2017 Alaska RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference

This half day workshop will explore the most effective instructional strategies that accelerate language, literacy, and content learning for linguistically and culturally diverse populations. Essential to this academic focus is the transformation of classroom and school cultures that value diversity, ensures that ELs and struggling learners are academically and socially supported, and affords ELs opportunities to practice SEL competencies with their English dominant peers. The integration of SEL standards into state standards, lesson plans or even implementing evidence-based SEL programs does not go far enough to address the high failure rate of ELs. Teachers often overlook the need for ELs to have English language models, exposure to cultural norms and class structures that give diverse learners a sense of belonging and confidence to contribute to and participate in class activities. Instead ELs and culturally diverse populations “suffer in silence” in classrooms that unintentionally segregates them and ignores their academic, social and emotional needs. Critical to this transformation is affording English dominant students and adults the opportunity to be exposed to different cultural and language groups at a deeper level and strengthen their abilities to value diversity, show empathy toward students who are learning English and to understand and value perspectives that are different from their own.

Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students' achievement of intended instructional outcomes. This session will focus on effective formative assessment practices that assist educators in providing descriptive feedback to students, guiding decisions for re-teaching, and determining who needs further practice on a concept or skill. Participants of this highly interactive session will explore best practices, strategies, systems, and tools for assessing student learning and growth to maximize student achievement. This session is designed to support teachers with developing an individualized plan for consistently and systematically implementing formative assessment tools and processes in their classroom.

Video Links for the Session (Teaching Channel)

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/class-warm-up-routine

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/math-test-grading-tips

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/criteria-for-success

This training starts with a basic overview of the latest neuroscience on how and why early adversities can have a profound impact on the capacity to learn and self-regulate in a classroom setting. Data from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research in Alaska will be reviewed to examine the predictable and preventable effects of childhood trauma and how promoting resilience can buffer the effects of toxic stress. Trauma-sensitive practices and stories from schools around the country that are becoming trauma-informed while reforming discipline policies and changing school climate will be highlighted.
1. Describe the toxic stress model.
2. List three effects of ACEs on children that are relevant to the classroom setting.
3. Identify four essential elements of trauma-informed schools.
4. List three leading resources for trauma-informed schools that are available on-line at no cost.
5. Describe the leading shift that is happening with school discipline relative to trauma-informed practices and policies.

Engaged Classrooms offers an approach to instruction, classroom management, and discipline that fosters academic, social, and emotional learning and development in each and every student. The Engaged Classrooms Academic Supports and Interventions Workshop offers practices and strategies to teachers to take personal responsibility for students’ learning and academic success by providing quality instruction and personalized support to ensure each and every student meets the standards of proficiency and excellence. Throughout this highly-interactive half-day workshop, participants will explore several core practices and strategies to support academics and provide interventions when necessary. This Engaging Schools experience will provide “learn-it-today, use-it-tomorrow” tools and strategies that you can apply immediately in your classroom including: Academic Press, Assessing for Learning, Intervening when Students aren’t Learning.

Feeling like your secondary students are not as engaged as they could be? We will learn some teaching practices to increase engagement and provide greater accessibility for students in the secondary math classroom. Topics we will discuss include: Scaffolding & Supports for both struggling students and high-flyers, Strategies to engage students in problem-solving and mathematical discourse, Structures & routines to help with engagement and accessibility.

A growing body of research indicates that regular student attendance is one of the most critical yet under-addressed issues in schools today. Research indicates that as early as kindergarten, students who miss even 2 days each month are at significant risk for lower academic performance.  If students are going to be successful in school, they first have to be in school. This session provides participants with practical strategies to address individual student chronic absenteeism across all grade levels.Learning Objectives: Participants will learn how to apply function-based thinking to absenteeism to develop interventions Participants will leave this session with knowledge on function-based approaches to design effective intervention plans for individuals who are chronically absent.  Schools will learn how to implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions that address the most common functions of absenteeism. Understand how to apply function-based thinking to absenteeism. Review possible functions of student absenteeism. Apply functional-behavior assessment to absenteeism and truancy issues. Identify a range of interventions and strategies for the most common functions.

Teachers and schools are faced with the challenge of reaching the needs of all students, regardless of their academic, social, and developmental levels, and moving them forward. Any given classroom will contain a heterogeneous mix of students with different ability levels and educational needs. For this reason, teachers must be masters of differentiating the curriculum and providing access tools and strategies to meet the needs of all students, to remediate or accelerate instruction, and to provide all students with the opportunity to learn and grow. In this session, we will discuss Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the opportunities it provides for all students to access, participate in, and progress in the general-education curriculum by reducing barriers to instruction. Participants will learn more about how UDL offers options for how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and how students are engaged in learning. Learning Objectives: A teacher’s goal is for students to learn skills and understand the subject. Traditional curriculum materials tend to offer only limited flexibility for meeting that goal — often requiring students to adapt to the curriculum. Universally designed curriculum overcomes limitations by incorporating three principles of flexibility into the design: We will explore multiple methods of presentation, We will explore multiple options for participation, We will explore multiple means of expression. This built-in flexible approach will provide a wider range of options for students to choose from — meaning the curriculum adapts to the student, rather than the other way around.

