Rhodes University
Networking journalism teachers
in southern Africa
by Guy Berger,presentation to:SADC Trainers Seminar
8 September 2001C ooking up acom m unity o fm edia tra iners
SAD C sem inar
Sept 2001
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Where we are: •Weak media…•Weak training …•Fragmentation•Duplication•Standards?•Short on materials• Little specialised depth
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A community?
Needs to be:
• Voluntary
• Demand-driven
• Incremental
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Get close up
• Ideal vs reality
• a community is constructed
• a community contains both conflict & concord
• recognise interests
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Why try to build community?• Share study materials • Access to info on courses on offer• Swap teaching methodology• Exchange staff• Student co-productions and collaboration.
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More reasons …
• On-line courses • Setting standards • Credit transfers • Quality assurance• Training the trainers• Develop new training materials
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Wanted: an easily accessible database hub
• Information• Electronic bulletin board• Listservs, newsgroups
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Threats
Cyber-community without a real community does not work.
See the history of:• Kammy Naidoo’s attempt• iJute, Beta
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But opportunity knocks
• Impetus since Windhoek• NiZa committed• Technology more disseminated now• SA – National Qualifications Authority, SETAs
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ChallengesTo create a community of trainers has to be a hard-nosed business!
And a very complex one ...
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Pedagogy
debateMethodologies:
• Train on-site or not?
• Centre vs periphery
• Language
• Skill, talks & texts
• Industry as trainers
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More debate:• Skills transfer, or is it development?
• Go for breadth, with many trained, or
• Go for depth: train fewer, but better
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For a community to fly ...
• Need to agree on core principles about what makes for effective training.
• A shared perspective = sharing knowledge.
Some possible principles ...
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PRINCIPLE 1: Trainer-trainee-media
Learner-centred
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PRINCIPLE 1: Trainer-trainee-organisation Learner-centred
But context-driven
“As the strength of a chain is determined by its weakest link, so the least contribution of any one partner becomes the maximum level of effectiveness possible”
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PRINCIPLE 2: Ladder of learning
One-off and fragmented training = resource waste.
Rather, we need:
investment in progressive learning over time
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PRINCIPLE 3: Target A: Head
Train the brain:
• information;
• knowledge;
• intellectual skills
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Target B: HandsPractice:
Skills to implement
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Target C: Heart of the matterIf you forget about attitude, your training won’t fly.
You can train for media freedom & ethics, for anti-sexism, anti-racism, etc.
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Target D: The Wallet The point is:
• What’s the pay-off?• Financial• Organisational• The individual trainee• Programme-related
•Fulfillment of media’s role in society
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Holistic trainingSo, training should be planned and assessed in terms of:
K nowledge
A ttitude
P ractice
P ay-off
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PRINCIPLE 4: PROCESS
Training is a journey
No application
Didn’t learn much
Poor delivery (or good)
Poor design
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Process stages
If it did meet need
May be wrong trainees
Or workplace blocks
Or: training not the solution
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Process lessons
Front-end workis critical:you can’t salvage a wrong course or wrong trainees. Secret of success can also
be traced through preceding stages
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PRINCIPLE 6: EVALUATE
Reaction: do they like it?
Learning: are they learning it?
Application: are they using it?
Pay-off: does it make a difference?
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Remember ...Good reaction learning
Learning application
Application pay-off
It’s a package.
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Realms ’n phases
Pre-course During Post-course
Reaction Reaction Reaction
Learning Learning Learning
Application Application Application
Pay-off Pay-off Pay-off
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Priorities
Pre-course During Post-course
Reaction(100%)
Learning Learning(75%)
Learning
Application Application Application(50%)
Pay-off Pay-off(10%)
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Evaluation:• Begin before the beginning of a course;• Continue long after the end.• Cover reaction, learning, application, pay-off at every stage.
Results: you find what works, what needs work.
“It’s this training that did it”
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Agreed!
Sharing -- in the interests of training -- means we can combine forces to build a stronger sector
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Vision for a network
“to improve the quality of work of media practitioners through collaboration between media trainers.”
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Values (1)• Freedom of expression.
• Media freedom - pluralism, diversity, tolerance
• A probing, critical media with the highest ethical and professional standards to democracy and to safeguarding human rights.
• Right of all citizens, including rural areas, to access information
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Values (2)• The importance both of media entrepreneurs & community media.
• The importance of a public service system (as well as commercial)
• Commitment to the development of media policy / legislation
• Literacy
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Membership• Tertiary institutions
• In service trainers- NGOs
• Community media
• In house training departments of media institutions
• Commercial media training institutions.
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Structure:• Existing institution takes it on
• Membership appoints an institution
• Create a new institution
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Fly in the ointment?What does a network hub mean?
• Can centralisation mean control?
• Can centralisation concentrate incompetence?
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Working together - way to go• Accept diverse interests and major complexities.
• Recognise there’s a role for all, a need for all, & space for all.
• Acknowledge complaboration.• Be active agents.
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Earning our stripes• Common standards will improve performance.
• Centres of excellence will emerge.
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Competition
will - and should - continue, but alongside complaboration & collabetition
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Providers will develop special and unique features
Alongside a lot of shared overlap in basic training (which needs to be spread around the SADC).
Rationalisation: Some will be organic, some will be planned
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Issues for us • Objectives• Vision and mission• Structure and name•Medium-term action plan•Who can house and who should drive?
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Lots of work needed ...
Cicadas make a racket, but when you look, you can’t find them!
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Training is a good thing:now let’s make it even better
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The Beginning