Index to Course Descriptions
Communication
Secretarial
Math
Work Management
Communication
Fundamentals of Writing: Mastering the Basics – 2 Days
This first course in our Fundamentals of Writing series builds on the grammar rules learned in Understanding
and Using Effective English, and lays the foundation for Fundamentals
of Writing: Putting It All Together. This course places a major emphasis on understanding and practicing the basic elements of sentence structure. It is designed to enable beginning writers to prepare more cohesive sentences and paragraphs. Participants will be exposed to techniques to help them get started and to organize their ideas. Participants will be able to:
- Distinguish complete sentences from phrases and clauses
- Diagram a sentence
- Identify and correct misplaced modifiers, dangling participles, and improperly
used conjunctions
- Order the sentences in a paragraph by employing the principles of unity and coherence
- Construct a draft paragraph
Prerequisite: A current, working knowledge of the topics covered in Understanding
and Using Effective English. (Participants may have acquired this knowledge from another source.) [Return
to Index]
Fundamentals of Writing: Putting It All Together – 2 Days
This course builds on the principles learned in Fundamentals
of Writing: Mastering the Basics, and provides the foundation for Writing
Clinic. This course is designed to further develop and strengthen written communication skills through substantial practice in writing and editing rough drafts related to the work setting. It will emphasize how to write for a specific audience; logically organize material; identify the appropriate tone; present information using clear simple language; and edit for clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness. Participants will be able to:
- Define the purpose of the writing assignment and select the appropriate format
- Identify the audience and choose the appropriate tone
- Build meaningful transitions, properly connect ideas and create parallel structure
- Recognize and eliminate slang, colloquialisms, cliches, jargon, and gender-based terminology
- Edit writing for clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness
- Write a first draft
Prerequisite: A current, working knowledge of the topics in Fundamentals
of Writing: Mastering the Basics. (Participants may have acquired this knowledge from another source.) [Return
to Index]
Guided Conversations: Getting to the Point – 3
Hours
This half-day overview course will focus on structuring conversations to obtain information required to achieve a variety of purposes. While this course will concentrate on using the telephone to gather information, the techniques can easily be used in face-to face situations. Participants will be able to:
- Employ direct and indirect questioning techniques to control the conversation
- Use active listening techniques and the correct tone and format
- Understand how to say “yes” to the person when saying “no” to the request
- Open and close each call courteously and professionally
Note: This course is most effective when taken in conjunction
with Electronic Etiquette. [Return
to Index]
Influencing with Confidence – 2 Days
This course will help participants learn the strategies and communication skills necessary to win support for their ideas and influence workplace outcomes, even when they do not have clear and direct authority. Participants will learn to evaluate their workplace environments, assess their personal style, and select the most appropriate approach for presenting their ideas to coworkers and decision makers. Participants will be able to:
- Explain what influence is and is not
- Determine decisions they can make on their own
- Utilize various communication styles and speak up with confidence
- Package ideas and implement effective action steps
- Describe the relationship between influence and leadership [Return
to Index]
Reading Skills Builder - 2 Days
This course is a basic reading refresher that will help participants develop the skills necessary to increase reading comprehension and build confidence in their ability to understand written documents, including tables and graphs. Simple tips such as how to scan and skim to find the substance of a policy or document will be covered. Participants will be able to:
- Scan and skim documents for information
- Find the main idea in written material
- Use context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words
- Understand how graphs and table are used to present information
- Use a dictionary, thesaurus, and table of contents as reading aids
Understanding and Using Effective English - 2 Days
This course will improve the skills of employees who write, proofread,
and type on their job. It offers participants a summary of the fundamentals
of standard written English through a review of basic grammar and punctuation.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify the elementary rules of English grammar and punctuation
- Use the various parts of speech correctly (e.g., verb tenses, nouns, pronouns, and conjunctions)
- Place commas, periods, hyphens, dashes, colons, semicolons, parentheses,
apostrophes, and quotation marks correctly
- Employ the principles of subject verb agreement [Return
to Index]
Understanding Written Material – 1 Day
This one-day course prepares participants to comprehend the wide variety of written material that they encounter during their workday. Participants are given ample opportunity to practice skills such as scanning, summarizing, outlining, etc. by reviewing state-related text and materials normally encountered on the job. They will practice identifying the subject of a paragraph, keywords, its main idea and structure through group and individual exercises. Participants will be able to:
- Scan material for information
- Increase reading comprehension
- Improve retention of what is read
- Build confidence in understanding state documents, procedures, and forms [Return
to Index]
Writing Clinic – 2 Days
This course is a clinic for participants who need to perfect their writing skills. It will provide them with the opportunity to develop their skills by employing writing fundamentals to complete multiple job-related exercises. While the primary emphasis will be on completing individual assignments and projects, team writing skills will also be developed. In addition, in order to improve both their editing and writing skills participants’ work will be reviewed by the instructor and their peers. Participants will be able to:
- Focus their writing directly on the topic
- Use the appropriate tone and format for your audience and subject matter
- Employ the use of writing techniques such as outlining and bulleting to enhance clarity
- Improve editing skills
Prerequisite: A current, working knowledge of the topics
covered in Fundamentals of Writing: Putting It All Together. (Participants
may have acquired this knowledge from another source.) [Return
to Index]
Secretarial
The Organized Secretary – 1 Day
This course will enable participants to organize assignments, resources,
and their workplace so that the secretary and manager can function effectively
as a team. Participants will develop daily strategies and weekly plans to
manage their workload. This course will incorporate basic time management
principles and will introduce the participants to practical way to avoid
common time wasters. Participants will be able to:
- View the secretary and manager as a planning team
- Employ basic time management principles
- Prioritize assignments and tasks
- Develop methods for managing deadlines
- Identify effective ways to screen calls, mail, and visitors
- Adapt electronic and manual files so they can be easily accessed [Return
to Index]
Math
Math Skills Builder: Level 1 – 2 Days
This course will introduce participants to very fundamental mathematical
functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It will
also introduce concepts involving whole numbers, elementary fractions, decimals, and percents. It is designed for those
who need to reacquaint themselves with the elementary groundwork necessary for competent mathematical understanding.
