Preparing for the D73 Club Leadership Training workshop this week, I was reminded that for many of the members in our district, their steps into Pathways have been tentative. Our region 12 rolled out Pathways in December 2017 and as our clubs started up again after our summer holidays, we have had only 9 months to focus on Pathways.
Almost 48% adoption rate in June after just six months was a reasonable result across a Region. I suspect that in nine months District 73 would have reached over 50% adoption rate across our Divisions.
Clubs are tracking reasonably well in the completion of levels and the list of awards for various Paths and this will continue to increase as we integrate Pathways effectively. There appears to be pockets of leadership in those clubs where there has been specific focus on getting members involved and where they have a few ‘early adopters’ as champions to mentor them.
How are the clubs in your District progressing in their selected Paths?
As new and existing Toastmasters take up the challenge to select a Path and begin their journey into Levels 1 and 2, there are frequent requests for help. Recently I polled the membership for some ideas on what they wanted most to help them get started and gain momentum in their projects.
These are the top choices from our D73 Toastmasters:
- Where to go to find help
- How to plan speeches ahead of time
- How to see all projects in your Path
- How to complete a project level
Where to go to find help!
The first group needs to address are the New Members. You will need a New Member Pathways Kit! What should we include in this? Various ideas are being explored in our clubs and these three components are gaining in popularity:
- Club Brochure – including details of meeting venue and dates; meeting roles and an overview of educational Paths available.
- Navigator – copies of Pages 9 – 15 to provided a deeper description of the Toastmasters Pathways experience
- Application to join – a customized form, provides a new Toastmaster with the costs involved.
The second group needs to address are the Existing Members during the Transition phase. You will need a Pathways Program Success Pack! What would you include in this? In my opinion these are the basic tools for members who want to see the requirements of each level in one page. The following ‘guides’ are perfect for your self-directed learners:
- Pathways Mentor Program – Guide
- Mastering Fundamentals – Guide to Pathways Level 1
- Learning Your Style – Guide to Pathways Level 2
- Increasing Knowledge – Guide to Pathways Level 3
- Building Skills – Guide to Pathways Level 4
- Demonstrating Expertise – Guide to Pathways Level 5
Want all of this in one pack? Access a copy of this Companion Guide.
Therefore the answer to the question, ‘where to go find help’ is utilise the D73 Website and develop your own New Member Pathways Kit and the Pathways Program Success Pack.
Our latest method of providing help across our clubs in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, is the D73 Team Pathways. We are continuing to explore methods of providing help to individuals and clubs. You will find our help pages in the Online Education segment.
How to plan speeches ahead of time?
In the traditional program we were able to view all projects in our printed manuals and plan ahead for the speeches we wanted to deliver. In Pathways, once you have completed one Path, you have a fair idea of what is coming up in each level of your next Path. To help plan ahead use the full descriptions of projects displayed in the shared interactive documents accessible from many different District websites. For example try accessing details of each project in your Path from the D73 Pathways pages.
How to see all projects in your Path?
Here’s how to do that from your Transcript in Base Camp! Select the title of the Path instead of the Open Curriculum icon. You will then see all projects and note those you’ve completed! Here’s mine from one Path.
This is a great tool to keep you on track, and having it available in your Transcript means that you can plan ahead.
How to complete a project level!
This has proven to be the biggest obstacle for beginner users of Base Camp – there are some unfriendly aspects of the way the Learning Management System (LMS) operates for Pathways. Cornerstone-on-Demand (LMS) has some ‘painpoints’ that cause frustrations and prevent the novice user from moving forward with confidence.
Note: once the user understands the need to locate the popup window for the Online Class and complete the Assess Your Skills After, they can move ahead easily!
There are Video Tutorials available in the library at Base Camp to help with this process. However, many have asked for separate short video tutorials to be made available outside of Base Camp. This has lead to a plethora of ‘home grown’ video resources from many Districts.
You will find the best of these at the D7 Toastmasters Virtual Academy in YouTube. Here is one from that Playlist that will ‘help you get that red check mark on your level completions’!
Once you’ve viewed that video you may want to view this one of mine which focuses on “How to access your Level Completion Certificates:.
3 replies on “What do you need the most?”
Lots of great tips. Thanks for sharing Carole. I will admit I am struggling with the Pathways program so my goal this weekend is to sit down and tackle more speeches. I am going to set up a calendar for myself so that should help.
Cheers and have a great weekend.
Sukoshi Fahey – Digital Transformations/Everett Pacesetters – Washingt
Hello Sukoshi, I think that a calendar would help anyone who wants to plan ahead for their Projects in Pathways. Of course you can also use a spreadsheet.
Happy to help you set up to plan ahead Sukoshi – my advice is begin with your Path list of projects and then map it against your available times, club meeting dates and your ultimate goal for completion of each level.