Planning
Strengths and Needs Assessment
Group Snapshots
Another quick way to assess participants' knowledge or experience is to take a group snapshot by asking participants to respond to a series of questions through a show of hands.
You might ask:
- How many of you know someone who has had a baby die from SIDS (or born premature, with a low birth weight, miscarriage, stillbirth, etc.)?
- How many of you have experienced the death of someone close to you?
- How many of you know the current American Academy of Pediatrics sleep safety recommendations for infants?
This information can help the trainer structure or restructure activities to more closely draw on the participants’ experiences and knowledge and to meet their needs.
Throughout the Training
An experienced trainer is often able to read the body language of the participants to ascertain the appropriateness of the content, the pace of the training and the energy level of the group. It is important to do this throughout any training and adapt the training to accommodate participants if necessary. This technique is further discussed in 3: Training.
