I have been tasked to write guidance notes and possibly a policy for our trainers to explain how we would like to see them ensure diversity in the classroom. If i was to ask this question to a trainer "What things do you do to show and ensure diversity within your classroom" what would the likely answers be?
Paddy
3 Responses
Inclusion and exclusion in the training room
Hi Paddy
I don’t know of any resources specifically from a training perspective but a there are a lot of resources for exclusion and inclusion in teaching adults in higher education, which probably overlaps with employee training and development.
For example, see the Diversity Toolkit at http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/diversity/.
From there, click on Resources for Multicultural Teaching and Learning which takes you to http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/diversity/resources.html. From there you can access individual sites that address inclusion and exclusion in teaching, e.g., http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/inclusive/.
Regarding questioning a trainer on “What things do you do to show and ensure diversity within your classroom”, possible answers can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/inclusive/strategies.html.
Hope that helps.
Diversity in Training Room
I know a brilliant man who really knows about this. He produces equality and diversity proofers.Quite sure he would give you lots of free advice. Contact David at Trainingqed@aol.com
And look at the Adult Learning Inspectorate materials around this theme. I recall too that Fenman produce a facility but you have to buy their goods
Regards
Jennifer
A few ideas
Some quick thoughts on this for you:
I think this happens in 3 parts: before the session, at beginning of the session and during it.
Before session: make sure you get information about any access needs people may have (eg. mobility, visual/hearing impairments) and what adjustments they would like you to make.
Beginning of session: agree ground rules/acceptable behaviour and encourage people to let you know if there is anything you can do to make workshop fully accessible.
During session: monitor & maintain this taking the initiative to challenge behaviour or respond to learner’s needs.
You may also want to monitor who attends training sessions (age/gender/disability/race) and see how this matches the workforce.