Webinar: What's New with New Member Orientation

NCSL Webinars allow attendees to participate in meetings taking place around the world from the comfort of their desk. They are collaborative, interactive and easy to use. Most webinars will be recorded for those who are unable to attend the live meeting.

What’s New with New Member Orientation?            

Friday, March 30, 2012
3:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30 p.m. CT/ 1:30 p.m. MT/ 12:30 p.m. PT (one hour)

Legislative leaders and staff directors are planning new member orientations that are more involved and interactive than ever before. Experts lead this webinar presentation and provide advice on what and how to teach at these sessions and who should be doing the teaching. They also talk about how to plan new member orientation so that first-termers continue to learn throughout the legislative session.

This webinar explores the latest developments in new member orientation on topics such as:

• Planning. Who plans new member orientation (NMO) for your legislature? When do you start the planning process? 
• Curriculum. What do you need to cover in NMO? States almost always cover legislative process basics, but what kind of substantive areas, like taxes, education, health and the judicial system, should you cover? Are there other “must include” topics like ethics or staff agency basics?
• Teaching methods.  Many states are making the training more interactive. What teaching methods do you use in NMO?
• Trainers. Current and former legislators are often used as trainers in NMO. Who teaches for you and what considerations do you have in choosing trainers, presenters and panelists.
• Duration. How long should the training last? Do you split up the training into shorter “chunks” so that you don’t overwhelm the participants?
• Follow-up. What evaluations or other follow-up procedures do you use to continually improve your NMO? What materials do you provide so that participants can continue to learn after the NMO ends?
• Change. What has changed in your most recent NMOs? What new things are you planning or considering for the next NMO?
• Advice. What are the keys to successful training? The speakers provide tips on the most important lessons learned for a dynamic NMO. 

Panelists:

• Senator Sheila Harsdorf, Wisconsin
• Wendy Madsen, Legislative Information Officer, Legislative Service Office, Wyoming
• Natalie Mullis, Chief Economist, Legislative Council, Colorado

 Moderator:

• Bruce Feustel, Senior Fellow, NCSL