Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Summer Professional Learning Re-Cap

Welcome back! Looks like we are in store for another year of teaching and learning in the midst of the pandemic. Unlike last year, we will not be offering a "remote" or "hybrid" option this year so we all must be prepared for whatever comes our way. 

Some "best practices" emerged last year and I am hopeful that we can take the lessons learned and build upon them as the 2021-22 school year gets underway. Our Summer Professional Learning workshops were designed to do just that. Check out the slide decks below for some tools and strategies to support 21st century teaching regardless of modality. Feel free to bookmark the Summer Professional Learning Google Site, which has all of the Slides presentations along with some Tech How-Tos. You are also welcome to make a copy of each of the presentations--the links to do so are located at the bottom of this blog post. 

Establish a Positive and Productive Home-School Connection

Communicating with families proved to be vital in supporting student success. The slide deck below shares some tools and strategies for working with parents as partners.



Engage Students by Building Curiosity and Excitement


When teaching remotely, lack of student engagement was certainly an obstacle to student success. Engaging your class as you begin a lesson can be the key to capturing their attention, inspiring their curiosity, and building their excitement.  
 
 

Rethink Direct Instruction and the Teacher's Role


How can you make the most out of the precious face-to-face time you have with your students? Sage on the Stage or Guide on the Side? Teachers can leverage a variety of digital tools to re-think how they deliver direct instruction.



Formative Assessment Can Be Fun!


Formative assessment informs our instruction but it doesn't have to be limited to traditional tests and quizzes. There are lots of tools and strategies that can make formative assessment engaging and fun.



Let Students Show What They Know


Aside from traditional pen and paper tests and quizzes, how can students demonstrate learning? Teachers can create activities and assignments for students to apply what they learn by using web tools to create, collaborate, and/or connect beyond the classroom.



Make Learning Interactive


Learning remotely proved to be isolating for many students. There are lots of ways for students to interact with content, their peers, and the teacher. Consider the intended audience for student work when you design, deliver, and collect student work.


Feel free to make a copy of each of the slide decks posted above:
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