Have you ever considered becoming a workshop facilitator? Would you like to facilitate a workshop at your school or on your campus? Are you interested in a hands-on workshop where you could hone your classroom facilitation skills? Then the announcement below is for you:

The POGIL Project is now accepting applications for the 2017 POGIL Facilitator Training Workshop

The POGIL Project is now accepting applications for a three-day POGIL professional development workshop with a focus on workshop facilitation. The workshop is designed for those who attended a regional workshop between 2013 and 2016 or those who have previous POGIL workshop experience and who are interested in becoming a more skilled facilitator.

The workshop will provide hands-on, practical training in student-centered learning techniques and effective POGIL workshop and classroom facilitation.  Participants will be prepared and encouraged to run a half-day inquiry-based learning workshop on their home campuses at the conclusion of this three-day experience.

Two attendees at the 2016 Facilitator Training Workshop share their thoughts on the workshop and how they used the training after the workshop.

Ruthanne Paradise, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, writes:

The facilitator training workshop was really valuable. The things that I found most useful at the facilitator training workshop were the fishbowl experience, the continuous feedback, and making connections with new people. In the fishbowl it valuable to receive feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of my instruction.  This gave me confidence that I was correctly implementing POGIL in the classroom. The feedback that we participated in was continual. Each person at the training workshop actually led a different section. It was really neat to see the variety of different approaches to using POGIL in the classroom. It was good/safe place to see what worked well and what didn’t work well. And as with all of the POGIL connected events I have met lots of neat people and reconnected with others.

Craig Teague, Cornell College, writes:

I found the Facilitator Training Workshop to be quite beneficial on several levels.  First, I took the next step for my professional development and involvement in the POGIL Project.  I was able to see and experience both the nuts and bolts of how to run a workshop as well as the philosophy and pedagogy behind the workshops themselves–they’re designed as a learning cycle!  Second, I took away concrete ideas for how to improve my facilitation in my own classroom.  For me, the biggest aspect of this was having students report out from their groups–I realized I had been doing it the same way when there are multiple ways to report out.  Finally, I got to interact with wonderful colleagues at the workshop.  People there were dedicated to student learning and it was a pleasure to both revisit old acquaintances and friendships as well as establish new ones.

Please read over the workshop details below. Send in your application today!

Workshop Details

Workshop Location:
The Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott and The SpringHill Suites by Marriott; two adjoining sister hotels in the Downtown/Alamo Plaza area of San Antonio, Texas. Overnight room accommodations have been reserved at The Fairfield Inn & Suites. The meeting room location has been reserved at SpringHill Suites.

Workshop Dates:
January 14-16, 2017. The workshop will begin on Saturday, January 14th at 8:30 a.m. and end at Noon on Monday, January 16th. Participants should plan to arrive on Friday, January 13th for overnight room check-in at The Fairfield Inn & Suites Hotel.

Workshop Fee:
The workshop fee is $775, and includes registration, materials, a private, non-smoking room for the nights of January 13, 14 & 15 (checking out on the 16th), 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches & drink breaks. A limited number of scholarships are available for those who do not have access to professional development funds. Space is limited to 20 attendees.

Dinners, transportation and parking are not included in the workshop fee.

How to Apply:
To apply for this workshop, applicants will need to complete the Facilitator Training Workshop Application that can be found by clicking here.  Please return this completed application via email to Ellen Harpel at [email protected] or fax it to (717) 358-4640 no later than November 1, 2016.  The POGIL Project will inform applicants of their status no later than November 11, 2016.

Additional Information:
For additional information and details on this workshop, please visit the POGIL website event page at:  https://pogil.org/events/2017 or contact Ellen Harpel at [email protected]