Your PORTL to Shaping
Discover how to take your training skills to the next level
Join Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and Mary Hunter for two intensive days of lectures and hands-on exercises using PORTL.
2019 seminar dates:
August 17-18, 2019: Your PORTL to Shaping
Hurst Conference Center, Hurst, Texas
(near the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport)
Fall 2019: West Coast PORTL seminar
More details coming soon.
These seminars will allow you to practice your shaping skills with another human as the learner. You will also get to play the role of the learner, which will give you more insight into how people and animals learn. Throughout the weekend, you’ll learn about behavior principles and techniques that will help you create optimal learning situations when working with both animals and people. You’ll also learn foundation skills that will help you problem solve and think more creatively when designing training solutions.
Each seminar will be limited to 30 attendees to allow ample time for discussion and questions and so that participants can receive individual coaching during the shaping exercises.
Program
Your PORTL to shaping
August 17-18, 2019
Hurst Conference Center, Hurst, Texas
(near the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport)
This is a foundation seminar for participants who have not attended a previous PORTL workshop. We will spend the weekend talking all about shaping. You will get to experience a variety of PORTL shaping exercises as both a teacher and as a learner.
Saturday – 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Saturday morning
Introductions
Lecture: Shaping: Principles and techniques
Exercises: PORTL foundations
Saturday afternoon
Lecture: Shaping behavior
Lecture: Resurgence: What it is and how to use it
Exercises: Capturing and shaping behavior
Sunday – 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sunday morning
Lecture: The constructional approach to behavior change
Exercises: Criteria
Sunday afternoon
Lecture: Are errors necessary for learning?
Exercises: Putting it all together: Advanced shaping challenges
Q&A with Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and Mary Hunter
Register
Registration for the August 2019 “Your PORTL to Shaping” seminar is $300.
Your registration fee includes the two-day seminar, seminar materials and handouts, and lunch on Saturday and on Sunday. Coffee will also be provided in the mornings.
CEU information: In the past, we have been able to offer CEUs for CCPDT, IAABC, IATCB, and KPA. We expect that we will be able to offer CEUs for these organizations again. If you require CEUs for a different organization, please contact us.
Refund policy: A refund can be given if it is requested 30 days before the start of the seminar. Refunds will be issued for your full registration fee, less a $50.00 processing fee. No refunds will be issued after this date. All refunds must be requested in writing. Please contact us for more information.
Location
Seminar Location
Hurst Conference Center: 1601 Campus Dr, Hurst, TX 76054
The Conference Center is located near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and is approximately 30 minutes from Dallas and 15 minutes from Fort Worth. It offers free parking in a covered garage. More information and directions can be found on the Hurst Conference Center website.
Hotel information
We suggest staying at the Hurst Hilton Garden Inn, which is connected to the conference center. The hotel offers free wi-fi and also has a free shuttle to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Airport Information
Dallas has two large airports, the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and the Love Field Airport.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
I finished my registration, but didn’t get a confirmation e-mail. Am I registered?
First, please check your spam folder. However, if you did not receive a confirmation email, your registration might not have gone through. Please contact us and we can check your registration status.
Will CEUs be available?
In the past, we have been able to offer CEUs for CCPDT, KPA, IATCB, and IAABC.
Can I bring my dog?
The seminar will consist of lectures, hands-on activities with other humans, and discussions. There will not be opportunities for demonstrations with dogs. So, please leave your dogs (and other pets) at home!
Please note that the conference facility does not allow dogs or other pets inside the building, except for working service animals.
Why PORTL?
Dr. Rosales-Ruiz and Mary Hunter have given PORTL workshops to audiences of both professional animal trainers and behavior analysts throughout the United States and in Europe. Attendees find PORTL to be both educational and enlightening and are eager to continuing using it after the seminar as a tool to gain insight into learning and behavior. Here are some comments from previous workshop and seminar attendees:
“I LOVED the PORTL workshop. So many useful lessons to help us think carefully about our training and gain empathy for our learners!”
“I am going to have all my trainers practice this game with each other.”
“PORTL was a huge ‘ah ha!’ moment for me as I experienced being the learner. It really highlighted some critical concepts that the teacher must consider, especially in lesson planning.”
“PORTL really helps you to understand things from your dog’s viewpoint.”
“Dog trainers tend to forget that our primary job is to teach the dog owners how to train their dogs, not for us to train their dogs. PORTL helps us understand how to teach owners step-by-step.”
“PORTL – wow! I learned so much from one simple exercise. I finally understand resurgence from seeing it happen.”