2009 Review: Seminar Success 02 Dec 09

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Our trio of secondary student seminars called Mastering Student Motivation, Super Speed Study Skills, and Exam Busters consistently delights and empowers audiences all over the country. These high-impacting presentations are delivered to whole year groups at a time and make such an impact that students write to sing our praises and let us know what an impression we have had on their lives.

We recently received this feedback from a Year 11 student, which exemplifies the sort of thing students say about their Positively MAD experience:

"Today I realised that I cannot wait for my future to happen. I have to go out there and make it happen. My life is in my hands. Thank you for helping me to believe in myself.”
                               James, Year 11 Student

These student seminars are so successful, not just because of the impact on students, but because they offer schools real value for money:

• Because these are delivered in your school, you save by not having to bus large groups of students to another venue
• Because these seminars are aimed at large groups of up to 200 students at a time, the cost per head is extremely low, representing real value to your school
• Because the principles taught are universal in application, the courses has as much relevance for staff who observe the presentation
• Students are provided with a “MAD PAD” – a simple resource on which to record notes and observations throughout the presentation
• In addition to being informative and thought-provoking, these seminars are also an unforgettable experience – full of humour, interaction and energy

This year, a staggering 50 000 students enjoyed the Positively MAD seminar experience – a new milestone in our list of accomplishments. Nearly 600 seminars were delivered in over 400 schools, making this year our best ever in terms of seminar sales.

So much so, that we now have new associates on board who have been trained to deliver these seminars, and already our new presenters are creating quite a positive impression. Last month we shared this feedback for Andy Revell:

“The students were engaged from first to last and were ‘buzzing’ when they left. A very uplifting and motivating experience. The presenter was excellent. He had their attention from start to finish and I would like to see him do a similar presentation to the staff so that they could build on this experience. Thank you for a very memorable day!"

Another of our newer presenters, Joe Rowntree, received this glowing testimonial from a school in Wales:

“I should like to put it on record that Joe Rowntree was first class in every respect. From the outset his persona was one that oozed confidence and integrity. The courtesy shown to the language by greeting the pupils in Welsh at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions was commendable.
His enthusiasm was infectious and his rapport with the pupils ensured that they understood exactly what they had to achieve - and achieve they did. The Head of Year 10 and Year Tutors were unanimous in their praises as were the pupils.”

Our seminars and presenters are causing a stir in Corby too, where they wrote this about Jay Shirley, who presented at Brooke Weston earlier this year:

“Year 11 students who are due to sit their GCSE exams this summer got valuable revision tips  during an energetic presentation by Positively MAD, an educational training company. Jay Shirley took the students through a range of study skills, memory techniques and revision hints during the two-and-a-half hour ‘Exam-Busters’ session which built on an earlier workshop which took place in February. Jay also ran a 45-minute session for parents, taking them through the recall process and the dos and don’ts of revision so that they can support their child’s learning at home. Jay said: ‘Previously with the students we did study skills when we looked at mind maps whereas today we looked at memory techniques. I showed them how they can remember things for their exams by creating a mental image using a familiar place, like their bedroom.’ This technique of linking a concept to an actual physical location is used by world memory champions and is an effective way to recall a string of facts. During the sessions Jay got the students to remember the 19 countries of NATO using symbols which they mentally ‘placed’ around the lecture theatre. For instance a church bell represented Belgium while a red maple leaf helped them to remember Canada. Jay also ran through revision techniques, which mean that students revise for half an hour, take a five minute break then re-read the previous information briefly before studying something new. This cumulative approach means that information is far more likely to be absorbed and then recalled when needed. He also recommends that students do a quick mental review of what they have been studying before they go to bed and again when they wake up the next morning, just to reinforce the main facts. He said: ‘Key revision techniques include not panicking … these memo r y and mind mapping techniques are very important because the students can use them at home and build on them as they go along. The idea is showing them that the more times they go over what they have learned then the easier it is to remember.’ “

These are testament to the effect that our student seminars have had and continue to have on students right across the country. There seems little reason to believe we cannot expect similar or better success next year.