Participants will be able to:
- Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers
- Perform basic calculations using decimals and fractions
- Distinguish among whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents
Note: This course provides the foundation for Math
Skills Builder: Level 2. If skills in this area are rusty, it is recommended that employees take the math courses (Level 1 and Level 2) in sequence. [Return
to Index]
Math Skills Builder: Level 2 – 2
Days
This course will refresh employees’ general math skills and provide them with useful computation techniques. By providing reinforcement through practice and problem solving, this course will help increase speed and accuracy in performing elementary calculations. Participants will be able to:
- Calculate fractions, decimals, and percents
- Compute percent increases and decreases
- Find averages and solve ratio equations
- Verify accuracy in numerical tables
- Solve word problems by breaking them into understandable parts
[Return
to Index]
Prerequisite: A current, working knowledge of the topics
covered in Math Skills Builder: Level 1. (Participants may have acquired
this knowledge from another source.)
[Return
to Index]
Work Management
Critical Thinking – 1 Day
This course focuses on developing clear and logical thought processes. Participants will
be helped to formulate reasoned, concrete ideas from thoughts or abstract
concepts. Critical thinking includes analyzing, interpreting, and clarifying
information. (Specific problem-solving methodologies are addressed in Effective Problem Solving.) Participants will be able to:
- Define critical thinking
- Identify elements of critical thinking
- Recognize and overcome barriers to critical thinking such as negative
thinking habits
- Apply the critical thinking process to work-related discussions and
assignments
- Evaluate decisions [Return
to Index]
Doing More with Less – 1 Day
This course will help employees to work creatively within the ever-changing
workplace where limited resources are the norm. Participants can see change
as a challenge, not a frustration, and view it as an opportunity for organizational
and personal growth. Participants will be able to:
- Deal with increased workloads, reduced staff, and tighter deadlines,
while maintaining a high level of public service
- Employ strategies to work
with others to effectively complete the unit’s/section’s
tasks
- Identify common barriers to the acceptance of change and ways
to overcome them
- Develop productive and positive responses to both
unexpected and anticipated change [Return
to Index]
Effective Problem Solving – 2
Days
Employees will learn skills to improve their ability to systematically reason through problems, generate and evaluate viable alternatives, make defensible determinations, and formulate workable implementation plans. The course emphasizes applying basic problem solving concepts and techniques to typical problems encountered in the workplace. Participants will be able to:
- Define the problem, break it into component parts, and identify the desired
outcome
- Apply fundamental problem-solving techniques to both simple and complex problems
- Remain objective and not jump to conclusions
- Evaluate advantages/disadvantages of potential alternative solutions
- Determine priorities, anticipate contingencies, and package final
recommendations for approval [Return
to Index]
Electronic Etiquette – 3 Hours
This half-day overview course is designed to introduce the rules-of-the-road
for popular forms of electronic business communication. It will identify
proper business practices when using devices such as e-mail, voice mail,
call waiting, and faxes. Participants will be able to:
- Describe the purpose of electronic workplace communication
- Identify and employ proper business practices when using electronic communication devices
- Recognize pitfalls and concerns such as privacy and confidentiality issues
- Represent their agency professionally and courteously when communicating through electronic devices
Note: This course will not address how to operate the devices mentioned above. This course is most effective when taken in conjunction with Guided
Conversations: Getting to the Point.
[Return to Index]
Take Control of Your Time – One-Half Day
This course will help employees take control of their work day. It will provide them with the skills to complete assignments on time. Participants will be able to:
- Explain the principal concepts of time management
- Apply basic time management techniques to work more productively
- Identify time wasters such as negative attitudes, procrastination, and changing priorities
- Develop a plan for efficient/effective use of time [Return
to Index]
Taming Your Tasks – One-Half Day
This course is designed for employees who need to gain control of their work assignments. It focuses on techniques and strategies to identify and employ the most logical and efficient means to plan and organize their work day. Participants will be able to:
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a work process
- Divide tasks into complete and simple steps
- Order the parts of a task so they flow in a logical sequence
- Prioritize assignments [Return
to Index]
