Workshops

Learning Environment

Promote Favorable Learning Environments

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Learning spaces extend far beyond the walls of the classroom. A well-developed school environment supports learning and student motivation in all spaces of the school and is the responsibility of all school community members. In this session, participants will identify key elements of effective physical environments and discuss how to create an environment that is conducive to a variety of learning needs and pedagogical approaches. Participants will also:

  • Identify key elements of effective physical environment and displays
  • Explore strategies forcreating walls that teach, manage, and celebrate
  • Discuss displays that communicate school values and the shared mission and vision of all stakeholders
  • Analyze gaps in current environment and craft next steps for both quick wins and long-term projects

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Creating a safe and positive classroom environment is critical for students’ social, emotional, and academic success. Proactively and explicitly building a culture of high expectations, respect, and shared values sets the tone for a collaborative classroom and protects both teachers’ and students’ rights. This workshop will help teachers create an effective plan for classroom management that will set the stage for a successful year for all stakeholders. Participants will:

  • Understand the factors that contribute to effective class room management
  • Explore the relationships among philosophies, beliefs, values, and behavior
  • Learn strategies for establishing a positive class room environment and preventing behavior problems

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Research has shown that students who engage in conversations about their own learning and who have a voice throughout the school day are more engaged in the content and have better learning outcomes. Promoting student voice in the learning process also increases students’ academic vocabulary, deepens understanding, and supports higher-order thinking. Engaging in reflective learning conversations is also a key part of the cycle of instruction, fostering intrinsic motivation while striving toward personal learning goals. Workshop participants will:

  • Explore opportunities for increasing learner voice at the class room and school level
  • Define the teacher’s role in facilitating a class room where learner voice is valued and encouraged
  • Discuss a range of intentional practices that require students to demonstrate high levels of engagement and motivation
  • Create an action plan for students to take ownership of their learning and act as change agents within the classroom and school community

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Core values permeate all aspects of the learning community and need to be clearly articulated in a community code. It is imperative that the whole school community can articulate a set of shared values, as well as explain and provide examples of how these values enable their school to function well for everyone. In this workshop, participants will:

  • Understand the need for a schoolwide community code that explicitly connects to a set of shared values
  • Explore intentional strategies that create a culture of high expectations that expressly articulate college and career readiness
  • Discuss ways to ensure that all students receive the necessary support and have a voice in fostering a culture of learning and mutual respect
  • Develop a core values implementation plan that intentionally underpins positive language, attitudes, and behavior within the school

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Cooperative learning is more than a classroom strategy used to support academic achievement and social development; working cooperatively is a college- and career-readiness skill. Learning together and working toward a common goal can promote discussion, inquiry, and positive social interactions. In this workshop, participants will explore the symbiotic relationship between learning environment and teamwork and create a plan of action for implementing cooperative learning and team-building activities in the classroom. By the conclusion, participants will:

  • Understand the classroom structures needed for successful cooperative learning
  • Identify tools and strategies to create high-functioning teams
  • Discuss the teacher’s role in facilitating and managing cooperative learning in the classroom
  • Create a plan for incorporating more opportunities for collaboration in the classroom

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Research shows that increased student engagement promotes overall retention of the target subject matter and leads to higher levels of motivation and student ownership of the learning process. To prepare for college and career, students must not be passive learners; they must manipulate content, ask questions, discuss with peers, and solve problems. This workshop introduces a variety of strategies for teachers to use as they move into a facilitator role in the classroom while engaging students in the cycle of learning. Participants will:

  • Discuss guidelines for establishing and maintaining an “active” classroom
  • Identify instructional strategies that will reinforce the higher levels of thinking required for college and career readiness
  • Understand the teacher’s role in creating learning opportunities that promote inquiry, collaboration, and lively discussion
  • Design easy-to-implement yet effective activities to use with students

Length: 3 hours
Research shows that increased student engagement promotes overall retention of the target subject matter and leads to higher levels of motivation and student ownership of the learning process. Teachers can support active virtual learning by providing opportunities to manipulate content, ask questions, discuss with peers, and solve problems, even from a distance. This session introduces a variety of strategies for teachers to use as they move into a facilitator role in the virtual classroom. Participants will:

