Make it the BEST Summer!
JUNE 22-24, 2021
In appreciation of your hard work, ESD 112 is offering courses to help you grow and reflect for next year!
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BEST Week is held annually at the end of the school year featuring a variety of Professional Developments sponsored by the BEST Program.
Due to COVID-19, all professional developments will be conducted entirely on Zoom. Access to the Zoom link will be posted on the attendee page, viewable after registration is complete. For more information about Zoom, visit https://zoom.us/
This year we are excited to offer a total of 11 unique professional developments during the week. As a BEST participant, you are able to access courses for free by using The BEST Coupon Code. There is a limit to the number of coupons available for each course, so act fast! More codes may be issued as the event approaches, please fill out The Coupon Code Waitlist should you like to be added to a course if more coupons become available.
All professional developments are open to the public at cost.
Location
All professional developments will be conducted entirely on Zoom. Access to the Zoom link will be posted on the attendee page, viewable after registration is complete. For more information about Zoom, visit https://zoom.us/
BEST Week Classes
Click on a class to learn more and enroll!
Tuesday June 22nd
9:00am-12:00pm
This training will model effective teaching practices as participants interact in-depth with current educational research regarding learning targets, establishing inquiry in the classroom, motivation, and effective lesson design techniques that align and support Criterion 1: Centering Instruction on HIGH Expectations for Student Achievement.
9:00am-12:00pm
The number one factor with successful classrooms is Relationship! This is true for all grade levels. So, how do we create and maintain relationships with all of our students, even the hard to reach students? This class will provide tips, tricks and tools to do just this! I believe that Relationships & Classroom Culture go hand-in-hand….we need to be able to create and establish working relationships between teachers and students as well as student to student. Let’s explore ways to do this through routines and structures that are established throughout the school year.
9:00am-12:00pm
Replace “thumbs up” and “red cards” with highly motivating, interactive tech tools that will guide your instruction, as well as increase student engagement. Learn to use online survey tools, student work demonstration applications and screen sharing to gain insight into what students really understand. Participants will explore web-based and mobile device resources.
1:00pm-4:00pm
How can I support multilingual students with acquisition and application of STEM language and vocabulary? How can I support English Language Learners in engaging in classroom discourse in STEM subjects? This session will provide teachers with an overview of the research base and an opportunity to practice with key instructional strategies to support students in expressing STEM understandings by leveraging the NGSS and CCSS ELA standards. Participants will experience a language focused STEM activity and apply strategies for language acquisition. There will be a focus on science based vocabulary, classroom discourse and written responses to STEM learning.
1:00pm-4:00pm
Course includes an overview of the application and purpose of formative and summative assessment, particularly how to systematically use data to drive instruction. This includes analyzing results and scores as a catalyst to modify grading/scoring/instruction in a way that is meaningful and relevant to measuring student progress.
Wednesday June 23rd
9:00am-12:00pm
While there is no quick and easy formula to completely address the complex issues of learner variance in the classroom, an in-depth analysis of proactive differentiation strategies will support educators who strive to provide varied approaches in content, process, and product while anticipating and responding to student differences in readiness, interest, and learning needs.
This workshop models interactive teaching strategies as participants actively engage with Carol Ann Tomlinson’s newest edition of How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms that clarifies differentiation, provides rationale for proactive choices, and offers concrete examples for educators that will expand their professional skill set. Through collaborative, engaged targeted learning strategies, participants will cultivate relationships with colleagues.
Through alignment of Principles of Effective Teaching to the State Frameworks, participants will increase their ability to demonstrate professional growth in New Teacher Evaluation and increase all their students’ abilities to produce viable evidence of learning.
9:00am-12:00pm
This class will cover an introduction to: ACES, Resiliency, Zones & Restorative Practices. We will cover skills & tools that all educators can use to de-escalate escalated situations not only with ourselves but also with our students. Sometimes we need to know how to handle ourselves before we can help the students that become escalated. We will also talk about aspects of trauma that some of our students are either going through or have gone through in their past and how to create “empathy” for these students and yet still hold them accountable.
1:00pm-4:00pm
This session will explore the why and how of mathematical play. Learn to use this simple, but powerful strategy in your classroom and beyond to transform relationships with math and strengthen math identities. Ideas from this session are appropriate for learners of any age.
This class qualifies for STEM Clock hours!
1:00pm-4:00pm
Leading “PD” for teachers demands the same kind of mindful design that we expect of high quality classroom instruction. Too often, however, “meetings” and “trainings” and “workshops” would not cut it if examined through the TPEP lens. If you are an instructional coach, teacher leader, administrator, or in any other role that results in you standing in front of a captive audience of teachers, understanding quality learning designs is critical to the success and transference of whatever you intend to communicate. This experience will acquaint you with core principles of adult learning design and offer you the opportunity to plan for potentially applying your learning to the experiences you might lead in the coming school year.
Wednesday June 24th
9:00am-12:00pm
This interactive workshop models effective teaching practices for teachers to take back to their classrooms for immediate implementation. Through intentional choice of diverse strategies, teachers will increase student engagement in learning, provide necessary differentiation for all learners in the classroom, and create viable evidence of learning aligned with their instructional framework. These strategies encourage students’ independence, hold them accountable for their own work, and allow them opportunities to take ownership of not only their own learning, but also the learning of others
9:00am-12:00pm
How can you create science lessons that deeply engage students and motivate them to learn? What does it look like to authentically connect classroom learning to students’ interests and identities? How can science learning empower students to explore issues that are impacting their community and design solutions to address real world problems? This class will support K-12 teachers in understanding how to create engaging, equitable, meaningful science learning by connecting to local phenomena. Participants will identify qualities of a good anchoring phenomenon while exploring several local examples. The class will model routines and strategies for introducing a phenomenon. Participants will work in grade level teams to select an anchoring phenomenon that supports grade level Next Generation Science Standards.
1:00pm-4:00pm
There are ways that we can set up a smooth running classroom for the first day, week, month, and year! Using guiding principals from Harry Wong’s book, The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher, with modern insight.
We will also explore some ideas on how to set up systems not only within the classroom but also for how to keep you as the educator organized as well. Some ways can be done with the students, and other ways can be done before the students enter the classroom. Bring your own “System” ideas to share with the group, we all learn from one another.
We will explore ideas on how to set up your classroom with some Feng shui ideas that will help create a warm, comfortable and inviting room that will make you happy to be in, even on those hard days!
1:00pm-4:00pm
This course is designed in a UDL format to give participants opportunities to explore resources on equity in education. Participants will be able to self-direct their learning by choosing from a variety of provided resources aimed at increasing racial literacy, knowledge of stereotype threats, and cultural responsiveness to improve classroom and school practices. Participants will be given opportunities to work independently or in groups online as they navigate through the resources and respond through a shared digital response document.