Exploring how to teach the "messy middle," is the focus of the session. The "messy middle" refers to a time and place where students are struggling, but solutions for jump-starting their development and learning are not obvious. This session will also explore the paradox of pairing high expectations with low demands. Specifically, we’ll distinguish between constructs such as a student’s needs versus what a student wants, discipline versus punishment, and equity versus equality. We’ll also explore evidence-based strategies that scaffold student’s development and learning, particularly as it relates to self-regulation skills. We’ll discuss and practice how to effectively use visual supports without shaming students, and apply evidence-based strategies for fostering peer-to-peer interactions and friendships. Lastly, we’ll cover what teaching teams need to do to get “ready” to teach in the "messy middle."
Download all resources at https://prekteachandplay.com/2017ak-rti/.

This session will outline a collaborative approach to problem solving in which the teacher works with the Tough Kid's parents (that is, the adult or adults with primary care-taking responsibilities) to identify the problem, collect information about it, and develop a plan to deal with the challenging behavior. Parents and teachers jointly develop a plan and implement it across home and school. In addition to the in-depth explanation of the TAPP (Teachers and Parents as Partners) process, this session also provides universal suggestions for establishing a positive and cooperative relationship with the parents of all students in the class

Writing is a complex skill dependent on underlying foundation skills including: legible and fluent handwriting and keyboarding; accurate and fluent spelling; conventions including grammar, punctuation, and capitalization; and formation of complete sentences. In this training, Dr. Archer will share the research concerning each of these areas and instructional procedures that can be easily implemented in elementary and intervention classes. An emphasis will be placed on various procedures for strengthening the quality of sentences, the foundation of all written products.

Recent comprehensive research reviews have confirmed the essential role of vocabulary and academic language plays in helping students improve their academic literacy K-12. This is especially critical for students who are English Language Learners. This seminar will provide a hands-on exploration of the key evidence-based strategies teachers can employ to ensure students thrive in a language rich classroom in which every student is actively engaged in building their lexical skills. Learning Objectives - develop practical evidence-based strategies to: identify important content and high use academic vocabulary for explicit instruction, structure meaning opportunities for ALL students to apply newly learned terms in academic discussion and writing, employ various learning scaffolds providing temporary support to ELLs and other students struggling with academic language across the content areas, and integrate oral and written language instruction with content area teaching.

How do you move from “parental involvement” to active engagement? Beginning with the parent training academies in Sacramento, this session will explore different engagement topics such as helping your children with their homework, SEL at home and parent teacher conferences. The second half of the session with focus on home visits, their purpose, impact and visitation strategies for teachers and administrators. The major theme will emphasize the difference between parent involvement, which is a more passive level of participation, to active engagement in school related activities as well as effective strategies for parents to help their children in the home.

Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students' achievement of intended instructional outcomes. This session will focus on effective formative assessment practices that assist educators in providing descriptive feedback to students, guiding decisions for re-teaching, and determining who needs further practice on a concept or skill. Participants of this highly interactive session will explore best practices, strategies, systems, and tools for assessing student learning and growth to maximize student achievement. This session is designed to support teachers with developing an individualized plan for consistently and systematically implementing formative assessment tools and processes in their classroom.

Video Links (Teaching Channel)

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/class-warm-up-routine

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/math-test-grading-tips

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/criteria-for-success

 

This training starts with a basic overview of the latest neuroscience on how and why early adversities can have a profound impact on the capacity to learn and self-regulate in a classroom setting. Data from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research in Alaska will be reviewed to examine the predictable and preventable effects of childhood trauma and how promoting resilience can buffer the effects of toxic stress. Trauma-sensitive practices and stories from schools around the country that are becoming trauma-informed while reforming discipline policies and changing school climate will be highlighted.
1. Describe the toxic stress model.
2. List three effects of ACEs on children that are relevant to the classroom setting.
3. Identify four essential elements of trauma-informed schools.
4. List three leading resources for trauma-informed schools that are available on-line at no cost.
5. Describe the leading shift that is happening with school discipline relative to trauma-informed practices and policies.

Engaged Classrooms offers an approach to instruction, classroom management, and discipline that fosters academic, social, and emotional learning and development in each and every student. The Engaged Classrooms Academic Supports and Interventions Workshop offers practices and strategies to teachers to take personal responsibility for students’ learning and academic success by providing quality instruction and personalized support to ensure each and every student meets the standards of proficiency and excellence. Throughout this highly-interactive half-day workshop, participants will explore several core practices and strategies to support academics and provide interventions when necessary. This Engaging Schools experience will provide “learn-it-today, use-it-tomorrow” tools and strategies that you can apply immediately in your classroom including: Academic Press, Assessing for Learning, Intervening when Students aren’t Learning.