  • Describe the characteristics of effective teaching and the benefits of interactive strategies
  • Identify strategies for supporting purposeful student interaction and techniques to increase student engagement and higher levels of thinking
  • Apply methods of scaffolding and opportunities for differentiation
  • Design activities for interactive and engaging virtual learning

Length: 3 hours
This session is designed to support teachers in recognizing signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, offer key strategies for creating a healthy work-life balance, and help educators improve their outlook and inspiration both inside and outside of the classroom. By the end of the session, participants will be better prepared to manage the stressors inherent to life as a teacher in order to create a path to wellness. Participants will:

  • Identify the source of burnout in their lives and learn to recognize the signs and symptoms
  • Integrate sustainable self-care approaches into their personal and professional lives to prevent or reverse burnout
  • Apply self-care strategies that involve students and colleagues in facilitating productivity, balance,
    and the creation of peaceful and cooperative learning environments
  • Design action plans for stress management and self-care in their personal and professional lives

SEL+ PLUS: Creating Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders | 1 hour Webinar
Educators who understand and develop instructional practices that support students’ social-emotional competencies create conditions for academic success. In this session, educators explore strategies to help students acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, behaviors, and skills necessary to manage emotions, set and achieve goals, demonstrate empathy, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions to set the stage for success in school, careers, and life. Participants will:

  • Demonstrate understanding of the five overarching social-emotional competencies
  • Identify social-emotional learning needs in the classroom and/or school
  • Design and deliver explicit instruction that supports social-emotional competencies in students

Length: 3 hours
Students with executive function and self-regulation deficits require thoughtful instruction and behavior shaping to improve their performance of these critical skills. In this session, participants will learn to identify executive function deficits and implement interventions to address executive dysfunction. Factors associated with ADHD will also be explored. Participants will:

  • Identify and develop executive function skills within the school and home environment
  • Explore interventions that will help students who exhibit executive dysfunction
  • Examine ADHD and its relationship with executive dysfunction

Length: 3 hours
In the current educational landscape, change is sometimes the only constant. Uncertainty and a lack of a sense of control, among other factors, can lead to anxiety in students and educators alike, undermining efforts at creating nurturing and stable learning environments. Anxiety can also hamper social-emotional development and even lead to long-term negative life outcomes, also affecting families, and communities. In this session, participants will learn how to support students and families in coping with anxiety in school and at home. Participants will:

  • Distinguish between different types of anxiety and examine the impact of anxiety on student development,
    behaviors, health, and learning
  • Explore evidence-based strategies for helping students and teachers manage anxiety related to change,
    uncertainty, and life stressors
  • Select and apply relevant strategies to specific students based on their needs and challenges

Length: 3 or 6 hours

Upon completion of all three sections, participants will:

  • Define five core competencies of social-emotional learning
  • Examine how teaching social-emotional skill building impacts student learning
  • Explore classroom practices that effectively incorporate social emotional skill building
  • Develop strategies to help students acquire and apply social emotional knowledge
  • Identify next steps for implementation

Modeling and Teaching Social Emotional Skill Building: Part 1

Length: 2 hour Webinar
Effective social-emotional learning requires teachers to model the five core competencies and deliberately teach skills within those competencies throughout the day, every day. In this session, participants will review
the research on the five core competencies and reflect on how to model and teach self-awareness and self-management. Participants will also explore classroom practices and strategies that effectively incorporate social-emotional skill building into academic instruction both in-person and virtually. Participants will also develop a plan that will work with their specific students to effectively apply the knowledge, behaviors, and skills necessary to identify, regulate, and manage emotions, and set and achieve goals.

Modeling and Teaching Social Emotional Skill Building: Part 2

Length: 2 hour Webinar
This session should follow Part 1 of this webinar series. In this session, participants will reflect on how to model and teach social awareness and relationship management. Participants will also explore classroom
practices and strategies that effectively incorporate social-emotional skill building into academic instruction both in-person and virtually. Participants will also develop a plan that will work with their specific students to effectively apply the knowledge, behaviors, and skills necessary to understand how and what others may be thinking or doing in a variety of settings, demonstrate empathy, and establish and maintain appropriate and positive relationships.

