TRAINING THE TRAINER OVERVIEW

TELL, a Professional Development grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is administered in the Kennesaw State University's Department of Foreign Languages.
See "About TELL" on this website for an abstract of the grant.

TELL Training Program Overview
The strategies for ensuring equal access for minority groups will be those of the University System of Georgia. The project will welcome participation from all qualified persons regardless of gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age. The State of Georgia (Cobb county) and the University System of Georgia are in full accordance with Section 427 of GEPA. Program participation and project materials will be accessible to all.

The first Training the Trainer class will take place in fall semester 2003. All participants who successfully complete the 90 hour Training the Trainer course will be required to lead a Mentoring/Resource program at their home school. As stated previously, this program will be introduced through a four-hour workshop and will be on-going for a period of at least two years.

To introduce the Mentoring/Resource program, each trainer will offer two four-hour workshops at their home school, providing training for ten participants at each workshop for a total of 20. These two workshops must take place the semester following completion of the Training the Trainer course. For example, a participant finishing the course in December 2003 will offer two workshops at their home school during the spring semester. Details regarding recruitment, criteria for selection, specific materials to be included in the workshop, and time and place of the workshop will be determined collaboratively by the workshop leader, principal of the school, Kennesaw State personnel teaching the initial training course, and Cobb County Board of Education administrators in ESOL.

Materials to be included in the manuals developed for the Mentoring/Resource program and the workshops will be selected during the Training the Trainer course. Each participant of the training course will help select readings and prepare activities that best serve the needs of the mainstream teachers at their home school. Analyzing materials and selecting and preparing activities appropriate for the workshops offered at the home school will be on-going during the Training the Trainer course.

Activities of the trainer serving as a resource/mentor for their home school include providing additional specific guidance for mainstream teachers in need of help with their ELL students. For example, if a mainstream teacher has questions or problems not addressed in the workshop, or needs suggestions for more activities for ELL students, he/she may seek the help of the trainer. In turn, if the trainer needs additional help, he/she may seek additional help from the professors in charge of the Training the Trainer course. These professors will establish and maintain on-line communication with all trainers via a web-based program accessed through KSU and ESOL. This will facilitate on-going communication between KSU professors, trainers, and workshop participants, communication vital for the success of the project.

Additionally, the trainer will collect activities and strategies that mainstream teachers have used and evaluated as successful for enhancing the academic success of ELL students. Special attention will be given to those activities and strategies related to increasing the reading ability of ELL students. These materials will be given to and categorized by KSU personnel teaching the training course. Materials will be placed on an ESOL link that has already been established on the KSU Foreign Language and Center for Hispanic Studies website so that all Cobb teachers can access them easily. Dr. Evelyne Barker, Coordinator of ESOL for Cobb County will be in charge of informing all Cobb teachers of the ESOL link. KSU personnel have agreed to maintain this link as part of their on-going work on the web for both the Foreign Language Department and the Center for Hispanic Studies. This link will expand the benefits of the proposed program to all Cobb County teachers. This particular activity and this site will be continued and maintained long after the funded time of the grant is completed.

Throughout the three-year grant period, five Training the Trainer courses will be followed by Mentoring/Resource programs for 2,000 teachers. A total of 200 workshops will be conducted.

Below is a timeline for the training activities for the TELL Training Program:

Criteria for TELL Trainer applicants
(See also "application" on the Training menu on this website)

Specific criteria for selection of participants in the Training the Trainer course will be determined and recruitment efforts for the first training course will be conducted during the spring semester of 2003. Minimally, all students admitted to the Training the Trainer course must meet KSU requirements for graduate study. It is expected that those selected for the training course will have high level of proficiency in English, excellent academic qualifications, and a commitment to work with ELL students. In addition, it is expected that those selected for the training course will have a record of leadership in curriculum development and implementation as well as a commitment to work as a mentor/resource for at least two years to their home school. Such criteria are important in view of the requirement that the 100 trainers will each conduct Mentoring/Resource programs for colleagues at their home school for at least two years. Requiring high standards for selection of participants in the Training the Trainer course is important for assuring the high quality of the subsequent Mentoring/Resource program. Criteria for selection of the participants of the mentoring program will be determined collaboratively between Kennesaw State personnel offering the training course, Cobb County teachers enrolled in the training course, and Cobb County Board of Education administrators in ESOL.

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