Formative Assessment and Understanding by Design (UbD)
The use of formative assessments has become a powerful tool in showing students’ growth across subject areas – especially for students who are working in more than one language and culture. In this workshop, we will analyze backward design lesson planning (UbD), which incorporates formative assessment measures as an important factor of lesson planning. We will discuss why formative assessment is important and analyze the type of data gleaned from formative assessments. We will explore different types of formative assessment measures and teachers will have the opportunity to apply these assessments into their own lesson planning.
Teachers’ Well-Being: Self-Care Practices for Teachers
Teachers are under pressure to increase test scores while concurrently caring for students – many who have come from traumatic backgrounds. But who is caring for the teachers? Self-care is a growing field and one that has shown beneficial impact on teacher’s well-being and retention. Short daily practices are gaining popularity as a way to help teachers de-stress and build resilience in challenging environments.
This workshop can either be a one-time session or a four-part series just for teachers. In each session, we will learn 3-4 different self-care techniques so teachers can find a technique that works for them. We will discuss how to incorporate these practices into the classroom routine to check-in and de-stress in the moment. These practices can be done lying down, standing, or sitting in a chair. Please bring a yoga mat or blanket if you prefer to lie down.
Making the Content Comprehensible to Varied Language Making the content accessible to varied levels of language: The SIOP model
Regardless of where teachers instruct today, there are increasing numbers of immigrant and refugee students enrolled in schools, requiring teachers to develop strategies to work with multilingual/multicultural learners. Yet, teachers are often constrained by a set curriculum and must continue on pace with the academic content. How can teachers present the academic content at a pace that keeps all students engaged and challenged, but also makes the content accessible, relevant, and comprehensible to multilingual learners? In this experiential workshop, teachers will learn about the 8 components of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP model),and use these strategies to make their own content accessible to multi-level language learners.
The Power is in the Pause: Building Student Resilience and Academic Achievement through Contemplative Strategies
Today many students are under tremendous pressure and often face emotions of anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Research on contemplative practices has shown that regular practice is one way to decrease anxiety, help with focus in the classroom, and increase resilience to deal with uncomfortable emotions. As a result of this research, many U.S. schools are implementing daily contemplative activities into the school day. In this interactive workshop, participants will experience 3-4 different contemplative techniques that are effective with students in the classroom, connect these to the brain research, and discuss how these strategies can be incorporated into the classroom setting to help students with the pressures of a typical teenager.
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Elizabeth’s Workshops for Videregående and Ungdomsskole Students