Modeling and Teaching Social Emotional Skill Building: Part 3

Length: 2 hour Webinar
This session should follow Part 2 of this webinar series. In this session, participants will reflect on how to model and teach responsible decision making. Participants will also explore classroom practices and strategies that effectively incorporate social-emotional skill building into academic instruction both in-person and virtually. Participants will also develop a plan that will work with their specific students to effectively apply the knowledge, behaviors, and skills necessary to problem solve social situations and make responsible decisions to set the stage for success in school, careers, and life.

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Studies have found that schools can address the root causes of bullying and related forms of school violence by prioritizing the development of a positive school climate. In this session, participants will explore ways to increase trust, accountability, inclusivity, and a stronger sense of community within their school. Participants will also examine practices that promote student voice and leadership when creating a school climate in which they feel safe and supported.

  • Define a safe and positive school climate (SPSC) and identify barriers and factors that contribute to its development
  • Determine ways to promote a SPSC that builds on existing school strengths and addresses areas for growth
  • Develop a sustainable action plan to promote a SPSC that begins with staff and includes concrete steps to engage students and families

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders

Educators can more effectively meet the needs of each student and family they serve when they possess the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. In this workshop, participants will:

  • Define what cultural competence is and what it is not
  • Examine how cultural views, attitudes, and beliefs impact the way educators interact with and respond
    to their students
  • Identify the stages of cultural awareness and reflect on where they are in the process
  • Apply strategies and approaches to be come a more culturally competent educator

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders

One of the primary goals of 21st-century education is to close the engagement and achievement gaps for all students. To do this, educators must make the shift from generalized instructional strategies to responsive practices that embrace different backgrounds and experiences to advance opportunity and ensure fairness in the classroom. In this session, participants will learn strategies to foster a community of learning that centers students’ experiences and
amplifies their voice and agency. Participants will:

  • Describe a learning environment that acknowledges and celebrates differences, presents content from multiple
    perspectives, and allows students to see themselves and their own experiences honored in learning
  • Analyze how one’s own culture and beliefs influence instructional design, pedagogy, teaching, and learning
  • Identify and apply instructional approaches that amplify student voice and agency
  • Integrate responsive teaching practices that are engaging, personally challenging, and affirming for each student

For: 4-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
In this era of high-stakes testing and increased teacher accountability, correct answers are too often valued as the measure of success over the learning journey. As a result, classrooms become risk-averse, where learning by discovery is overshadowed by speed and accuracy. This session explores strategies for fostering classroom environments permeated by a growth mindset, where risk-taking, mistakes, challenges, and persistence are not only valued but expected.

  • Describe the tenets of growth mindset and differentiate between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset
  • Compare and contrast the learning and performance zone, and discuss how to make those differences clear to students
  • Examine strategies to slowly build opportunities for risk-taking, exploration, and challenges for students

All schools and educators work with children who have experienced trauma, but they may not know who these students are. Childhood trauma can have direct, immediate, and potentially overwhelming effects on a child’s development and ability to learn. Trauma affects not only individuals, but also their families and the communities in which they live and learn. Yet, this issue has largely been ignored by our education system. Participants will:

  • Describe the impact of trauma on students’ development, their learning experiences, and their classroom behaviors
  • Identify the types of trauma students typically face and how best to support them and their families
  • Apply effective strategies and approaches to mitigate the impact of trauma on students and improve their educational outcomes
  • Incorporate self-care techniques for students and educators

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
All schools and educators work with children who have experienced trauma, but they may not know who these students are. Childhood trauma can have direct, immediate, and potentially overwhelming effects on a child’s development and ability to learn. Trauma affects not only individuals, but also their families and the communities in which they live and learn. Yet, this issue has largely been ignored by our education system. Participants will:

  • Describe the impact of trauma on students’ development, their learning experiences, and their classroom behaviors
  • Identify the types of trauma students typically face and how best to support them and their families
  • Apply effective strategies and approaches to mitigate the impact of trauma on students and improve their educational outcomes
  • Incorporate self-care techniques for students and educators