Giving a Writing Center Workshop: Everything you need to know to be successful!

By: Joyce Bohling and Amanda Hemmingsen

May 2014

Have you been asked to give a workshop? A workshop is an interactive lesson that incorporates hands-on activities and educational materials tofacilitate students’ learning a skill.A workshop should be given at the“point of need,” while students are engaged in writing projects to which they can directly apply the skill. Although a workshop may incorporate presentation, it is not a lecture. A workshop also has some similarities with a Writing Center consultation, but it must be more planned and prepared, and focuses on common, rather than individual, needs.

In this handout, you will find:

  • Questions to ask yourself before committing to give a workshop
  • What does a good workshop look like?
  • Transferrable skills from your consulting practice
  • Resources at your fingertips
  • Questions to ask the instructor you’re working with
  • A timeline for preparing your workshop (to keep you from going crazy the night before)

Questions to ask yourself before committing to give a workshop:

  • Is this a realistic time commitment for you? Keep the following things in mind:
  • Doing a new workshop, completely from scratch, could take up to several hours of personal prep time.
  • Some or most of this preparation will have to be done well in advance. You will need time to contact the instructor, assemble your resources and materials, and give the OAs time to print the materials. You will cause yourself a lot of stress if you try to do it all the night before.
  • How comfortable are you with the topic? Will you need to do additional background research to make yourself comfortable talking about the topic, or is it something you already know a lot about? Your level of comfort with the topic may affect how much time you need to commit.

Once you’ve thought about all of these questions, contact Terese ASAP to confirm your availability.

What does a workshop look like?

A good workshop:

  • Is presented at the point of need, while students are engaged in a writing project.
  • Is interactive. It involves activities and discussion. It allows (or even prompts) students to ask questions and voice concerns.
  • Begins with agenda-setting phase that gives a context for the materials you will present. Tell students what it is that you’re going to talk about, why it’s important and how it’s useful. You can also start by asking students what they already know about the topic.
  • Incorporatessome of the following materials and activities:
  • PowerPoints or other visual presentations
  • Videos
  • Modeling or demonstrating a strategy
  • Handouts
  • Guided small-group discussions
  • Activities, such as games or short in-class assignments
  • Gets students’ attention with stimulating visuals and handouts they can use after the workshop.
  • Ends with wrap-up and review. You could present this or do this interactively by asking students to write or discuss what they learned.

Transferrable skills from your consulting practice:

New to giving workshops? There are a lot of skills and ideas you can carry over from your experience as a Writing Center consultant! You know how to:

  • Engage with students as peers. Think of yourself as sharing your wisdom as a fellow who goes through the same writing process and faces the same challenges as the students. Avoid presenting yourself as a “writing expert” who “knows all the answers.”
  • Point students to resources such as website and handouts. Teach them to fish instead of giving them fish.
  • Interact. Ask questions of the students and prompt students to ask questions of you
  • Be flexible. Just like when you consult one-on-one, find ways to explain concepts in a variety of different ways and accommodate students with diverse learning styles.
  • Emphasize strategies and resources students can use during the process of writing, rather than focusing on students’ final products.

Resources at your fingertips:

  • There are many workshop materials available on the Writing Center’s G: drive, including PowerPoints and handouts, that you can use for your own purposes. Claire also makes and keeps workshop-ready PowerPoints.
  • Any of the resources you’d use in a consultation (Writing Guides, Purdue OWL, etc.)
  • Claire, Katie, Terese, and anyone else in the Writing Center who has run a workshop on the same topic
  • If you want to use electronic or projected materials, make sure the technology will be available
  • to do so, especially if you are off-campus or in the military science building.
  • The instructor of the class you’re presenting to
  • The Writing Center: You can have a consultation about your workshop!

Questions to ask the instructor you’re working with:

  • At what stage of the writing process does the instructor expect his or her students to be? What materials are the students supposed to have: rough drafts, final drafts, outlines, sources, etc.?
  • The instructor will have submitted the assignment prompt to the Writing Center, but don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions about the prompt or the instructors’ expectations of his or her students.
  • Are there any specific points the instructor would like you to emphasize or cover?
  • How long does the instructor expect you to present? (Usually the workshop is expected to last the length of the class period, but double-check.)
  • What has the instructor already taught his or her students on this subject?
  • If the instructor’s expectations differ greatly from your own expectations or seem unrealistic, communicate with Terese ASAP.
  • Communicate to the instructor that he or she (the instructor of record, not the GTA) must be present during the workshop.

A timeline for preparing your workshop (to keep you from going crazy the night before):

As soon as you receive the request:

  • Review your availability, and ask yourself the questions listed in the first section of this handout.

As soon as you accept the request:

  • Contact the instructor and ask clarifying questions about his or her expectations.

At least a week in advance:

  • Assess what resources are available to you, including getting in touch with other Writing Center staff who have given workshops on the same topic and looking at the materials available on the G: drive .

At least a few (3) days in advance:

  • Prepare presentations, activities, handouts, anything else you will need for the content of your workshop.Take as much on-the-clock time as you need. When thinking about how much time to budget, consider the following factors: How long is the workshop? Have you ever given a workshop like this before? What materials (handouts, PowerPoints, videos, etc.) are already available, and which will you still need to create? How much student work time versus presenting time do you anticipate during the workshop itself?
  • Don’t hesitate to make an appointment with a fellow consultant at the Writing Center to get feedback on your materials.
  • Name standard workshop materials you will need on the Writing Center calendar. If you need any special materials, communicate specifically to the OAs what you need and when you need it.

The day before:

  • Double-check the location and time of the workshop.

The day of:

  • Show up about 10 minutes early to introduce yourself and make sure all needed technology is availableand working.