Training Program Plan

Training Program Plan

LaToya D. Hemphill
AET/570
December 7, 2015
Natasha Spellman

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Training Program Plan
Part 1 Training Program Description

Introduction
Just as the landscape of education institutions has and is changing with regard to
the options individuals now have to receive additional training and/or degrees, so is the
way in which both learners and those instructing the programs have to facilitate training.
Two aspects that are at the forefront of many conversations within this reals of learning
is the debate of social media, and to what extent it should be used, as well as those in
administrative and instruction positions being more mindful of creating inclusive
programming to better align with the changing climate of society. These changes also
extend to the demographics of the learners in relation to their age, gender/orientation,
and their racial/ethnic background. The specifics of this training program will focus on
Learning in a Globally-Minded Social Media Age. Being aware of and connecting the
aspects of social media technology, while being more intentional in considering the
multiple facets that make up the learning environment will be vital to instructors, their
institutions, and those that they train.
Scope
The relevant training program will be developed to accommodate participants
from various ranges, consisting of general staff, mid-level administrators, executive
managers, and student populations. The purpose of the training is to provide faculty,
staff, and students with a deeper understanding and review of what diversity is. Skills
gained in the training are to adequately equip participants to feel more comfortable
asking questions and debating intelligently on diversity issues, both in the traditional

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classroom setting, as well as how to initiate or defuse conversations in a social media

environment. The training program will consist of a combination of both in-class
instruction to provide participants with a base understanding on the course content, as
well as online access for the purpose of continued conversations outside of the
classroom, and the incorporation of simulations related to the core functions of the
course.
Audience
The Learning in a Globally-Minded Social Media Age program is designed for all
audiences that are open, willing, and interested in becoming better versed in the
complexities of diversity and how this knowledge relates to a society that is now more
connected due to advancements in technology. Given the training will take place within
a college environment, the age range of participants will vary from 18-65. Due to the
large span of learning within these age demographics, a variety of materials will be
made available to best accommodate the learners proficiency.
Goals
1. Participants will review a variety of diversity concepts with internality in
relation to their own personal diversity make-up.
2. Participants will use the skills learned in the course to better articulate
their thoughts in a manner that is inclusive.
3. Participants will become better versed in intergenerational communication
styles, and the challenges in both the classroom, and online.

Objectives

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1. Participants should be able to reflect on the complexities of diversity

categorizations in relation to their personal world view.
2. Participants can more effectively coordinate team building by actively
aware of learning styles in relation to ones diversity make-up (age,
gender, race, and ethnicity).
3. Participants will become better equipped to engage others in meaningful
conversations, with a lessened fear of being judged/offended.

Part II Needs or Gap Analysis

In an effort to gage the addition of more deliberate training, stressing the
importance of diversity/inclusive language (both in the classroom and social media
environments), a needs assessment was conducted. Of the widely used techniques for
determining the need for training, the following four were utilized:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Observations
Informal interactions
Group sessions
Questionnaires

Observations were the first indicator of need. The overall diversity climate is
shifting, with individuals becoming more secure in their own diversity as well as being
more interested in engaging in conversations to continue discussions. Through the
creation of social media this awareness has also increased individuals world view, and
their propensity to share their thoughts quickly, but without structure on global formats,
leading to misinterpretation.
Engaging in informal interactions with those in the environment being considered
for change provides a ground level perspective of what certain issues might be. By

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getting to the core of what the perceived needs/issues are from those that are directly
affected can provide for more personalization.
Expounding on the initial observations and informal interactions, structured group
sessions are coordinated and planned on a variety of diversity topics to allow for open
dialogue and expressions of concern regarding the types of diversity conversations
wanted/needed, and to what extent. These group sessions will also allow attendees the
opportunity to be immersed in conversations with their peers related to their personal
experiences dealing with diversity issues, along with general instances of discrimination
that members of the conversations may not be aware of.
Using a questionnaires in both paper form for pre-planned small diversity
programs, and online software questionnaires which provide the ability of creating more
detailed campus-wide questionnaires to gage the mindset of diversity from the
perspective of a variety of the campus climate. The small discussion group
questionnaires will allow for assessment of both the feelings of diversity, as well as the
functionality/benefits of pre-planned programs, while the online questionnaire will allow
for users to provide more detail on their personal or observed experiences related to
diversity issues. With both of these options, the participants are provided anonymity in
an effort to allow for a truer barometer of the campus needs/gaps.

