01.

Building Relationships that Motivate Students

The goal of this session is to stimulate teacher thinking and collaborative discussion about what motivates students to exert effort on academic tasks and how they can regularly do the types of things in their classrooms that activate student motivation.  In the session teachers reflect on their own motivation for their work and the similarities (and differences) in what motivates their students.  The session sets forth an overarching framework of key components of motivation, and then narrows to focus on the importance of belonging and relationships for students’ academic motivation.

OPTIONAL

Passion Profiles Icebreaker

Teachers will reflect on their own passions and reasons for choosing teaching as a profession, and will connect deeply with colleagues who share those passions.

02.

Motivating Students for Academic Work

The goal of this session is to stimulate teacher thinking and collaborative discussion about how they can focus students on mastery goals.

03.

Assessment Strategies that Motivate Students (Part 1)

The goal of this session is to stimulate teacher thinking and collaborative discussion about grading and how it influences student motivation and student performance. 

04.

Assessment Strategies that Motivate Students (Part 2)

The goal of this session is to promote teacher reflection about grading practices that provide opportunities to recover from failure. 

05.

Building a Community of Learners:  Strategies for Effective Cooperative Learning and Small Group Work

The goal of this session is to stimulate teacher thinking and collaborative discussion about having students work cooperatively together on assignments and projects in small groups.  Teachers experience a small group learning experience for themselves that they can in turn adapt and implement in their classrooms.

06.

Connecting the Work to Students’ Future Work Lives:  Creating Assignments with Student Products for Real Audiences

The goal of this session is to stimulate teacher thinking and collaborative discussion about how to craft meaningful projects that mirror real-world tasks.  Teachers will discuss a novel approach to giving students “real-world assignments,” learn a framework to help students approach a real-life task (the 4 Ds of Problem Solving), and discuss how to use these ideas in their own teaching.

07.

Reflecting on Assessment Strategies

Objective #1:  Teachers explore various ways to engage students in tracking their own progress in their courses.

Objective #2:  Teachers analyze their grade books and assess which students are failing and why.

08.

Engaging Students in Critical Reading Skills in the Content Areas

Teachers will consider the importance of helping students develop the critical reading skills needed to detect fake news, leverage high-interest science news stories, and leave the sessions with specific lesson planning ideas for how to teach these skills to their students.

09.

Using Project-Based Learning to Deepen Learning and Engagement

Teachers explore using project-based learning as a strategy for deepening engagement and learning.

10.

Reflecting on Student Work, Student Progress, and Next Steps for Continuous Improvement

Objective #1:  Teachers review and reflect upon all the professional development they have received as part of this series.

Objective #2:  Teachers consider what next steps they must take to continue improving their craft and begin to formulate a plan.