Groups of 25 educators train to be facilitators in a Professional Development program that lasts for 30 hours. Sessions alternate between training in the protocol (15 hours over 5 sessions), and teaching (15 hours) to implement the protocol.
Session #1 establishes the Pre-Text protocol: read aloud, ask questions of the text, propose and make art to interpret the text, reflect on the process, and go off on a tangent.
Sessions #2, #3, #4 are led by participants who propose and facilitate a particular creative activity of their choice to simulate the dynamic of a classroom.
Session #5 develops individual plans for future implementation, and plans meetings for group feedback, family nights, and new training workshops.
Thanks to you, we have improved Pre-Texts over the years and now offer two updates. One new policy is to limit training to institutions. The other is to alternate between training and implementation.
When we work inside institutions (schools, cultural centers, kitchens, etc.), rather than at large, we can anticipate regular meetings among colleagues and directors. Without follow-up meetings, Pre-Texts has been difficult to sustain.
The new training-and-teaching model takes no more time than training first to teach later. But the results are better. Sessions in capacity building will alternate with the classroom or group sessions facilitated by participants. This way novice facilitators can try out new techniques and refine them as part of the training sequence.
To promote our best continuing performance and to encourage new work, we will use the following forms starting now:
New Workshops: To plan a new workshop and keep our News current.
Reports: At the end of a workshop reports ensure good practices and share information through the “Where?” page.