MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Management is one among the skills needed for a DIET faculty. This sections deals with this functional area.

Objective

After reading this material and performing the activities mentioned, you will be able to  understand the different components of management  learn how to manage both material and human resources  become more professional in your approach to management

Overview

IMPORTANCE OF MANAGEMENT SKILLS Management is the art or practice of controlling and deploying resources, both human and material optimally. In a training programme, a trainer has to manage both human and material resources, in such a way that the performance of trainers improves and they develop their potential. In this section we will discuss the skills a trainer requires to manage material resources and human resources. In another sub-section, we will discuss how a classroom can be managed.

MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Skills of Managing Materials

In any training situation, instructional materials play a major role. These materials must be managed and maintained to ensure that they are appropriate and available to the trainees when needed.

For purposes of resource management materials can be divided into four basic categories:

1. print
2. audio-visual
3. computer
4. real items

Example

Typical print materials are chalkboards posters handouts panel boards self-instruction booklets/manuals assignments textbooks pictures Audio-visual materials include overhead transparencies radio and television broadcasts tape and text programmes filmstrips audio-tapes C.Ds videotapes Computer based materials can include computer programmes multi-media programmes computer-based training programmes.

Managing Instructional Materials

A Trainer should, before the start of a programme, make and keep a checklist of all the materials needed.

A trainer should decide

o how many copies of materials are required

o when they are required

o whether there are facilities to get the materials types, photocopied etc.

It would be a good thing to check power points, cables, etc. a day before the AV aids are to be needed.

What happens when an OHP / cassette recorder does not work?

It is important for trainers to keep alternative materials ready and prepare for contingencies. A trainer who depends solely on one set of materials is bound to ‘fail’ at some point of time. A ‘successful’ trainer is one who can visualize not just the training programme but also prepare for contingencies.

Reflection

You have prepared a presentation on MLL. You have planned to use the OHP. There is a power cut on the day you want to do your presentation. What other strategies would you use to make your presentation interesting?

SKILLS OF MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

Much of the skills of interacting with trainees has been discussed in 8.3.3. In this section we will look at some other aspects of managing human resources. To have to become a learner again and sit in a classroom absorbing ideas and doing tasks is very often a difficult thing for adult learners. The trainer, who is also the resource person, should learn to manage this mindset of the trainees and see that maximum benefit is derived by the trainees on the course/ programme.

Let us consider the learning situation and the important events in that situation,

Gaining Trainee Attention

This is the most important step in a training-learning situation. How can a trainer gain and sustain the interest of the trainees? There are three ways of doing this:

1. use varied transactional mode
2. use relevant and interesting materials
3. be accessible to trainees

Informing the Trainee of the Objective

You need to inform the trainee of what is going to happen during the learning event so they can focus on that event and sort out what is relevant and what is not. Remember, trainees are adults and are capable of making the judgement.

Stimulating Recall of Prior Experience/Knowledge

Trainees should be able to put the new information/experience into a context based on what they already know. It is therefore important that the learning event contains something that causes them to recall a prior event/experience, evaluate it and use it as the foundation on which to build the present event. For example, brainstorming about the elements that go into micro-planing will help trainees recall and gather all points they know about this are. The next part of the session can be built on the outcome of the brainstorming session.

Presenting the Stimulus Material

When new material is presented, it is important to tell the trainees the facts, knowledge or skills that are associated with the materials and the context in which they operate.

Providing Leaner Guidance

One of the most important things a trainer can do is to provide a means of encoding the information. In providing a means if encoding the information, In providing learning guidance, a trainer could show the steps involved in carrying out a task or suggest how the trainee could complete the task.

Eliciting the Performance

This is where trainees are expected to respond to all that has gone on before and demonstrate their learning .It is important that this part of the event is not confused with evaluation; learners here are still learning, they are not being tested.

Providing Feedback about Performance Correctness

In this part of the learning event, the trainer gives feedback to the trainees so that they can determine if they have performed correctly. If learning has taken place, trainees have to be able to judge how well they have performed according to set criteria. This is an important element in training programmes with adults if credibility of the learning event has to be established. The feedback should be given in a friendly, interactive mode, so that trainees are not put off by the idea of feedback.

Assessing the Performance

Performance assessment is concerned with trainees demonstrating their total understanding of the topic. A methodology appropriate to the topic of the learning event has to be evolved to assess.

Whether the outcome of the assessment is productive and positive or non-productive and negative depends to a large extent on the attitude and behaviour of the trainer.

