CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT

Culturally Responsive teaching and gender justice connects students' cultures, languages, and life experiences with what they learn in school. This workshop explores culture and gender justice in order to help educators focus on the best practices and relationship building needed to make learning relevant for all students.

By understanding and leveraging the diverse ways in which students process information and engage with content, teachers can tailor their teaching methods to better meet the needs of all learners. This workshop provides practical insights and techniques for optimizing learning outcomes and promoting academic success for every student, regardless of their background or abilities.

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In this full day workshop, participants obtain a thorough understanding of the principles, protocols and processes of instructional round as developed by Dr. Richard Filmore and his team at Harvard University. Participants will learn how to initiate collaborative inquiry with all stakeholders in identifying the “Problem of Practice” and implement an instructional rounds framework that has a direct impact on teacher effectiveness and student learning.

The content of this workshop is based on the highly regarded texts by author Jeff Zwiers: Academic Conversations

How can we best meet all our students’ learning needs in a co-teaching model? In this workshop general and special education teacher will explore the key factors and models of successful co-teaching. Through engaging activities around effective practices and tools of collaboration, participants will shift their thinking in the most formidable way!

Part 1 "Getting Started with MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) in our New Learning Environment" This webinar will guide school districts as they develop and implement MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) in the current learning environment. Participants will be introduced to the three tiers of an MTSS framework for academic and behavioral interventions. Participants will explore the key components and helpful tools of MTSS. They will learn how to examine your core instruction as well as identify current assessments and ways data is used to guide instructional practices.

Part 2 "Building the Instructional Core Using the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) Lens" This webinar will help you chart the course and navigate the MTSS process by applying principles outlined in the DOE Fidelity Implementation Rubric. Participants will focus on selecting assessments and universal screening tools, establishing data and leadership teams , examining data to determine students’ needs and curricular gaps and strengthening and fortifying the core and interventions in tier 2 and 3.

Part 3 "Sustaining Your MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) Process with Grace and Grit” The power and promise of this process is dependent on strong collaboration and shared leadership focused on the MTSS process. This webinar will assist school leaders and others in their efforts to sustain a strong system of supports for students. Participants will consider identifying Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions as well as building a viable schedule including regular intervention times. Through selecting key data team personnel, schools will be able to increase educator capacity that will improve teaching and learning.

Educators are responsible for empowering students to be autonomous. Students gain confidence in taking risks when they visibly see their own learning and are provided authentic feedback in real time. While educators are challenged to find ways to now make learning visible at any time and from any location, it is difficult to find a balance between how to hold students accountable in a digital arena, that can often feel isolating, with ensuring students are prepared with the ability to succeed in a social and collaborative 21st century. Educators will explore the connection between formative assessments and strong learning targets, in addition to participating in example assessments that can be used to make learning visible anytime, anywhere. Furthermore, participants will leave with a skeleton for effective feedback that can be transferred and used by students to benefit their peers.

It has been said that there is no better measure of a school’s culture than how inclusive it is of its most vulnerable students. Tomlinson’s model of Differentiation provides tailored instruction to meet the needs of individual students. By differentiating content, process, products, or the learning environment coupled with ongoing assessment and flexible grouping, this becomes a successful approach to instruction.

Discussion, now more than ever, is a valuable inquiry based practice allowing students to make meaning from their learning. This collaborative practice yields higher level thinking, increases student engagement, and reinforces powerful social-emotional skills. As teachers, we build safe classroom cultures cultivated in curiosity through the Socratic method. Rich classroom discussions doesn't just happen. They develop when teachers utilize the strategies found in the Socratic method.