Designing a beekeeping training course

Beekeeping training is frequently put in place as part of a beekeeping project. Consequently, it is important that the training is excellent. All training should include an assessment of what students have learned during the course. This element represents the key difference between simply offering information and proper teaching. A good teacher will take care to check whether the students have understood what they are being taught . Without assessment the trainer has no idea how much his students have understood and therefore cannot easily decide how to improve the training next time.

Many trainers will be training other trainers so in this circumstance it is doubly important that training has an assessment component. In this case trainers should assess the trainers' competence in both beekeeping and their ability to pass this knowledge on to the students. Training for trainers should also discuss how trainers in the field could assess what their students have learned. A good measure is whether people are better able to produce greater quantities of honey than before the training or that the quality of the honey is improved or that beeswax and wax products have been produced or that people are better able to sell the products they make.

Training designers should ask themselves the following key questions:

About the course

What training need has been identified?
What learning outcomes are planned and have they been written into a lesson plan?
Is there a range of teaching methods to maintain interest and encourage participation?
Have suitable and lively assessment methods been included in the programme?
Has the course been planned carefully and discussed with any other organisers ?
Is an evaluation and reflection session planned afterwards to identify areas for improvement?

About the participantsWho is the training for? Who are the target group?

Do participants have similar skills or will different groups need to be developed?
Will all participants be able to get individual involvement in exercises and practicals.

About the resources needed for the course

Are the training facilities sufficient for the level of course offered?
Are there enough occupied hives for practical demonstrations?
What resources are needed and are all the required resources available?
Are sufficient training materials available for the participants?
Are any new resources needed? Who will prepare them and has enough time been left for this?

Bees for Development offer sponsored resource boxes for training courses in developing countries.

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