PD Webinars- Advancing Online Learning for Educators

Two-Part Rebroadcast Series:
Boosting Student Motivation and Achievement

Don't miss Carol Dweck and Daniel Pink in encore presentations of two of the most popular Education Week PD Webinars to date. These influential thought leaders in the fields of human motivation and engagement share their unique strategies for motivating, persuading, and fully engaging students. Attendees will come away with actionable plans for facilitating “growth mindset” environments, and creative techniques to move students to higher levels of achievement.

Choose one of these vital webinars for just $49, or select both and pay only $79. You will also get a certificate of completion, the Education Week Spotlight on Motivation, and 3 months of on-demand access.

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Airs Thursday, June 6, 2013, 2 p.m. ET

These days nearly everyone, including teachers, is involved in selling—or "persuading, influencing, and convincing others," says author Daniel Pink. And in an Internet-fueled world where knowledge is readily available, sellers need new tactics.

In this webinar, Pink offers strategic advice for educators from his new book, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. He explains what he calls the new ABC's of selling—attunement, buoyancy, and clarity—and how educators can use these tactics to "move" students. Drawing on a wealth of social-science findings, Pink discusses the importance of understanding others' perspectives, ways to make a message clearer, and why you don’t have to be an extrovert to be persuasive.

Expert Presenter:

Daniel H. Pink is the author of five books about cognitive science and the changing worlds of work and learning—including the long-running New York Times bestseller, A Whole New Mind, and the #1 New York Times bestseller, Drive. His latest book, To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, offers a fresh look at the art and science of sales. Pink has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. He also lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace.

Pink served in the White House from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government. Pink lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their three children.

Moderator:
Liana Heitin, associate editor, Education Week Teacher

Airs Friday, June 14, 2013, 2 p.m. ET

In this webinar, renowned psychologist Carol Dweck discusses how teachers can change the way they praise and challenge students to boost motivation and engagement. Through her intensive research, Dweck has found that students who believe intelligence is a fixed quality are more likely to avoid challenging tasks, while students who believe intelligence can be developed with effort tend to be more successful. She discusses some of the most common mistakes teachers make in trying to motivate students and details strategies for promoting a "growth mindset" rather than "fixed mindset" in the classroom.

Expert Presenter:

Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., author of Mindset: The New Science of Success, is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Her research focuses on why students succeed and how to foster their success. She has held professorships at Columbia and Harvard Universities and has lectured and worked with schools and other organizations all over the world. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recently won the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association—the highest honor in psychology.

Moderator:
Anthony Rebora, managing editor, Education Week Teacher

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Three Part Series: The Driven Classroom: New Strategies to Motivate and Engage Students

Five influential thought leaders in teaching and learning will explore cutting-edge instructional practices and strategies designed to increase student engagement and learning potential. Attendees will come away with actionable plans for facilitating student self-direction, creating a clear sense of purpose in their instruction, and using creative sales techniques to “move” students to higher levels of achievement.

Choose one of these vital webinars for just $49, or select all three and pay only $129. You will also get a certificate of completion and 3 months of on-demand access.

Order Webinar Series

 

Motivating students to engage fully with their schoolwork is a perennial challenge for educators. What’s more, many time-honored motivational tactics, such as offering incentives or rewards for specific outcomes, tend to produce only short-term effects—and sometimes backfire completely. This webinar provides teaching strategies to sustain students’ levels of interest and effort.

Our expert guests—teacher and author Larry Ferlazzo and principal Chris Wejr—will provide background and actionable strategies for creating conditions in classrooms and schools that inspire students to take greater ownership of their learning and futures. Among the topics they will address are relationship-building, collaborative learning, praise strategies, opportunity-based instruction, and meaningful communication of expectations. They'll also respond to viewers’ questions on specific challenges and problem-areas concerning motivation. Registrants will also receive an exclusive discount offer for Ferlazzo’s newest book: Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation.

Expert Presenters:

Chris Wejr is principal of Kent Elementary School in British Columbia, Canada and a former math and science teacher. Under his leadership, Kent Elementary has moved away from awards, rewards, and honor rolls, and has seen increased achievement and a more positive school culture as a result. Wejr writes about student motivation and other education issues on his blog, The Wejr Board. Follow him on Twitter at @chriswejr.

Larry Ferlazzo is an award-winning English and social studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif. He is the author of Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Challenges and the forthcoming sequel, Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation among other books. He writes the popular Websites of the Day Blog, as well as Education Week Teacher’s advice-column blog Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo. He is on Twitter at @LarryFerlazzo.

