Diana Pancioli on tue 21 aug 01
One way we might turn this difficult debate to the positive is to ask
ourselves WHAT MAKES A WORKSHOP GOOD?. Rather than attributing a good
workshop to a particular person, why not examine the qualities that make a
good workshop. We could all learn something. Not to suggest that everyone
presenter runs gives a workshop in exactly the same way, but there must be
some "general principles" we can discover together.
I have, for example, for a long time thought that NCECA lectures would be
better if the presenters were given a list of things to consider such as:
"practice your lecture to make sure it conforms to the time allowed".
Diana
Earl Brunner on tue 21 aug 01
Oh yeah!!!
I realize that being a good or even great potter doesn't necessarily
mean you are a good speaker, but some of those guys could definitely use
some practice. When you are giving a presentation to that many people
who have traveled great distances and spend a lot of money to hear you,
they deserve to AT LEAST see you look up from your written speech once
in awhile.
Diana Pancioli wrote:
>
> I have, for example, for a long time thought that NCECA lectures would be
> better if the presenters were given a list of things to consider such as:
> "practice your lecture to make sure it conforms to the time allowed".
>
> Diana
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec/
bruec@anv.net
Wesley Rolley on tue 21 aug 01
Diana,
This is a good idea. I would like to add one more concept. It appears =
that many people have differing expectations as to what a workshop shoul=
d=20
be, and therefore in a given workshop there might be some who are please=
d=20
and others who are disappointed. If one wants to manage expectations an=
d=20
have an objective measure of a workshop's effectiveness, then a simple=20=
statement such as the following might help:
Upon completion of this workshop, the (attendee, student...) should be=20=
able to: design a ..., build a..., fire a..., etc.=20
For an attendee, this would allow them to understand what the workshop i=
s=20
about ahead of time and to evaluate the effectiveness after. For the=20=
presenter, it should give focus to what they are trying to accomplish. =
For the sponsor, it also allows a measurement of the effectiveness of th=
e=20
workshop setup, presenter, etc. Everyone wins.=20
Wes=20
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
On 8/21/01, 8:27:56 AM, Diana Pancioli wrote=20=
regarding Workshops Need Advice:
> One way we might turn this difficult debate to the positive is to ask=
> ourselves WHAT MAKES A WORKSHOP GOOD?. Rather than attributing a good=
> workshop to a particular person, why not examine the qualities that ma=
ke=20
a
> good workshop. We could all learn something. Not to suggest that every=
one
> presenter runs gives a workshop in exactly the same way, but there mus=
t=20
be
> some "general principles" we can discover together.
> I have, for example, for a long time thought that NCECA lectures would=
be
> better if the presenters were given a list of things to consider such =
as:
> "practice your lecture to make sure it conforms to the time allowed".=
> Diana
>=20
________________________________________________________________________=
__
____
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription=
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at=20
melpots@pclink.com.
Alecia Miller on tue 21 aug 01
There have been a lot of posts on both sides of the fence regarding feedback
on workshops. I have been working in Corporate America (just left to return
to school) in developing training for new systems. Part of this process is
the evaluation of every training program by the participants. Most of these
evaluations ask basic information about the participants ( familiarity with
the subject, skill level, etc) and then their feedback on course structure,
content, delivery, facilities, materials, and instructor. These questions
are on a 5 point scale with additional space for comments. The most
important part of these evals is that they go to both the designer of the
course as well as the instructor - in ceramics workshops this would most
likely be the same person.
With some help from all of you on what type of questions should be asked, I
would gladly create a generic form that could be used by those of you
presenting workshops. For those of you attending, it could be presented to
the instructor as an option - a way for them to get feedback - but I don't
feel should be done with out their knowledge.
This is also something that could be posted here that would give feedback
from all of the participants average responses. If there is interest, I can
take on the responsibility for tallying the feedback forms and posting the
results.
Please let me know if there is any interest in this either here or offline.
Alecia
miller@mushr00m.com (the 00's are zeros!)
Earl Brunner on tue 21 aug 01
SWBAT
Students will be able to:
This is a primary component of lesson plans in our school district.
Wesley Rolley wrote:
> Diana,
a simple
> statement such as the following might help:
>
> Upon completion of this workshop, the (attendee, student...) should be
> able to: design a ..., build a..., fire a..., etc.
>
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec/
bruec@anv.net
Lorraine Pierce on tue 21 aug 01
I have recently heard that a workshop is planned in a few months at St.
Petersburg Clay Co. in Florida...a week long, hands on experience with
Malcolm Davis, featuring the nuts and bolts of his functional pottery
techniques. I understand attendance will be limited to fifteen or so
participants. I have seen a couple of photos of his work in CM, and would
like to hear from those who have been in his workshops; I know nothing about
this potter, his teaching experience, presentation etc. Post me on list or
off. the OTHER Lori, Lori Pierce in New Port Richey, Fl.
Jim Cullen on tue 21 aug 01
Whatever list you all come up with...
I vote for Steven Hill at Red Star Studios meeting and exceeding every one
of the items on the list.
Enough said.
KEEP CENTERED
Cullen
Naperville, Illinois
----- Original Message -----
From: Diana Pancioli
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 10:27 AM
Subject: Workshops Need Advice
> One way we might turn this difficult debate to the positive is to ask
> ourselves WHAT MAKES A WORKSHOP GOOD?. Rather than attributing a good
> workshop to a particular person, why not examine the qualities that make a
> good workshop. We could all learn something. Not to suggest that everyone
> presenter runs gives a workshop in exactly the same way, but there must be
> some "general principles" we can discover together.
