Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable

The winter meeting of the Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable will be conducted at 4:30 p.m. immediately following the Train the Trainer Event on Thursday, February 23. The location for the meeting is Trinity Episcopal Church, Atrium Room, 3901 S. Panther Creek Drive, The Woodlands, Texas.

Pattie Porter

Pattie Porter, President of Conflict Connections, Inc. in San Antonio, will be the featured presenter for TMTR’s annual Train the Trainer (T3) Event on February 23, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 3901 S. Panther Creek Drive, The Woodlands, Texas. The T3 Event is hosted by TMTR each year on the day preceding the annual Texas Association of Mediators Conference.  PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A CHANGE IN LOCATION FROM THE ORIGINAL EVENT SITE. SEE DIRECTIONS TO SITE BELOW.

Porter’s presentation will be specifically designed to address issues facing mediation trainers and is entitled “The Delicate Balance Between Being the Expert and a Guide in the Training Room.”

For workshop objectives and complete agenda, click here.

Porter has worked extensively in the dispute resolution field for over 17 years providing mediation, facilitation, negotiation training, and conflict coaching services to individuals, businesses, and organizations, including higher education institutions such as the University of Delaware and the University of Texas. She has worked extensively with the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Postal Service, NASA, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

As a senior trainer for Coca-Cola Enterprises during the launch of its nationwide dispute resolution program, Porter provided training in all areas of conflict resolution. In the last 5 years, she led, organized and designed multi-day, train-the-trainer workshops for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which focused on teaching others about conflict management as a way to shift the organizational culture at airports across the United States.

Porter hosts her own Blog Talk Radio show, The Texas Conflict Coach. She holds the Advanced Practitioner – Workplace Mediator designation for the Association for Conflict Resolution, is a Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, and the CINERGY certified advanced conflict coach and coach-mentor recognized by the International Coach Federation.

Workshop Description:

Description: Are you a sage on the stage or a guide on the side? Being an effective and experiential trainer requires an understanding of adult learning theory but more importantly, the ability to carry out an engaging and powerful learning experience. A core element of this train-the-trainer workshop is the ability to facilitate a participant’s own learning through powerful questions, dialogue exchange, and the use of various exercises designed to address a number of participant learning styles. Participants in this training will learn how to balance between being an expert or sage, and a guide in the training room. They will also learn….

a) techniques to design processes when delivering an exercise
b) online technologies that enhance the learning experience
c) easy techniques for graphically recording on flip charts
d) how to facilitate a participant’s learning and understanding of key concepts

This is a hands-on, experiential workshop designed to challenge participants and move them outside their comfort zone. Participants will be physically moving in the room, so comfortable shoes and clothes are recommended.

Registration for the event is open only to 2012 members of TMTR until January 14. Registration will be open to all individuals beginning that date. (REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS.)

The fee for the day-long workshop is $100 and includes all materials, refreshments and lunch. Annual Membership dues for TMTR are $25. Renewing members and new members may also register prior to January 14 by including their membership dues and form with their workshop registration fee and form.  You may download those forms here: TMTR Membership App 2012. TMTR Train the Trainer Registration 2012.

All forms should be mailed along with checks made payable to “TMTR” to

Mike Amis, Treasurer
Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable
P.O. Box 851201
Richardson, Texas 75081

DIRECTIONS TO TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

TAKE WOODLANDS PARKWAY EXIT FROM I45 and go west on Woodlands Parkway to the third signal light.  Turn left onto South Panther Creek Drive.  Go to the first stop sign.  Continue on to the third cut through and make a U-turn.  In about 25 feet, turn right into the driveway for the church and Creekwood Park.  Go past the first entrance to the church to the back parking area.  Go about 100 yards down the walkway toward the church and the building on the left will be the Atrium Building.  Go in the door and take the first left.  You are there.

IF YOU ARE STARTING FROM THE WOODLANDS EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE CENTER:   Take the winding road from the Conference Center back to Grogan’s Mill Road.  Turn left, go to the first signal light and go left under the bridge.  You are now on Woodlands Parkway.  Follow the directions above, turning left at the first signal light on to South Panther Creek Drive, etc.

In response to recommendations from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Supreme Court approved amendments to the “Ethical Guidelines for Mediators” which were adopted by Court Order dated June 13, 2005 (Misc. Docket No. 05-9107). The new Court Order, dated April 11, 2011 (Misc. Docket No. 11-9062), will make the revisions effective June 1, 2011.

For a copy of the Court Order and the newly-revised guidelines, click Ethical Guidelines Amended Order.

Lee Jay Berman

Thirty mediation trainers gathered in San Antonio on February 24, 2011, for the annual Texas Mediation Training Roundtable “Train the Trainer” event.  Lee Jay Berman, Los Angeles, California, challenged the group to think differently about the diverse needs of both mediators and their trainers in today’s environment.

Noting that Texas was a leader in the mediation movement, Berman described how California had adapted and shaped the profession and the processes surrounding it. He emphasized the need of mediators to meet the expectations of the parties while honoring the proven techniques of facilitation. “An important part of our job as trainers, is to keep mediators fresh,” Berman said.

Berman addressed the difficulties of providing training to a diverse group of individuals. Much has been done to standardize training, he said, and for good reason.  However, he presented the question of whether trainers are meeting the needs of those who come for training.

Berman is the Founder and President of the American Institute of Mediation. He served as the national chair of the American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution’s Training Committee for four years. Berman is the former director of the Mediating the Litigated Case program at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law.  He is a national panelist for the American Arbitration Association, a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators, a Diplomat with both the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, and is internationally certified by the International Mediation Institute.

Berman shares his insights on dispute resolution through his blogsite, Eye on Conflict, hosts a weekly radio show called Talk It Over, and trained mediators, judges and business leaders in India, Croatia, Jordan, the UAE, and the Netherlands.

Betty Gilmore introduces Lee Jay Berman

Lee Jay Berman challenges trainers to see things differently

Train the Trainer Event - San Antonio

Lee Jay Berman and Train the Trainer participants

The Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable is a guild of individuals who come together to set standards and ensure the quality of mediation training in the State of Texas.