Submitted by Sue Michiels, California

Idea posted June 13, 2006

I have given many "Make and Take" workshops and also been a participant. Here are a few of my suggestions

Find a cute name for the workshop. I once did a workshop called "Garbage In...Garbage Out." It could have been called Ecology 101, but that would have been boring.

REGISTRATION

Make a registration form and have a due date on it to give you an idea of how many will attend.

LOCATION

Make sure you have an appropriate location for the workshop, especially if you need a sink. Make sure that men's and women's bathrooms are available and open. Ensure that you have permission to use that location and that you will have access to it (i.e., a key). You do not want to climb a fence or have the school police come in with guns drawn.

OUTLINE

Make an outline of what will be shown and produced in the workshop so it is clearly stated and there can be no misinterpretations. List what everyone will be expected to make by the end of the workshop (i.e., in order to get salary points here on an official LAUSD workshop, participants have to attend 16 hours of workshop and also do homework).

MATERIALS

If you are giving the class, make sure you delineate what each person is expected to bring with them in the way of supplies, such as white glue, scissors, construction paper, etc.

State what you will supply for them and how much the materials will cost, plus how and when it is to be paid (ahead of time with the registration is best so you know how much to bring).

Have a blank piece of paper on the wall and name it the "parking lot." Then, have Post-Its on each table so questions may be written on the Post-Its and then placed in the parking lot to be answered when you have question time.

SCHEDULE

On the day of the workshop, have a chart up of the day's schedule. Include what time you will be teaching/demonstrating and what time you anticipate participants will be working on projects. It is very important to have scheduled breaks and have snacks/juice/coffee available; whether you charge for it or ask for donations is up to you. If the workshop goes past lunch time, state that lunch is not provided and either tell them to bring a lunch or give them a choice from local eateries. Be sure to state what time lunch is and when the afternoon session starts. I usually list that I will have a demonstration beginning right after lunch in order to get them back on time.

FEEDBACK

Design a feedback sheet on a half a sheet of paper:

What did you like about the workshop?
What would you change about the workshop?
Was the presenter well prepared?
What would you like if another workshop were to be offered at a later date?
(These are helpful to keep in your own personal portfolio and useful if you apply for another job.)
If it is a two-Saturday workshop, I try to prearrange that some participants bring some of the goodies the first day and the rest bring goodies the last day.