Certification Study Groups - Let's Get Started!
So,
you have agreed to chair the certification committee
for your chapter. Now what are you going to do? Have
you given any thought to how you will go about setting
up your study groups, where you will hold them, when,
who will teach the sessions . . . or do you have that
deer in the headlights look we all get from time to time
when we take on a project we are unfamiliar with? BLINK! Well,
we’re going to give you some suggestions to help
you get started.
First,
get a handle on who wants to be involved in the study
group. Send out an e-mail to your membership asking
them to contact you if they are interested in studying
for a certification exam. Here’s what you
need to ask:
—What
certification are they interested in
—Where are they located (work and home)
—What days and times are they available to meet
Once
you get your replies back and know how many are interested,
it is time to start work.
If
you decide to meet as a group—face-to-face—you
need to secure a location for those meetings. Some
law firms or bar associations will allow you to use their
facilities for your study groups. Another place
to meet would be a rotating schedule of members’ homes. Some
restaurants will let you take up space for your meetings,
especially if you make it a dinner or luncheon meeting
and become a “paying” customer.
Another
possibility that I have found works well is using an
online chat format going through Yahoo.com. It
is free and easy to use. Everyone must sign up
for a Yahoo e-mail account (again, it is free) and sign
up for Yahoo Instant Messenger (another free service). Directions
for starting a Yahoo chat:
1.
Make sure everyone has a Yahoo e-mail address and is
signed up for Yahoo Instant Messenger.
2.
Designate one person as the lead. The designated
lead would go into his or her Messenger, choose the chat
option, and pick a person to start with.
3.
Invite the other participants to join the chat.
4.
Once everyone is online, you can start the session.
If
you want to print a log of your sessions, simply cut
and paste (periodically in case you get kicked out) the
log as you go and paste into either Word or WordPerfect.
Always
provide your “students” with CLE certificates
for their time online or in the study group. Your
teacher/moderator also earns CLE for the preparation
time and for conducting the session so it is a great
way to earn recertification credits as well.
Choose
your topics from the materials suggested by NALS. You
can find these at www.nals.org. No matter how tempting
it is to gather information from other sources, all the
material you need is contained in the materials NALS
suggests using for the exams. You are now in NALS-Land,
and if it isn’t contained in the NALS recommended
books, workbooks, mock exams, Seminar Solutions, or study
guides, you may be getting information that is not NALS-LAND
CORRECT.
When
choosing your speakers and teachers for the study groups,
you may wish to consult with attorneys, teachers from
the local colleges, paralegals in your area, certified
members of your association, and others with experience
in the subject area you will be working on for each session. Make
sure that your speakers/teachers are aware that the NALS
certification exams are NOT state specific, and you will
provide them with the materials they need to teach from
for their session.
Always
encourage your students to participate in the Online
Study Group (OLSG) that is held on the NALS Web site
each Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m., Central Time. This
is also a great place to earn CLE for your recertification. Each
session is worth 1.5 hours CLE!
Study
groups, whether face to face, or on the Internet, are
a great tool for those seeking certification.
Good
luck with your study groups and I look forward to seeing
all the new ALSs, PLSs, and PPs in the near future.
Reba
Peden, Certified PP, PLS
NALS Certifying Board Member
rpeden@brunini.com
