When families and communities can work and collaborate with schools the results can improve student learning. This course was created to offer teachers a variety of ways to increase their communication skills with parents and guardians. Participants in this course will discover various ways to increase regular, meaningful two-way communication between schools and home. Participants will explore methods to engage families in the learning process of their children as well as developing interactive assessments that involve both students and parents. Engaging parents and guardians in meaningful communication builds a partnership of learning that can only benefit their student’s learning experiences. At the end of this course, participants will have developed an assignment that includes a parent participation component.
Design and create your own Google Sites website for your classes. Easily add content and classroom information to your personal website to keep students and parents informed of what is happening in your class. The new Google Sites is easier than ever to use and can be personalized to match your style and preferences. By creating a Google Sites website, students and parents will have online access to curricula and other content materials provided by the teacher. The course will meet face-to-face once per week and will continue the learning and discussions online. Once created, your new Google Sites will serve as a foundation for all your future classes. At the end of the course you will have a working Google Sites website for your class and a video tour to guide the visitors around your new website.
To most people it’s no surprise to hear there is a gender bias in the fields of science and in science education. Gender bias begins long before high school students enter my classroom. Gender bias affects girls in science classes because they feel an additional burden from a stereotype threat against them. This threat adds to their workload and can influence their performance in science because there is the need to prove their work and accomplishments have value because of their identity. A common goal we should strive to achieving is to reduce or even eliminate gender bias to give all students an equal opportunity to succeed. In this PD session, participants will discover what gender bias is, where it comes from and what can be done about it.