Moderator:
Anthony Rebora, managing editor, Education Week Teacher

 

One of the most critical factors in effective teaching and learning is the establishment of a clear purpose, say teacher-authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. By explaining what students will be learning and why, and by making that purpose relevant to students, teachers can increase motivation and attention.

In this webinar, Fisher and Frey—authors of The Purposeful Classroom: How to Structure Lessons with Learning Goals in Mind—will clarify the differences between an objective, which a teacher establishes for him or herself in lesson planning, and a purpose, which the teacher communicates to students. They'll offer strategies for crafting purposes that are neither too broad nor too narrow, but that appropriately guide student learning. And they'll discuss how intentional planning can lead students to take ownership of their learning and become better, more motivated critical thinkers.

Expert Presenters:

Douglas Fisher Ph.D. is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, the Farmer award for excellence in writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as a Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as, among other books, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching and Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading.

Nancy Frey Ph.D. is a professor of literacy in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University and the recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the National Reading Conference. Nancy has published articles in The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, English Journal, Voices in the Middle, Middle School Journal, and Educational Leadership, as well as numerous books with co-author Douglas Fisher. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California, and teaches at Health Sciences High and Middle College.

Moderator:
Anthony Rebora, managing editor, Education Week Teacher

 

For many, the quintessential image of a salesperson is still that of a slick, pushy man in a suit. But these days nearly everyone, including teachers, is involved in selling—or "persuading, influencing, and convincing others," says author Daniel Pink. And in an Internet-fueled world where knowledge is readily available, sellers need new tactics.

In this webinar, Pink will offer strategic advice for educators from his new book To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. He'll explain what he calls the new ABC's of selling—attunement, buoyancy, and clarity—and how educators can use these tactics to "move" students. Drawing on a wealth of social science findings, Pink will also discuss the qualities of an effective salesperson, ways to make a message clearer, and the importance of understanding others' perspectives.

Expert Presenters:

Daniel H. Pink is the author of five books about cognitive science and the changing worlds of work and learning—including the long-running New York Times bestseller, A Whole New Mind, and the #1 New York Times bestseller, Drive. His latest book, To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, offers a fresh look at the art and science of sales. Pink has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. He also lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace.

Pink served in the White House from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government. Pink lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their three children.

Moderator:
Liana Heitin, associate editor, Education Week Teacher

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Three-Part Rebroadcast Series:
Preparing for Success with the Common Standards

Register for this three-part series for professional insights, personal strategies, and planning resources to help you successfully implement common core changes in the classroom. You’ll hear from teachers, administrators, and curriculum experts who will share how they’re approaching the standards and putting them into practice.

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Using $360 million in Race to the Top money, two large groups of states are designing assessment systems for the common standards that have been adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia. The new tests aim to move past the current one-shot, multiple-choice-only approach by requiring essays, projects, and other tasks designed to gauge deeper, more complex learning. The groups are also working on a variety of resources for teachers, such as model instructional units and formative assessments. This webinar will provide a briefing on the two groups’ distinctively different test designs and the range of instructional tools they’re planning.

Expert Presenters:

• Joe Willhoft, executive director, SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium
• Laura M. Slover, senior vice president, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

Moderator:
Catherine Gewertz, assistant editor, Education Week

 

Nearly every state in the country has adopted a new set of common academic standards in mathematics and English/language arts. The new guidelines lay out fundamental changes in the skills students are expected to have. But there is a long road from understanding the standards to putting them into practice in the classroom.

This webinar will let participants in on the approaches that two districts—Hillsborough County, Fla. and Cleveland —are taking as they work to educate teachers about the standards and turn them into new types of teaching and learning.

Expert Presenters:

• Lynn Dougherty-Underwood, director of K-12 literacy, Hillsborough County public schools, Fla.
• Mark Baumgartner, director of professional issues, Cleveland Teachers Union

Moderator:
Catherine Gewertz, assistant editor, Education Week

View this on-demand webinar.

The Common Core State Standards in English/language arts make new demands on both students and teachers. They ask that students become masters at “close reading” of text, build their argumentation skills, and be able to marshal evidence to defend their positions. Teachers learn how to lead students in that work, with new kinds of questions, new types of readings, and new ways of thinking about literacy. Teachers in two districts in Kentucky are on the leading edge of working with new instructional tools designed for the standards. Join us for a compelling discussion with two educators overseeing the implementation in these districts.

