This online course introduces the essential principles of becoming a highly skilled presenter, one who can provide both information and inspiration to audiences in order to facilitate transformation. Participants who seek to develop or improve their impact as seminar leaders, educators, trainers, and lecturers are welcome.
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Introduction by Dr. Maria Sirois, Course Instructor
Taught by Dr. Maria Sirois, core faculty for the Certificate in Positive Psychology program, the Teaching for Transformation course combines live webinars and demonstrations, readings, video analysis, and peer-to-peer practice. Live, 90-minute webinars are held most Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm ET. The complete syllabus includes all the course details and content.
Following completion of the course, students will have an additional five weeks of access to the virtual classroom, including the recordings of webinars, after the final day of class.
You’ll learn:
➤ The wholebeing approach, which enables you to teach from a place of wholeness and authenticity
➤ Foundational presentation skills to support the expert and the novice alike in organizing the content flow for successful audience engagement
➤ How to aspire to your best by leveraging your strengths, passion, and wisdom in order to offer your audience a lasting positive impact.
Key Principles
Content is offered in three key arenas:
❖ 1. The Wholebeing Approach
Participants are introduced to the principles of whole-person well-being, and given a vocabulary for understanding how individuals and teams move toward their highest selves and sustained health. This establishes a unique foundation of skill for the trainer. As we understand how adults move toward positive, sustained health and well-being, we are able to offer material that strengthens their growth and enhances our own growth toward our best selves.
➤ Concepts examined include appreciative inquiry, permission to be human, benefit finding, and the principles of Wholebeing Institute’s SPIRE (spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational, emotional) approach; each concept is addressed from the perspective of how and what to present.
❖ 2. Foundational Presentation Skills
Presenters from every field—from business to art, coaching to education, athletics to politics—receive in-depth instruction on the fundamentals of presentation skill development. These fundamentals, based on the best research from the fields of positive psychology, education, and training, provide a clear, impeccable support structure for both the novice and the practiced instructor.
➤ Concepts explored include beginnings and endings, transitions, keeping energy high, the inspiring use of story and data, handling difficult audience members, managing anxiety, and professionalism.
❖ 3. Aspire to Your Best
Participants come to understand their deepest strengths: what makes them unique as a presenter, where their passion elevates both the audience member and the material, how they best connect with their audience, and how the very act of presenting moves each of us towards our most important work in the world.
➤ Concepts addressed include the “who” of teaching, establishing your integrity and authority, presenting from a place of authenticity, elevating strengths, learning from the masters, and establishing your unique voice.
Course Objectives
❖ For all participants: To provide training for presenters at every level that broadens and deepens skills, increases personal well-being, and sharpens excellence for the presenter as well as for audience members.
❖ For CIPP graduates: To provide a professional development pathway for teaching positive psychology and whole-person well-being material.
Technology
Wholebeing Institute uses state-of-the-art, user-friendly webinar technology that allows you to see the faculty via video, watch the slides during the presentation, and participate during the live events, through your computer or your mobile device. Presentation materials will be available in advance, and recordings will be posted following each session for students who are unable to join live or would like to review the material again.
Online engagement is also fostered in the discussion forum, where students and faculty connect for questions and conversations about the course material.
Need help navigating the online educational experience? Our Student Support Manager and technology team are here to assist you.
Homework includes peer-to-peer video calls (using Skype, for example) to practice critical skills in presenting, such as beginnings and storytelling. Students should have (or be willing to learn) rudimentary skills in using video call technology.
Schedule and Time Commitment
The course consists of nine lessons taught over 11 weeks, combining live webinars and demonstrations, readings, video analysis, and peer-to-peer practice. The live, 90-minute webinars are held most Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm ET
We estimate that most students will put in a total of two to three hours of preparation per week, plus the class session itself.
Peer Work
To strengthen learning, students can choose to be paired with a fellow student to practice key presentation skills via video conference calls. At the start of the course, students will be given the opportunity to opt into the peer presentation sessions.
Assignments
Weekly reading assignments will consist of material from the fields of positive psychology, education, and training. Weekly journal prompts will be aimed at deepening students’ engagement with the material. The viewing of video lectures (such as TED Talks) will be required as part of weekly assignments.
Final Project
Participants will be asked to create a final project, consisting of a three- to five-minute video presentation on one aspect of teaching for transformation. Your partner will be invited to spot the strengths in your presentation and to provide you with feed-forward (information about what worked well). You’ll also be asked to reflect on what you learned through this process, what went well for you, and what your own next step as a presenter might be, in terms of strengthening your skills. The final project is not mandatory, but is strongly recommended.
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