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Module I - A
Introduction-A Community Prevention Paradigm

Major Sections

I. Introduction II. Review Institute Goals
III. Review Agenda IV. Today's Schedule
V. Norms VI. Expectations
VII. Boundary Breaker Exercise VIII. Anytown Skit
IX. The Philosophy of Building Partnerships X. Closing
Day and Time Purpose
Learning Objectives Linkages with Following Sessions
Equipment, Materials, and Supplies Materials in Participant Manuals
Room Setup Predelivery Preparation
Trainer Resources  

Day and Time

Day 1, Monday, 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. (1.5 hours)

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Purpose

This session provides an opportunity to welcome participants, introduce participants and staff, and create the setting for the Institute. Norms and expectations are shared, and a positive, inclusive atmosphere is established for the Institute.

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Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Identify other participants, trainers, OCPT staff, OSAP staff, and other invited guests.

  2. Describe the purpose, norms, and context for the Institute.

  3. Describe the paradigm shift in prevention.
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Linkages with Following Sessions

This unit sets the tone for all sessions that follow.

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Equipment, Materials, and Supplies Needed

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Materials in Participant Manuals

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Room Setup

The room is to be set up with chairs arranged in theater style and no participant tables. There should be one or two tables with 6 chairs on a riser on one side of the front of the room. A screen with an overhead projector will be in the center of the front of the room. One easel with newsprint should be on each side in the front of the room.

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Predelivery Preparation

Trainers who have roles in the skit should rehearse either on Sunday evening or Monday morning prior to the beginning of the session. (Similar plans must later be made for all those who will participate in the closing skit on Day 5.) The training coordinator should set up and check all equipment. Five minutes before the session begins, music should be played in the large group room.

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Trainer Resources

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I. Introduction (Introductory Exercise, 5 min.)

Directions

A. The training coordinator introduces himself or herself and welcomes participants.

B. The training coordinator introduces the trainers who will lead the "That's Me" introductions activity.

C. The trainer introduces the exercise by telling participants that this is a way to see quickly who everyone is in the room. The trainer will call out groupings that describe people in the room. When a group is called, everyone who identifies with that group will jump up and yell, "That's me!" Let the group know that if someone is unable to jump up, he or she can signal identification with the group in another way.

D. Try a practice run by calling out "the training staff." See if anyone has any questions. Then go through the following list and add any categories that are relevant.

  1. Each team by name,

  2. Team facilitators by team,

  3. OSAP staff,

  4. NPN representatives,

  5. Logistics staff,

  6. Other OCPT staff,

  7. Parents,

  8. Educators,

  9. Youth,

  10. Law enforcement officials,

  11. Members of the religious/spiritual community, and

  12. Treatment staff.
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II. Review Institute Goals (T-1: Institute Goals, 2 min.)

Content Points

A. Team building. Enhance participants' ability to function effectively as a team.

B. Prevention planning. Learn about prevention planning and evaluation and develop a draft plan.

C. Partnership development. Build the capacity of the partnership to address organizational issues through the resources developed at the Institute.

D. Community development. Develop strategies to involve all segments of the community, including diverse cultural groups, in needs assessment, planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of partnership activities.

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III. Review Agenda (T-2: Daily Themes, 5 min.)

Content Points

A. Day 1: Establishing a common framework

Participants will:

  1. Develop a team vision.

  2. Learn about other teams.

  3. Hear about a systematic planning model and look at how it fits their partnership.

B. Day 2: Internal assessment of the partnership

Participants will:

  1. Review some of the prevention research literature and look at the team's philosophy about prevention.

  2. Attend workshops focused on skills needed for building and sustaining partnerships.

  3. Assess how their partnership is working and identify ways to improve.

C. Day 3: Valuing cultural diversity

Participants will explore ways of enhancing awareness of other cultures and how such awareness relates to prevention planning.

D. Day 4: External assessment: understanding the community

Participants will:

  1. Look at ways to mobilize their community.

  2. Attend workshops focused on skills needed for reaching out to the community.

  3. Participate in a simulation exercise.

  4. Work on a preliminary assessment of the community.

E. Reentry planning

Participants will:

  1. Work as a team to develop a reentry plan and share their plan with other teams.
  2. Meet in small groups with other team members to explore some of the major themes of developing the partnership.
  3. Finish with some closing activities.

F. Community meetings

Throughout the Institute, participants will meet as a large group for 15 minutes at the beginning and end of each day. This is called the "community meeting." It is a chance for the whole group to connect and for announcements.

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IV. Today's Schedule (Daily Schedule in Participant Notebooks, 3 min.)

Directions

A. Review the day's schedule and room assignments. Point out to each team their team facilitators.

B. Let participants know that they can follow their team facilitator to their team room when this session finishes.

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V. Norms (Review of Norms, 5 min.)

