Documentation in Trainings

The reporting of a well-documented seminar is as easy as pie. Once you have all the learning aims, topics and methods noted down the reporting becomes a matter of incorporating your and participants' observations, feedback and recommendations into the existing document. Also, the more relevant details and insights that you have in the training documentation, the easier it becomes for you to share your experience with the new facilitators that might join your team.

Functions of Documentation

Documentation happens in numerous ways. However, we consider too often only written reports as a tool for documentation, or photos of flipcharts. In fact documentation is much more. It's a post in a messenger group, it can be a drawing, a photo, a video, or a blog. Before deciding for a certain medium and documentation strategy, please remeber: Form should follow function:

Illustrating the Atmosphere

the location
the people
the style of work or facilitation

Evaluating Goal achievement

overall goal achievement
learning goal achievement

Showing the Impact

intellectual outcome
change in behavior and attitude
gain of knowledge, skills and attitudes
echo of the activities in the public

Collecting Insights

new insights, conclusions
thoughts, questions
results

Meeting of formal requirements

grants were used like planned
the expected target groups were included
content took place like planned

Articles, Checklists and Methods

Checklist: Report

One aim of this cheklist is to help you to give an overview about a seminar for persons, that were not at the seminar, especially clients. As well it helps a team to structure their evaluation process and helps to save findings, outcomes or aspects that have to be kept in mind for the future.