Part III - Budget

Organizational development is an investment and expense just like any other
component when operating a business. Being able to make accommodations and have
ample materials for all those attending the training is just as important as the content of

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the training itself. The following is the projected budget estimates for the Training in a
Globally-Minded Social Media Age:
Item
Personnel

Description/Justification
The training will be

Quantity

Unit

Total

25

Cost/Rate
$25.00

$650.00

25

$15.00

$375.00

$375.00

$1,500.00

presented to three different

audiences (faculty, staff,
and students). In an effort
to provide all those
participating with adequate
attention, the sessions will
be conducted with a
minimum of 10, and a
maximum of 25 per
Fringe benefits

training session.
As the training will be at
minimum 3 hours, a meal,
and snacks will be

External staff

provided for participants

For the initial training
sessions, an outside
facilitator will be contracted
to conduct an initial train
the trainer session to
internal staff that will be

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responsible for all future

Materials

trainings.
Initial materials will be

25

$5.00

$125.00

$0.00

25

$10.00

$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$250.00

provided by the external

train the trainer facilitator,
with all future materials be
accessible by trained
Technical

internal staff.
N/A

support
Equipment
Travel
Facilities
Supplies

N/A
N/A
N/A
Consisting of participant
name placards, note cards,

Miscellaneous

pens/pencils, paper
N/A

$0.00
$2,900.00

Part IV Staffing Plan

To best support those taking part in the training, the program will be conducted in
a group setting, with incorporation/use of technology consisting of focus on social media
formats. As the training will be offered an open to all those in the campus community,
program scheduling will be created to accommodate the commitments of faculty, staff,
and interested student facilitators.
As the main focus of the training is centered on diversity awareness, both locally
and globally, the primary qualifications for those participating should be a willingness
and openness to learning about what defines diversity in all its facets, and learn how to

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both facilitate diversity conversations for external programs, as well as in conjunction

with established academic courses, along with gaining skills to defuse or address
defamatory situations.
The time requirement that all participants must commit to is 4 hours, the full time
of the program will average to 5 hours, however this consist of providing participants
with the option of taking two 30 minute breaks during the course of the training, or 1
hour break for meal. To best maximize the time required for the training, and also to
create a learning environment that will be conducive for extended group reflection, and
conversation the minimum number of participants needed to facilitate a training must be
10, with a maximum of 25 participants. By setting these minimum and maximum
participation limits, it provides for more variety of learners even within the same
department, skill set, or educational demographic.
As the training will be held within a college campus setting, many of the standard
resources needed and used in the training will already be in place, with little to no effort
put on the facilitator or the learners. Based upon the amount of participants for the
training there is an available space on campus that can accommodate all capacities.
The external resources will come in the form of the initial hiring of a train-thetrainer facilitator. Hosting three separate train-the-trainer sessions conducted by an
outside facilitator, will be beneficial in two ways: those participating in the first sessions
will then be equipped to be trainers themselves moving forward with expounding
diversity training on campus, and for participants in faculty and staff positions, there will
be less questioning of legitimacy with the training coming from an external practitioner
with no ties to the organization.

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Another benefit of the training being conducted on site at a full functioning

organization as opposed to an outside entity, is that additional resources/support is
more easily available such as seating, audio and visual support, and assistance from IT
should other technology issues arise as a portion of the training is focused solely on the
incorporation of social media.

Part V Stakeholders and Goals

Stakeholders
Trainer

Participants

Partnership Goal
Provide

Ways to build support

Lay ground work for

information/altering

incorporating strategies,

perception of participants

and continuing

behaviors related to

implementation of training

training topic.
Incorporate tools for

benefits.
Shows a willingness to be

inclusive language/support

both understanding, and

for academic courses,

where needed

general programs, and

accommodating to the

campus interaction.

diversities of others, and

using the learned skills in
all formats of

Directors

Create professional

communication.
Beneficial to show a

atmospheres for more

proactive approach

considerate

inclusion to both help with

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communication.

retention and to be
appealing to potential

Educational Department

Share with faculty unable

hires.
Builds additional comfort

to commit to full training

for new faculty unsure of

general principles that can

how to handle issues of

be easily incorporated.

diversity, and provide

tenured faculty with new

Campus Community

Creates a more socially

knowledge
Full investment by the

aware campus climate

campus in the philosophy

respectful of ones

of diversity awareness can

personal beliefs and others make the institution more

uniqueness.

appealing to both potential

students, as well as new
faculty and staff.

Part VI Communication Plan

Logo:

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Slogan: Moving Diversity into the Digital Age

Fact Sheet:
Who
Faculty, Staff, Students
What
Training/Learning in a Globally-Minded Social Media Age
When
First set of sessions for faculty/staff begin mid-May of 2016
Where

First set of sessions for students begin in August and January of 2016
Primary training will be in a traditional classroom environment, with the

Why

incorporation of social media concepts through online simulations

To provide assistance to those in college/university environments with
tools to be more socially aware, and actively inclusive of those who
define themselves in one or more diversity related categories, specifically

How

in dealing with the inclusion of social media as an educational tool.

Providing both direct and virtual situations to discuss diversity topics from
both a personal perspective and as a bystander.

