The NCCAT Solution and Planning Teams program offers educators an opportunity to meet in a residential setting devoid of distraction to create and advance departmental, school, or district-wide projects. These projects might consist of new programming, research, planning, or curricula. Gather a team together to create or refine your own innovative solutions. Early grades literacy or digital learning projects will be given preference, however, all project proposals will be considered. Single rooms, meeting space, Internet access, and meals for the participants will be provided by NCCAT. Travel and the cost of substitute teachers are not covered. Teachers, administrators, central office personnel, and district coordinators are encouraged to apply.

NCCAT schedules Solution and Planning Teams programs throughout the year. If your team is interested in a date that NCCAT has not already scheduled, contact Teacher Services to see if we can accommodate the date you prefer.

The NCCAT Solution and Planning Teams program offers educators an opportunity to meet in a residential setting devoid of distraction to create and advance departmental, school, or district-wide projects. These projects might consist of new programming, research, planning, or curricula. Gather a team together to create or refine your own innovative solutions. Early grades literacy or digital learning projects will be given preference, however, all project proposals will be considered. Single rooms, meeting space, Internet access, and meals for the participants will be provided by NCCAT. Travel and the cost of substitute teachers are not covered. Teachers, administrators, central office personnel, and district coordinators are encouraged to apply.

NCCAT schedules Solution and Planning Teams programs throughout the year. If your team is interested in a date that NCCAT has not already scheduled, contact Teacher Services to see if we can accommodate the date you prefer.

Reading, as the old saying goes, is fundamental. However, not all public school students have access to the variety of materials necessary to build a strong reading foundation. Research grant opportunities for purchasing books, digital devices, and other materials to aid in literacy instruction. Explore multiple means of acquiring literacy-related donations and discover open-access materials online. Finally, participate in the sharing of strategies for the effective use of these resources.

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. 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 what essential questions, unit questions, and content questions 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.

Discover ways to seamlessly include technology tools into everyday English Language Arts lessons. Technology, when folded into instruction, adds another dimension to teaching and learning. Expand the four walls of the classroom to invite new possibilities for collaborating, thinking, and exploring. Find the interface of research and technology. Create a network of tools to support lesson design. Learn about electronic creative collaboration. Investigate digitized text sets. Navigate plugged-in ways to check your students’ progress. Design infographics to engage students and enhance instruction. See how a read-aloud can change with technology. Come prepared for a systems update!

Designed for teachers in grades 3–5.

The world of STEM–science, technology, engineering, and math–provides a rich environment that motivates children to want to learn more. Children often prefer reading about spiders and dinosaurs to fictional characters. STEM activities help students build vocabulary, incorporate problem-solving skills, and analyze complex text with real-world applications. Maximize classroom time by integrating literacy with the natural connections of STEM disciplines. Experience lessons that give students a desire to read, promote problem solving, and model strategies to cultivate reading comprehension. Join us as we make messes, break things, and create minds-on STEM learning environments.

Which of our state’s national parks has a Road to Nowhere? Where is Torpedo Junction and how did it get its name? In which park can you walk in the footsteps of Revolutionary War patriots? North Carolina is home to ten national park units stretching from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Cape Hatteras shores. These parks offer diverse opportunities to spark students’ desire to learn more about the rich science and history of our state. Discover how park resources, including informational texts and supplemental materials, can enhance literacy skills. Learn ways your students can experience our parks both physically and virtually. As the National Park Service celebrates its 100-year birthday this year, partner with national park rangers and literacy experts to create lessons that will engage student learning in your classroom.

Canvas, North Carolina’s Learning Management System (LMS), is your place for one-stop learning and course management. Canvas is a trusted, open source LMS which provides a new way of teaching, learning, and thinking. Create modules, lessons, assessments, discussions, and portfolios. Have your grade book, course information, feedback, and student analytics all in one place. Come be a part of the education revolution—it’s Canvas Time, North Carolina!

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.

Literacy instruction is as difficult as it is essential. This program will provide early grades teachers with a complement of research-based tools and strategies to help answer some of their more burning questions: How do I teach close reading to students who don’t yet know the alphabet? What level of writing can I attain from children who are still learning to spell? How do I simultaneously provide enrichment for advanced readers and remediation for delayed readers? How can I integrate reading and writing instruction into all other subject areas? Finally, what does this instruction look like in the classroom and how are student engagement and learning measured in this process?