Beyond the Workshop
Beyond the Workshop
Several SEPS workshops have become annual events. Whether you intend to re-offer your workshop or offer it only once there is some essential follow-up that should be done to maximize the impact you have made.
Assessment/Evaluation
At the conclusion of the workshop a formal evaluation should be gathered from each participant. A sample evaluation follows. A carefully constructed set of questions can provide information about the impact of your program, identify highlights and areas for improvement, and identify new topics for future workshops. The time spent considering participants comments and incorporating them into future workshops will result in programs that are responsive to teachers’ needs and provide the information they need to present a current, well balanced science curriculum.
On-Going Support
Even veteran teachers with strong science backgrounds may experience a steep learning curve when first exposed to new topics and techniques. Participants need time to reflect on what they have learned, determine the best way to incorporate it into the existing curriculum and practice techniques and lessons before using them with students. It may be months before some of the information can be used. Providing support beyond the workshop is essential if teachers are expected to effectively use what they learn. All of our instructors are available by phone and e-mail for consultations throughout the school year. Some are available for brief classroom visits. We arrange equipment loans so that teachers can immediately use new techniques in their classes without having to wait to obtain funding to purchase classroom equipment. Our 2003 GIS/GPS workshop offered a free copy of the textbook Mapping Our World by the ESRI press. The text included a one year copy of Arc View, the GIS software that teachers used in the workshop. This allowed teachers to begin using GIS immediately but allowing them a full year free access to the software until a building site license could be purchased.
Sample Evaluation Form
GIS for Middle and High School Teachers
Workshop Evaluation
- What grade(s) and subjects do you teach?
- How many students do you teach each year?
- Are you presently using GIS/GPS technology with your students?
- Were the activities appropriate for the grade(s) you teach?
- Do you feel the material presented in this workshop will be useful in your classroom? Was the level and depth appropriate? Were the topics relevant to your curriculum?
- What information was most useful to you?
- What information was least useful?
- What would you like to know more about with respect to GIS?
- What would you like to know more about with respect to GPS?
- Additional Comments (you may use the back)