Pedagogical Approaches

= Professional Learning Academy course

Assessment: Strategies for Design

Presenter: Virginia Senande

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-5, Grades 6-12

Professional Learning Academy Course

Classroom assessment has been shown to be one of the most powerful factors for enhancing student learning. However, assessment must have a direct correlation to learning goals in order to be a valid indicator of learning. This workshop will provide opportunities for teachers to reflect on their use of assessments and examine a continuum of assessments to affect student learning. Participants will work with colleagues to enhance expertise in designing assessments that provide critical evidence that students really understand the important ideas and processes contained in the curriculum. Educators will have the opportunity to boost their assessment literacy and impact. Time will be devoted to assessment design within each participant’s content area, as well as the use of technology in assessment.

Best Practices in Parent Communication: 1/2-day session

Presenters: Jessica Nitzberg & Jennifer Santa

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Parents can be partners in improving student outcomes! Explore best practices in parent communication with two administrators and collaborate with colleagues to up your game in this crucial skill for all educators.

*Note: This is a 1/2-day session, 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Beyond Think-Pair-Share: Using Thinking Routines to Increase Student Engagement

Presenter: Dana Petrie

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Discover a variety of thinking routines that will energize your lessons and increase critical thinking in your classroom. Transform the way your students think, collaborate, and learn with these powerful, ready-to-use strategies. Create a culture of thinking with simple yet impactful prompts that deepen students' thinking. You will leave this workshop with more than a dozen dynamic, easy-to-implement routines in your toolbox that you can use the next day, and every day, with no prep needed!

Brain-Based Strategies for Student Engagement

Presenter: Virginia Senande

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Ignite a passion for learning in students with this dynamic workshop on brain-based strategies for classroom engagement. Discover how the brain processes information and learn how to design instruction that captivates students' interest and promotes active participation. From designing interactive lessons to leveraging technology and collaborative learning structures, this workshop offers practical tools and strategies to create an interactive and stimulating learning environment. Participants will explore innovative strategies that harness the brain's natural processes to create an engaging and enriching learning environment for all students.

Bridging Classrooms: Walks Across Northern Valley

Presenter: Kathleen O'Flynn

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Break free from professional isolation and discover the transformative power of peer observation. This Learning Walks workshop brings together educators to explore, learn, and inspire one another by stepping into each other's classrooms. Using a survey to plan visits and supported by the NVCC team, participants will see innovative teaching practices, discuss their observations, and build a stronger professional network across our educational community.

Challenging High Achievers in the Gen Ed Classroom

Presenter: Bernadette Ricco

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 1-5

The top quarter (High-End) students of any given classroom, regardless of whether they are formally identified for Gifted Programming, present challenges for teachers. Endeavoring to enhance their learning while also addressing the mainstream curricula and spectrum of learning needs requires unique tools. This workshop will provide how-to techniques for identifying and challenging these students and time-efficient ways to monitor their progress. Participants will be given time to reflect and to create “plan now, implement tomorrow” curricula modifications based on tools that will be provided and discussed. All teachers who are eager to engage high achievers with appropriately rigorous, manageable challenges, aligned with the National Association for Gifted Children’s Standards, are encouraged to attend. Join this cohort and support one another.

Classroom Management

Presenter: Amy Brown or Virginia Senande

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-5, 6-12

Professional Learning Academy Course

Both new and experienced teachers cite classroom management as a major concern. Promoting a learner-centered, work-oriented, harmonious learning environment requires a focus on prevention, intervention, and problem-solving. Participants in this introductory workshop will explore strategies that support a positive emotional and physical environment, and consider the importance of rules, procedures, and reinforcement. An important thread throughout the workshop is teaching students to demonstrate self-management skills in order to successfully engage in learning to grade-level expectations. Participants will reflect on their management styles and develop plans to enhance student behavior.

Classroom Management for Specialists Roundtable

Presenter: Amy Brown & Silvia Jost

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-8

This is an interactive roundtable session dedicated to exploring classroom management strategies tailored to the unique needs of specialized settings. It’s perfect for teachers of art, music, world languages, or any other specialty. The session will provide a collaborative platform to discuss common challenges and share proven techniques for fostering a positive and productive learning environment.

