Module
330: Interpretive Leadership: Training and Coaching
This
certification focuses on training and coaching of interpretive
concepts and principles. Questionnaire answers that
address other employee needs (program mechanics, behavior
issues, time management, etc.), are not measured in
this review, and will not contribute to success.
A new NPS-developed on-line training course in Training and Coaching Interpreters can be found at http://www.parktraining.org.
Successful completion of this competency will require
the Full Performance interpreter to complete four
tasks:
1) Individually plan, develop, and instruct one interpretive
training session on a concept from the Interpretive
Development Program curriculum, for either seasonal
rangers, entry/developmental level interpreters, VIP's,
interns, SCA's, cooperating association and concession
employees, etc., or a non-NPS interpretive
audience such as local museum docents, state/county
park employees, or a college class.
2) Coach one or more interpretive workers (i.e.,
seasonal rangers, entry/developmental-level permanent
interpreters, VIP's, interns, SCA's, cooperating association
and concession employees, etc.), providing them opportunities
for interpretive development through ongoing
coaching, feedback, modeling, and use of examples.
3) Complete and submit the "Training and Coaching
Assessment Questionnaire," describing your efforts
at both training and coaching. (Attached below; Download
in a Word format
(56KB).
4) A
"Product Submission Registration Form" (Download in
a Word format (43KB).
TIP: Keeping a written log of training and
coaching experiences and contacts will assist you in
completing the questionnaire (see "Optional Training/Coaching
Log" attached) however, the logs do NOT need to
be submitted, only the questionnaire.
Note: Your project may be designed and submitted
addressing more than one Full Performance competency
for certification. You may develop one project, to be
reviewed against any combination of one, two, three,
or four of the Full Performance competencies—if your
circumstances allow. The project would then be measured
against each certification standard separately.
If you choose, you may develop a separate project for
each Full Performance competency, and submit them individually
as you have in the past. If you choose to combine the
reviews and address more than one with a single project,
be sure to indicate clearly on your project which full
performance competencies (Planning Park Interpretation,
Media Development, Interpretive Leadership, Research/Resource
Liaison) you wish to have the project reviewed against.
Keep in mind that the requirements on the "Preparing
your Submission" page for every competency you address
with your project must be met (i.e., you must submit
an essay, and a facsimile, and a questionnaire
if you choose to combine Planning, Media, and Training/Coaching
in one submission).
Before you submit your product, be sure to self-assess
your work against the assessment rubric. Remember: Each
bold-faced "stem statement" is used by the reviewers,
and must be met to achieve certification in this competency.
Once you have reviewed your project with your supervisor
and agreed that it is ready to submit, send to:
Lotus Notes: (preferred)
Becky_Lacome@nps.gov
Training
Manager for Interpretation
Mather Training Center
P.O. Box 77
Fillmore St. and Storer College Place
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Attn: Product submissio
What happens next?
The training manager will send your submission to two
peers who are trained certifiers. Each will independently
review the product using the Assessment
Rubric for Benchmark Competency: Leading Interpreters:
Training and Coaching. The project will be evaluated
through peer-review to determine whether it meets the
certification standards. Those products meeting the
certification requirements will receive a letter from
the training manager.
Those
products approaching certification will need to be revised
and resubmitted, with the most valuable adjustments
prompted by feedback provided by the reviewers, and
follow-up input from the supervisor. If you elect to
have your project reviewed against multiple standards
and one or more elements are judged to be approaching
certification, only the portion approaching certification
needs to be revised and resubmitted. Questions about
the process can be answered by any of your curriculum
coordinators or the training manager.
Certification in this competency
serves the overall development of employees in Ranger
Careers positions, and meets the NPS national standard
for interpretive training and coaching. Certification
in this competency is a point-in-time assessment.
Long-term performance trends are measured at the park
level. Eligibility for promotion is determined solely
by the supervisor and park.
Training
and Coaching Assessment Questionnaire (4/01)
Note: Before completing the questionnaire, read the
assessment rubric for "Leading Interpreters: Training
and Coaching" to review the standards that will be used
in the peer-review certification process. This module
focuses on training and coaching of interpretive
concepts and principles. Questionnaire answers that
address other employee needs (program mechanics, behavior
issues, time management, etc.), are not measured in
this review, and will not contribute to success.
