4 Managing and Sustaining a TLC
By Caroline Masara, TLC Administrator, Kisii National Polytechnic
Introduction
Once you have committed support for a TLC from your management, there are number of steps you can take to begin to develop and ultimately manage your TLC.
1. Secure and organize the TLC room
Having a designated spot on campus that is a central location for a TLC is the first step in creating a legitimate TLC presence on your campus. Although space is often scarce, TLC champions should lobby for a user-friendly space in a central location if possible. Initially, the space does not have to be that large (you can expand later) but you will need a space big enough for consultations and resources. The other TLC officers should also have their designated space at the TLC so that they can be available to support the center. Ensure that each person has a comfortable chair and table to use, and provide cabinets with locks to keep files and sensitive documents secure. It’s important to maintain a record of each activity conducted at the TLC for accountability purposes. Prioritize the privacy of trainers. If possible, consider partitioning the room to accommodate each person’s requirements, although an open room may also be suitable in some cases. The person in charge of running the center should have a counter with shelves to keep the TLC books, as it makes it easier to track which trainers have taken a book to read or used within the center. Decorate the TLC room with pamphlets containing information on different messages, services offered at the TLC, workshops, and their invitees, as well as the school service charter and other relevant pamphlets. Make sure to display daily schedules at an accessible point where trainers can easily read them. If roles have been assigned among the staff, clearly display each person’s responsibilities to make it easier for those seeking services to identify the right person for consultations. Including photos of the staff members can also be helpful.
2. Training program
A well-designed training program is crucial for the successful implementation of activities in a TLC. The program should clearly outline the activities, the time frame, the venue, and the timing of each activity to avoid conflicts with other departments. A training program is like a schedule, and can be done for an entire term.
A good program should also include the deliverables that will be achieved within a specified period of time. This ensures that everyone involved understands what is expected of them and helps to keep the program on track.
The person in charge of the TLC should prepare the program and share it with any champions who are supporting the TLC. The champions should then review the program and make any necessary changes before submitting it to management for approval. Once the program has been approved, it should be shared with the Heads of Departments, who can then plan for its implementation.
It’s also important for the person in charge of the TLC to have a daily work plan that outlines the schedule of activities. This ensures that the activities flow smoothly throughout the day and that trainers seeking TLC services, including consultations and other activities, know when to seek certain services.
A SAMPLE OF KNP managing daily activities
| 8:00 am-10:00 am | 1:1 consultations |
| 10:00 am-12:00 am | Development of Teaching and Learning resources and sharing with relevant trainers |
| 1:00 pm | Updating the trainers and relevant stakeholders on TLC progress, prepare and submit reports, requisitioning of required materials for use |
| 2:00 pm-3:00 pm | Work-time (designing and developing sessions; answering emails) |
| 4:00 pm | Workshops, online sessions |
| 5:00 pm | Collaborative planning session with TLC staff |
3. Communication
Effective communication is essential for the success of the TLC, both within the center and between its members. Good communication practices can lead to higher-quality results. Timely information and feedback can significantly improve the outcomes of the TLC’s activities. However, too many communication channels can lead to distorted information and feedback that is not aligned with the goals of the group.
To ensure effective communication, one designated person should be responsible for disseminating information on behalf of the group. Before reporting, the champion must gather information from other members, compile it, and ensure that it is harmonized.
Communication can be achieved through various channels, such as email, SMS, WhatsApp, or phone. However, all formal communication should be conducted through the designated formal channels. Having a designated website can also support communication goals.
Timely communication is crucial in ensuring that all members are updated on the latest developments and can respond accordingly. By implementing good communication practices, the TLC can achieve its goals and objectives effectively.
Communication within the champions
The person in charge of the TLC should update the champions of all the ongoing activities in the TLC. S/he should share the program and work plan of activities in the TLC. The champions should be updated on what the TLC is doing and intends to do with achievements and failures. Periodic meetings with champions should also be implemented to ensure that champions have an opportunity to connect with one another, share ideas and issues, and shape the direction of the centre based on their experiences. It is also important to TLC administrators to listen to champions and incorporate their feedback into the centre’s operations.
