Our new partners at BetterLesson have generously agreed to provide 3 mini virtual professional learning sessions for our region next week. These are incredibly rich, packed sessions to build capacity of our staff to address the challenges before us right now. They are free of charge but do have an RSVP.

Student-Centered Culture: Building Community from a Distance (for teachers): April 29 at 1-3pm

This is an introductory session that explores a range of topics including: developing positive, safe, and productive distance learning environments; understanding the broad range in how students might experience distance learning and avoiding unintended consequences; facilitating collaboration and communication; creating equitable structures; engaging caregivers; Integrating self-care, social-emotional support, and nurturing systems and routines; intentional use of technology tools that support student-centered culture at a distance; building student-centered culture synchronously and asynchronously; creating a personal plan for advancing student-centered culture. This is an interactive, small group event to ensure opportunities for social learning. We use video conference tools such as break-out rooms, polling, and others to model active pedagogy that you can use with students. Please join with a device that includes a camera and microphone and allows you to open google documents that we will be sharing. Register here. This is limited to 20 educators to preserve collaboration and social learning. We'll create a wait-list if needed.

Designing Tasks (for teachers): May 1 at 1-3pm

This is a design thinking session that supports educators to define, explore and build a plan for task design in distance learning. We define learning communities and task design in the distance learning environment. We build awareness around the many approaches to designing tasks across the learning continuum including: introduction to new materials, engaging with content, discussion, collaboration or group work, getting support, synthesis, and assessment. You'll explore task design by experiencing synchronous tasks as learners during the session and reviewing a range of asynchronous tasks. You’ll practice converting daily tasks from the traditional environment to a distance learning model, and explore both the benefits and challenges of designing tasks for distance learning.

You'll begin to build your own strategic plan for distance learning task design, based on what is most important to you and your students. Register here. This is limited to 20 educators to preserve collaboration and social learning. We'll create a wait-list if needed.

Leading Through Change: Supporting Teachers' Continuous Improvement of their Distance Learning Plan (for instructional coaches and building leaders) May 1 at 10-12am

In this design thinking workshop, instructional leaders define instructional leadership in the context of change management and distance learning, create a vision for your specific reality, explore leadership strategies and tools to achieve the vision, and begin to build or refine an instructional leadership plan for your own school or district. This is a social learning workshop (NOT a webinar) that includes active distance learning pedagogy, hearing from your peers and receiving feedback in small break-out groups, and individual time to reflect and build. You’ll use this moment to re-think what inclusive and equitable teaching and learning can truly look like. Please join with a device that includes a camera and microphone and allows you to open google documents that we will be sharing. Register here. This is limited to 20 leaders to preserve collaboration and social learning. We'll create a wait-list if needed.