Directions

A. Ask participants to suggest norms for how the group will work together.

B. Use T-3 to T-13 to review norms missed by participants. Content Points
  1. Begin and end on time. (T-3: Norms-Time)

  2. Be present mentally and physically for all sessions. (T-4: Norms-Present)

  3. Demonstrate a willingness to go from the "I" to "we" and from the head to the feelings. (T-5: Norms-I-to-We)

  4. Smoke only in designated areas. (Point out where the areas are.) (T-6: Norms-No Smoking)

  5. One person talks at a time and doesn't get interrupted. (T-7: Norms-One at a Time)

  6. It's okay to say what you feel. (T-8: Norms-Okay)

  7. No one puts anyone else down. (T-9: Norms-No Put Downs)

  8. Ask for what you want . . . you might just get it! (T-10: Norms-Ask)

  9. When the hand goes up, please raise your hand and stop talking. (T-11: Norms-Quiet Please)

  10. You have the option to pass on any activity if you feel it is not appropriate within your personal value system. (T-12: Norms-Pass)

  11. If you absolutely must leave before the end of the Institute, please let your team members and team facilitator know. (T-13: Norms-Leaving)

  12. Have fun! T-14: (Norms-Have Fun)
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VI. Expectations (Discussion, 5 min.)

Directions

A. Ask participants to think about one or two expectations they have for the Institute. Ask participants to share expectations for about 5 minutes and write responses on newsprint. If participants' expectations are clearly outside of the scope of the Institute, let them know now and offer to refer them to another source of information if possible.

B. After the 5 minutes are up, let participants know that they can pass any other expectations on to one of the training staff.

C. Ask participants to think silently about the following 2 questions:

Questions
  1. How do you stand in the way of getting what you need/want at this training?

  2. What are you willing to do differently this week to meet your individual expectations and team needs?
Directions

D. Invite participants to keep these expectations in mind throughout the week. Opportunities to explore these issues will be available in community meetings, in team time, and with team facilitators and resource staff. (TSupp-1: Optional Boundary Breaker)

Trainer Note: An alternative activity is presented in TSupp-1.

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VII. Boundary Breaker Exercise (15 min.)

Directions

A. Introduce the trainers who will lead the boundary breaker exercise.

B. Ask participants to stand up and form triads with 2 people they do not know. (Other trainers circulate to make sure everyone is in a triad.)

C. After most people seem to be in triads, ask those not in a triad to raise their hands.

D. Other trainers can help form triads by connecting the people who are not in triads and by joining in with 2 other participants to form a triad.

E. State that the purpose of a boundary-breaker exercise is to make it easier to begin talking to new people and begin to break down some of the natural barriers that we all experience in new situations.

F. Brief participants on how the activity works:

  1. The trainer will provide a question or unfinished sentence to which each participant in each triad will respond. (Participants should make sure they know the name of everyone in their group before they begin the first question.)

  2. A person who would rather not respond has the option to pass.

  3. When it is time to move on, the trainer will say "Stop, please" 3 times. The first "Stop, please" is a warning that the activity will be moving on. The second "Stop, please," about 10 seconds later, is a signal not to begin any new sentences. The final "Stop, please" means it is time to hear the next question

    .
  4. If the triad finishes before the time is called, participants in the triad may continue visiting with each other-this is a great time for informal networking.
Trainer Note: There are 3 sets of 3 questions. The number of questions a group gets to depends on how long the rest of the introduction took. Groups should try to finish this activity by 9:10 a.m. Trainers have the option of changing order or using different questions.

Discussion Questions Set #1: (Have the tallest person begin the conversation.)

  1. I first became involved in prevention when . . .

  2. The best thing about my community is . . .

  3. The greatest challenge facing my community is . . .
Directions

G. Ask the triad members to say goodbye, and ask participants to form new triads, again with people they do not know. Use Set #2 questions for this round.

Discussion Questions Set #2: (Ask the shortest person to begin.)

  1. If I had one wish for the nation in the 1990's, it would be . . .

  2. By the year 2000, I . . .

  3. If I could give my community a gift, it would be . . .
Directions

H. Ask the triad members to say goodbye, and ask participants to form new triads, again with people they do not know. Use Set #3 questions for this round.

Discussion Questions Set #3: (Ask the person whose height is in the middle to begin.)

  1. A book, song, or movie that best describes my philosophy of life is . . .

  2. Something I would like to take home from this Institute is . . .

  3. Something I can contribute to the Institute is. . .
Directions

I. When you are ready to end the exercise, thank the participants for their involvement.

Transition

J. Ask participants to arrange their chairs so that they can see the area of the raised platform for the play, and then be seated.

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VIII. Anytown Skit (Skit with Group Discussion, 30 min.)

Directions

A. As soon as the participants and actors are in place, the narrator can begin. (TSupp-2: Script for Anytown Opening Skit)

B. The narrator introduces the actors by role and name, and introduces the first scene. The first scene will take 5 minutes.

C. After the first scene is completed, ask participants to think about the 2 questions listed below. Tell participants they have a chance to discuss the play after the last scene.

Discussion Questions
  1. How do you feel about this partnership's future?

