Denise Merlin
Denise Merlin has been a high school business teacher in California since 1996, in the cities of Livermore and Fremont. Previous to that, she taught for six years at Ohlone College in Fremont, in the Fashion Merchandising Department. She also teaches in Elementary and Middle School classrooms as a volunteer at her church. Her business background comes from the buying offices and store management at Macy's and Famous Footwear and serves her well in the classroom. She is an alumni of Ohlone and she received her bachelor's degree in Vocation Education from California State University in Sacramento. She is currently working on her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership at St. Mary's University in Moraga, CA.

Denise lives in Pleasanton, CA with her husband and three teenagers. She has traveled the United States instructing teachers in the principles from the book Tools for Teaching by Dr. Fred Jones, for the past eight years. Denise can be seen in the Tools for Teaching video series as a speaker in the "Parenting" DVD. She is also featured in the Fred Jones "Bonus" DVD's, as the example of his principles demonstrated in the high school classroom. You can reach her by e-mail at denise_merlin@yahoo.com or by phone at 925.577.4700.

Tools for Teaching Option A,
Complete three day series:

• Effective Classroom Instruction
• Positive Classroom Discipline
• Motivation and Omission Training

For more than 30 years Dr. Jones has studied highly successful teachers – the naturals – to observe how they make success look easy. During that time Dr. Jones has conducted extensive research and constant experimentation in classrooms. His objective has been to perfect methods of classroom instruction and management that are both powerful and affordable for the teacher. Successful teaching is neither "magic" nor a collection of handy hints (the proverbial "bag of tricks"). Rather, successful teaching is built upon a handful of core competencies that are expressed in everything the teacher does. Once mastered, they bring rapid relief from teaching exhaustion for one simple reason:

Responsible students who have learned to manage themselves require much less management from the teacher.

This three day workshop, based on the book "Tools for Teaching" by Fred Jones, teaches you how to use a more efficient way to deliver classroom instruction, leaving you feeling refreshed and your students enlightened and energized. Your presenter, Denise Merlin, is also an experienced teacher. She embraces an informative, entertaining and practical style of presenting. Denise combines ten years of classroom experience with the Fred Jones method, to train you in the principles of his effectual teaching methodology. The end result enables you to cover more material in the classroom with better memory retention by your students.

Efforts to improve education ultimately come down to the classroom. Whether or not lessons come alive and students improve their learning depends upon the teacher's skill. In some fortunate classroom situations, both the teacher and the students look forward to school and class dynamics. Along this line, "natural" teachers learn to manage their workload by engaging their students to work, rather than the teacher inheriting the burden of motivating them to work. Many of the lessons in Fred Jones' book were learned in the classrooms of gifted teachers. As a result, the procedures you learn in the workshop are practical, down to earth and time-tested.

The end result of the workshop is that it will leave your students feeling capable and excited to learn more. Simultaneously you will save time and effort, plus reduce individualized tutoring of material just taught. This is achieved in part through the guided practice of using special teaching tools such as "Say, See, Do" and Visual Instructional Plans (VIPs). As a result, you will have more time for creativity and enjoyment in the classroom, as well as more energy after you get home!

One of the personal benefits of the workshop is you will no longer feel exhausted and drained at the day's end. You will also learn effective and positive discipline practices, which when done properly, appear low key and therefore nearly invisible. As Fred Jones says, "For teaching to be enjoyable, you must be able to simply relax and teach. Classroom management must be built from the ground up so that most problems do not occur." Through the workshop you will be able to appear as a "natural" teacher who makes classroom management look easy – even effortless. By learning the basics of body language and practicing "calm is strength," you will learn to control your own behavior, which is an essential first step if you want to stay in control of a classroom full of children. You will learn how to produce a room full of students who follow rules and cooperate without exasperation, nagging or threats. You can manage your classroom so that it is consistently successful, productive and pleasant.

A special portion of the workshop teaches how to get students to stop disrupting a class. Albeit, this is only half of the equation, getting students to start doing what they should is the other half! Engaging these two fundamental objectives helps students productively answer the essential question "Why should I?"

In order to get students to show up on time, walk quietly, bring their equipment, be in their seats and be productive, we are asking for a lot of cooperation! We require that kind of cooperation many times a day, and when students fail to cooperate, your job is made much more difficult. Since cooperation is voluntary, it is essentially a gift from our students. The workshop examines the building of motivation through a valuable technique called "Responsibility Training."

