Formats for Teaching the ENVoY—Non-verbal Classroom Management Programs

With limited time and money, people often ask what length of time is needed to teach the classroom management program – ENVoY.  We have developed several ways to introduce ENVoY.

Introducing the Whole
ENVoY is like an artichoke. On the surface the program introduces the notion that non-verbal communication is more powerful than verbal communication. And when the educator non-verbally manages, the relationship between the teacher and student is better preserved. This can be done via keynote presentation.

The Outer Leaves
Like the vegetable, as participants warm up, what unfolds are the 7 Gems. In a one-day program, the essence of the action research in 5,000 classrooms is presented. Teachers learn the four phases of a lesson and the seven competencies that are basic to every classroom being successful.

The Inner Leaves
The hard-to-reach students require special sets of competencies. During a three-day program, in addition to the 7 Gems, teachers are trained in the refinement skills of reaching the tough students. (Officially this menu is called ENVoY II.)This is critical because the ENVoY techniques, like all management models, are only effective when a relationship is formed between the instructor and the at-risk students.

In a five-day program, the educators are trained in the full 31 skills of the ENVoY program, the competencies needed to form relationships with the tough students, an understanding of learning styles, hostile parent conferences and dealing with students of poverty (adapted from Ruby PayneÕs work).

The Heart
The center of the artichoke is called the heart. So too, the ENVoY program has a special heart, A Healthy Classroom and The Cat in the Doghouse. The A Healthy Classroom program addresses the most sophisticated of all management problems – group dynamics. The book is designed for educators to meet at the beginning of each of the first five months of the school year. The book has a corresponding chapter and a screen saver for each month.

The Cat in the Doghouse is a program developed for our "at-risk" kids. Those kids that for a variety of reasons, e.g., poverty, are less accommodating in the classroom and require special understanding and management skills.

The Presentation: Special Features that Increase the Appeal
Just as in a fine restaurant artichokes are served in an attractive presentation that heightens enjoyment of the food, so, too, do the ENVoY Programs have attractive features that make them even better.

1. Implementation.
ENVoY is committed to reversing the trend of over-training and under-implementing. We strongly recommend that no training program be conducted without an implementation feature. (E.g., no credit is earned until implementation occurs.) To support this commitment each ENVoY program has one-page worksheets for each concept. These worksheets are on our web site. When a training-implementation program is initiated, the participants receive a password to access the worksheets. The worksheets are automatically emailed. Michael Grinder & Associates respond to these worksheets. It is this feedback loop (plus "coaching") that insures professional growth.

2. Coaching
Research shows that the training room isn’t where habits are solidified. The skills of the seminar are forged into the daily habits when peer coaching occurs. Training without  implementing is like buying the product at the market and then forgetting to bring the product home. Our coaching program is five days in length during which 12 ENVoY graduates are certified. Three host schools are involved so that the trainees can visit actual classrooms and utilize their observation skills and provide teachers with non-judgmental feedback.

3. Train the Trainer
As in the coaching program, every school district wants to build its own capacity. Our train-the-trainer program functions on an accelerated-learning model. Eight to twelve ENVoY graduates are trained. They take turns presenting skills to up to 40 participants for a two-day program. These same trainers immediately present a second two-day program to a new set of up to 40 participants. To provide the trainers with immediate feedback the trainees are paired with each other. When one trainee finishes their turn as the presenter they leave the room with their partner who has been taking notes from Michael’s commentary.These presentations are video taped and DVDs are produced for the trainers so that they can further refine their skills.

For more details contact Michael Grinder, (360) 687 3238; fax: (360) 687 0595