Student centred learning at the heart of EUAM training skills course for trainers in Kharkiv

November 02, 2016

Eleven experienced trainers from the Ministry of the Interior’s Regional Training Centres from different Ukrainian cities completed a training course in Kharkiv last week delivered by the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM) in cooperation with the National University of Internal Affairs. The training course was the second of its kind in Kharkiv.

The course offered tips on how to put an adult student at the centre of the learning process. It focused on how to create a safe and stimulating learning environment based on practical examples and methods that encourage students to further develop their skills after the course. Modules included advice on effective communication as well as building a group dynamic that helps students learn from each other.

“During a training session, it’s important to remember that your students are not empty vessels,” said Peter Wilson, EUAM Adviser/Trainer on Community Policing. “Adult students come with their own experiences and a good trainer will know how to use that knowledge. It’s also important to help students find out where they can obtain further information. In that respect, the trainer is a guide who helps students achieve their own objectives, be those further understanding of a particular area or new skills. A trainer does this by setting tasks based in practical experiences and also by creating the right environment for learning.”

At the end of the course, the students were presented with their certificates by Valery Sokurenko, Rector of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Dmytro Shvets, First Provost of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, the EUAM Regional Coordinator in Kharkiv, Gerrit Jan van Gelder and Peter Wilson, who led the training. Afterwards, some of the students offered their feedback.

Artem Golubov:

Everything was explained in a clear and accessible way about how you can teach adults new skills. There was a lot of information about new methods and forms of teaching students, which I didn’t have time to become familiar with before. You become more confident in how to train.

Svitlana Kharchenko:

What I enjoyed most was that the course was very lively. The trainer made sure that everyone was involved and it really helped the learning experience.

Maxym Levytskiy:

What was best about the course was that it helped to develop and put into context skills and knowledge that we already had. It provided a good summary of current training methods.