Expert Presenters:

• Gary McCormick, secondary school literacy consultant, Kenton County Schools, Ky.
• Regina Pelfrey, elementary school instructional coach, Erlanger-Elsmere Schools, Ky.

Moderator:
Catherine Gewertz, assistant editor, Education Week

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An Education Week PD Webinar Rebroadcast With Carol Dweck

 

In this webinar, renowned psychologist Carol Dweck will discuss how teachers can use new discoveries in cognitive development to improve student motivation and engagement. Through her intensive research, Ms. Dweck has found that students who believe intelligence is a fixed quality are more likely to avoid challenging tasks, while students who believe intelligence can be developed with effort tend to be more successful. She'll discuss some of the most common mistakes teachers make in trying to motivate students and detail strategies for promoting a "growth mindset" rather than "fixed mindset" in the classroom.

Expert Presenter:

Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., author of Mindset: The New Science of Success, is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Her research focuses on why students succeed and how to foster their success. She has held professorships at Columbia and Harvard Universities and has lectured and worked with schools and other organizations all over the world. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recently won the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association—the highest honor in psychology.

Moderator:
Liana Heitin, associate editor, Education Week Teacher and Teacher PD Sourcebook

Underwriting for the content of this webinar has been provided by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

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Three Part Series: Making the Common Standards Work in the Classroom

This professional development webinar series is designed to help teachers and school leaders better understand key aspects of the Common Core State Standards and how to integrate them into planning and instruction. The expert guests, all educators who have been immersed in common-standards work at the classroom level, will provide actionable advice for teachers on transitioning to the standards and unlocking their potential for improved student learning. Choose one of these vital webinars for just $49, or select all three and pay only $129. You’ll also get 6 months of on-demand access to re-watch and share with colleagues.

Order Webinar Series

Underwriting for the content of these webinars has been provided by the GE Foundation.

 

Elementary educators are on the front lines of common-core efforts—both because many districts are starting implementation with the early grades, and because the standards are designed to build on prior-grade knowledge. These teachers have to get it right first. In this webinar, two experienced instructional leaders at the elementary level—one in language arts and one in math—will take educators inside the common standards and offer strategies for adapting instruction to new content and learning paradigms. Both guests have been training elementary teachers in their districts on the common standards, and will provide practical tips on planning lessons, adjusting instructional practice, and overcoming common obstacles.

Expert Presenters:

Jeff Williams, an award-winning language arts teacher, is the literacy teacher leader for the Solon school district in Ohio. He headed the National Council of Teachers of English's review team on the common standards and is the co-author of Supporting Students in the Time of Common Core Standards: English Language Arts, Grades 3-5.

Angela Waltrup is an elementary mathematics teacher specialist for Frederick County, Md., public schools. In this role, she is working with teachers and schools towards systemic transition to the common standards in grades pre-K to 5. A National Board-certified teacher, she has taught in grades 2, 3, and 5, and served as an intervention teacher.

Moderator:
Anthony Rebora, managing editor, Education Week Teacher

Underwriting for the content of this webinar has been provided by the GE Foundation.

 

Teachers and administrators around the country are scrambling to implement the common-core English/language arts standards. Unfortunately, in doing so, many educators have come to incorrect understandings of what and how students will be expected to learn. Misconceptions about the meaning of text complexity and the use of prereading activities, for example, have in many cases led to unnecessary anxiety and even resentment among teachers. In this webinar, two literacy experts will discuss and help resolve the most common myths and misconceptions surrounding the ELA standards. Their practical advice will help educators better align their instruction to the goals of the standards.

Expert Presenters:

Cheryl Dobbertin is the director of curriculum and professional development innovation for New York State at Expeditionary Learning, a national school-reform network. She previously taught high school English/language arts, served as a literacy specialist, and was the director of professional development at Monroe 2 BOCES outside of Rochester, N.Y. In addition to her work with Expeditionary Learning, Dobbertin currently teaches differentiated instruction at Nazareth College of Rochester.

Andrew Hossack is a middle school English/language arts teacher at Tapestry Charter School, an Expeditionary Learning school in Buffalo, N.Y. He has been deeply involved in writing common-core-aligned ELA curriculum for grades 3-5 as part of a statewide curriculum project in New York. Hossack previously taught elementary school in New York City for eight years.

Moderator:
Liana Heitin, associate editor, Education Week Teacher

Underwriting for the content of this webinar has been provided by the GE Foundation.