Communication with management and HoDs
It is important to find ways to maintain clear, open communication with HoDs. HoDs are in essence champions of TLCs, and a strategic ally in the successful running of any TLC. TLC managers will have to find ways to build key relationships with HODs in order to liaise with them and keep abreast of teaching and learning needs within various areas. Furthermore, HoDs can act as messengers and allies to promote TLC initiatives. Innovative and intentional partnerships between HoDs and TLCs can lead to program-specific supports that can target specific needs and gaps of particular areas.
4. Marketing the TLC
Here all academic HoDs are invited, trainers trainees and the management to attend an unveiling of sorts. This opportunity is a chance to, market the TLC to key institutional stakeholders, and to announce the presence of the TLC as a legitimate institutional centre, unpacking its mystery and hoping key stakeholder would carry the message forward.
The introduction of the centre and giving an overview of its history, and how it came to be is done. Then give an overview of CBET and its role in the project and give an overview of the programs that will take in the TLC. Outline and describe the deliverables that and the timeline for achieving those action items. Give an overview of the materials and resources available at the TLC if possible take them round to see them. Discussed what role the each would have in the TLC and ask for their support in a variety of ways. Finally facilitate a Q and A, from all participants wrapped up nicely.
VIDEO: The following video captures the responses from various TLC users about how the services of a TLC has impacted their practice.
Transcript of the Video
Since the establishment of the Teaching Learning Center, it has been very instrumental in providing resources that are key to imparting knowledge, skills, and activities to our trainees.I am Samuel, Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Kisii National Polytechnic.
Hello, my name is Eugene Otolo. I am the Head of the ICT Department here at Bondo Technical Training Institute.
Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Daniel Nyagwoka. I’m a trainer at Kisii National Polytechnic in our health department. Let me take this opportunity to appreciate Kisii National Polytechnic and our partner for establishing the Teaching Learning Center in our institution.
With the help of the TLC, our trainers have been able to improve lesson planning and engage trainees in the learning process.
So far, our department has had interactions with the Teaching and Learning Resource Center. The TLC has been supportive in mentoring our trainers to deliver training using online tools. It also has a repository that provides teaching and learning tools such as course curriculum, course syllabus, and other guides for our trainers to reference.
Since the establishment of the Teaching Learning Center, it has been instrumental in providing key resources for the knowledge, skills, and activities of our trainees. In addition, BOPPPS lesson planning has been crucial, especially in my department, as our trainees pursuing advanced programs require a broader understanding of both institutional and market happenings.
The TLC serves as a one-stop resource center where all trainers, both new and experienced, can seek assistance related to their teaching profession.
In the health sector, we are developing highly competent individuals. That’s why we use a variety of strategies starting from the classrooms to provide a comprehensive understanding and acquire skills and competencies that are crucial for nation-building. I sincerely appreciate our partners and Kisii National Polytechnic for taking a step forward in establishing the Teaching Learning Center.
Initially, we faced challenges with practicals’ planning, but through the TLC, our trainers are now able to effectively plan practical sessions. This has made previously difficult areas easier for the trainees to understand, as they can now visualize and engage fully in the learning process. Therefore, I recommend further improvements to the TLC and encourage new trainers to join us.
As a recommendation, the TLC should expand its repository to include as many tools as possible.
Additionally, I call upon all teaching institutions to establish a teaching learning center because it serves as a one-stop shop. It’s a model where trainees can access a range of services crucial for training. I fully support institutions that are planning to establish learning centers and encourage others to follow suit as it is the way to go.
5. Website Development Content (Co-Determined by the team )
Involve the ICT experts to design a website for you, if you’re your institution have one to create a space for you. TLC champions can choose to create a website committee to collect the following materials and connect with the institution’s website coordinator to develop a page on the greater institutional page.
- Pictures of the TLC space (present and future)
- Pictures of TLC activities to date
- Pictures of trainers
- A list of resources and pictures of the texts
- Text: brief history
- Text: brief overview of the TLC and what it does
- Text: list of the people who work at the TLC
- Schedule of any workshops/events upcoming
- Location
- Contact information (email, phone, address)
The committee you choose will determine the nature of the content that will appear on the website and what information or resource they need to collect in order to design the website.
