Computer science drives job growth and innovation throughout our economy and society. According to Code.org: computing occupations make up two-thirds of all projected new jobs in STEM fields, making Computer Science one of the most in-demand college degrees. Most students, however, do not have the opportunity to learn coding. You can help change this by inspiring students to learn more about computer science. Learn how to code, how to integrate coding into your curriculum, and the basics in robotics.

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“Schoolwork at home and homework at school” is one of the many definitions of a flipped classroom. Explore the history, styles, and benefits of flipping your classroom, including practical, hands-on ways to create, curate, and differentiate video content. With help from experienced teachers and educational technologists, each participant will identify what elements of their curriculum could be flipped and will have the opportunity to create a ready-to-roll video lesson with ideas for assessment and follow-up activities. We’ll look at the possibilities created by flipping, including time for project-based and mastery learning. Come gain the confidence, tools and skills to flip your curriculum and create a more responsive, active, social, and creative classroom.

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As a teacher, what are your strengths, in and out of the classroom? What are your leadership skills, in and out of the classroom? Standard 1 of The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards requires that teachers demonstrate leadership that extends beyond their own students. If ambitious, creative, effective teachers could remain in the classroom while still finding means to have impacts on their schools, districts, or communities, the entire educational system would benefit. Teacher leaders will examine their work settings and their roles in them. Teachers will develop means to integrate intellectual growth and leadership skills, as well as explore ways to have continued impacts, in and out of the classroom. They also will step out of their comfort zones for a day of engaging with the US Coast Guard to examine their teamwork and leadership models and hear from leaders in other professions.

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Designed for teachers of grades K–5.

Good readers ask questions before, during, and after reading to make sense of text. Questions provide the opportunity to interact with the text and figure out the deeper meaning of what is being read. How do teachers model good questioning strategies? How do teachers pose questions that foster critical thinking? What types of questions help readers understand confusing parts of a book? Learn how to use questioning strategies to enhance reading comprehension for all students.

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Designed for teachers of grades 6–12.

Imagine a classroom where digital learning is already immersed into every aspect of the curriculum. Educators today have so many components to consider when creating a lesson, including: content, assessment, collaboration, and digital technology. Learn how to create a learning space where digital tools are seamlessly integrated. Investigate a variety of digital tools and see example lessons for the English/language arts, history, and science classrooms. Inspire your students to become more engaged by creating an immersive digital learning environment.

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Open to teachers in their first, second, or third year of teaching, this program supports motivated beginning teachers by strengthening their knowledge base and classroom expertise. Through experiential learning, teachers will explore pedagogical concerns including differentiated instruction, brain-compatible teaching, assessment, the effect of poverty on achievement and behavior, and classroom management. Come prepared to build professional competence and confidence, improve student achievement, and reinforce your commitment to this critically important profession.

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Our public schools are encountering a multicultural diversity challenge. Minority students (and all students) need to see positive verbal and visual images of children like themselves in the books they read. When children see themselves in books they are motivated to read more books and read more often. It can increase self-esteem and make them feel part of the larger society. Reading literature about people from other cultures can increase sensitivity to those who are different from themselves, improve their knowledge of the world, and help them realize that although people have many differences, they also share many similarities. Learn to identify and evaluate books and online literacy resources that you can use to build a positive multicultural classroom. Become familiar with grants and other sources you can use to acquire multicultural resources.

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It’s easy to see how engineering applies to robots, but how does it apply to the life sciences? Use the engineering design cycle to study ecology, molecular biology, genetics, and other life sciences. Build aquatic traps, design solutions to civil rights issues, model cell processes, and get messy all while integrating literacy strategies! Investigate how to adapt these concepts for your classroom use. Geared toward the middle grades, the concepts can easily be scaled up or down to fit your classroom needs.

This program was funded in part by Duke Energy.

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Designed for art teachers.

Visual literacy relates to the language of art—how it is organized, and how it is used to communicate as a language of its own. It relates to all aspects of becoming “art literate,” including an understanding of how the Elements of Art and Principles of Design are used for personal expression and for communication through art. In art, visual literacy encompasses the application of creative thinking skills while solving artistic problems. In this program, art teachers will learn how to encompass the use of digital resources to enhance instruction of visual literacy and safety in the art classroom. Art teachers will explore a variety of digital tools in order to create Hyper Docs, ePortfolios, and video/audio products.

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Equipping gifted learners to succeed requires both attention to challenging them academically and understanding their social-emotional needs. Come learn multiple classroom strategies for differentiating curriculum and developing a growth mindset in gifted learners. Understand the connection between underachievement and perfectionism, and how to meet the needs of twice exceptional learners. Focus will be on analyzing standards, creating KUDs, developing pre-assessments, and selecting appropriate differentiation techniques. This program is appropriate for any classroom teacher.

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