 

The common-core standards explicitly require that all content areas share the responsibility for developing students’ literacy skills. With the goal of preparing students for college and careers, the standards call for reading instruction with "challenging informational texts" across a range of subjects. In this session, two cross-curricular literacy experts will provide an overview of the expectations for English/language arts, history/social studies, science, and technical subjects, and will offer specific examples of how content-area teachers can collaborate to incorporate reading and writing activities into their classrooms.

Expert Presenters:

Donna Ogle, a professor of reading and language at National Louis University in Chicago, is active in professional-development projects in the United States and internationally. She co-directs the Reading Leadership Institute at NLU and was a senior advisor to the Chicago Striving Readers Research Project. Her areas of interest include content-area literacy and school-based professional development.

Laura Lang has worked as a high school English teacher, reading teacher, and literacy coach in both urban and suburban settings. As a literacy coach, she worked with teachers in multiple content areas, and she developed and facilitated interdisciplinary literacy teams at two high schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. She recently received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Literacy Studies) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Moderator:
Anthony Rebora, managing editor, Education Week Teacher

Underwriting for the content of this webinar has been provided by the GE Foundation.

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Three-Part Rebroadcast Series:
Personalized Learning: Using Ed Tech to Serve ALL Students

Register for this three-part series and get best practices, professional insights, and personal strategies on how ed tech can help you reach every student. You’ll hear from teachers, administrators, and ed-tech experts who are leading the charge to personalize learning for diverse student needs.

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View this on-demand webinar.

To truly personalize the learning process, many educators are blending face-to-face instruction with digital resources that enhance or reinforce classroom learning. View this webinar and hear from three educators on the forefront of hybrid learning and discover what they have learned; including the 5 dimensions of differentiation, the components of a successful 21st century learning environment, and how to effectively personalize education and raise student achievement.

Expert Presenters:

• Kathy Gallagher, language arts teacher, Edmunds middle school, Burlington, Vt.
• Brent Truchon, social studies teacher, Edmunds middle school, Burlington, Vt.
• Themistocles Sparangis, chief technology director, Los Angeles Unified school district

Moderator:
Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions

View this on-demand webinar.

Giving students personalized learning experiences is crucial to improving education, and the use of digital tools can make it easier and less time-consuming for teachers to accomplish this. In this webinar you’ll learn the top 10 tips on how to give students access to information in the way that best suits them. The presenters will also share examples of digital aids, websites, and apps, and explain how automated data collection can help teachers discover student strengths and weaknesses that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Expert Presenters:

• Jennifer Beasley, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, University of Arkansas
• Kristen Will, language arts teacher, Tierra Del Sol middle school, Lakeside, Calif.

Moderator:
Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions

 

Students with special learning needs often benefit from personalized instruction. More virtual education opportunities are now available to help meet the academic needs of children with cognitive or physical disabilities, those learning English, gifted and talented students, and those at risk of academic failure. This webinar explains how educators are balancing virtual learning with the need for face-to-face instruction for these groups of students. You’ll also discover the top six challenges for serving students with disabilities through online learning, as well as which digital tools best meet the “Good for Autism” criteria.

Expert Presenters:

• Katharina I. Boser, cognitive-development psychologist; co-chair, Innovative Technology for Autism advisory board, Autism Speaks
• Patti Ralabate, director of implementation, Center for Applied Special Technology
• Matthew J. Wicks, vice president of strategy and organizational development, International Association for K-12 Online Learning

Moderator:
Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions

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An Education Week PD Webinar With Alan Blankstein

 

Many students face significant obstacles in day-to-day learning, including learning disabilities or differences, language barriers, behavioral problems, socio-economic disadvantages, and family difficulties. How can educators ensure the success of these students in addition to more mainstream students? According to prominent education author and speaker Alan M. Blankstein, the answer lies in building resourceful and confident school cultures.

Blankstein will identify concrete strategies for creating that kind of culture in your school or district. You will learn how to put into place goal-oriented collaborative teams, develop comprehensive prevention and intervention systems, and use effective methods to evaluate student work.

Expert Presenters:

Alan M. Blankstein is the founder and president of the HOPE Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting education leaders in creating effective learning cultures where failure is not an option for any student. He is the author of Failure is Not an Option: Six Principles That Guide Student Achievement in High-Performing Schools® and The Answer Is in the Room: How Effective Schools Scale Up Student Success. A widely-recognized speaker on school improvement, Blankstein has also provided keynote addresses at conferences throughout the world and for many major educational organizations in the United States.

Moderator:
Anthony Rebora, managing editor, Education Week Teacher and Teacher PD Sourcebook

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