This infrequently used workshop can quicken the diffusion of new ideas, materials, or teaching strategies. Generally, one or a group of local or area teachers describe and demonstrate exemplary practices in their classrooms with a group of students and a teacher audience or with the audience role-playing a class. A variant of this workshop type occurs when teachers meet with business people, organization leaders, community leaders, the clergy, and other citizens to identify local needs and use local resources to improve schools. As in most endeavors, planning is the key to successful in-service programs. The following questions provide useful guidelines for planning.
Successful workshops meet the needs of participants.
Survey teachers to determine their concerns. Interview department heads and solicit suggestions and perceived needs. After determining needs, select the content, format, and topic of the workshop in order to best meet participants' needs. New materials or teaching methods may represent an unexpected solution to an old need or even a solution to an unidentified problem. Effective workshop planners continually identify and analyze the needs of social studies teachers and continually seek information about new instructional materials and strategies.