6. Interacting with management and other departments in the institution
This is done through involvement of the management in the TLC activities. Share the reports and work plan activities with the management. The management plays a key role in supporting the TLC in terms of sourcing resources, and sustaining the smooth operations of the TLC.
The management will
- Set aside rooms for the TLC that will accommodate/ facilitate provision of services for its trainers. It will meet the requirements of the law and policies and guiding the setting up of such facility ( space, health and safety measures)
- Avail required resources for the appointed manpower to run the Centre in consolidation with Canadian Partners.
- The CBET champions who will run the centre will draw a program of activities in consolidation with stakeholders especially HODs and then implement it within the required period.
- Carry out internal and external Monitoring and Evaluation.
7. Network with Canadian Partners and other institutions
- KNP networks with other educational institutions in the region more so TVET institutions( TTIs, VTCs, etc.) besides secondary and primary schools. All this institutions may find a TLC very very useful through its spill over benefits.
- KNP also works with Canadian partners in YAWK Phase I and II programs to develop and implement the teaching and learning materials. This includes the lesson plans, trainee study guides and assessment tools.
Through networking the CANADIAN partners carried out the following to entrench a functional TLC:
8. Procurement of materials TLCs use
If you are funded by donors, prepare a wishlist of TLC equipment required and review it. A committee to be struck to source the items and to find the quotes for each item. This list will be submitted to donor for their review on specified dates.
Example of KNP wishlist
- moveable tables (7-10)
- chairs (20-30; recommend sourcing from from KNP)
- bookshelf (recommend sourcing from KNP)
- lockable cabinet (recommend sourcing from KNP)
- 2 laptops
- 3 desktops
- 2 moveable whiteboards
- printer/scanner/copier
- a projector and screen
in round one procurement, we were supplied with
- 2 laptops
- 15 desktops
- 2 moveable whiteboards
- 3 projectors
9. Scholarship of teaching and learning
You need to look at the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and how to support research into teaching. The KNP team had interest in this topic from the group after Dr. Kathleen Borotlin posted a call for articles from a Canadian teaching and learning journal looking for submissions from geographical regions not well-represented in the literature. We watched a short video on SoTL from Elon University, and then discussed what research into teaching was and why (or why not) it should be part of KNP’s TLC. The consensus from the group was that KNP’s TLC should participate on a small scale in some research into practice to contribute to the shifting landscape of tertiary education in the region, and the country. We discussed what a good, small-scale research question should look like and practiced creating them. We also created a small committee to put together a draft of an essay about KNP’s journey of creating a TLC.
10. Workshopping
The TLC team engages trainers in a participatory workshop that frames learning as discovery, and encouraged trainers to think about how they can create opportunities for students to “discover” knowledge from the bottom-up, as opposed to the top down. They get more ideas of an “engaging” teaching strategy means. Trainers are asked to apply new concepts and ideas to their own lessons, and then reflect back on how these strategies play out in practice.
Design and deliver workshops
Here you apply best practices in workshop design whereby you work with small groups. The following stories capture some of the workshop experiences KNP has had and can hopefully can support other institutions starting out.mples of workshops done in Kisii
a) An induction workshop for new trainers
In Kisii NP we designed an induction workshop for new trainers, a workshop that had been identified as one that the team would like to implement in the first 3-6 months. We started with the principles of backward design, identifying what the team wanted to achieve in the workshop, and practiced writing effective learning outcomes. We then worked backward to design a structure of the workshop that would align with aforementioned learning outcomes. The team worked in small groups to each design an outline for the workshop. They workshopped their ideas, and collectively we came to a consensus about the best design. Caroline developed case studies and implemented the same.
