Customizable sessions at the request of district/ building administration. For more information regarding these Professional Development Opportunities please contact your Single Point of Contact (SPOC).

Data Matters

These sessions can be tailored for half day and full day sessions.
With any initiative, data must be in the forefront. Our Curriculum and Instruction Department offers the following workshops to assist both District and School Level Teams with Data Analysis:

• PA School Performance Profile
• Classroom Diagnostic Tool (CDT)
• eMetric
• Helping Unite Data Analysis Teams (HUDAT)
• High School Feedback Reports
• Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS)

Delving Deeply into the Common Core

The following half day sessions are offered as each district transitions to the implementation of the Common Core Standards.

• Overview of the Common Core and Its Impact on Curriculum Development
• Common Core: Examining the Philosophy and Strategies for Reading Literature
• Common Core: Examining the Philosophy and Strategies for Reading Informational Text
• Common Core: Examining the Philosophy and Research Surrounding the Reading for Foundational Skills Standards (K-5)
• Common Core: Exploring Examples and Creating Rubrics for Opinion Writing (K-5)
• Common Core: Extended Thinking Experiences for all Content Areas
• Common Core: Understanding the Vocabulary /Language Connection
• Formative Assessment and the Common Core Connection
• Integrating the Common Core Standards for Career and Technical Teachers
• Resources to Move Beyond the Textbook
• Text Complexity for All Content Areas

Historically Low Performing Populations

Defined by PDE as, “a non-duplicated count of students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English Language Learners enrolled for a full academic year taking the PSSA.” The following workshops are available to school level staff to meet the needs of this diverse population.

• Avoiding Surface Comprehension
• Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Differentiated Instruction: A Tiered Approach for Content Teachers
• Differentiated Instruction: Choice, Voice and Opportunity
• Framework for Achievement: Universal Design for Learning
• I Read it, But I Didn’t Get It: Strategies for Struggling Learners
• Teaching with Poverty in Mind

Math Matters

CCSSM 911 Series (A Four-Part Series)

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 911 (CCSSM 911) is a series of four workshops designed to help teachers develop classroom activities that represent the overarching habits of mind that foster the development of high functioning mathematical students. Each workshop is designed for primary grades in the a.m. session and secondary grades in the p.m. session.

CCSSM 911 (Workshop 1 – Problem Solving, Perseverance, and Precision)

Have you ever assigned students practice problems to develop fluency and with a few word problems at the end to demonstrate application? Sure they manage the practice set fine, but the word problems are either left blank or answered with some absurd quantity or explanation…This workshop aligned to Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards 1 and 6:

• Make sense of problems and preserver in solving them.
• Attend to precision.

will address many of the concerns teachers experience when attempting to engage students in the dreaded “word problem”. From techniques involving offering all students access to real-world scenarios to the development of these authentic activities, this workshop will offer participants the opportunity to modify activities they already have to create engaging standards-aligned authentic scenarios.

CCSSM 911 (Workshop 2 – Reasoning, Explaining, and Arguing)

Inevitably students will find a different means by which to solve a mathematical problem than was taught. Is their method right? …or have you ever wondered why students do or don’t seem to grasp a certain math skill? Reasoning, Explaining, and Arguing is a workshop aligned to Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards 2 and 3:

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

and will help teachers of math utilize these questions as learning opportunities to foster the development of student understanding of the power of communication in the mathematics classroom. Participants will analyze classroom activities in attempts to anticipate scenarios where either argumentative dialogue can produce better understanding of mathematical concepts or develop rich writing prompts where students will need to defend their thinking with mathematical reasoning.

CCSSM 911 (Workshop 3 – Modeling and Using Tools)

Activities requiring manipulatives or materials such as scissors, tape, and construction paper are often clearly defined as students begin activities where some physical representation of mathematical models is necessary, but how often are students required to find the best materials and resources necessary to complete such a mathematical task? From rulers and protractors to mobile devices, this workshop aligned to Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards 4 and 5:

• Model with mathematics.
• Use appropriate tools strategically.

will assist participants in the development of classroom activities where the materials and/or tools needed to solve a problem-based scenario are open-ended as opposed to rigidly defined.

CCSSM 911 (Workshop 4 – Seeing Structure and Generalizing)

Algebra is often considered as a study of the last three letters of the alphabet and is only taught in a Pre-Algebra or Algebra Course. This workshop aligned to Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards 7 and 8:

• Look for and make use of structure.
• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

will address this flawed assumption by demonstrating how algebraic thinking can and should be a part of mathematical instruction from kindergarten to high school. Participants will develop classroom activities that will build upon information from previous workshops to help students model patterns in number and/or geometric structure with mathematical symbols and/or other representations.

Integration of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the Mathematics Classroom

Does your classroom have a laptop cart, but not enough machines for every student? Do you have access to a computer lab, but it always seems to be booked by other teachers? As many schools are realizing that meeting the tech needs of every student and teacher can be an insurmountable goal, school districts are developing policy which allows students to bring their own devices to class. Are you ready?

The goals of this workshop include the management of a BYOD classroom, and how devices such as smart phones and web-ready handhelds can be integrated into instruction and assessment. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop and are required to bring a web-accessible mobile device such as an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Kindle Fire, Blackberry, etc.

The Flipped Classroom (Part 1)

The Flipped Classroom model is a teaching tool that is sweeping across the educational landscape. By leveraging the power of multimedia as more than a simple in-class instructional video, educators are enabled to reach the needs of more students and at a deeper level than ever before. Simply put, the “flipped” classroom is a place where instructional content is delivered outside of class to allow students more time in class with their teacher and peers for deeper exploration and application of instructional goals. This workshop will explore the concept of the Flipped Classroom model from its simplest form to more elaborate methods of classroom integration.
Participants will need a laptop and ear-buds.

The Flipped Classroom (Part 2)

Now that you have had some experience with “flipping” your classroom, this workshop will dig deeper into the best practices of this model along with some additional supportive tech information to help boost the effectiveness your instructional videos.
Participants will need a laptop (Camtasia Studio software is encouraged), mic, and earphones – web cam optional.

Research Based Best Practices

The following workshops take their basis out of the current educational research of leading experts in the field.

• Effective Instructional Delivery Model for the Common Core– The Before, During, and After Process
• Integrating Poetry with the Common Core Standards
• Literacy Design Collaborative
• Literature Circles: Creating Comprehension through Collaboration
• Making Reading Visible and Accountable with the Common Core Standards
• Novel in an Hour
• Taking Notes vs. Making Notes: Using 3D Organizers to Increase Student Achievement
• Texts and Lessons for Content Area Reading

Writing Matters

Thinking with the Common Core Standards in mind, the following workshops were developed to activate the learning process by experiencing the content areas with the various types and purposes for writing.

• Embedding the Research Standards and the “I-Search” Process
• Exploring Examples and Creating Rubrics for Argumentative Writing 6-12
• Exploring Examples and Creating Rubrics for Informational/Explanatory Writing 6-12
• Exploring Examples and Creating Rubrics for Narrative Writing 6-12