| The Workshop Rotation Model ™ (a trademark of Workshop Rotation Model) is a method in which a well-defined theme, story, or narrative unit is used for several weeks and taught in several different ways. Classrooms are transformed into workshops, each one focusing on one specific approach to learning the same story. Students rotate through all the workshops during the weeks of the unit. At the end of the unit, a child who has been present for all, or most of, the weeks of the unit will have experienced the story in a variety of ways in several different workshops.
We Believe Workshop offers the following workshops:
- Art
- Audiovisual
- Computer
- Drama/Storytelling
- Games and Puzzles
- Music and Worship
- Bonus (workshop that will vary in learning style depending on the content of the unit and the strengths of the writers)
Each congregation chooses the workshops it will use and adapts the approach to meet its unique needs. Flexibility is built into the plan.
In this approach, leaders are recruited to lead a workshop in a content area that matches their skills and talents. Workshop leaders use lesson plans specific to their areas to teach the narrative for four to six or seven weeks. Children are organized into groups by grade or into broadly graded groups. Some congregations have many groups; others have one or two.
In addition to workshop leaders, many congregations that use this model are able to involve a variety of people who have not been a part of the educational program. Some congregations recruit shepherds, people who act as guides for a group of children and meet and escort the students to the day's workshop. Shepherds provide weekly continuity for the children. Other people who do not take on the commitment to teach or shepherd are willing to set up workshop rooms, decorate them, gather materials, or act as consultants for various content areas.
Most congregations designate a different room or area for a particular workshop-an art room or area, an audiovisual room or area, and so on. These rooms or areas are sometimes decorated in keeping with the theme of the workshop. For example, the art room may look like an artist's studio and the audiovisual room may be set up like a theater. Because the room or area focuses on just one type of learning activity, some congregations that can devote space exclusively to the workshop approach have set up rooms that are imaginative and elaborate. In other congregations where space is shared with other programs, educators have developed creative ways to convert the space during the educational hour.
For more information about the Workshop Rotation Model ™ go to the Workshop Rotation Model Web site or read Workshop Rotation: A New Model for Sunday School by Melissa Armstrong-Hansche and Neil MacQueen (Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press, 2000)
Other congregations that use the model can be a source of advice and inspiration. Are there any in your area? Ask your presbytery Resource Center director or a presbytery staff person. |
