6 Responses

1. Not very clear ….
   Hi Samantha, apologies but I’m a bit confused as well. Rather than confuddle the matter any further could you just expand a little on what you mean by session plans and objectives and who would be using them? Thanks!

2. Trainer’s notes are session plans
   I write loads of trainer notes and they are session plans and objectives!

   However different people have different names for these items. Maybe the person is thinking that trainer notes are background reading for the trainer or something like that. I think you need to ask your tutor exactly what he/she means by ‘trainer notes’.

3. Trainer notes
   Samantha
   These terms – session plans, trainer notes, brief, etc. – are often used interchangably. Your tutors – who probably work in further education rather than in training – may have a particular view but practice, and the terms used, vary enormously from one organisation to another. I would also argue that there is no one ‘best practice’ either.
   Perhaps the most common ‘good practice’ is to have a brief (a comprehensive document that turns the design and logistics into a user-friendly format for use by the deliverer). This brief would include aims and objectives (often seperate from the individual session notes). The session plans would not exist in isolation; they would be part of the whole schedule/design. These session plans would include some trainer notes (sufficient for an experienced trainer to pick up and run the course) but some further trainer notes may also be available either as background or for newer/less experienced trainers. Finally, there may also be individual trainer notes (those made by the individual trainer as an aide memoire); these can be quite personal as some trainers like more detail, others less so, and some just put down key words as prompts on the content whilst others concentrate on the process -it is whatever works for you.
   Some CTP providers (mostly FE Colleges with little experience of what training is all about) take a more prescriptive stance, especially around session plans, and you may be expected to comply with their approach if you want to pass. If in doubt, check with the person who will be doing the assessment.
   Best of luck with the CTP.
   Graham

4. Trainer Notes
   I personally don’t bother unless I am asked for them by the client.

   Notes for me are way too prescriptive in the way I would deliver a session and seems to be based more around the trainer than the delegates.

   Andrew Miller

5. Trainer Notes
   Just reading Graham’s comments, it seems that this is (another?) quality issues with the CTP. If FE colleges expect them for you to pass and other providers are not bothered where is the ‘standard’ CTP approach?

   Andrew Miller

6. It’s a matter of style!
   Hi there,

   I design training for a living, and generally feel that it is good to issue objectives to delegates as a seperate thing, as well as broad overview of how the day will run (headings only).

   Trainer notes are for the trainer only. They should be relatively detailed, and explain how the workshop will run – what will be discussed, what activities will be run, the learning points to bring out, the visual aids to be used etc. This is so courses are run consistently (regardless of the trainer), and (if running them from a commercial perspective), the client is clear about what will be covered and how before they buy.

   I know that some experienced trainers, especially those in specialist fields don’t always need to refer to trainer notes, but I feel that they should exist.

   Feel free to check out an article I submitted to training zone last year about the importance of training design.

   https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=185890