Leader timeline: preparing for the workshop

By June 13:

• Submit your career profile. As an example, here is Rachel's profile. Please use the leader profile web submission form to submit your career profile.
• Fill in JUST A FEW portions of the registration form: personal information, teaching and research interests, and the research release (toward the end of the form). Skip the "Big questions" and payment sections.
• Fill out the Cutting Edge workshop leader information form. We need the information on this form for reports to our funders and to track participation in our programs.
• Make and inform us of your travel plans. For information on travel options and arrival and departure times, see the travel and logistics page.. If you are traveling from out of town, you must arrive on June 29, so that you will be able to attend the leader meeting on June 30 (9:00 AM - 2:00 PM). We will reimburse your travel costs and cover the cost of your lodging and meals. Please save your travel receipts - we will need originals.

Before the workshop:

• Browse the compilation of participant responses to questions (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 134kB Jun8 14) on the registration form. Look these over before you plan your sessions to get a sense of the participants and the types of questions they have.
• Check the session sign-up summary (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 96kB Jun8 14) to see how many have signed up for your session(s). These numbers typically change slightly during the workshop. The full session program is on line as well.
• Plan your workshop sessions. If you are co-leading a session (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 96kB Jun8 14), please be sure to work with your co-leader(s) to plan the session before arriving in Pittsburgh. As you plan your session, please provide a balance between sharing your expertise and providing opportunities for participant engagement and learning from other participants. As you plan, please be sure to do the following:
• Model effective pedagogy. Participant evaluations tell us that our most successful workshop sessions are those taught with good pedagogy in mind and that our least successful sessions are those where a presenter simply stands up and talks. As you plan your sessions, please consider incorporating active learning techniques. Doing so will model effective teaching for participants.
• Engage participants actively during the workshop. Nothing is less effective than a workshop where participants do not participate. Ways of engaging participants include small and large group discussions, short problem-solving tasks, reviewing and/or trying out activities, scheduled thinking and writing time, and so forth.
• Plan your sessions thoroughly - maybe even minute-by-minute. Good sessions that appear to flow spontaneously reflect extensive planning by leaders, a clear understanding of the session and its objectives, and realistic planning for how long activities will really take. Please heed the session time length, and be sure that what you plan will fit into the time allotted.
• Please contact Barb if you want to talk through ideas as you develop your session.
• BE SURE ALSO TO:
  • Upload your presentations and/or handouts for the workshop website. Important: See additional information below.
  • Make copies of any handouts for your sessions and bring them with you. Download the List of participants' session choices (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 96kB Jun8 14) for an APPROXIMATE number of participants in each session. Participants do sometimes change their minds about which sessions to attend, during the workshop, so you might want to make a few extra copies. We will not be making copies for you during the workshop.
  • Please bring a laptop to use for your presentations. If you have a Mac, please bring the VGA adapter so that you can connect to the projector.

June 29:

• Arrive in Pittsburgh. Check in to your room. Go to the Bouquet Gardens Apartment Complex, Building J. There will be a 24 hour security guard at the entrance to the building who will give you your room key once you show photo I.D. Your room key also serves as your meal card to the dining hall.

June 30:

• OPTIONAL: Meet and go to breakfast together before meeting starts (details provided as we get closer to the workshop).
• Leader meeting: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM in Sennot Square, Room 2300. We'll review the program, discuss specific sessions, plan transitions, and answer questions about the schedule. Our goal is to finish by lunch with time after lunch for leaders to discuss co-led sessions with other leaders or have a break.
• Optional sessions begin at 2:15 PM, with a meet and greet reception and ice-breaker at 5:30, dinner at 6:00, and then the evening program beginning at 7:00.

Before or during the workshop:

• Upload your presentations and/or handouts so that we can link them to the workshop website. We post your presentations and handouts on the workshop program page at the end of each day, unless you indicate otherwise. Participants treasure this access. These are especially valuable for concurrent sessions, where participants cannot attend all of the sessions. Note: Because anything posted on our workshop website is available to the world, it must adhere to copyright laws. That means that any presentations or handouts we post to the website CANNOT contain copyrighted images or materials. If you are planning to use such images in your presentation at the workshop, that probably falls under fair use. However, you will need to delete any copyrighted materials from your presentations before uploading them for publication on the website.