Again, we turned our attention back to pedagogy and the team engaged in a workshop on assessment and evaluation. We focused on formative assessment: why it’s important and strategies to do formative assessment well. From there we laddered into work on summative assessment, paying particular attention to designing rubrics. The team was highly engaged but struggled a little with the nuts and bolts of rubric design. Specifically, the team struggled with getting specific when articulating criteria for assessment. After the session, Kathleen shared via email a package of resources on rubric design, including a number of templates that trainers could use. The TLC team could benefit from more training and practice in effective teaching strategies before they will be confident and credible to offer training to others in these areas.
b) KEFEP Workshop
This training session was co-facilitated by Dr. Kathleen Bortolin and Mr. Jessie Chalmers, who had arrived the day before. Jessie was looking to build out some of the teaching strategies for the CDACC curriculum he has been working on for the KEFEP program, and Kathleen was looking for an authentic opportunity to have participants apply their skills to an extremely relevant TLC activity. Workshopping one “project” from the CDACC curriculum, participants worked in groups of three to decide how to allot roughly 19 hours of teaching time to prepare students for the project. We advised the groups to create a logical sequence of learning activities and describe briefly what the activities would entail and how they represented a CBET methodology. Groups worked diligently and extensively on this task and then presented their ideas to the group.
After each presentation, Jessie and Kathleen highlighted what groups had done well, and where they would need to continue to improve. All groups were able to create a logical sequence of learning activities. All groups made a concerted effort to work engaged, student-centered teaching strategies into their teaching plan. All groups were able to articulate at least one engaging, student-centered approach to teaching in their lesson plans. However, all groups demonstrated that they could use a little more training in and understanding of what interactive, participatory teaching is. Jessie and Kathleen agreed that next time, they would have to provide a solid model to participants so that they could understand more fully what a student-centered, bottom approach to this work could look like. Overall, I think this activity was valuable. It was a challenge for the participants and identified for the trainer’s areas that will still need to be developed in TLC staff.
We also engaged in a short pedagogy workshop on meaningfully incorporating group work into classes. Some of the trainers struggle with large class sizes, so this work was valued. As was the case with the other pedagogy sessions, I think the team could continue to benefit from more pedagogy training and opportunities to apply the concepts in their classes, reflect on them, and craft mini-training sessions related to these ideas.
Caroline was to design and deliver more workshops and this is what has been done.
c) Learning series workshop
Kathleen proposed to the Kisii team to design a learning series workshop for the trainers. Caroline, John and Geoffrey were to deliver the workshop. John and Geoffrey were not able to participate due to their tight schedule they had of attending classes, however Caroline did it on behalf of the group. The workshop took five consecutive days whereby Caroline developed a program shared with management and sourced all the required resources for use during the training. She requested the HoDs to give some members from their departments to participate in the same. Few members were selected because large groups are not easy to reach to each individual member.
The learning series covered the following content:
Overview of the BOPPPS concept
- Learning outcomes for trainers (trainers who attended the session)
- Overview of the BOPPPS
- Overview of backward design
- Discussion Q and A
Lesson plan development
- Trainers choose a lesson to work on
- Overview of CBET and student focused teaching and learning
- Workshopping and aspect of the BOPPPS framework
Participatory learning strategies (engaging students and using CBET)
- Overview of CBET with a focus on student-centered and engaging practices
- Example of CBET teaching activities; predicting, problem-solving, case studies, etc.
Formative assessment: giving and receiving feedback
- Overview of formative assessment
- Why formative assessment is valuable
- Examples of formative assessment strategies
Q and A
How to design and deliver a workshop
11. Strategic planning and capacity-building of TLC staff
The following is a sample of KNP Key Deliverables in 2020. Other TLCs may find these applicable to them starting out.