Close Reading

Presenter: Amy Brown

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 2-5

Cultivate critical reading habits that will make your students more attentive, thoughtful, independent readers as we study the work of Kylene Beers and Robert Probst, authors of Notice and Note, and Chris Lehman, author of Falling in Love with Close Reading. Explore the notice and note signposts readers should attend to as they journey through a text and unlock the power of these signposts for close reading and comprehension.

Creating Brain-Compatible Learning Environments Through Movement

Presenter: Amy Brown

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-4

Impactful learning is a MOVING experience! Participants will learn the basics of brain science to understand why movement is critical in the teaching and learning process. From brain primers to movement-infused instruction to thoughtfully executed brain breaks... participants will explore a variety of techniques to help students learn on their feet with memorable and impactful learning experiences.

Cultivating Creativity and Imagination in Yourself and Your Students

Presenter: Bernadette Ricco

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 2-8

Believe! Teachers are imaginative, creative, and flexible. Understand! To become future innovators and independent thinkers, students must practice using their imaginations. Refresh! When teachers express their curiosity and explore their imagination, students will follow.

Commit! We want to prepare our children to solve the problems they will encounter. We want our children to grow to be “creative”, to have the mental resources to adapt to change and instigate change. So, it becomes imperative to teach children to be imaginative, to seek creativity.

Explore and Practice! In this workshop, participants will explore imagination, curiosity, perception, visualization, incubation, and metacognition. Practical strategies and exercises to engage in these processes will be presented and practiced in an energetic, collegial setting. Refresh! Join us!

Differentiated Instruction: Doable DI

Presenter: Amy Brown

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Prerequisite: Meeting Students Where They Are and Strategies for Growth or equivalent

Building on the key elements of differentiated instruction already mastered, educators in this workshop will enhance their skills in instructional adaptation - adjusting and modifying lessons and assignments to meet all students where they are so that all students feel both significantly challenged, but also have the ability to be successful. These adaptations enable all students - whether gifted and talented, special needs, ELLs, etc. - to participate in, benefit from, and demonstrate knowledge and application of the NJSLS at their current instructional level.

Differentiated Instruction: Meeting Students Where They Are and Strategies That Work

Presenter: Amy Brown

Tentatively Scheduled for December 17, 2024 (Grades Pre-K-5) AND December 19, 2024 (Grades 6-12)

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-5, Grades 6-12

Professional Learning Academy Course

Differentiated instruction recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach to education does not offer the necessary learning opportunities for all students to succeed in the classroom. This does not mean that teachers must create different lessons for all students; a differentiated approach offers a supportive learning environment for all students. This workshop will present a wide range of Pedagogical Approaches, techniques, and approaches that teachers use to support student learning. Participants will learn about the key elements of differentiated instruction, tools for digital assessment, and explore resources for standards-driven learning. Resources, demonstrations, and technology solutions will be included in this workshop.

*Note: This workshop was formerly known as Meeting Students Where They Are and Strategies for Growth.

Differentiating Instruction with Enrichment Centers in Grades K-2

Presenter: Bernadette Ricco

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-2 Gen Ed, G&T Specialists

This workshop focuses on how to get started with engaging young students in hands-on differentiated learning with real-world centers. Connections with core content areas and the arts will be addressed, along with management tips. Key examples will be shared, and teachers will have the opportunity to learn about and discuss how to incorporate centers into their environments. Time will be provided for participants, working alone or in grade-level cohorts, to customize exemplars of centers to their classrooms.

Effective Homework: What, Why, and How?

Presenter: Kelly Stevens

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-5, 6-12

In today’s educational world, homework is a concept that inspires many different opinions. What can educators do to make the homework assigned to students valuable? This workshop will look at research around designing effective homework, as well as tools that can be utilized to create assignments that will be beneficial and engaging for students.

Engaging Every Learner: Creative Strategies and Tools to Boost Student Participation

Presenter: Meghan Pleus

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-2

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”- Benjamin Franklin. Do you want to build more excitement and positivity in your classroom? Let’s work together to develop a toolkit of the best practices to engage the youngest learners. Explore games, activities, cheers, chants, movements, centers, celebrations, applications, and much more that excite and engage the learner! Leave with practical tools and ideas ready to apply in the classroom TOMORROW!

