About workshop

There are probably as many answers to this question as there are workshops and workshop presenters but, in general, a workshop is a single, short (although short may mean anything from 45 minutes to two full days) educational program designed to teach or introduce to participants practical skills, techniques, or ideas which they can then use in their work or their daily lives. Most workshops have several features in common:1. They’re generally small, usually from 6 to 15 participants, allowing everyone some personal attention and the chance to be heard.2. They’re often designed for people who are working together, or working in the same field.3. They’re conducted by people who have real experience in the subject under discussion.

A presentation doesn’t have to be limited to one person. Co-leaders or co-facilitators are not only common, but can greatly expand the possibilities of a given workshop, and can make everyone’s job easier. Each co-leader might be responsible for particular parts of the workshop, or all may work together throughout, depending upon the structure and purpose. In any case, finding one or more co-leaders or co-facilitators is always an option if you’re planning a workshop.•They’re often participatory,•They’re informal;•They’re time limited,•They’re self-contained. 

Even if you’ve never done it before, you can conduct a good workshop by paying attention to all the phases of the process. There are three phases to conducting a workshop: planning, preparation, and implementation (actually doing it). In addition, once you’re done, it’s important to follow up with participants to get feedback on the workshop, so you can improve it the next time. We’ll look at each of these phases separately.

Once you know what your topic will be, planning a workshop ultimately means figuring out what you want to do to guide participants through the experience, and what you hope they’ll learn from it. In order to do that, you have to consider a number of factors:

1. Consider your topic.

2. Consider your audience

3. Consider the workshop size.

4. Consider the time available.   •Vary the seriousness of the material.   •Plan a break.   •Even a long workshop isn’t as long as you think,

5. Consider the purpose of the workshop.

6. Consider your presentation.

This is not to say that there’s never a place for leadership in teaching, as long as it doesn’t dominate the workshop. If the presenter is a “star” in her field, participants may in fact want to hear what she has to say, more than to be facilitated.Include some sort of hands-on activity where people can be physically active.

• Include both group and individual activities.

• Activities should be entertaining, or at least involving. Avoid being a “talking head” as much as possible.

• Include various kinds of audio-visual material where appropriate videos, audiotapes, overheads, projected computer-screen images, etc.

• Include innovative ways of presenting material directly: a play, an interactive skit, a song, a cartoon, etc.

• Always include practice of a particular technique or method that’s being presented, even if only for a short time, to give participants the chance to see what it feels like.

The more creative you can get here, the better. Activities in which participants work with physical objects are often great learning tools. There are the obvious ones (workshops for elementary math teachers always include lots of “manipulatives,” things to demonstrate math concepts with, like ping pong balls or Cuisenaire rods ), but there are an infinite number of options. The author attended a terrific workshop on multiple intelligences that involved small groups designing and building villages out of legos and other blocks. Think as outrageously as you can.1. Things to take home.2. Reflection time.3. Time to talk to, socialize with, get to know, etc.

Now that your planning is done, you need to prepare for the workshop. Planning is about the delivery of the workshop itself; preparation is about logistics, making sure you have the actual stuff and time you need to make the workshop a success. That means both putting together whatever materials you’ll be using and getting whatever information is necessary for you to do the best job you can.