All the points mentioned above deal with managing the learning-learner event in the classroom. The trainer, before during and after the course has to act as counsellor to trainees; guiding them in academic and non-academic areas. The trainer who knows and understands this role can be sure of running a more effective training programme than a trainer who sees his/ her role as limited to delivery training without taking into account the human aspect of training.

Before the training programme, the trainees might wish to know

1. What to study, what the content of the course/material is, and how relevant it is to their needs.
2. What technique to use. They might also wish to know something about time management.

In this situation, the trainer is an adviser. By sharing the apprehensions and hopes of the trainees she/he establish an important linkage and becomes a trusted counsellor. A trainer who lays down the law and say that something HAS TO BE DONE. Without discussing the matter with the trainees becomes a ‘dictator’ who will most probably be obeyed in letter if not in spirit. She/he might not gain the trust of trainees.

During the training programme, the learners may wish to meet the trainer outside training hours and discuss certain issues. These could

1. some problem with, the content of the materials, no matter how well they are prepared or Presented
2. doubts about how assignments should be done, how they should be prepared.
3. problem of coping with the course and the stress it generates. Or, they may have personal or study problems.
4. need of support in relation to their jobs -like getting permission to attend a programme, time-offer research etc. They may wish to know how to integrate their study with their work.

As mentioned earlier there may be problems that a trainer can do nothing about. Or there may be problems she/ he can deal with. In either case, being a patient and sympathetic listener goes a long way in sorting out problems. Advice given by a sympathetic listener has greater chances of being heard than the advice of a perceived ‘unsympathetic’ person.

After the training programme, trainees might need advice on

 How to train further

 How to improve their performance at the DIET

 What resources they can use to become better trainees

The linkage established sometimes ends with the valedictory function or a few hours after that, In other cases, it endures, supported through letters, telephone calls or occasional face-to-face interaction.

Activity

Prepare a Write-up Send the Completed Activity Sheet to: bhatvd@yahoo.co.in A participant says: ‘Sir, I don’t understand anything on the course What would you do? report her to the principal discuss what her problem is ask her politely to study harder do something else A trainee comes and tells you that he cannot concentrate on his studies because he has many problems” His father is sick and his principal is harassing him for various reasons. What would you do? write a letter to his principal just listen to the trainee help his father with medicines do something else From your answers, what do you feel your attitude to trainees is?

Reading

Read the following passage The role of the academic manager might be summarized as: Responsibility for the establishment and monitoring of sound learning programmes; The proper selection and use of materials and hard- ware; The in-service monitoring and development of staff. To the above may, in some case, be added teacher recruitment, organization of registration, and time-tabling. In short, the word, the perceived success, or lack of success, of the academic manager will reflect not only his/her personal qualities and skills, but the willingness of the principal and/or proprietor to provide adequate financial aid, no less important, moral support. If all staff are mutually interdependent, some are more learned upon than others, and the DoS has traditionally been the whipping person (so to speak) for management and work-force alike. A thick skin and the qualities of Janus might well seem to be more essential qualities than a flair for interactive video. The corollary of this is that dull programmes, bored students, and grumbling teachers are as likely to be the result of poor senior management of staffing, training, and evaluation systems in the school, as of an incompetent or inexperienced DoS. From “The Rise and fall of Academic Management” by Jenny Pugsley, ELTJ Vol.45/4 Oct.1991

CLASS MANAGEMENT

The mind map below covers all important factors of classroom management The points about classroom management that we have discussed in other sections are:

 Personality of the trainer

 Types of Equipment

 Group dynamics

In this section we will consider some of the other aspects mentioned in the mind map

The Plan versus Flexibility

It is a good idea to prepare a lesson plan. It helps the trainer to know where she/ he is going, what the aims and means are. But it is very bad if the plan is rigid and has no flexibility .A rigid lesson plan makes a trainer ‘blind’ to the needs and responses of the trainees.

In the training situation, the ideal lesson plan should be in terms of check lists. The general areas could be:

What is to be taught? (Contents)

What are you going to do in the lesson? (Methodology)

What aids are you going to use? (Materials)

Anticipated difficulties (Crisis Management)

The trainer could ask himself/herself some questions before the lesson/training session.

1. Are the trainees going to learn something in this lesson?
2. Are they going to enjoy the lesson? Is it going to be varied and satisfying?
3. Does the lesson/session as a whole have a sense of coherence and purpose?
4. Does the lesson/session connect up with what went before? Is there linkage?
5. Is the lesson/ session opening up new areas of knowledge and practice?

If the answer is YES, then the lesson/ session is sure to be a success.

