COMMENTS BY PD/CE WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

My goal in all PD workshops is to provide attendees with relevant information and skills that can be put into practice immediately, using a format that engages different kinds of learners, makes learning interesting, and respects the professionalism and time of faculty, administration, and other staff. I generally provide multiple handouts including resource lists, so that attendees who are interested in further information can follow up on the aspects that they find most interesting and useful for themselves, thus increasing the value of the PD beyond the time spent in the workshop itself.

Listed below are typical comments that I receive on evaluation forms, in answer to questions such as "what part of the workshop did you find most/least valuable?" and "What would you change about this workshop?" I have organized these comments according to the type of workshop provided:

Comments from out-of-district workshops on diversity and bullying:

Comments from an in-district workshop on cyber and relational bullying:

Comments from an out-of-district workshop on cyberbullying:

Comments from an in-district workshop on sexual orientation and gender identity:

Comments from an in-service workshop on bullying for lunch & recess aides and bus drivers:

Comments from in-service workshops on bullying for faculty:

 

The most common "complaint" that I receive is that the workshop should have been longer, because participants would have liked to go more deeply into the topics covered, or because participants would have like more time for exercises such as role play. These comments generally occur when the time period allowed for the workshop is less than 90 minutes, which leaves insufficient time for a thorough application of new knowledge, especially in the case of workshops on the topic of bullying prevention. As a result, I have designed my fee structure to encourage schools/districts to schedule Spectrum Diversity workshops on days when longer time slots are possible, such as on professional or in-service days, so that the full workshop can be presented for maximum effectiveness. As an alternative, some districts have opted to schedule two to four one-hour workshops, each on a different aspect of bullying, during faculty meetings. Other possibilities are suggested on the consulting and workshop fees page of this site.