>
> I have, for example, for a long time thought that NCECA lectures would be
> better if the presenters were given a list of things to consider such as:
> "practice your lecture to make sure it conforms to the time allowed".
>
> Diana
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Patrice Murtha on wed 22 aug 01
I was fortunuate to take a 2-day workshop with Malcolm Davis last
October. It turned out to be one of the best workshops I've taken.
Malcolm was incredibly generous with his knowledge of the craft, but
most importantly I came away thinking about my work in a new light.
I highly recommend taking this workshop.
>I have recently heard that a workshop is planned in a few months at St.
>Petersburg Clay Co. in Florida...a week long, hands on experience with
>Malcolm Davis, featuring the nuts and bolts of his functional pottery
>techniques. I understand attendance will be limited to fifteen or so
>participants. I have seen a couple of photos of his work in CM, and would
>like to hear from those who have been in his workshops; I know nothing about
>this potter, his teaching experience, presentation etc. Post me on list or
>off. the OTHER Lori, Lori Pierce in New Port Richey, Fl.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Jeanie on wed 22 aug 01
Dear other Lori,
In reply to your query about a Malcom Davis workshop...Malcom is a
funny. generous, enormously talented and wise soul. Worth the price
just to hang out with him for a week-with added bonus of learning all
kinds of things which you might have not even suspected exist. If I
were taking that workshop I would try for some insight into his sense of
form,wich is understated, full of breathing volume, and harmonious.
Ihope you can get to the workshop.
Jeanie in Chester County Pa.,USA
karen gringhuis on thu 23 aug 01
Alecia Miller's generous offer to design free a
workshop evalution form is a very smart idea. A very
professional approach which ceramics could use more
of. Sadly, I'm GUESSING no one will take her up on
her offer. (I've never encountered a worshop with an
evaluation afterwards.)
A bit belated but I second Brunner and Hesselberth in
favoring open discussions. I can't imagine a specific
negative NOT being met with rebuttal assuming there is
another opinion.
The concept of publicly saying only positive things
reminds me very much of most (but not all) journalism
about ceramics i.e. only a nice description & pretty
pictures with zero real criticism as to what worked
and what didn't. This Emperor's New Clothes approach
only holds back the learning and growth of us all and
of the field.
=====
Karen Gringhuis
KG Pottery
Box 607 Alfred NY 14802
Personal e-mail to:
KGPottery@hotmail.com
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Dannon Rhudy on thu 23 aug 01
>Karen Gringuis said:
>workshop evalution form is a very smart idea. A very
>professional approach which ceramics could use more
>of. Sadly, I'm GUESSING no one will take her up on
>her offer. (I've never encountered a worshop with an
>evaluation afterwards.).......
I have presented workshops where there were evaluations
afterward. It depends upon the venue. I believe that
the Appalacian Center for Crafts has an evaluation form.
Haystack does, too. And many others don't. It is to
the benefit of the presenter to get some feedback,
written or otherwise. I've not noticed people being
shy about suggestions, pro and con, where workshops are
concerned. The places that have written evaluations tend to
be the larger venues, though, and they don't necessarily
share the evaluations with the presenters. They have
them for their own internal purposes.
Evaluations can be very useful, if designed well. Brevity
is of value - people don't usually want to spend lengthy
amounts of time "filling out forms". Anyone who teaches
knows that end-of-term evaluations tend this way: if
the student liked the class, they write "great class". If
they didn't, they will write pages of complaint. Human
nature.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Carolsan Burkhart on thu 23 aug 01
Karen, Alecia et al -
Alecia's generous offer to design a workshop evaluation form did not go
without thought, but I wondered if it would be worth the effort. My
thoughts when I read her post were:
1) How many people would be willing to pass it around to virtually unknown
workshop participants in front of the guest/host, and how many workshop
participants would be comfortable filling it out?
2) Would the guest/host appreciate the constructive criticism, utilize the
form or throw it in the trash, or would the form distributor use it to post
findings on Clayart?
If the latter be true then couldn't the survey be done verbally without so
much attention leveled on the form distributor.
----- Original Message -----
From: karen gringhuis
> Alecia Miller's generous offer to design free a
> workshop evalution form is a very smart idea. A very
> professional approach which ceramics could use more
> of. Sadly, I'm GUESSING no one will take her up on
> her offer. (I've never encountered a worshop with an
> evaluation afterwards.)
Karen Deasy on mon 27 aug 01
I am a fairly recent "potter" who has taken several workshops at the New =
Hampshire League of Artists. They always have an evaluation form that =
you fill out at the end of the workshop asking what you liked, disliked, =
presentation methods and other things you would like to see from them. I =
have been very happy with all of the workshops I have taken there. All =
of the presenters teach in a different method, some do alot of =
demonstration at the beginning, others interspace it throughout the two =
day period, everyone brings slides or samples of there work to share. =
The most successful workshop from my vantage point would have to have =
been one I took on tile making. The techniques we used could be applied =
to any form of pottery, while it was low fire techniques, it applied =
equally to any other firing range, that was discussed during the day. =
There were periods for everyone to view each others interpretation of =
the methods. Everyone learned alot from each others chosen path as their =
own. There were alot of wows in the class. Now If I had been a more =
advanced potter who already did alot of low fired tile ware I may not =
have taken as much away from the class, but the instructor was prepared =
for all skill levels and had everyone "pushing the envelope" as to their =
opinion as to what a tile should be.
Karen Deasy
Cabot, Vermont
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