Giving Instruction

Instructions don’t just happen. They have to be planned carefully. Planning instructions helps the trainer to be clear, natural and unambiguous.

Once instructions are planned, the trainer has an opportunity to check through the instructions and see that errors are eliminated. The trainer can also grade the instructions. Group Dynamics

The most difficult factor to control in group work is time. It is very easy to lose track of time when group work is going on. The reasons could be

1. The trainer might dislike disturbing the group when they are absorbed in group work
2. The trainer himself/herself may not be aware of the passage of time.
3. The trainer might want the results of the particular group work, and may so allow the group work to continue

If the timings are not adhered to other components of the course get disrupted. So keeping to the time while doing group work is very important.

Planning the group work in detail helps the trainer to get an idea of the time the activity will require.

A good idea for the trainer would be making a note of the approximate time required for different activities in the lesson/training session plan. This will keep the activities on track.

Once the trainer is aware of the time available for group work she/ he can pace the activity accordingly. Do the groups brainstorm for 5 minutes and come up with a few points or do they discuss in detail for 30 minutes and come up with a presentation? Such questions are solved when the trainer is aware of the time factor. The other issues relating to group work have been discussed in detail elsewhere.

Class Seating Patterns (Who Sits Where?)

In a traditional classroom, the pattern of seating (which incidentally reflects the pattern of teaching) is as follows:

The teacher keeps moving from group to group to check whether the task is being carried out satisfactorily.

In pair work, where student work simultaneously in pairs, the teacher is again available for help.

The three patterns mentioned are appropriate in both teaching and training situations. In a training session however, a few more patterns, based on the type of transaction are available possible for PANEL discussion.

You will notice that the trainer has to maintain a low profile in some types of activities; in others she/he works collaboratively; at other time she/he is totally in the background, only responding when trainees ask for help.

For good classroom management, a trainer should know and plan the level for a control she/he should exercise for a level of control she/he should exercise for a particular session or training.

Activity

What items would you include in a ‘code of management’ for a group of teacher trainers? Make a list and say how you would present it to the trainees. Think of the activities you most enjoy and least enjoy in your training classes. Do you see yourself in the classroom more as a ‘leader’ or a ‘manager’?

SOME GUIDELINES

Let us finally sum up what a trainer should be able to do to manage a class successfully. Given below are some points

1. Attract attention.
2. Start-up, greet, socialize.
3. Deal with different space and furniture arrangement.
4. Deal with early arrivals and late comers.
5. Ask people to do things.
6. Thank people.
7. Elicit information.
8. Praise
9. Indicate error.
10. Explain things
11. Check understanding.
12. Describe narrate.
13. Query meaning
14. Handle discipline problems.
15. Offer and accept help and apologies
16. Move to closure.
17. Close.
18. Predict what’s coming next time.
19. Set tasks.
20. Vary style of voice, movement & manner
21. Be normal, be human. (from woodward, 1991.p.50)

Summary

 Good management depends on the awareness a trainer has about his roles  almost everything on a training programme depends on the trainer  the quality of a training programme depends on the personality and professionalism of a trainer

Activity

Give the following list to your trainees at DIET. Ask them to either observe your lesson or that of another trainer. (If it is a colleague of yours it would be a good idea to inform him/her of the task and get his/her permission for the trainees to do the task!) Ask them to tick the words they would use to describe the trainer. relaxed, innovative, authoritative, resourceful, hard working, well-in-formed, well prepared, dynamic, clear, accurate, creative, enthusiastic, systematic, initiative, patient, caring, attentive, flexible, intuitive.

Competency

Questions for Self Check What do you mean by the term ‘Management’? What management skills does a trainer need? Why does he/she need them? Make a classified list of all the instructional materials generally used on a training programme? Are all the materials listed at (3) readily available during a training programme? What precautions does a trainer need to take so as to ensure that a training programme does not suffer for want of some of these materials? Self-Check Questions A class can be considered a miniature society with its own distinctive characteristics. List some points in support of this statement. A class generally creates/provides opportunities conducive for formal learning and teaching. List all the factors that affect a formal learning /teaching’ situation in a class. What skills does a trainer need to manage a class during a training programme? List some questions a trainer might need to. ask himself/herself so as to manage his class efficiently.

Web Resources

Useful Web links You would agree that an effective trainer is one who understands his/her strengths and weaknesses fully. You could visit the Wiki Educator Site given below, if you wish to understand your "Self" [[1]]Self Esteem and Self Improvement

You can download Activity Sheet from here Activity Sheet - Management Skills