Slow sand filtration water treatment plants
Practical Action
• Design of the training programme
The programme will be designed based on previous studies, defining the contents,
methodology, materials and the level of knowledge and skills to be acquired (see the example
of a training programme).
• Implementation of the training programme
If I hear: I forget,
If I see: I remember,
If I do: I understand.
(Old Chinese proverb)
Learning tends to be an imitation process, therefore it is necessary for the trainer to provide
proper examples to be followed. This process must be reinforced with practical work to make
sure that the operators understand properly, otherwise they should be corrected.
Participatory methods whereby operators communicate with each other and learn by doing
are always much more effective than simple lectures.
First of all, the trainer must provide a general vision of all the tasks and procedures required
for the operation of a water treatment plant. Then the information on each task must be
presented and assimilated as part of a logical sequence. The steps below should be followed
for each task:
1) Knowledge must be transmitted through talks, photographs, drawings, questions
and discussions (no more than 30 minutes).
2) Demonstration of a practical example.
3) Practical work. This step builds up the operators’ confidence in the tasks and
should continue until they demonstrate that they are capable of carrying out the
task properly.
Characteristics of the trainer: A trainer is a learning facilitator who gives participants the
opportunity to learn through experience, thus building up their confidence.
It must be remembered that people learn individually, therefore the trainer must:
o show a sincere interest in each individual
o provide encouragement and support
o involve everyone
o make sure that he is understood by everyone
• Evaluation of the training course
The evaluation consists of obtaining information on the learning progress, in terms of
feedback about the knowledge acquired, and the success of the practical work.
Evaluation provides useful information to the operators about progress made, and is a source
of information for subsequent training sessions.
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