Tools for Schools, April/May 1999, Vol. 2, No. 5
Making workshops work for you: Here's how to ensure those new ideas get put into practice
By Joan Richardson
Has this happened to you? You enthusiastically sign up to attend a conference session or workshop on a topic that interests you. You scribble page after page of notes with every intention of going home and incorporating these new and exciting ideas into your work.
Thinking ahead
It\'s helpful to focus on what you want to learn before attending any seminar/workshop or reading any book or viewing an educational videotape. This exercise should help you prepare for learning as well as help you evaluate the experience when it is concluded.
Structured response sheet
Copy this page and take it with you into each workshop, class, or seminar session you attend this summer. You can also adapt this and use it to guide your thinking about what you read during the summer or at other times of the year.
School visitation
Visiting a school is a useful way to learn how other principals and teachers have implemented ideas being considered in your own school. This tool will help you as you gather information during such school visits.
Round-robin interviewing
This activity could be used at the beginning of the school year to encourage teachers to share what they have learned during the summer.
