I just facilitated a workshop with 2 of my colleagues on 10/29. The subject matter was teaching reading effectively in the adult classroom. I do workshops often. Over time, I've learned to present my goals and objectives clearly from the outset of the workshop - including in what ever materials are mailed out promoting the workshop or training session.  Also, I see the training sessions as no different from my classroom. As a facilitator/teacher, I need to be flexible and I need to be able to adapt to the environment presented.  I come into it with my own expectations and goals but my "students" may well have other needs and goals. It's a lot like dealing with a multilevel classroom. I know at the recent training, all three of us, were constantly gaining feedback from the participants - letting them drive to some degree where we took the training. We also allowed for a chance for them to tell us where they needed/wanted more training and plan to plan for that in the coming months.  

Additionally, before training we try to "listen" to the people around us to get a feel for what they want and need. I or my colleagues may make adjustments into how something is presented based on that. We've tried a needs assessment before - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the ppl that fill out the needs assessment end up being the same people that do not attend the training. Varying the way the "needs" assessment is completed is effective though - being sure to call, write, email or observe etc, tends to provide much more usable information. 

Another thing to do when presenting is to be fully aware of who is attending. When we planned our recent workshop, we accounted for all the levels taught - ABE, AHS, GED And ESL.  I've also noticed that "beginning" teachers are just as eager for ANY information as is the "Experienced" teacher.  That as long as the beginning teacher has been trained and been in the classroom for any length of time prior to attending the training, they find information useful and necessary and appreciate it. I've not had anyone respond back on an evaluation that information presented was "not challenging" or "too challenging" for them to relate to.  

Regards
Katrina Hinson


>>> jataylor at utk.edu 11/03/05 2:56 PM >>>

Hello everyone,
Sometimes teachers leave professional development offerings feeling like the 
session or workshop was geared more for teachers new to the field. Teachers 
new to the field may find that the materials discussed are very challenging. 
(Can any teachers on this list attest to either of those points?) Session 
evaluations might reflect comments such as 'this was more appropriate for 
beginning teachers' or 'I feel like I've had this before, why can't the 
materials be covered in a way that affords experienced teachers new/more 
challenging information?'

How do you deal with the issue of offering professional development to groups 
of teachers in attendance who have a wide range of experience teaching adult 
literacy or ESOL? What strategies do you use to ensure that the teacher new to 
adult literacy or ESOL doesn't leave feeling overwhelmed or confused, while 
the experienced teacher leaves with new ideas, even feeling 're-charged'?

Thanks,

Jackie



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