In the first three months, the TLC will:
| Deliverable | Timeline | Point Person |
| Organize and decorate the space that will be temporarily used by the TLC, including organizing resources and acquiring any further equipment and tools | Ongoing until the launch | Caroline with support from Evans and John |
| Provide Darrell Harvey (VIU) with a list of three quotes per item on adjusted wishlist | By March 9th | Evans, Caroline, John |
| Launch the TLC at an event at KNP to raise awareness of the TLC | Late March Launch, Planning the launch from March 15-March 31 | Caroline with support from all TLC team |
| Design and deliver 1-2 CBET workshops for trainers | Post-launch (April and May) | Caroline and Geoffrey with support from TLC Team |
| Design and deliver an induction workshop for new trainers | Early to mid-April | Caroline with support from TLC team |
| Design and deliver a workshop on trade projects and business plans | Mid to late April | John with support from TLC team |
| Design and deliver 1-2 CBET training workshops for other key KEFEP mentee institutions | Late April/May | Evans, John and Caroline with support from the team |
| Carry out one-on-one consultations on a small-scale basis | Post launch | Caroline and all champions |
| Track requests from 1:1 consultations and create a spreadsheet to determine highest demand areas | Ongoing until the end of May | Caroline and John |
| Create a larger team of departmental CBET representatives from all 11 academic departments to be ambassadors of CBET and the TLC | Begin at HoD meeting (Feb 22). Representatives chosen by March 20th. | Caroline, Geoffrey, John and Evans |
| Hold meetings with 11 ambassadors chosen by HoDs | 1st meeting March 20, Subsequent meetings monthly | Caroline with support from TLC team |
| Liaise with HoDs to garner support for trainers to be released for training | Ongoing | Evans, Geoffrey, Caroline |
| Undertake a needs analysis with HoDs and others to identify gaps and needs, using this data to inform plans moving forward | Begin March 1, Complete by launch | Caroline, John, Geoffrey, Evans |
| Using the team’s ideas from February training, collect and/or create content for website. Liaise with KNP’s website team to get website built | By March 10 | Geoffrey, Caroline, John |
| Create the pamphlet that the team designed | By March 15 | Kathleen |
| Write draft article for Teaching Learning Inquiry (ISSOTL journal) on the TLC’s journey to this place. Send to Kathleen for editing and feedback | By March 15 | Ben, Geoffrey, John and Caroline |
| Hold a review with the entire team to reflect on the success of achieving these variables and report back to Kathleen | By May 25th | The entire TLC Team |
In the first 6 months, the TLC will:
| Deliverable | Timeline | Point Person |
| Deliver 2 CBET workshops/month, reflecting as a team once a month on how the workshops are going and how they might be improved upon | All TLC Team | |
| Design and deliver 3-4 new workshops/seminars/offering/initiatives based on needs analysis from HoDs | Caroline and Geoffrey with support from the team | |
| Design and launch a book club to introduce the key resources from the TLC to KNP staff and reflect as a team | Launch in July-August (repeat if it’s a success) | Caroline and John |
| Continue holding 1:1 consultations and collecting data on top issues | ongoing | Caroline to coordinate CBET Champions schedules; Caroline to coordinate collecting data on main themes |
| Collaborate with other comparable institutions through training trips (benchmarking) | John, Evans, Caroline with support from the team | |
| Investigate educational technologies, creating capacity and expertise within the centre. Determine reasonable and achievable ways that educational technology could be incorporated into TLC training | Ongoing until September, 2020 | Benjamin, Geoffrey and John and Caroline |
| Host a conference at KNP on teaching and learning | Fall, 2020 | Evans, John and Caroline with support from the team |
| Publish one article related to teaching and learning practice | Fall, 2020 | John, Ben, Caroline and Geoffrey with support from Kathleen |
| Relocate to new space (TLC Office) | June? | Caroline with support from everyone |
| Hold a review with the entire team to reflect on the success of achieving these variables and report back to Kathleen | By December 31, 2020 | The entire TLC Team |
At one year, the TLC will:
| Deliverable | Timeline | Point Person |
| Hold a retreat with the entire team to reflect on the year identifying key successes, key challenges and next directions | January, 2021 | All TLC Team (and maybe Kathleen?) |
| Create your next year’s strategic plan with key deliverables identified, timeline and key point people | January, 2021 | Evans, John and the entire team |
Kisii National Polytechnic
Heads of Departments
Competency Based Education and Training
information and communications technology
teaching and learning centre
Technical, Vocational, Education and Training
Youth Advocacy and Work in Kenya
Kenya Education for Employment Program
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Kisii National Polytechnic
Vancouver Island University