You will also learn incentives with a technique called "Preferred Activity Time," which teaches the entire class to be responsible. This incentive system increases learning time, while costing the teacher nothing in terms of time and effort. It also gives teachers an effective means of managing the class, even during small group instruction.

Finally, you will become trained at Omission Training. This is an incentive that reinforces a student when they refrain from a negative behavior for an interval of time. The system gives you a powerful and flexible means of motivating the peer group to help a problematic student with special needs. It typically eliminates the problem behavior rapidly, while making a hero out of the otherwise unpopular student.

While not magic, this workshop is as close to magic as you will get in behavior management. This fun and engaging three-day seminar will leave you with skills thoroughly practiced and ready to put into use right away, and last throughout your professional career.

Tools for Teaching, Option B:
Effective Classroom Instruction in half-day overview or full day hands-on session.

Tired of "Bob Til You Drop Teaching?" Want to learn a highly efficient method to break down classroom instruction, leaving you refreshed and your students enlightened and energized? From the nationally recognized book "Tools for Teaching" by Fred Jones, your presenter Denise Merlin, will train you in the principles that will allow you to cover more material and improve your students' ability to retain the information you teach.

The degree that lessons come alive and students begin to learn depends upon the teacher's skill, as our efforts to improve education ultimately come down to the classroom. In some fortunate situations, both the teacher and the students look forward to coming to school. These "Natural" teachers do not work themselves to death in the classroom. Instead, they put the students to work. Many of the lessons in this book were acquired in classrooms run by gifted or "natural" teachers, often teaching to challenging students. As a result, the procedures are practical and down to earth, not theoretical.

By using hands-on techniques in this one-day workshop, you will learn concrete and effective instructional ideas that will save you time and effort tomorrow, and give you skills that will last a lifetime. Through the practice of using "Say, See, Do" teaching and Visual Instructional Plans (VIP's), you will execute the skills to make learning effective and successful. The result will leave your students feeling capable and excited to learn more. Plus you will have more time for creativity and enjoyment in the classroom, as well as more energy when you return home!

Tools for Teaching, Option C: Positive Classroom Discipline in half-day overview or full day hands-on session.

If you are tired of feeling exhausted and drained after the students are gone for the day, then you'll want to learn a new and effectual method to enhance your teaching repertoire.

Specifically, you will learn successful classroom discipline practices from the renowned book "Tools for Teaching" by Dr. Fred Jones. These teaching techniques, when done properly, are low key and nearly invisible. Your presenter, Denise Merlin, delivers this interactive workshop in an informative and entertaining manner. As Fred Jones says, "For teaching to be enjoyable, you must be able to simply relax and teach. Classroom management must be built from the ground up so that most problems do not occur."

As an essential first step staying in control of a classroom, you will learn the basics of body language and practice "calm is strength." This will give you the skills you need to effectively manage your own behavior in order to overcome adverse student behavior.

This system leaves you feeling energized and relaxed at the end of the day. You will be perceived as an innately natural teacher that makes classroom management look easy – even effortless. In this hands-on workshop you will learn how to produce a room full of students who follow rules and cooperate without exasperation, nagging or threats. You'll manage the classroom so that it is consistently successful, productive and pleasant.

Tools for Teaching, Option D:
Classroom Motivation and Omission training as an add-onto Option B and C only, in half-day overview or full day hands-on session.

Though you can learn how to effectively manage a classroom and get students to stop disrupting, that is only half of the equation. Getting students to start doing what they should be doing is the other half. This workshop focuses on getting student to do what they should be doing. It helps students positively answer the essential question "Why should I?'

In order to get students to show up on time, walk quietly, bring their equipment, and be in their seats working, relies on a lot of cooperation! This we require many times a day from every student. When students fail to cooperate, the teacher's job is made more difficult. Since cooperation is voluntary, it is essentially a gift from our students. We will examine the building of responsible behavior through the workshop's "Responsibility Training," taught from the book "Tools for Teaching" by Fred Jones. Your speaker is Denise Merlin, a classroom teacher that has successfully used the Fred Jones method in her classroom for the past ten years.

You will learn incentives, called Preferred Activity Time (PAT), that teach the entire class to be responsible. This incentive system increases learning time while costing you no additional time or effort. This practical workshop gives you an effective means of managing the class, even during small group instruction.

Finally, you will become skilled at Omission Training, an incentive for self control that provides a reinforcer when students refrain from a negative behavior for an interval of time. This system gives the teachers a powerful and flexible means of motivating a "peer group" to help students with individual needs. It typically eliminates problem behavior rapidly while making a hero out of an unpopular student.