Program Benefits
There are several benefits that professionals in the field of higher education, and
the students these institutions serve can gain from taking part in the Learning in a
Globally-Minded Social Media Age Training. One of most important components is that
those participating in the training will be provided with knowledge and tools to be better

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versed in both initiating conversations regarding analyzing the changing landscape of

the world as lines pertaining to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity
have begun to blend and blur. It is through these tools that participants will also be
provided with scenarios to assist them in defusing certain contentious situations related
to defamatory language, and make them into learning moments.
Secondly, staying within the context of a global worldview, incoming students
possess a higher level of technological understanding then any generation before them,
and this trend will only increase in the next decade. Along with the future generations of
learners having an ease of access to and knowledge of technology, they also learn and
communicate in completely different formats than learners from 20 years ago.
Through the training program these differences in learning, communicating, and
technology formats will be addressed in detail to both assist those in faculty and staff
positions become more aware of this new learning dynamic, as well as the newest/best
media formats to consider incorporating in their courses and general interactions.
Another portion of the training that will particularly be beneficial to student
participants, but valuable to all in attendance will be learning some best practices to
communicate on social media formats. Communication for many has become more
commonplace over social media as opposed to face-to-face, as well as sharing ones
thoughts/options without regard for how there musings might be perceived. The
training will provide the participants with some guidelines on when and how best to post
comments on social media pertaining to diversity related issues.
Instructional Practices

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While a portion of the training will be focused on best practices for

using/implementing aspects of technology into higher education, the core of the training
will deal with the delicate topic of diversity issues, as it is through the advancement in
technology that we as a society have both a greater and unlimited access to content
both nationally and internationally.
Conversations about diversity in any facet can be difficult and uncomfortable to
initiate in any setting. It is because of this primary topic that the training will take place
in a classroom setting, with a limited number of participants per session. By keeping
the participant training sessions to a maximum of 25, this is believed to still be a small
enough group to facilitate intimate and reflective conversations, as well as providing a
variety of perspectives and personal experiences that participants may feel more willing
to share because of the smaller sized of the training class.
The instructional piece of the training will be varied, allowing for participants to
fully express their personal interest/concerns related to the content focus of the training
to allow the participants the opportunity to build camaraderie within the group as well as
gage aspects of the training that may need to be given additional emphasis. The
training will also include simulations both to view for the purpose of discussion and
reflection, as well as using an online classroom atmosphere where additional resources
will be maintained and participants will be allowed to become more comfortable with
certain social media formats they are unfamiliar with. All participants will also take part
in posting and replying to diversity related content and then critiquing each others
responses.

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Promotional Channels and Materials

The two main promotional channels for the Learning in a Globally-Minded Social
Media Age training will be utilizing the campus marketing department and general world
of mouth. The marketing department has access to materials to create polished
promotional pieces that can be used to advertise to potential participants the purpose
behind the training, and the skills that they have the ability to take away from the
training to use in real world situations. The facilitators of the training can also assist in
promoting the training through word of mouth, specifically using social media
applications, to showcase in advance how this format can be used as a viable
instructional tool. Through word of mouth, facilitators can also strategically reach out to
faculty and staff departments, as well as student leaders that would be receptive to
taking part in the training, and then capitalize on their participation to encourage others
to then take part in future training sessions.
Part VII Program Evaluation
Evaluation is a valuable and needed part of any program. While the program
itself may have been created and implemented with the best intent, it is through
evaluation that we can measure if the initial objective and goals of the program were
actually met, and to what extent. The individuals responsible for overseeing program
evaluation include:

The trainers
Additional staff support
Top-level administrators
Participants

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The evaluation will take place at the end of the training, comprising a list of short
response questions that can be collected to get cumulative data on the participants
understanding of the training material. Support staff is also useful in the evaluation
process as they can provide additional assistance in tabulating the evaluation
responses depending upon how many trainings are going on at the same time. Support
staff may also play a part in debriefing participants at the end of the training. Because
paper evaluations can be so ridged, support staff can be used to follow up with
participants to gain more information on their feelings about both the training topic, and
the trainer. For the part of top-level administrators, the information obtained from the
evaluations can be used for the purpose of showing the need for more members to go
through the training, and depending upon the training topic, the evaluation results could
be used in accreditation measures.
Evaluation Metrics
Even for those in upper management who may not fully understand the purpose
of the training and its ultimate goal, the metrics of the program can provide a
measurable element that can be understood by anyone.
With regard to the Learning in a Globally-Minded Social Media Age, the metrics
that will be measured consist of the following:

The participants understanding of what defines diversity

Comprehension of how to use social media tools as learning resources
Participants ability to use tools to either conduct positive conversations or

defuse derogatory conversations regarding diversity

The overall effectiveness of the program

In an effort to better cement the benefits and use of social media as a learning
tool, the evaluation will be submitted to the participants via the campus hybrid social

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media tool OrgSync. This application is used by many college campuses, and the
overall format uses many principles as some of the more well-known social media
types. Through the OrgSync training portal, a group message will be sent to all
participants with the link to the evaluation. By using this format, the trainer, or support
staff that submits the evaluation will be able to see who of the participants has not filled
out the evaluation, and resend notification as needed, and once all evaluations have
been completed, the group portal allows for quick access to review the final results of
the evaluation, as well as the ability to print out metric information for other interested
parties.