Finding a Good Workshop
By Peter Barnes

What is your worst memory from a teacher workshop? Mine is from my first year of teaching. I sat between two veteran teachers as we listened to a nationally recognized speaker discuss brain-wave research. The woman on my left read the latest issue of Vanity Fair. The woman on my right counted days on her school calendar. I was appalled that they were so disengaged at the very beginning of the school year. After 20 minutes of listening to an endless stream of academic jargon and complex statistics I understood their lack of interest. I've sat through many hours of in-service since that day, but I still haven't figured out why professional development can't be more satisfying and useful.

Two major categories
I divide bad workshops into two major categories. The first are what I call All-Bran® workshops because of their dense content and painfully dry presentations. These workshops are often led by experts in the field who have little K-12 teaching experience. They tantalize you with intriguing questions like, "How can we provide a classroom environment that stimulates all types of intelligences at the same time?" but then fail to answer their own questions. Worse still, they tell you all the things you're doing wrong in your classroom but don't give you any realistic alternatives.

The second type are Cotton Candy workshops. These are taught by comedians and storytellers who entertain you with anecdotes and comic strips. Cotton Candy workshops, although sometimes fun, rarely provide meaningful content or strategies that will improve your teaching. I've found they often focus on catch phrases like, "Together Everyone Achieves More," but rarely get past superficial reasons why these phrases are important.

Delicious…and nutritious?
Occasionally I find a Delicious and Nutritious workshop that's entertaining and useful at the same time. These workshops are usually taught by former classroom teachers who have read the research and figured out ways to apply it to real classrooms. These presenters use catch phrases and gimmicks to keep their audiences interested, but also give concrete examples and real scenarios.

When you have choices about your professional development, don't just pick a workshop with a catchy name. Be sure to talk to your colleagues about workshops they have found genuinely worthwhile. Consider asking talented teachers in your own building to prepare workshops for your staff. Our time is much too valuable to be wasted by bad professional development.

Peter Barnes teaches fifth grade in New Albany, OH.