Although hosting multi-day, residential workshops for university faculty requires a tremendous amount of work, the rewards are well worth it. Participants appreciate the time to interact with each other and share resources and ideas. They report that the workshops have provided a network of colleagues upon whom they can call for help and support. Faculty members who have participated report that they no longer feel like they are alone; they know others are out there dealing with the same issues that concern them. They leave the workshops full of enthusiasm, new ideas, and a renewed commitment to continuing their work.

Things to consider:

1. How can university administrators be convinced of the importance and value of this work so that they support it with funds, release time, and merit raises?
2. Can untenured faculty afford to devote the time required to develop effective courses and engage in professional development to improve their teaching skills given the current status of tenure and promotion guidelines?
3. Should on-going professional development focused on teaching and learning be required of all university faculty (tenured and untenured)?
4. What kind of infrastructure would best support on-going professional development for university faculty?
5. Is it important to involve our graduate students in professional development focused on teaching and learning?

Things we have learned that make people want to come back again and again:

• Organization is the key. Make sure everyone knows what to expect, what they need to do, and when they need to do it way in advance. Send reminders. You want the workshop presentation to seem effortless; everything needed is always ready, the technology works, and nobody goes hungry!
• If at all possible, pay all costs of travel for participants. Plan lunches on site; you lose less time, you control costs, and you provide people with an informal opportunity to interact.
• Choose presenters wisely; make sure they will actively engage the participants and will model the types of strategies we are trying to incorporate in our courses. No talking heads allowed!
• Engage participants in helping you plan the program. Include a place on registration forms for participants to tell you what questions, concerns, or topics they would like to have addressed.
• Provide a way for participants to communicate with you anonymously throughout the workshop. You want immediate feedback if problems or concerns are developing or if participants have needs of which you are unaware. We do this by providing each participant with several cards on which they can write comments and several boxes in which to place them. We check at each break and address any concerns immediately.
• Remember these are adult learners. They want to leave with "stuff" that they can use immediately. This means new ideas, practical tips on how to implement those ideas, research statistics to help convince their administrators and peers of the value of their work, and resources such as web pages, written materials, or supplies needed for trying new techniques. Make sure you provide excellent handouts.
• Follow up on any promises you make to participants. If you say you will send them something or find the answer to a question, make sure you do it.
• Design your workshop to allow participants to develop a product that they can use when they return home. This product could be a plan for implementation of a new technique, an instructional unit they have developed, a laboratory activity they have tested, an assessment instrument they have designed, etc.
• Provide plenty of time for participants to share their experiences and knowledge. I love presenting to university faculty because I always learn so much and get so many new ideas from the group. It is really true that the more minds you get working on it, the better the product.
• Remember that everyone wants to have fun. I know a workshop is going well when I hear lots of productive noise and laughter. We always plan initial activities to break the ice and set the informal, relaxed tone for the workshop. In addition, we plan and participate in social events with our participants and presenters. When the group is less than 50, we invite participants and presenters to one of our homes for an informal evening get together. For larger groups, we plan a social event on campus with music and food and drink.
• Thank your participants in writing for their time and hard work. Request an address for an administrator from their home campus that they would like notified of their participation in the workshop. Send that administrator a letter documenting the time and effort that their faculty member is devoting to professional development in the interest of improving student learning. It can make a difference.
• Take care of your presenters. Meet them at the airport, offer them transportation to the meeting, make sure they don't have to eat alone, and write them a formal thank you note or letter. They will be friends and good contacts for you in the future.
• Last but not least - have fun! If you don't enjoy doing it, you won't do it again. Think what a loss that would be to you, the faculty members who participate, and ultimately the students who enroll in their courses.