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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The revised English Language Arts NCSCoS for juniors and seniors focuses on fine-tuning students’ recognition and use of language’s persuasive and aesthetic powers. In this program, we will examine several highly complex texts—dramatic, oratorical, fiction and non-fiction. We will consider not only how to teach these texts but also what the texts teach us about how words can be used to persuade, entertain, soothe, and otherwise manipulate. Teachers also will receive dedicated time and assistance to create or revise units and lesson plans for their texts and students.

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Designed for teachers of grades K–8.

MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) is the umbrella under which all educational practices fall. It has two main pillars: RtI (Responsiveness to Instruction/Intervention) and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports). These two areas incorporate all academic and behavioral learning. What have we learned from the experts over the past decades? What does the research tell us about optimal teaching behaviors that equate to maximum learning outcomes? How can we change our behavior to ensure positive and thriving student behaviors? This program is intended to offer the big picture—the major areas that will yield the biggest impact, some of the latest research, as well as practical implementation suggestions and resources. Plan to leave with ideas, resources, and a game plan for your classroom and possibly your school!

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Today’s diverse students enter school eager to become successful in classrooms originally designed for culturally homogeneous populations. Students are expected to learn from teachers who are often not from the same cultural, ethnic/race or social-class. Unsurprisingly, student performance in reading and other subjects is often low while student dropout and teacher burnout rates are high. This program guides participants to explore and document their experiences in motivating at-risk students to become effective readers. In addition to sharing successful strategies for improving reading skills, participants will examine barriers children encounter along the pathway and how these barriers affect them. Additionally, participants will learn strategies for supporting higher order thinking skills while encouraging self-motivation, personal responsibility, and perseverance.

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Writing well allows students to process and organize their thoughts and feelings and to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. Writing well is also one of the most difficult skills to teach, and many find the task overwhelming. The grading alone taxes the commitment of even the best of our profession. In this program, we will examine ways to write and how best to introduce various writing techniques to your students while providing useful, timely feedback. Participants will have the opportunity to practice writing, receive and give feedback, and collaborate on best practices for supporting adolescent writers.

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It’s time to start thinking outside the box! Teachers often think projects take too much time to plan or don’t know how to align them with curriculum. Project Based Learning Units (PBLs) are an effective and enjoyable way to learn that allow students to work as a team, reflect, ask questions, build confidence, work with a purpose, problem solve, and learn time management. Investigate essential questions, unit questions, and content questions that will enable you to develop your own PBL unit. Return to your classroom with a PBL unit you create that will excite and engage your students as they claim ownership of their learning.

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