Introduction

Purpose of the Guide

The AWAL Guide: Handbook for Facilitators is essentially “AWAL in a box.” The background information, suggestions, and resources collected here are intended to provide you with the tools and support you need to understand, plan for, deliver, and benefit from an AWAL Workshop for your organization.

AWAL (Applications of Working and Learning) is a valuable and effective program that can result in strong benefits for both faculty development and curriculum resource development. Through meeting with and learning from employers and employees, AWAL provides a means for educators to incorporate into their own teaching practice an emphasis on the skills that Canadian workplaces have identified as essential. However, AWAL is not intended to provide a complete examination of a job, and certainly not of the people who do those jobs.

Development of the Guide

In the winter of 2003, the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) agreement for the National AWAL Project was amended to add a new project objective: the development of an AWAL Guide to provide all the tools needed to facilitate an AWAL session.

In the summer of 2003, the AWAL staff, with the support of a number of AWAL facilitators and members of the AWAL Advisory Committee, began working on the document. Various drafts were reviewed throughout the fall and a first version was posted to the AWAL Web site in January 2004. This was followed by the current revision in 2006.

Overview of the Guide