SWOVA has always prided itself on the training it provides facilitators interested in delivering the Respectful Relationships (R+R) curriculum. Respectful Relationships (R+R) is a National and Provincial award winning schools-based primary violence prevention program for youth, developed by SWOVA. R+R is an effective 4-year, 48-session curriculum that addresses bullying, sexism, racism, and homophobia, with a focus on the development of healthy, non-violent relationships among adolescent youth (male and female).
Typically, SWOVA has waited until it has a critical mass of interested individuals requiring training and they have come to Salt Spring Island for an intensive week. Face to face training lasts 5 full days for 8 hours/day. Along with travel and accommodation costs, it has been a labour intensive and expensive way to train people.
Now with the new Online R+R Facilitator’s Training participants can cover the material at his or her own pace (within a 6-week period of time), have individual coaching support and group calls, and practice facilitation skills within their own community. All from the comfort of one’s home computer.
Benefits of online training are numerous and clearly documented to be:
- Affordability – Once the online curriculum is developed, it is more affordable to administer. It permits participants to take the training when they can afford the time to do so. It allows the participant to determine when the training will fit into their life rather than having to fit their life around the training.
- Time – There is always a time and a way to make online training happen. Although SWOVA has added a personal contact component to the training, it is much more flexible and can begin when the time suits the learner. It is not as dependent on volume of participants in order to deliver the training.
- Convenience – Everyone has very busy professional and personal lives. To travel for training, uproots one from the rhythm of their daily life. This can be disruptive not only for the individual but for one’s family and work place colleagues. Through online training, you can build it into breaks during your work routine, or manage it solely at home in your off hours. You negotiate how it will work for you.
- Reliability – SWOVA developed this training. It includes re-enacted scenarios, online quizzes, links to noteworthy video clips, and reputable current research links. Because SWOVA owns this online curriculum they can update it regularly, as they do the R+R curriculum for youth. You can be sure that you are accessing a current curriculum that has been endorsed by SWOVA and adheres to the values and principles of the organization.
- Personal Contact – SWOVA firmly believes in the value of relationships. Consequently, it makes sense that SWOVA’s Online R+R Facilitator’s Training includes a human element. Not only do you have the online curriculum to follow and the actual R+R curriculum and related DVDs, you have personal contact weekly with a moderator during group calls, who also provides some one on one coaching throughout the 6-week training and one session post-training. Learning as a cohort provides support during the weekly calls and unites an ongoing community of practice post training.
Interested in learning more or taking the Online R+R Facilitator’s Training, call or email today at: 250-537-1336 or info[at]swova[dot]org
