What Is an Interactive Workshop?
Marva A. Barnett, Director & Professor, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia
Faculty, Department of French

An interactive workshop draws on participants’ relevant knowledge and skills, as the workshop leader asks teachers to share their expertise and ideas. At the same time, the leader explains new approaches and techniques, often giving participants the opportunity to experience these much as students would experience them in class. The focus is normally on practical aspects of teaching, with supporting theories introduced and explained; and participants typically draft plans for applying new methods in their courses. Thus an interactive workshop is both a conversation among colleagues and a studio in which participants create new teaching activities and ideas.