First, let's deal with the origin of the word. Translation from Latin seminarium says a lot - this is a nursery.
The workshop is an excellent example of a traditional teaching method that integrates easily with modern study formats. The seminars are perfectly modified to meet the specific needs of students and the teacher. They can differ from each other to a large extent in duration, crowding, teaching methods, etc. But they have common features and fundamental features.
Features of the seminar format
- Mandatory pre-training by not only the teacher, but also the students. The topic and range of issues for discussion are announced in advance. Messages and reports are prepared, after which a discussion is held.
- Interactive training format, which includes the active participation of students in various forms.
- The most important feature of the classical seminar is “theory without practice”. It, for example, differs from training, in which there is a mandatory development of skills. Only theoretical “showdowns” take place in the seminar.
- The leader of opinions is always the leader of the seminar.
- Contrary to popular belief, the duration of the seminar can be very different - from one hour to several days.
- The number of participants in seminars can also be very different, there are no limits.
Similarities and differences
The similarity of the seminar with the lecture lies in a serious information component from the host. But the purpose of the seminar is not only to obtain new information. The main thing is to put it in order in the minds of listeners. Such a process is often referred to as “put on the shelves", which is achieved using interactive technology classes.
The similarity of the seminar with the training is due to the interactive teaching methodology. As for the differences, the workshops lack practical skills. Of course, such training is not always needed, but, for example, sales techniques or setting tasks for a subordinate require skills. In this case, training is more suitable. But seminars on history in their format will come just right.
Goals and objectives of the seminar
In short, the main goal (as well as the main feature) of the seminar is to teach students how to operate on the information received. Analyze, clarify, disagree, correct, systematize, supplement, draw conclusions, ask questions and analyze again ...
The objectives of the seminar can be formulated as follows: if the students are eventually ready for an intellectual conversation with experts in this topic, then your seminar was a success, and all its tasks have been completed. Because such conversations include discussions, debates, arguments for and against, the search for new solutions, etc. And only people who are well versed in the issue under discussion are capable of this.
Seminar ambitions
You can argue about an overly ambitious goal: "This cannot be done in one seminar." The answer will be unequivocal. This is not just possible, but necessary. Otherwise, do not call your workshop a lesson. Let it be a lecture, a colloquium, a forum, a master class, whatever. But not a workshop. Because the seminar is a serious and extremely effective format of training. You cannot do without deep preparation and observance of the main principles.
You need a well-motivated and interested audience of listeners at the entrance. As a result, this audience should turn into a group of experts with their reasoned points of view on the issues that were raised during the lesson.
Is it possible? Of course. It all depends on you.
Principles for conducting seminars
The fulfillment of ambitious goals will become possible only if several mandatory seminar principles are observed:
- Accessibility of presentation, which includes an adequate language without clericalism and outdated vocabulary. The teacher must have the skills of oratory, otherwise nothing will work.
- A well-thought-out teaching architecture is a new term for comfort for students in everything from a clear handout to an adequate room temperature.
- Punctuality and temporal accuracy of the lesson with respect to breaks and duration of all components of the workshop. Violations of the regulations, for example, monologues in the direction of increase can not be considered.
- Consistency and sound logic of presentation of information and discussions.
- The relevance of the topic and the connection with the present day, even if you conduct a seminar on law in ancient Greece.
- Use of all possible technical capabilities for clarity of classes. Visual perception of information is several times more effective than auditory.
The six points above recall the principles of effective presentation. So it is, if you want your practical seminars to be truly effective, you cannot do without modern presentation technologies and rhetoric skills.
The main thing is the beginning
Since the duration of the seminar can be very different, the structure of the lesson can be formed in accordance with its specifics. Seminar plans for history, for example, may include historical video pauses, and the space for creativity is huge. If the lesson lasts more than one day, the training can be divided into modules, each of which in its structure will resemble a separate seminar.
The main thing is to follow the general structural rules and stages, which remain mandatory regardless of the duration and topic of the seminar.
The preparation of the seminar is the most important part on which the overall success depends. First of all, it is high-quality informing students about the topic and issues that will be presented in the lesson. It can be individual work with participants to prepare their reports, messages, essays, etc. An excellent way is to conduct online training using any possible technology. The main thing is to make the participants come to the lesson as prepared and interested as possible. Form a group of seminar participants in some messenger, because it’s not difficult. And the attitude towards you and your seminar will be completely different, you will see.
The main part and training after
The main part is offline
Any lesson (or its modules) should consist of classic episodes:
- administrative part (duration, breaks, format of discussions, etc.);
- announcement of the topic, goal, plan and logic of the lesson (infographics work great here);
- the main part (reports, discussion, tasks, games, etc.);
- conclusion with conclusions, surveys, analysis and thematic plans for the future;
Online Results and Learning
This stage is best done a day or two after the main lesson. Here again, the best format would be online. An e-mail from the teacher to all students with conclusions and debriefing can be an excellent seminar finish. This can be arranged in the messenger. “Learning after” is what a short repetition of the main ideas of the seminar in WhatsApp, for example, can be called. Tamp and cement ...
Workshop Evaluation
Assessing the effectiveness of the lesson is one of the most difficult issues in adult education, including the student audience. For students, you can, of course, refer to future sessions with tests and exams. But we are talking about evaluating a particular seminar. And it should be associated only with the quality of the knowledge gained.
It is necessary to clearly understand the difference between the control of knowledge among students and the assessment of the effectiveness of the lesson, because these assessments have completely different tasks.
Knowledge control of a particular person is needed to assess his intellectual abilities, perseverance, memory, ability to concentrate, etc. In other words, these are personal educational characteristics that are formed using long-established methods for assessing knowledge. All this is done with the name of the person, that is, personalized.
If we are talking about assessing the effectiveness of the lesson, it is better to forget about the names of students in the questionnaires. Anonymity of surveys and tests will add a significant share of objectivity to the final results.
How to evaluate is not necessary and how to
Sadly, most evaluations of the effectiveness of seminars (and trainings) are carried out in the most unsuccessful way with a minimum of objective information. At the end of the lesson, students receive questionnaires in which they are asked to indicate their name and answer questions from the category of “like” or “will you advise the seminar to your friend”. The cherry on the cake is the question "did the seminar meet your expectations." Such surveys are easiest to conduct. And the results are excellent: it was fun, we had a great rest, we will advise everyone, cheers.
You need to work with group statistics of answers before and after the seminar. Questionnaires with questions on the topic of the lesson should be: a) anonymous, b) the same before and after. Only in this case can reliable and objective information be obtained for analyzing the dynamics of group knowledge as a result of the lesson.
Observations on the activity of participants, the results of their games, questions after classes, etc. can be a good help in a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of a seminar. The main thing is to evaluate systematically and objectively. And of course, without question, “did you like the seminar?”
Workshop Summary
Many people think that a seminar is a routine and non-binding training format. An offensive devaluation of the concept occurred: whoever does not spend mediocre and ineffective hours of training, calling them seminars. Is it possible to fix the current situation?
It would be very helpful to remember the main purpose of this seminar. This is turning students into experts. Everything is very simple to understand. And it’s very difficult to do. But ambitious goals are never simple. But they are always extremely interesting. Successes.