What's in it?

Each set contains a range of materials and activities to use before, during and after a session. Three documents give general information about the series and running development sessions: About Learning Sets, Planning Activities and a Users Guide for each title. To help produce good copies for distribution, some materials and other resources are also available on a CD.

Materials to use before the session:

1. A topic preview: printed on the folder of each set, this will help in deciding whether the topic is suitable. It will also help to identify learning intentions and success criteria for participants.
2. Pre-reading: this handout presents current thinking and research on the topic. Ideally, it should be photocopied and given out for prior reading. If time does not permit, it is short enough to be read at the start of a session.
3. A first step: this activity helps participants to gather some thoughts before the session by reflecting on their own experiences and practice and also their attitude to the topic either before or after reading the introductory text.

Materials to use during the session:

4. Posters: each set contains eight A3 posters to stimulate discussion around some of the key ideas and to help participants reflect on their current values and beliefs and how these affect their practice in the classroom. Suggestions about how to use them appear in Planning Activities and the users guide.
5. Ideas cards: each set contains 24 ideas cards offering practical advice and techniques to use in the classroom. During a session, they can stimulate grounded discussion around the key ideas. The cards can also be used in class as a follow-up. The printed cards are designed for use during group activities; the ideas they contain are also provided on the CD as an A4 handout master, which can be printed and copied for all participants.
6. Activity sheets: these describe activities to be built into a session. They can be used by the group leader to describe the activity and/or handed out to the group. Versions are also available on the CD.
7. Handouts: these provide further information to support activities.

Materials to use after the session:

8. Evaluations: there are two types: the first is a learning log to record reactions to the session; the second asks participants to evaluate their own involvement. Five minutes should be set aside at the end of a session to fill them in. They can be returned to the workshop leader or they can be taken away by participants, perhaps to be filed in their staff development record. The group leader should be clear about how they are to be used before participants are asked to complete them.
9. Next steps: this encourages participants to think about what they will do next to reinforce what they have learned from participating in the session.
10. Further reading: this contains references and suggested reading to help participants reflect further on the topic generally or find more help to tackle the practical issues they face in the classroom.