Manual for Training of Extension Workers and Farmers on ... - DTIE

3. Topics
‣ Section 1: Adult Education Theory <strong>and</strong> Practice
1. The Adult Learning Process
Adult learning process differs from child learning, since it is influenced by
previous experience <strong>and</strong> - to be effective - needs to be supported by evidence <strong>of</strong>
practical results. Learning depends essentially on the trainee <strong>and</strong> the trainer can
only stimulate him <strong>and</strong> facilitate the discovery <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> facts <strong>and</strong>
situations. Discussion with trainers about in<strong>for</strong>mal teaching will help trainers to
better underst<strong>and</strong> the training process <strong>and</strong> the nature <strong>of</strong> the activities.
Exercise: Discuss with participants about the way adults learn. Identify important
conditions <strong>for</strong> adult learning. Ask participants to write their ideas be<strong>for</strong>e the
discussion. Ask to write the most important thing participants learnt in their
everyday life (not in school) <strong>and</strong> that affects their everyday life <strong>and</strong> ask to describe
under which circumstances they learnt it (why they learnt it, how, who / what
helped to learn).
2. Farmer Field Schools (FFS): A Group <strong>Extension</strong> Process Based on Adult Non-
Formal Education Methods
As previously discussed, this approach allows farmers to play an active role in the
learning process. This kind <strong>of</strong> learning assumes that trainees already possess
knowledge in the field <strong>and</strong> a rich experience, <strong>and</strong> also that they may have wrong
ideas about agricultural practices <strong>and</strong> the way to solve agricultural problems.
There<strong>for</strong>e the facilitator has to guide them through this process. Usually the groups
have around 25 participants.
3. Facilitation Skills
The goal is to have the participants actively involved in the discussions, through
the recognition <strong>of</strong> the importance <strong>of</strong> individiual participants <strong>and</strong> giving them a
chance to speak, ask questions <strong>and</strong> aswering to them in a way they feel satisfied.
All this is part <strong>of</strong> facilitation.
4. What is this?
A good teaching method is to ask questions to participants to stimulate their own
analysis <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing. There are many ways to answer the question “What is
this?”. Instead <strong>of</strong> saying the name <strong>of</strong> the organism, a better way to answer is to ask
another question, such as “Where did you find it?”, or “Where ther many?”, in
order to stimulate the learning process. After this exercise you should be able to
give several answers to the question “What is this?” <strong>and</strong> none <strong>of</strong> them should be
its name.
Exercise: Go to a field crop <strong>and</strong> stimulate participants to ask questions about that
specific ecosystem (e.g. pests, soil type, beneficial organisms, water, etc.), such as:
“What is this?” Write the answers to this question. The trainer should provide only
technical in<strong>for</strong>mation, answering something like : “It is a good question – where
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