2020-21 Archived Workshop Recordings and Descriptions

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 at 4 pm:

Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain:

Making Connections that Benefit Student Learning

With Amy Murillo

This is the first of three sessions providing an overview of the text, Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond (2015). This book connects the fields of neuroscience and culturally responsive teaching. It provides a framework for teachers to think about the culture of their students and their own culture and how it impacts teaching and learning. We will utilize Hammond’s (2015) framework to explore using that knowledge to support our students and create pedagogically-sound plans. It is not a requirement for participants to purchase the text.

Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of how the brain, our culture, and student learning are connected.

• Analyze our own culture and how it impacts our pedagogy.

• Discuss and develop strategies that utilize culture as a gateway to powerful and lasting student learning.

Book Study: Part One of Three. Hammond's -Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Making Connections That Benefit the Brain-https://youtu.be/A_Ze1nUQdYI . (Begins at 1:31)

Wednesday, January 27, 2020 at 4 pm:

Pt 2: Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain:

Making Connections that Benefit Student Learning

With Amy Murillo

This is the second of three sessions providing an overview of the text, Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond (2015). This book connects the fields of neuroscience and culturally responsive teaching. It provides a framework for teachers to think about the culture of their students and their own culture and how it impacts teaching and learning. We will utilize Hammond’s (2015) framework to explore using that knowledge to support our students and create pedagogically-sound plans. It is not a requirement for participants to purchase the text.

Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of how the brain, our culture, and student learning are connected.

• Analyze our own culture and how it impacts our pedagogy.

• Discuss and develop strategies that utilize culture as a gateway to powerful and lasting student learning.

Wednesday, April 14, 2020 at 4 pm:

Pt 3: Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain:

Making Connections that Benefit Student Learning

With Annie Badoo

This is the third of three sessions providing an overview of the text, Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond (2015). This book connects the fields of neuroscience and culturally responsive teaching. It provides a framework for teachers to think about the culture of their students and their own culture and how it impacts teaching and learning. We will utilize Hammond’s (2015) framework to explore using that knowledge to support our students and create pedagogically-sound plans. It is not a requirement for participants to purchase the text.

Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of how the brain, our culture, and student learning are connected.

• Analyze our own culture and how it impacts our pedagogy.

• Discuss and develop strategies that utilize culture as a gateway to powerful and lasting student learning.

Reflect, Read and Share with a Three-Part Series entitled: "But I'm Not Racist!" A series to learn about anti-racist behavior, implicit biases, and how we can become more culturally responsive teachers and leaders.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 4:30 pm:

What Happens When The Book Closes? How To Go Beyond Read-Alouds to Create Anti-Racist Classrooms

With Elizabeth Sturm and Jennifer Crider

Anti-racist work is a journey which is often started by teachers bringing in diverse stories into the classroom. Well, what about when the book closes? This session will help K-6 teachers identify quality picture books to use in the classroom but then go beyond the book, aligning classroom strategies and activities with antiracist practices.

Objectives

Participants will:

· Identify quality picture books that can be used in anti-racist work

· Build strategies for furthering anti-racist work through classroom activities and strategies

· Learn ways to begin classroom discussions on inequity

Resources

• PDF of presentation

• Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium Equity audit

• Harvard Project Zero: See, Think, Wonder strategy

Monday, February 22nd, 4:30 pm

Part 1: “Let’s Just Start The Dialogue about Race, Culture, and White Privilege...”

With ...

Lebia Chatman, Instructional Coach & published author, West Chicago 33

and

Yannitza Vasquez, Bilingual Speech and Language Pathologist, founder of Tanama Speech & Language, LLC.

Participants will engage in an interactive presentation about implicit biases, white privilege, and how this is the foundation of truly building a learning environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools. Participants will examine social justice standards and walk away with a better understanding of what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher or leader.

Objectives

Participants will:

• Identify implicit biases about race and culture

• List examples of white privilege

• Explore culturally responsive teaching standards

Wednesday, March 3rd, 7 p.m.

Part 2: "So, We Started Talking About Race and Biases, . . . Now, Let's Read About It"

With ...

Lebia Chatman, Instructional Coach & published author, West Chicago #33,

Nancy Vivaldo, Bilingual Special Education Teacher, West Chicago #33,

and

Jill Zapata, Bilingual Educator and Administrator

In Part Two of this webinar series, the presenters will preview three different texts about race and cultural diversity. Attention will be given to communication and structures in schools, as well as relationship building. The texts include: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo, What If I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People by Verna Myers and Brown Girl’s Guide to Education by Lebia Chatman. Participants will select one to read and be responsible for reading it by the last session, part 3 on April 7th.

Objectives

Participants will:

• Discuss the questions:

Why is important to have a common language and organizational

structure in schools?

How does diversity affect relationships within the school, classroom,

and beyond?

• Select one of three texts to read about race, culture, and diversity

• Share comments, questions, reactions, and new learning on April 7 at 7 pm.

Wednesday, April 7, 5 p.m.

Part 3 : "Now What? How Do I Become Anti-Racist?"

