Ratings by Participants - 2001

This 4-day conference event was held on June 24-June 27, 2001, in Virginia Beach Virginia. Below is the tally of session ratings by participants, along with written positive/negative comments on overall conference quality.

Sessions- 1 indicates "Needs Improvement" and 5 indicates"Excellent."

My overall evaluation of this Teacher's Workshop conference:

- My one complaint s about the luncheon held on Monday, June 25. The food and the service left a lot to be desired. Everything else was fantastic! All the presenters were great, especially Carolyn Chapman and Dr. Roahrig. I got some very useful information.

- Outstanding

- Very good - revisits and presents old ideas in a new light

- I enjoyed several workshops but the majority were boring!

- 4.5 - very informative workshops

- Well organized and practical with a variety of speakers of diverse backgrounds. The diversity has been the plus, which has met the needs of different educators. The keynote luncheon was great but the evening activity needed to improve.

- My overall evaluation for the Teacher's Workshop is 5. The presenters were informative and gave me practical strategies to use with at risk kids. I really enjoyed the participants' sessions, they were excellent: humorous, informative, energetic & well organized. The time frames for these sessions also benefitted my learning style. The information packages given to me will allow me to share what I have experienced with my principal and other teachers.

- Exceptionally well done - excellent, well organized - except for Smith the presenters were top notch.

- It was a very interesting workshop. There were many useful and informative information given. It would have been nice to have an AM session then an evening/night session. So we could have some day time to ourselves.

- Average - air conditioning way too cold - juice/coffee/soft drinks should be provided for participants - heard speakers from other rooms - sessions too long

- Great

- A great tool to have in our portfolio and the knowledge that was learned is awesome

- Very well organized - Although some of your presenters were very intelligent and knowledgeable in their field I had many problems w/their presenting skills and their ability to present to the topic they were to present. Sandra Rief especially was so disorganized it was impossible to attend to what she was teaching. As a teacher I would be embarrassed to teach even one lesson like that to my students. On the other hand I think the presentation by Carolyn Chapman was wonderful, she is wonderfully organized and taught us the way we aspire to teach our students.

- This was my first workshop and I know it will not be my last. I enjoyed it very much. Excellent! Outstanding! Wonderful! Great!

- Excellent - I like the opportunity to have such a wide range of workshops to go. I was disappointed with the quality of the conference rooms this year - 1. Not a good idea to have sessions so close together (especially with presenters like Pankey and Smith). 2. Rooms wre not cleaned in between sessions nor revamped with water. 3. Poor supplies - pens & paper (last year there were little notepads & pens available at all sessions). Consider making Dr. Smith's a one-day, one-shot session. I feel that his physical intervention strategies need to be practiced not just demonstrated in order to understand the techniques.

- Overall, not as strong as last year's workshop, although Sylwester and Chapman were quite good. I was very disappointed in Terry Smith's presentation - I was excited about the topic but his material was quite weak. He offered very little actual training on the topic, and his delivery style was arrogant and condescending. - Would you consider offering three 2-hr. sessions per day instead of two 3-hr. sessions? Perhaps an 8-10 AM, 10:15-12:15, & 1:30-3:30 format - 3 hours in one session just seemed a little too long.

- Excellent

- I have been impressed the last 2 years and have taken good information back to my colleagues.

- Very good

- Excellent 2001!

- Great

- Some outstanding speakers - some duds ... not impressed with the "Sales Pitches" for Teacher's workshops. Not the forum ...

- It was a good conference but it was slightly better last year. I think it is due to the selection of speakers.

- Superlative!

- Good

- Wonderful! Than you for the wonderful presenters and great resources. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to next year's conference. Mr. Pankey is a good speaker. His presentations would be more effective if he would explain how he enforces his policies. Many schools have rules concerning dress codes, assignments, & contraband. How does he ensure compliance? At times it seemed as if he was preaching and praising his own success as opposed to giveing teachers strategies or methods to guide or ensure safety of students, and enhance learning. His theory is good, solid, and based on common sense, but lacks enforcement powers and practical applications if the policy is not adopted school- or system-wide. It worked for him becaues he has the power of enforcement as he is the principal.

- Although a lot didn't apply to me, it did affirm a lot of my thoughts and ideas! Most presenters didn't allow questions or discussion - too top down, not a good adult ed. method - Dr. Roahrig was great, but tried to cover too much in the time. - Sandra Rief, too disorganized. Hard to follow - Great handouts for all presenters.

- Average - It never ceases to amaze me that the "leaders" in education continue to perpetuate lectures as they tell teachers to have hands-on learning. - Carolyn Chapman, Extra ordinary!! Can't say enough good. We need more instructors like Carolyn!!! Love the haqnds-on dialogue. - I would love to see discussion-share sessions. Teachers bring what works in their classrooms and give time to share the wealth.