  2. If you were able to step in and work with this partnership, what do you think needs to be done?
Directions

D. The narrator introduces the second scene.

E. When the players finish the scene, the narrator ask participants to consider these 2 questions:

Discussion Questions
  1. What do you think about this conflict, and what would you do if you were a member of this partnership?

  2. They lost a member of their partnership. . . . Does it matter?
Directions

F. The narrator introduces the final scene.

G. There are 2 options for processing this activity:

  1. The actors stay in role and respond to suggestions and questions that the participants have. Participants are also encouraged to make comments about the skit.

  2. The narrator leads a large group discussion, beginning with the questions asked after the first and second scene and covering some of the following questions (based on the unique needs of each Institute).
Discussion Questions
  1. What is your assessment of this partnership?

  2. How do you feel about this partnership's future?

  3. If you were able to step in and work with this partnership, what would you think needed to be done?

  4. Has anyone gone from "I" to "we"?

  5. What do you think about this conflict, and what would you do if you were a member of this partnership?

  6. They lost a member of their partnership. Does it matter?

  7. What could they do to bring the member back?

  8. Can they achieve anything worthwhile as a result of their activity?

  9. What are the individual members' responsibilities for their problems?

  10. Is anyone willing to bet on what activity this partnership will undertake? What makes you so sure? Is the mayor's representative a bad person?

  11. Is there anything wrong with a drug-free day?

  12. Was everyone in agreement on the need for this new activity? What happened to those with dissenting opinions?
Directions

H. At the end of the discussion, thank the actors and ask them to return their role signs. Tell the group that you are symbolically taking the roles away and returning the players their real lives.

I. Introduce the trainer for the next presentation.

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IX. The Philosophy of Building Partnerships (Lecture, 15 min.)

Directions

A. Let participants know that much of this section is based on research OSAP has done with communities that have developed successful partnerships.

B. Review the following philosophical assumptions and major themes:

Content Points
  1. Philosophical assumptions (T-15)


  2. Three major themes for developing partnerships and for this training are: (T-20: Major Themes)

Directions

C. Use the following points to introduce the concept of a "paradigm shift" (T-22 and T-23): (T-21: What is a Paradigm Shift?)

Content Points
  1. The concept of the paradigm shift is an old one, going back to the ancient Greeks. The term "paradigm shift" was developed in the 1960's by a scientist, Thomas Kuhn, to explain how major scientific discoveries occur.

  2. A paradigm is a set of beliefs about a particular subject. A paradigm shift is a major shift in thinking. (T-22: Major Shift)

  3. A paradigm shift is like looking through a kaleidoscope. We are looking at the same pieces from a new perspective.

  4. For example, people once believed that the world was flat and that you could fall off its edge. The new paradigm of a round world required a new set of beliefs (e.g., the belief that gravity holds objects on the earth). (T-23: The World)

D. The paradigm shift in prevention is the change from a model in which the professionals deliver services to communities . . . to a model in which the community is empowered to make assessments and decisions for itself. (T-24: Services-Community)

E. The shift from a service paradigm to a community empowerment paradigm means a change:

  1. From holding professionals solely responsible for programs to creating an atmosphere of mutual responsibility; (T-25: Responsible)

  2. From vesting power in agencies to sharing power with the community; (T-26: Power)

  3. From relying on professionals as the "experts" to seeing the community and professionals as having expertise; (T-27: Experts)

  4. From fragmented planning to coordinated planning; (T-28: Planning)

  5. From external leadership to shared, community-based leadership; (T-29: Leadership)

  6. From denying different cultures' needs and involvement to appreciating cultural differences and developing programs appropriate to each culture; (T-30: Culture)

  7. From excluding the community from the decision-making process to seeing everyone as a part of the decision-making process; (T-31: Decisions)

  8. From a situation in which staff and volunteers answers to the agency and the agency answers to their funders to a situation in which everyone answers to the community; and (T-32: Answer)

  9. From limited community involvement and influence to maximum community involvement. (T-33: Evaluation and T-34: Involvement)

F. The shift in the paradigm creates a chain of events: (T-35: Paradigm to Prevention)

  1. Initially, the members of the community feel a sense of ownership of their community.

  2. This leads the members of community to take responsibility for improving and developing the community.

  3. Prevention is accomplished as the community begins to decrease risk factors that encourage alcohol and other drug use and increase protective factors that inhibit use.

G. The paradigm shift means the professional will: (T-36: Implications for Providers)

Directions

H. After completing this presentation, ask participants to consider what the paradigm shift means for partnerships throughout the Institute. Observe that the concept of the paradigm shift can be difficult to understand, but many communities have found it helpful.

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X. Closing (5 min.)

Directions

A. Remind participants who their team facilitators are and that they know where the team rooms are located.

B. Review the team room assignments.

C. Let participants know that the logistics staff person will give them information on the expense reimbursement process and forms later in the Institute. Explain that they do not have to keep receipts for food.

D. Make other announcements as needed.

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