Digital Resource Library for Site-Based Trainers

Collaborative Training Session Pages

Check out our program session pages that we use to help participants build their foundational knowledge. Before a collaborative training session, we use these pages for planning and preparation. After a session is over, we add recordings, downloadable resources, and other materials that help them remember what we did in training and to continue their learning.

Session 2: Saturday, February 15th

Session 3: Sunday, February 23rd

Session 6: Saturday, March 31st

Session 4: Saturday, March 1st

Session 5: Saturday, March 8th

Program Guides & Toolkits

Download digital versions of the program’s toolkits. Use the Site-Based Trainer Guide to coordinate training at your site using some of the tools and materials that help to define the volunteer docent role at your organization, and create multiple ways to train new volunteers. Refer to the three participant toolkits to help plan your workshops, site visits, and training activities. The blue Essential Skills of a Volunteer Docent toolkit focuses on the key strategies and concepts that help a docent to engage with visitors. The red American Revolution & New Jersey History toolkit shares essential knowledge about this year’s historical theme for the program - the late 18th Century and Revolutionary War era. The yellow Five Generals Houses toolkit offers information about each of the participating sites where new volunteers will be placed.

Site-Based Trainer Guide

Strategic Planning for Learning & Service

When volunteer docents-in-training feel competent and valued in their roles, they are more likely to stay committed and engaged with the historical house museum where they are placed. Use these templates and samples to plan the training schedule for your volunteer docents-in-training, to develop volunteer job descriptions that describe what docents-in-training will do between April and June, and to design training activities that help them feel prepared and successful.

Learning & Service Planning Calendar

Sample: Volunteer Job Descriptions

(download .docx version)

Templates: Training Planner & Reflection

(download .docx version)

Instructions for Trainers: Docent Training Deck Flaschards

Example: Training Planner & Reflection

Instructions for Volunteer Docents-in-Training: Flashcards

Template: Orientation Planner

(download .docx version)

Example: Orientation Planner

Docent Training Newsletters

Be sure to explore our archive of training newsletters! These issues are packed with fresh ideas and helpful tips to keep your training dynamic and effective. Reviewing past editions can offer new perspectives, reinforce key strategies, and ensure you stay informed and inspired.

February 2025 Issue