Extra information on the Trainer Manual

Name:
Version:
Date:
Owner:
Trainer manual information
01.00
22 October 2012
Accreditation

Page 1 of 2 For internal use only
Printed documents are uncontrolled copies and therefore not allowed

Some words on the trainer manual

One of the mandatory elements for the accreditation of courseware (ATP as well as ACP) is a trainer
manual. The reason is that, regardless the trainer who delivers the training, its quality should remain of
the high standard that you (and us) want to deliver.

The remarks below are familiar to everybody who followed a formal trainer education. Most trainers in this
field though are consultants who have never followed formal trainer education. A well prepared trainer
manual helps those people to deliver quality training.

Please find below a set of annotations and suggestions based on the accreditation requirements.

Requirements for a trainer manual

The material for the trainers contains a detailed course program. For each time slice it provides at least
information about:
the subject & learning objectives;
the educational method (course participant activities and trainer activities);
a reference to the related parts of the courseware to be used;
a reference to the related part of the exam literature .

The material for the trainers contains in-depth information about the content, teaching guidelines and the
solutions/marking guidelines for questions and
assignments. The level of detail assures consistency of the course, regardless of
the trainer.

A good training is composed of a series of small parts, often called lessons or modules. Even adults
have difficulties in concentrating more than 30 to 45 minutes on a subject. Retention of presented
subjects drops drastically after 30 to 45 minutes. The more theoretical the training is, the shorter the
period of concentration. To increase the result of training (and the level of retention) a trainer has to
switch frequently to another educational method frequently. A time table which shows all of these lessons
or modules in their sequence (perhaps even alternative sequence) is of great help to the trainer to
manage his time

Educational methods are (non-exhaustive list): lecturing, questioning, (practical) assignment, simulation,
repeating, self study. As every time slice (lesson, module) can (should!) differ in approach it is important
that the trainer knows per time slice:
what are we talking about (the subject) and if there is a need for more detail, where in the literature
can I find this (related part of the exam literature)
what do I want the participants to achieve (learning objectives)
which method do I (need to) use to achieve this and what will be the activity of the participants
(educational method)
which part of the course material do I have to use here? E.g. exercise section. (Related part of the
courseware)

Extra information on the Trainer Manual
Name:
Version:
Date:
Owner:
Trainer manual information
01.00
22 October 2012
Accreditation

Page 2 of 2 For internal use only
Printed documents are uncontrolled copies and therefore not allowed

if exercises or questions are used: what is the correct answer (or result) and why! (solutions/marking
guide lines)

All too often we find a trainer manual thats just a copy of the student manual with some added
comments. We hope the explanation above will prevent you from making the same mistake.

There is a good balance between theory and practice with the emphasis on practical application. The
course participants are encouraged to play an active role in their learning process for about 50% of the
time or more. This could be
done by discussion, (group) assignments, simulation etc.

As commented above, including exercises is a way of regaining attention. Even more important is that
exercises play a very important role in the retention of the theory. In an exercise the participant works
with theory in a much more active way:
In a (group) discussion participants exchange points of view on how to apply the theory
In an exercise participants (individual or in a group) have to solve a problem or create a process,
check list, script, etc.
A popular approach to exercise is the simulation, where people are placed in a simulated world
where in a condensed time frame real issues need to be solved. A simulations is typically conducted
in several rounds, where every round consist of preparing the round, playing the round and
debriefing. Most of the learning takes place in the debriefing part where the experiences in the
playing the round are connected to the theory.

No matter what kind of exercise is used, for the trainer it needs to be clear how this exercise contributes
to the learning process in other words: what is the objective of this exercise?