other practical questions were discussed during one of the sessions of a 3-day long workshop focusing on instructor training.
Fostering a network of peers
Together, FAIRsFAIR, EOSC-Pillar, EOSC-Synergy and Ghent University are delivering a 3-day train-the-trainer workshop to support the development of data stewardship skills among staff in universities and other research institutions in Belgium. A key aim of this workshop is to foster a network of peers where those with more experience can share their knowledge with those just getting started.
Designing training in easy steps
Helen Clare (Jisc, the United Kingdom) and Linas Cepinskas (DANS), both from the EOSC Synergy project, hosted an interactive session on pedagogy and designing training activities. During the session, participants learnt about the foundations of pedagogy, including learning theories, training design models, and other aspects relating to creating training. In the second part of the session, the participants worked in small groups on future training they would like to organise. They used specially designed worksheets covering training analysis and training design to create training.
This session brought together 33 participants from different research institutions across Belgium. Following a quick survey, 94% of the participants were satisfied with the session results. In particular, they found the guidelines on how to design a course very useful. They also learnt how to create training in a more structured and planned way. One participant also emphasised that they “learned that it is a good idea to reflect on the measurement of success of your training session. This way you are able to assess if the training was useful.”
Besides positive feedback, participants shared some suggestions for future training, such as giving more feedback during breakout sessions, assigning some preparatory homework, and allocating more time for the practical activity. The organisers will address these shortcomings in future training activities to facilitate learning better.
“It has been great fun sharing our knowledge and skills from the EOSC Synergy project during the instructor workshop. The fact that the majority of participants were satisfied with the workshop and found it useful for their work, demonstrates the need and relevance of such training. We will continue to take part in similar initiatives to bring synergy in training and skills across EOSC projects”, Linas Cepinskas explained.
FAIRsFAIR – Fostering Fair Data Practices in Europe – aims to supply practical solutions for the use of the FAIR data principles throughout the research data life cycle. Emphasis is on fostering FAIR data culture and the uptake of good practices in making data FAIR. More information: https://www.fairsfair.eu
More information
For more information about the workshop, please contact Linas Cepinskas (linas.cepinskas@dans.knaw.nl), Research Data Management Specialist at DANS, if you have any further questions.
