Working successfully with diverse learners:

A cycle of learning

Some people might find it odd to take a workshop over and over again. Not Cynthia Kelly and Nancy Burns, two of the Twin Cities’ most sought-after workshop presenters.

Both Kelly and Burns firmly believe professional development is an ongoing cycle. You learn a concept or skill in a workshop, you try it out in the classroom, you reflect upon the successes and failures of your personal experience, and you take the workshop again with a changed perception.

Kelly, Burns, Barbara Owens, Nadir Budhwani, and Jody Pfarr all will be offering exciting workshop opportunities this fall and winter through the college’s office of continuing professional studies.

The success of a more multifaceted approach to professional development, as championed by Kelly and Burns, is born out by research. Many studies have shown that educators need multiple positive experiences before new strategies are internalized into practice.

“Practice builds up confidence and competence,” says Kelly, who spent 32 years working in Minneapolis public schools.

“So much of it is readiness. I think many teachers are frustrated because they want to be more successful with diverse learners, but they don’t know how,” she says. “Teachers are like most students—if they don’t achieve immediate success, they tend to go back to their comfort level. We remind teachers that taking workshops once is sometimes not enough.”

Burns points out that practicing your “muscle memory” within an ongoing learning cycle is crucial. The skills that you implement within the first 48 hours of a workshop are the skills that are going to stick with you, she says.

Along with a growing number of other trainers, Kelly and Burns tailor their workshops to meet the particular needs of their students. While the theme and topic of the workshop may remain the same, the emphasis—and resulting learning outcomes—can be dramatically different.

ENVoY workshops, for example, are about classroom management—a challenge that faces both brand new and experienced teachers. Burns estimates that of the approximately 6,000 teachers she has trained, about 25 percent take her workshop again and 50 percent take a directly related workshop.

—Suzanne Miric