With ...

Lebia Chatman, Instructional Coach & published author, West Chicago #33,

Nancy Vivaldo, Bilingual Special Education Teacher, West Chicago #33,

and

Jill Zapata, Bilingual Educator and Administrator

This is the third webinar in the series. In this webinar the facilitators will lead a discussion and facilitate discussion around the comments, questions, reactions and new learning that each participant shares around the books the participants selected and read. The three facilitators will then share ideas around how the new learning can be applied in the classroom and beyond.

Objectives

Participants will:

• Discuss new learning from the selected texts presented in Part 2 of the webinar series

• Respond to the following questions:

Why is important to have a common language and organizational structure in schools?

How does diversity affect relationships within the school, classroom, and beyond?

• Explore classroom and school applications of the ideas

Tuesday, November 2, 2020 at 2 pm

HOW TO SPOT A FAKE?

With Dr. Julie Tonsing-Meyer, McKendree University

Description:

With so much information on the web; real vs. fake, and everything in between -- it’s no wonder students have a hard time separating fact from fiction. This session will help teachers learn tips and tricks for students to use in the classroom when discerning how to spot a fake in the online arena.

Participants will:

Learn tips and tricks on how to "spot a fake."

Build strategies to use in the classroom

Explore "apps" to incorporate into structured lessons for students.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 7 pm

Engaging Students Through Gamification

With Dr. Liz Sturm & Joseph Daly, Lewis University

Description:

Tired of Kahoot!? This session will focus on using free online tools to gamify your online teaching. Both cooperative and competitive game-based tools will be played, along with discussion of gamification strategies not only for retrieval practice, but also for deepening student engagement and increasing motivation.

Participants will:

• Explore free online gamification tools suitable across many grade levels

• Build strategies for increasing student engagement and motivation

Walking the Talk with Virtual Teaching & Assessment

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 7 pm

Let's talk with teacher leaders about how they have approached virtual instruction and assessment during the pandemic. This open discussion will focus on how what we are learning in virtual classrooms promotes reflective practice for what we will change when instruction returns to physical spaces.

Teacher Leader Hosts: Jennifer Cagney & Natalie Thompson

Professional Development Objectives

1. Discuss innovations for teaching and assessing during remote learning.

2. Analyze the pros and cons of virtual applications and strategies in terms of age-appropriateness, student learning, and instructional effectiveness and efficiency.

3. Create plans to apply innovative teaching and assessment ideas in future classroom practice

Virtual Teacher Lounge Discussion: How's Your Teacher SEL?

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 7 pm

Let's talk about what teachers are learning to improve their own emotional competencies in remote and hybrid teaching environments, how teacher SEL is essential for student SEL, and strategies for teacher well-being.

Teacher Leader Host: Kristie Scriba

Professional Development Objectives:

1. Describe areas of strength in your teacher social emotional competence (SEC) and areas for development.

2. Discuss strategies for leveraging SEC strengths and improving SEC.

3. Evaluate how SEC is impacting face-to-face, remote, and hybrid teaching during the pandemic and what will be needed in a full return to face-to-face.

Walking the Talk with Virtual Peer Observations

Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 7 pm

Let's talk with teacher leaders about how they have participated in peer observations in virtual formats during the pandemic. Peer observation is one of the most effective forms of professional development and in this webinar educators will learn how teachers have been successful using them during remote teaching.

Teacher Leader Hosts: George Andrikokus & Ashely Grengs

1. Evaluate how virtual peer observations can enhance classroom practice, collaborative culture, and team meetings.

2. Analyze how to give guided peer feedback and act as a critical friend as part of peer observation.

3. Explore innovate methods of peer observation using Zoom or Google and techniques like Video Stimulated Recall.

Walking the Talk with Teaching Assistant Collaboration

Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 7 pm

Teacher Leader & Teaching Assistant Hosts: Mary Beth Gley

Let's talk with teacher leaders and teaching assistants about how they have approached collaboration in working and learning together.

• Discuss current struggles with using classroom assistants effectively within the Hybrid/Remote model

• Explore and share current practices and solutions related to classroom assistants and the Hybrid/Remote model

• Discuss how to open the dialogue between teacher and assistants in order to evaluate successes and struggles

Virtual Teacher Lounge Discussion: Let's Not Go "Back to Normal"

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 7 pm

Let's talk with teacher leaders about the lessons learned during remote, hybrid, and online teaching. What new ideas need to be leveraged as we return to the brick and mortar classroom spaces? What have we not done in a year that needs to be forgotten? How will the return to the classroom need to look, feel, and sound different?

Discussion Hosts: Kira Bonk, Lindsey Dolecki, Matthew Johnson, & Deb Meyer

1. Evaluate effective practices for returning to school after remote learning

2. Assess ways in which Fall 2021 will look, sound, and feel different from typical school years.

3. Examine ways to support gaps in learning and relationships.

Beyond Behaviors Book Study Part Two: https://youtu.be/pugy0OU07k4.

Maker Education - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gvPVZ7IjU&feature=youtu.be