Provider Onboarding
CORE developed The Cultural Orientation Provider Onboarding Toolkit to assist new Cultural Orientation providers and their supervisors prepare and navigate together the successful delivery of Cultural Orientation that is compliant, interactive and engaging, and adaptable to organizational needs. The toolkit expands on information and guidance provided in the Online Cultural Orientation Certification Course, and is designed for collaborative use by both new providers and supervisors, offering a combination of online lessons, suggested in-person activities, and resources.
Featured Resource
Cultural Orientation Certification Course Login
Featured Resource
Cultural Orientation Certification Course Login
The Online Cultural Orientation Certification Course is an interactive, self-paced course, designed for resettlement staff and volunteers that implement and deliver Cultural Orientation. Learners may take lessons at any time and in any order. Course are free and can be accessed at any time. Lessons are designed to establish foundational knowledge of the United States Refugee Admissions Program and help you improve your lesson delivery to adult learners. Each lesson takes approximately 20 to 40 minutes to complete. You can begin a lesson and return to it at a later time.
Onboarding Tips for New Cultural Orientation Providers
New to delivering Cultural Orientation? This toolkit is designed to prepare you with the knowledge and skills to deliver interactive and engaging Cultural Orientation.
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Pace yourself
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Develop skills
Ensure that your learning does not stop with the completion of lessons in CORE’s Online Cultural Orientation Certification Course. Develop skills discussed in these lessons through application and practice in the delivery of CO and, as applicable, other tasks at work. For example, identify new ways to incorporate student-centered learning concepts into your CO session and then implement those techniques. Part of skill development includes communicating and working collaboratively with your supervisor and other staff, as appropriate. Therefore, when you deliver a new technique, consider inviting others to observe or ask them to provide guidance based on their own experiences.
Patience
It is important to demonstrate patience not only with yourself, but also with your learners. For example, during CO delivery a lesson may not always work as planned. Perhaps certain activities have worked with one group of learners, but not the next. Remember, these things are a natural part of the learning process. Be observant and proactive in identifying actions for future improvement.
Flexibility
In addition to patience, flexibility is a critical quality for a CO provider. Have alternative plans so you can change them as necessary in the moment. Acknowledge that even the best planned CO session may not go as envisioned. The ability to shift during a CO session is something that may not come easily at first, but this will change over time as you gain experience and develop new skills.
Onboarding Tips for Supervisors
As a supervisor, it is important to understand the needs and skills of staff to provide effective, useful, and adaptive Cultural Orientation. These tips may help you onboard a new Cultural Orientation provider.
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Assess need
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Assess need
Consider the new CO providers’ existing knowledge and prior experience, and adapt their onboarding plan to meet those needs. For example, you may have new CO providers that have worked in refugee resettlement for years but do not have teaching backgrounds. Their needs will be different than a new CO provider that has never worked in refugee resettlement and has some experience in teaching.
Collaborate
Go beyond check-ins and identify opportunities to collaborate with the new CO providers. For example, cofacilitate a CO session with them, applying concepts from the online lessons. It is recommended to identify these activities in the onboarding plan to ensure accountability. Note that collaboration can also extend beyond CO delivery. For example, encourage CO providers to share relevant resources with colleagues through presentations or staff meetings.
Facilitate learning
The completion of the onboarding plan is just the beginning. You should identify ways to facilitate continuous learning and development for new CO providers as time permits. This can be done through your organization and/or by staying aware of new resources and learning opportunities available through CORE.
Teaching Cultural Orientation
These posters provide visual summaries of key concepts to be applied during the delivery of Cultural Orientation. The information aligns with lessons available in the Online Certification Course. Posters can be printed either as 24 x 36 inch format, or scaled to fit standard 8.5 x 11 inch or A4 printer paper.
