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Seminars & Workshops
LEVEL 2: Consulting
DEFINITION: A consultant is any outside individual or firm who is paid primarily to deliver professional advice, instruction, customized development of materials, or a product line designed by the consultant that meets the needs of the client. A consultant may offer both products and services, but the primary focus must be on the client's needs and not on the sale of existing products.
BENEFITS: Finding and using the right consultant can be extremely cost-effective. You can tap into years of experience and a proven track record without the annual salary, benefits, or commitment. And the speed and flexibility this gives you can't be beat.
STRUCTURE: Consulting can be provided as a one-time service or as a series of meetings. Consulting is best used to accomplish a specific objective.
CASE STUDY: A large midwestern school district (21,000+ students) hired us as consultants to work with their staff on creating a totally new teacher evaluation system.
Prior to our involvement, the district had a fairly traditional clinical supervision model. An administrator would observe a teacher several times a year, followed by post-observation conferences and a final summative evaluation at the end of the year. We pointed out that the research clearly indicates that this model does little to improve instruction in the classroom.
During one school year we consulted with two different district-wide teams. One was addressing professional development and the other teacher evaluation. After a year of working with the separate teams, the members realized much of their work overlapped, so we combined the two teams into one. We spent another six months working out the details of a coaching model for instructional growth. Teachers were observed by peers and were given time for reflecting with colleagues about their practice.
Through follow-up surveys at six and twelve months into the new program, 81% of the teachers were happier with this model than the former process by which teachers were evaluated.
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Setting Sail...
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My consulting, training, facilitating, coaching, storytelling,
and writer's workshop services are provided through my auxiliary
company, Setting Sail: Harnessing the Winds of Change.
We cannot direct the wind,
But we can catch it in our sails
And chart a course...
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