*Note: Classroom site visit included

Game-Based Learning

Presenter: Marc Cicchino

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 6-12

Games are incredibly effective motivators and teachers. Players pay hundreds of dollars to participate in challenging scenarios that often immerse them in 50+ hours of engagement while honing specific in-game skills. So, how can educators harness the same principles used by game designers when developing units of study and designing instruction? This workshop will explore the “learning principles” offered by video games, as well as how those principles can enhance student engagement and learning in practical ways. Time will be allotted for developing game elements that can be used in the classroom setting.

Language and Literacy in Early Childhood

Presenter: Carly Garbatow

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K & Kindergarten

This workshop is geared toward early childhood educators (Pre-K & Kindergarten) looking to collect and share strategies for language and literacy development. Topics will include: review of language and literacy milestones and development, activities to promote early literacy skills, interdisciplinary approaches throughout thematic units, and developing a literacy environment. There will be time for teachers to share their own proven methods, ideas, and expertise.

Laughing Matters: Research-Based Tools for Incorporating Humor in the Classroom

Presenter: Bernadette Ricco

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-8

Designed for Classroom Teachers, Gifted and Talented Specialists, Social Workers, Counselors, and Special Education Teams, this workshop will explore research supporting the use of humor to reduce anxiety, create a more open atmosphere, aid in classroom management, support students with learning disabilities, and identify students who are creatively gifted. Guidelines for teaching with humor will be discussed, and teachers will have the opportunity to explore humor activities in small groups and as a workshop cohort. Let’s laugh while learning!

Leading and Managing the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies for Teachers

Presenter: Kelly Stevens

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

So, you have the tools to differentiate under your belt, now what? This session, based on the book “Leading and Managing the Differentiated Classroom” by Carol Tomlinson, will provide teachers with practical strategies for managing a differentiated setting. Today’s educators are increasingly tasked with meeting the needs of a wide range of learners, each with their own unique strengths, challenges, and learning styles. This workshop is designed to equip educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead and manage a differentiated classroom effectively.

Learning from Head to Toe

Presenter: Glen Coleman

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Learn how to integrate kinesthetic learning experiences into your classroom by experiencing it firsthand! Participants will delve into the science that explains why physical movement improves mental alertness, health, and learning - and increases energy for everyone in the classroom. Educators will walk away with a toolbox of kinesthetic learning activities designed to do the following: prime the brain for deep learning, make learning active, engaging, and memorable, and help students retain information after periods of concentrated effort.

Meeting Diverse Behavioral and Social-Emotional Needs in the K-8 Classroom

Presenter: Melanie Arnold and Laura Wiseman

Tentatively Scheduled for December 4, 2024

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-8

Discover practical strategies for supporting student success in this workshop focused on meeting diverse behavioral and social-emotional needs in K-8 classrooms. Educators and service providers will explore proactive approaches to address a variety of behavioral challenges and promote positive social-emotional development. Participants will learn how to create inclusive classroom environments, implement effective behavior management techniques, and provide targeted support to meet individual student needs. Leave with a deeper understanding of how to increase availability for learning and foster a supportive community where all students can thrive.

Personalized Learning and Student Choice in the Classroom

Presenter: Marc Cicchino

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Personalized learning and learning menus help create powerful student-centered learning experiences! This workshop will explore several different methods of how students experience personalized learning in the classroom. Options for demonstrating understanding may include but are not limited to, websites, portfolios, blogs, podcasts, videos, infographics, and slide shows. Collaborate and engage in discussions on how to best implement these strategies in the classroom.

Problem, Project, and Challenge-Based Learning

Presenter: Marc Cicchino

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 6-12

How can we bring authentic real-world activities to a classroom? This workshop will explore several strategies: Problem-Based Learning as a strategy for deepening students’ understanding of complex content in a learner-centered and highly engaging manner; Project-Based Learning and the role that projects can play in driving learning, rather than as end-of-unit assessments; and Challenge Based Learning as an authentic, student-driven approach to increase engagement and promote critical thinking. Participants will examine new research in these pedagogies, review concrete examples of high-quality PBL/CBL in action, and develop PBL/CBL materials to implement in the classroom.

