Researching Relevant Profession Development  Learning Task #1 By Carol A. Thesing

The first session I will focus on is the keynote speech by Mary Jo Paloranta, Winning at WorkWorking to Win. Mary Jo talked about commitment, strengthening your thinking, creating your own opportunities, style and celebrating your team. What really stood out to me and I still remember her saying is to be successful at work, you need the four Ps; purpose, passion, pride and privilege.

After this session I asked the four people at my table how valuable they felt the keynote was. All of the people agreed she was a good person to start out the day because of her energy, affirmations, and her message. One person said she didnt learn anything new but didnt mind being reminded of the points Paloranta stressed. The rest of us felt we did gain from the presentation. So much so, that two of us decided to attend Mary Jos workshop.

The next session was entitled Stress: Panic Power. This session was very well organized. We began with a stress test, which gave each individual an idea of how high on the stress ladder they were. Mary Jo Paloranta used humor in showing how stress effects how we work, both positively and negatively. She talked about how to resolve conflicts, how to be a team player, how to survive change and how to get organized. The session was done with handouts and slides so a participant could follow along and not get lost by trying to take complete notes.

I talked with seven people after this session. All of them felt the session was practical, usable and duplicable. The group I interviewed consisted of all females. Two of the people I talked with said the room was too small for the amount of people and the closeness of others made them feel uncomfortable. One person thought it was hard to see and she didnt get a handout because of the overflow of participants. We all felt the time went by fast and Paloranta held our interest.

The third session was done by Doug Knowlton, Ph.D., vice chancellor for Academic Affairs from the Crookston Campus. His session was entitled Thank God Its Monday: Visions of the Workplace. The description of this workshop sounded wonderful with words like humorous, content rich, empowerment, energetic, positive, creative, practical applications, and inspirational material. A session from 3:00  5:00 PM, my down time, I thought the session would be perfect. Wrong! But as I look back, I may have learned more about how I would teach and what I would like in professional development by experiencing several things that would make a workshop session a fiasco.

This session taught me not to over emphasize the description of the workshop. Never say it will be humorous and light if it is not. Use handouts that contain information not just titles of the slides. Do not use the word workplace if you mean a specific job. And lastly and probably most importantly, dont sit in a place where it can make leaving difficult. This is especially true at conferences which have many other good options available at the same time.

Talking with three people after this session I learned some of the participants were intimidated by Mr. Knowlton. He put people on the spot by directly asking them a question rather than asking for volunteers. He also made a joke out of the response if it was incorrect. Another person felt the information was nothing new. I personally didnt understand the point and was totally disappointed because I was expecting something totally different.

Overall, I learned quite a few things from evaluating the sessions I attended. They are as follows: 1. Presenters  Need to be energetic, organized, connect with the participants, use real life situations to make illustrations, use humor, be clear on explaining what will happen and what is expected. Know the subject matter.

2. Handouts - Keep them to outline format. Have enough open space to add personal comments.

3. Slides and overhead  Use only information on the slide or overhead that can be seen by all participants.

4. Time  Keep heavy topics and low activity sessions in the mornings. Have length of session fit the topic.

5. Room Accommodations  Need to be comfortable but not too comfortable. Roomy enough to move and write.

6. Satisfaction - No matter how many people like the session, someone wont and visa versa.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 1999