Feeling like your secondary students are not as engaged as they could be? We will learn some teaching practices to increase engagement and provide greater accessibility for students in the secondary math classroom. Topics we will discuss include: Scaffolding & Supports for both struggling students and high-flyers, Strategies to engage students in problem-solving and mathematical discourse, Structures & routines to help with engagement and accessibility.

A growing body of research indicates that regular student attendance is one of the most critical yet under-addressed issues in schools today. Research indicates that as early as kindergarten, students who miss even 2 days each month are at significant risk for lower academic performance.  If students are going to be successful in school, they first have to be in school. This session provides participants with practical strategies to address individual student chronic absenteeism across all grade levels.Learning Objectives: Participants will learn how to apply function-based thinking to absenteeism to develop interventions Participants will leave this session with knowledge on function-based approaches to design effective intervention plans for individuals who are chronically absent.  Schools will learn how to implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions that address the most common functions of absenteeism. Understand how to apply function-based thinking to absenteeism. Review possible functions of student absenteeism. Apply functional-behavior assessment to absenteeism and truancy issues. Identify a range of interventions and strategies for the most common functions.

Teachers and schools are faced with the challenge of reaching the needs of all students, regardless of their academic, social, and developmental levels, and moving them forward. Any given classroom will contain a heterogeneous mix of students with different ability levels and educational needs. For this reason, teachers must be masters of differentiating the curriculum and providing access tools and strategies to meet the needs of all students, to remediate or accelerate instruction, and to provide all students with the opportunity to learn and grow. In this session, we will discuss Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the opportunities it provides for all students to access, participate in, and progress in the general-education curriculum by reducing barriers to instruction. Participants will learn more about how UDL offers options for how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and how students are engaged in learning. Learning Objectives: A teacher’s goal is for students to learn skills and understand the subject. Traditional curriculum materials tend to offer only limited flexibility for meeting that goal — often requiring students to adapt to the curriculum. Universally designed curriculum overcomes limitations by incorporating three principles of flexibility into the design: We will explore multiple methods of presentation, We will explore multiple options for participation, We will explore multiple means of expression. This built-in flexible approach will provide a wider range of options for students to choose from — meaning the curriculum adapts to the student, rather than the other way around.

For most of us, our instructional toolbox contains many different strategies and ideas for teaching students how to write their name, count objects, and identify letters of the alphabet. When it comes to dealing with misbehaviors and emotional regulation skills, however, our toolkit can sometimes feel empty. When students are having a meltdown or being non-compliant, we sometimes forget, that these are not just challenging moments, they are also teachable moments. Our session together will focus on strategies for dealing with some of the most challenging behaviors. Learning Objectives: Explore a humanistic approach to dealing with challenging behaviors with a special focus on when students with disabilities, including autism, demonstrate challenging behaviors. Learn specific evidence-based strategies for teaching students focus, self-control, and a strong emotional vocabulary.

All resources on the session landing page: https://prekteachandplay.com/2017ak-rti/.

This session will outline a collaborative approach to problem solving in which the teacher works with the Tough Kid's parents (that is, the adult or adults with primary care-taking responsibilities) to identify the problem, collect information about it, and develop a plan to deal with the challenging behavior. Parents and teachers jointly develop a plan and implement it across home and school. In addition to the in-depth explanation of the TAPP (Teachers and Parents as Partners) process, this session also provides universal suggestions for establishing a positive and cooperative relationship with the parents of all students in the class

Much attention is being given to planning, writing and revising long narrative, informative, and argumentative products. However, perhaps even more gains in writing will flow from a focus on writing for learning: completing short writing assignments often in all classes. In this session, Dr. Archer will present procedures to scaffold writing summaries, compare-contrast paragraphs, and responses to reading (explanations, opinions, etc.) using strategies, writing frames, and think sheets.

Large scale meta-analyses (Hattie, 2009; Marzano & DuFour 2011) have concluded the key to improving student achievement is figuring out how to significantly improve routine instruction across the school site. Dr. Kevin Feldman will guide participants in exploring how establishing a shared instructional focus on academic literacy coupled with validated tools for teacher feedback including classroom video, collaborative teacher coaching teams or "Learning Walks", peer and expert coaching can create a culture of competence at the school site level. Various models and narratives will be shared describing how elementary and secondary schools are dramatically improving the quality routine classroom teaching using these tools for "actionable feedback", which one could argue is the "holy grail" of instructional improvement.
Learning Objectives
understand the research support for improving instruction as THE key to improving student achievement
identify the right and wrong “drivers” for improving teacher skills & competence
appreciate the absolutely critical role of actionable or useful feedback in enhancing the continuous growth of any professional (sports, business, education, etc.)
explore the various forms of Public Practice schools can engage to ensure ALL teachers learn to give and receive “actionable feedback” to improve their teaching including; Learning Walks, video critique, peer and expert coaching
explore how Building Leadership Teams can leverage teacher leadership to foster a school wide focus on improving instruction across the grades/content areas.