Sharing my experience and professional advice with other educators forms an important part of my work: by helping teachers adapt their own skills to address issues either within the classroom or through out-of-school tutoring, my hope is to address some of the problems that currently arise within the framework of the school system. (In a way, I'd love to put myself out of a job!)

I offer seminars and workshops on specific topics, such as the development of alternative assessment strategies, anger management and strategic compensation techniques. I also provide training for teachers on an individual basis, or as part of a small group session, to pass on my experience of developing learning methods that enable children to discover and make the most of their inherent strengths.

Here are some details of the subjects addressed in the presentations, seminars and workshops I have led in recent months. They should serve as a small indication of the range of topics I am prepared to discuss; I'm more than happy to prepare original sessions to suit the needs of a particular group.

Anger Management in Special Needs Families

Anger and Frustration can be more devastating to a special needs family than the special need itself. This interactive workshop is designed to assist both parents and educators in the support of special needs families, by suggesting alternative methods for dealing with the challenges posed by anger management within the family. Some of the topics discussed will include: anger vs. frustration, escalating vs. deescalating responses, and coping strategies for assisting children in taking responsibility for their behaviors.

Strategic Compensation

"Strategic Compensation" introduces participants to alternative assessment methods for identifying and analyzing individual learning style. Through case studies, and hands-on activities, they learn to apply instructional methods designed to demonstrate to young people how they can consciously utilize their learning style strengths to strategically compensate for areas of weaknesses. This method can be applied in academic or social settings.

For many young people, going to school is a painful experience due to numerous academic or social failures. Often for others, school is an exercise in conformity and acquiescence, rather than an opportunity to explore ones creativity and nurture a lifetime love of learning. Most teachers care about students, and know their subject matter. So where ís the glitch? Frequently there is a mismatch between the individual learning style of the student and the instructional methods used by the teacher. Even with the best intentions, and strong rapport, a teacher communicating information to a student in a way that targets the student’s weaknesses rather than capitalizing on their strengths, will still result in an unsuccessful learning experience for the student.

"Strategic Compensation" offers participants the opportunity to learn instructional strategies that allow students to fully utilize their learning strengths. The workshop covers principal learning styles, techniques for assessing a student’s preferred learning style, methods for teaching to a broad spectrum of learning styles, strategies for students to adapt to a learning / teaching style mismatch. The intent of "Strategic Compensation" is to enhance the ability of practitioners and to increase student success by focusing instructional methodologies on students’ strengths rather than their weaknesses.

Previous story:
Camp Sydney - Activity-based intensive learning sessions

Back to 'For Professionals' index