One of the primary goals of the Order of the Arrow is to develop youth leadership through many different methods. One method used within the organization for quite some time has been training. At a conclave, training is an especially important part of the weekend, as it not only gives attendees the opportunity to be exposed to new skills not found in their home lodge, but it also gives up-and-coming leaders the opportunity to showcase their skills and communicate them in a meaningful way to others. The practice of doing training at conclave is especially valuable, as it provides a natural way for best practices to travel from lodge to lodge, making the OA stronger as a whole. In this kit, the aim is to provide resources to facilitate a successful training program at a conclave weekend.
Scheduling And Selecting Trainings
Scheduling Training
The first order of business for any training plan is to develop a schedule. There are many important questions to ask as your section develops a schedule for your conclave weekend:
- How many training sessions do we expect Arrowmen to attend?
- How many Arrowmen do we expect at an individual training session?
- How many training sessions should we offer?
- When will these training sessions be?
As your team works to answer this question, here are some common practices from sections across the nation:
- Most sections offer three one-hour blocks of training sessions in the morning hours of Saturday, and some offer an optional fourth block in the afternoon.
- Depending on a section’s attendance, sections may offer anywhere from 4-5 training sessions to more than a dozen per block. Unless a planned training session (like an adult roundtable or other type of large-group session) warrants it, a good rule of thumb is to expect 30-40 attendees at each training session. For example, a section hosting a conclave of 400 attendees should plan to offer roughly 10-12 sessions per block.
- Many sections mirror the typical NOAC schedule and offer training in the morning hours on Saturday.
These questions provide a good basis for developing a training schedule.
Choosing Training Topics
Once a schedule has been developed, it is time to fill that schedule with topics. When selecting topics, it is good to seek opinions from the Key 3 in each of the section’s lodges. Remember, conclave training should be designed to serve the members of all lodges across your section. If multiple lodges in the section struggle with the same topic, it is worth considering providing training on that topic. Here are some other tips for brainstorming training topics:
- Training topics do not have to pertain to the OA or Scouting! Many sections do hands-on training focusing on skills like changing a tire, painting a wall, or applying for college.
- Consult with your section adviser and other advisers within the section. They have been around for some time, and have perspectives on the challenges their youth face.
- Look for opportunities to provide guidance on program changes pertaining to the organization as a whole. For example, in 2025, the Boy Scouts of America rebranded to Scouting America. Providing a session focusing on implementing the rebrand at the lodge level would be a good way to provide lodges a start on integrating those program changes.
- The training website on the OA’s website provides syllabi from past national events and training programs geared at youth and adults alike. Using those topics as a starting point only saves you time later.
Preparing Training
Preparing a large amount of training can be a painstaking process, but ultimately has a large impact on how smooth the conclave weekend goes. This preparation involves selecting trainers, assigning a timeline to those trainers to prepare training content, and gathering information on how that trainer intends to present their content.
Selecting Trainers
When selecting trainers, it is vital that they have some level of expertise in the subject(s) you are proposing that they cover, and that they are reliably going to prepare well for the session.
The most common individuals selected as trainers are lodge and section leadership. However, not all trainers need to fall within that category. For example, a section could do a training on drywall repair, and in that case, an experienced carpenter could serve as the trainer for that topic. It is also of vital nature to not overwhelm a trainer with a large amount of sessions. Ideally, a trainer should not have to prepare more than two sessions for a conclave weekend.
Preparing Trainings
At most 60 days before the conclave, the section should get the commitment of all of the trainers for all of the training that is planned for the conclave. This gives the trainers plenty of time to prepare their content, and gives the section plenty of time to collaborate with trainers and ensure they have the supplies and locations for their sessions. Trainers prepare for sessions in many different ways, and this is often determined by the format of the session:
- A trainer planning a more lecture-heavy session may write a syllabus outlining their content, and then develop a Powerpoint presentation or other slideshow to present.
- A trainer planning a more discussion-based session may prepare the questions they want to discuss, along with some talking points.
- A trainer preparing a hands-on session may only refresh on the skills that they are preparing to teach.
Ultimately, just like everyone learns differently, everyone teaches differently. Being flexible with that preparation while ensuring that preparation is actually occurring is ideal. A good way to do this without being overbearing is to ask all trainers to submit their materials for the training (whether that be a slideshow, or an outline, or a few scribbled bullet points of skills that they will present) a month before the conclave. This gives you the opportunity to ensure that trainers are preparing effective content, the content follows the ideals of Scouting, and most importantly, you get the opportunity to provide feedback on the content. This is also a good point to answer two questions about the training:
- What supplies does the training need?
- Does the training require a specific location?
Training Locations And Supplies
Ideally at this point, trainers are in the process of preparing their training. Based on the training, there are going to be different needs:
- A trainer presenting off a slide deck will need a space at the conclave’s location to project their slides, so they will need electricity and a projector.
- A trainer holding a group discussion may want a flip chart or other similar item for note-taking and brainstorming.
- A trainer holding a hands-on activity may need very niche supplies for that training, and may need to hold the training outside, regardless of the weather. As such, they may need a carport or other item to shelter from the rain.
Based on these needs, trainers may need to be assigned to specific locations or provided specific supplies at the host camp. Once those needs are clear, the section should collaborate with the trainer and host lodge to ensure that those supplies are available for that trainer, and that the location of the training is satisfactory for their needs.
Training Resources
Training Schedule Template
A template for a basic training schedule that can be adapted for your use.
Training Needs List
A template for a basic training needs list that can be shared between the section and the host lodge.
Training Syllabus Template
A template for a basic training syllabus.