Workshops That Really Work: The ABC’s of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations

"Anyone who reads this book for personal reasons or adopts it for his or her school will soon discover the wealth of information it contains." —Dr. Carol A. Mullen, Editor, The Mentoring and Tutoring Journal "This book is thorough, informative, helpful, collegial, and supportive. A ′must-have′ and great guide for everyone involved in professional development, training, or consulting." —Genny DiTrani, Professional Development Consultant New Jersey Education Association Learn to share your expertise with the wider educational community! As staff development moves from the district office to the school building, more teachers and administrators are being asked to lead workshops. Yet most educators have little or no training in adult learning. In this practical guide, best-selling author and acclaimed presenter Hal Portner leads teachers through the step-by-step process of designing and presenting a successful workshop. Packed with proven strategies and ready-to-use worksheets, this insightful book provides information on learning style preferences, offers guidance to selecting and introducing activities appropriate to those styles, and touches on many of the unsettling issues a first-time presenter may face. Features of the book include: A workshop design planning form Tips for overcoming stage fright and dealing with difficult participants Ready-to-use workshop activities Sample evaluation forms Self-assessment worksheets for every stage in the process Teachers and other educators who are presenting a workshop for the first time will find this an essential resource, while staff developers, trainers, and other seasoned consultants will value this book as a refresher or as a source for new ideas.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Acknowledgments About the Author 1. Assessing Your Potential as a Presenter 2. Understanding Adult Learners 3. Designing the Presentation 4. Presenting the Workshop 5. Growing as a Presenter: Expanding Beyond Your Own School Resource A: Learning Style Inventory Resource B: Web of Connections Resource C: Standing Offer Resource D: Evaluation Letter Resource E: Three Self-Check Lists References Index

About the Author :
Hal Portner is a former K-12 teacher and administrator. He was assistant director of the Summer Math Program for High School Women and Their Teachers at Mount Holyoke College, and for 24 years he was a teacher and then administrator in two Connecticut public school districts. From 1985 to 1995, he was a member of the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Bureau of Certification and Professional Development, where, among other responsibilities, he served as coordinator of the Connecticut Institute for Teaching and Learning and worked closely with school districts to develop and carry out professional development and teacher evaluation plans and programs. Hal developed and teaches for Western New England University a 3 credit MEd in Curriculum and Instruction online core course in Mentoring, Coaching, and professional development. Portner writes, develops materials, trains mentors, facilitates the development of new teacher and peer-mentoring programs, and consults for school districts and other educational organizations and institutions. In addition to Mentoring New Teachers, he is the author of Training Mentors Is Not Enough: Everything Else Schools and Districts Need to Do (2001), Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés (2002), Workshops that Really Work: The ABCs of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations (2005), and editor of Teacher Mentoring and Induction: The State of the Art and Beyond (2005) – all published by Corwin Press. He holds an MEd from the University of Michigan and a 6th-year Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in education admin­istration from the University of Connecticut. For three years, he was with the University of Massachusetts EdD Educational Leadership Program.

Review :
"Anyone who reads this book for personal reasons or adopts it for his or her school will soon discover the wealth of information it contains. Novice presenters and those seeking to improve their presentational workshop style will encounter such important, community-centered notions as those involved in converting one′s ′mental frames′ into ′common frames′ that are inclusive of one′s participants and their ways of understanding. I highly recommend this book for any practitioner." "This book is thorough, informative, helpful, collegial, and supportive. It is to all trainers and presenters what they themselves strive to be to all their audiences. A ′must-have′ and great guide for everyone involved in professional development, training or consulting." "Throughout the book are a variety of exercises, tools, and tips for planning, designing, delivering, and evaluating workshops. This book can be a very useful resource for novice presenters and can even be of value to more experienced presenters." "Walks readers through the process of designing successful workshops, whether they are first-time presenters who need lots of support or seasoned educators who would benefit from some fresh ideas." "An excellent resource for both new and experienced presenters. Breaks presentations into manageable pieces, allowing the reader to thoroughly understand and reflect on what makes an effective workshop."