Interpretive
Training
Individually plan, develop, and instruct one interpretive
training session on a concept from the Interpretive
Development Program curriculum, for either seasonal
rangers, entry/developmental level interpreters, VIP's,
interns, SCA's, cooperating association and concession
employees, etc., or a non-NPS interpretive audience
such as local museum docents, state/county park employees,
or a college class. Provide the following information
about the interpretive training session you planned,
organized, and presented:
Who was your training audience and what were their
interpretive developmental needs?
What was the subject and purpose of your session?
List the instructional objectives of your session that related to interpretive concepts and principles, based on the curriculum in the Foundations of Interpretation (formerly known as Module 101):
How did you use different instructional methods/techniques
to convey interpretive concepts and principles?
How did you model interpretive concepts and principles
of the Interpretive Curriculum in your presentation
of the training material? (Include specifics on how
you taught by example and made your training session
interpretive, i.e. cohesive development of
a relevant idea and trainees making their own connections
to resource meanings, use of tangibles and intangibles,
etc.)
Describe comments, questions, body language, or
other observations of the trainee(s) during or after
your training session that indicate a progression
in their understanding of the concepts presented:
Based on session evaluation responses and other
feedback, what changes or adjustments to instructional
objectives, content coverage, or delivery methods
would you make before conducting this session again
in order to produce stronger understanding of the
interpretive concepts you covered?
Interpretive
Coaching
Coach one or more interpretive workers (i.e., seasonal
rangers, entry/developmental-level permanent interpreters,
VIP's, interns, SCA's, cooperating association and concession
employees, etc.), providing them opportunities for interpretive
development through ongoing coaching, feedback, modeling,
and use of examples. Provide the following information
about your interpretive coaching interactions.
Refer ONLY to interactions where interpretive principles
and concepts were the focus. Do not include names
or specific references to individuals.
Describe several ways that you have used concepts
and principles from the Interpretive Development
Program curriculum in your coaching interactions?
Briefly describe one example of an interpretive
coaching interaction that you think produced improved
interpretive effectiveness (i.e., cohesively developed
relevant idea, create opportunities for audience
to form their own intellectual and emotional connections
with meanings of the resource, use of tangibles/intangibles/universals,
central focus based on a universal concept, etc.)
What evidence (observed changes, visitor/interpreter
feedback, etc.) makes you think that?
Describe a situation in which you used "coaching-by-example"
to demonstrate/ model an interpretive concept or
principle:
General Essay:
Describe in essay form (not more than one page), how
you believe your training and coaching efforts will
enable interpreters to better help visitors make
their own intellectual and emotional connections
with the meanings and significance in the resource(s)
being interpreted (give specific examples):
Optional
Training/Coaching Log
Keep a log of a variety of training and coaching experiences
and situations. Record entries for positive and effective
encounters as well as encounters which did not go as
well as you would have liked. By recording and reflecting
on a variety of interactions, you can begin to identify
your strengths and weaknesses as an interpretive coach
and trainer.
Take the time at the end of the day or at regular intervals
through the work season, to record your log entries
while they are fresh in your mind. Be honest in your
self-assessments -- your log entries are not an employee
assessment record, but a self-assessment record of your
coaching and training skills. Refer to your log when
completing the certification questionnaire. However,
the log IS NOT a part of the submission requirements.
Keep your log in a secure place and maintain confidentiality
of its contents. It is essential that you not
record employee names in the log entries for this exercise,
in that this is not supervisory in nature. Anonymity
must be maintained. Seek feedback from, and discuss
your perceived needs and/or successes with your supervisor.
For each log entry record--
Date of coaching contact or training:
Type of interaction (informal, written, brief, lengthy,
training, coaching, feedback, etc):
Situation:
Important elements or events of your coaching discussion
or your training:
Describe the ways you used Module 101 or other Interpretive
Curriculum concepts in your coaching discussion or
training session:
Perceived effectiveness and why:
What I would say or do differently next time:
Follow-up needed?:
Self-assess how this coaching discussion or training
session might enable interpreters to better help visitors
make their own intellectual and emotional connections
with the meanings and significance in the resource(s)
being interpreted:
Training
Manager for Interpretation