While not magic, it is as close to magic as you will ever get in behavior management. This fun and engaging day of training will leave you with skills that you practice in the workshop, and can put into use the very next day!

Training, Tips and Techniques Featuring Tools for Teaching,
By Fred Jones

Denise Merlin is recognized as one of the leading educational trainers, featuring Tools for Teaching, by Fred Jones. She performs her high-energy mix of humor, classroom experience, and inspiration for educators each year, and has impacted the lives of teachers from coast to coast. Her presentations focus on instruction, effective discipline, and motivating students, as well as practicing all of the principles in the book, being consistent and building relationships.

Since receiving her Masters Degree in Education in 2006, Denise Merlin's professional career earned her the Teacher of the Year award in 2007, for the Tri Valley in California. Her teaching career began in 1989 and has encompassed teaching at the community college and high school levels, as well as volunteering at the elementary and middle school levels.

Denise's workshops are highly interactive and she is known for her high-energy, high-impact training that incorporates practice, classroom examples, interaction, music and humor. Get ready to participate in a workshop that will give you tools and techniques that are proven and practical.

Over the past decade, Denise has trained thousands of teachers, and educators, in the Tools for Teaching system. In her workshops, Denise models strategies that teachers can use immediately in the classroom. The emphasis is on Fred's practical instructional strategies that will allow teachers to feel good about their chosen career and students to feel empowered to learn.

To find out more, view videos of Denise, and see which workshop is for you, go to: www.toolsforteachingbydenise.com

Testimonials

"Denise captivated our teachers in the first few minutes and never let go. Her knowledge of the Fred Jones program, combined with her constant use of the techniques in her own classroom, gives her tons of credibility. You want to have Denise Merlin come to your school or district."

     Ron Nash, Organizational development specialist, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia      Beach, VA

"Denise is an effective instructor. She makes the training funny and interesting. She's very knowledgeable and I would recommend this training to all classroom teachers."

     Alice Crowe, Title 1 Teacher, Phoenix, AZ

"Fantastic Workshop! I can't wait to go back to school to share this with my faculty. Denise was dynamic and entertaining. This this brief time, she made each participant feel special and appreciated. Thank you Denise for one of the best workshops I've ever attended."

     Rachel McMillan, School Improvement Specialist, Corporate landing Middle School, Virginia      Beach, VA

"Denise was an energetic, dynamic presenter with practical, relevant information for all grade levels. She has the vitality to keep your interest and the expertise to help you become a better teacher. Who could ask for anything more?"

     Trisha Hamilton, New Castle Elementary, Virginia Beach, VA

"She was excellent! Thank you for modeling so much of what you taught. The constant practice on our part helped, as well as brought blood back to our legs."

     Sharon K. Remmy, Bisbee, AZ

"We found the workshop to be useful to a variety of teachers, both new and with experience. They found they could use the skills right away and didn't have to wait for a new school year."

     Bob Kreitz, Superintendent, Tri Valley Regional Occupational Program, Livermore, CA

"Elements of this training may well save my job. I learned many ways to keep my cool! Also lots of ways to make class more enjoyable, fun and time efficient."

     Patrick Di Staso, Birdneck Elementary School, Virginia Beach, VA

"Our teachers became motivated to read the book, use the techniques and then integrated the 12 week video series as a result of Ms. Merlin's valuable and practical workshop."

     Jim Green, Principal, Livermore Joint Unified School District, Livermore, CA

"As a seasoned teacher, you were able to make me look at a new approach to the classroom. I look forward to trying out these new concepts… Well worth the training."

     Tom Clouser, Salem High School, Virginia Beach, VA

"Little did I know how valuable and informative your presentation and the Fred Jones Tools for Teaching would be! Although the data, info, system and Book are all awesome, it was your own personal style, delivery and warm manner that brought this home to us teachers."

     Gerry Perreault, Band Director, Mc Farland, CA

"Denise is a dynamic and engaging speaker whose explanation and, more importantly, demonstration of Fred Jones techniques was entertaining, informative and memorable."

     Rachel Grubb, princess Anne High School, Virginia Beach, VA

"Denise was an enthusiastic presenter who knew her stuff. She lit up the room and made you leave motivated and excited. I can't wait to implement the Fred Jones (techniques) in my classroom."

     Shannon Drury, Special Education Teacher, Cox High School, Virginia Beach, VA

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