Area of Focus Training

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  5. Area of Focus Training

Deepens participants’ knowledge of the vision of high quality instruction from the lens of areas of focus within CEL’s 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning instructional framework. Each of these sessions dig deeper into the vision and best practices defined within specific indicators of the 5D+ Teacher Evaluation Rubric. The session is tailored to the strengths and needs of the unique stakeholders, in order to help teachers, school leaders and district administrators develop their vision for powerful, equitable days teaching and learning. Participants leave the training with the knowledge and  skills to apply their learning to daily problem solving in lesson design, moment- to-moment classroom instruction and assessment. (Half days or full days).  Below are some examples – other combinations/topics are customizable. Below are options for each session:

Learning Oriented Classroom Culture (SE4, SE5, CEC3, CEC4, CEC5)

Effectively supporting student engagement and motivation throughout each lesson and year requires a strong foundation in positive classroom relationships and norms for learning that promote high expectations, inclusivity, risk-taking, and collaboration. Knowing the overall learning climate and culture cuts across disciplines and grade levels, participants explore who they are as learning, why it matters, and how their learner profile might influence interactions and learning of others. During this training participants develop a vision for rubric indicators connected with a learning-oriented classroom culture and use these indicators to analyze instruction. In addition they are introduced to cultural forces that impact student learning and how they might leverage these forces to nurture a culture of thinking.

Knowing Students, Differentiating Instruction and Progress Monitoring Learning (SE3, CP4, A3, A4, A5)

One cannot lead what they do not know.  Foundational to purposeful instruction and student learning is knowing the students well enough to teach them and using what one knows about the learning to advance their learning.  During this training, participants explore indicators of high quality instruction aligned with the knowledge, skills and disposition to tailor instruction to each students learning needs, formatively assessing learning, providing targeted feedback, and making in the moment adjustments and adjustments to future lessons.

Purposeful Instruction (P1, P3, P4, P5, CP1)

Learning requires educators intentionally design learning based on the needs of their students in relationship to state standards and the district curriculum. This workshop walks participants through a structured process for identifying what students need to learn within a lesson, how each student will demonstrate s/he learned the target(s), what criteria must be met to be considered successful in a single lesson and the tasks and materials students will engage within the selected instructional model (interactive lecture, workshop, and/or close reading) for the purpose of the lesson.

Teacher Knowledge of Content, Disciplinary Approaches and Strategies (P2, SE1, CP2, CP3, CP5)

In order to be an effective educator, a teacher needs to understand and be aware of relationship within subject areas and understand related pedagogies. Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy means being flexible and having fluid connections between content understanding and pedagogical representation. In this training, teachers explore the content and structure of one’s discipline(s), instructional models that scaffold learning and build student independence as a learner, and how teachers and student can use questioning throughout instruction to identify misconceptions and deepen understanding.

Student Ownership of Learning (SE2, CP5, A1, A2, CEC1, CEC2)

Student ownership is when teachers and students co-facilitate the learning. When students are owning their learning, they are doing more than just engaging; they are actively taking a role in leading their learning, including thinking, communicating and collaborating, and problem-solving. When this happens, the teacher serves more as a guide for students to take them further. Students can articulate not only what they are learning, but why they are learning, strategies that support their learning, and how they will use these strategies in the future. In this session participants will explore dispositions, skills, and strategies to ensure students are not only accountable for the work but the learning.