Speak Twice!

Presenter: Glen Coleman

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 6-12

Electrify ANY course content and promote community by asking students to “speak twice.” Students deliver their first speech without notes, where they are given permission to speak awkwardly and from the heart. With the support of classmates, students feel empowered on their second attempts (and beyond) to improve.

Stay in the Know - Latest Trends/Research in Education: 1/2 day session

Presenters: Danielle M. Da Giau & Kathleen O'Flynn

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

For all who wish to remain apprised of all the latest trends in education, this is a workshop not to be missed! Participants will leave the session with a well-stocked educational toolbox. Fall and Spring sessions will differ to address the latest trends.

*Note: This is a 1/2-day session, 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Storyboarding to Promote Student Engagement

Presenters: Jennifer Helfman & Kate Heyboer

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Storyboarding helps make the learning journey visible and meaningful to students. By tapping into brain science, this strategy redesigns the way we present units and lessons - boosting clarity, curiosity, and student buy-in. The process can be tailored for any grade level, learning unit, or academic content. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the process of Storyboarding, view examples, and create Storyboards to use in their classrooms.

Strategies and Tools for Student Engagement

Presenter: Kelly Stevens

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

An engaging learning environment is the bedrock of today’s classroom. This professional learning experience will highlight classroom strategies and tools that breathe life and passion into a data-driven world. Participants will experience exciting traditional Pedagogical Approaches, select digital tools, strategies for digital video, and engaging tools for digital assessment. This professional learning experience will include real-life examples and demonstrations, and will prove to be energetic and transformative.

Strategies for Collaborative Teaching

Presenter: Kelly Stevens

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

In today’s classroom, collaborative teaching has become a staple - research shows it leads to improved student outcomes. This workshop will review the research behind this model, as well as the different types of collaborative teaching. Discussions on ideas and strategies for relationship building to make the most out of teaching partnerships will also take place. Attendance in pairs is strongly encouraged for best results!

Student Collaboration

Presenter: Amy Brown

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-5, Grades 6-12

Professional Learning Academy Course

Researchers and practitioners alike recognize many diverse benefits of cooperative learning, including higher reasoning skills, retention, time on task, motivation, and social support, all contributing to an increase in student achievement. Effective use of cooperative learning strategies will prevent the pitfalls that are inherently possible in “group work” and ensure that all students are accountable for their learning. Participants will be immersed in cooperative learning opportunities as they review research, theory, procedures, skills, and practical applications of a variety of structures.

SUPER Stations - Creating Small Group Rotation Work

Presenter: Meghan Pleus

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades K-2

Out with the whole group instruction and in with the… small group stations! This session will focus on effective strategies for creating and managing small groups, particularly for ELA and Math. Learn about new ways to incorporate games and technology as stations. Leave this session with tools that will increase engagement while differentiating at the same time!

*Note: Classroom site visit included

Teacher & Instructional Aide/Paraprofessional Relationships for a Successful Classroom

Presenters: Denise Marinaro & Sarah Christensen

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12 (Gen Ed & Special Ed) & Paraprofessionals/Instructional Aides

Teacher/aide pairs would benefit from attending this workshop together. Special education teachers are also welcome and encouraged to attend. Instructional aides or paraprofessionals are an integral part of the classroom and should be engaged by teachers to partner on student learning. However, many teachers are not trained on how to effectively employ instructional aides in their classrooms. This workshop aims to equip teachers and instructional aides with tools to join forces in support of student learning. Designed for general education content area and specials/elective teachers, this workshop will explore task delegation, understanding student IEPs and instructional aides’ purpose, and best practices for communication.

The Missing Link: Combining Mindset and Executive Functioning Skills

Presenter: Kelly Stevens

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

We all know and have those students. You know the students who don’t finish or turn in their work, the ones who are always calling out, the ones who seem to always lose focus. While this can be a source of frustration for teachers, what if we could give students strategies to help with this? Based on the book, “The Missing Link to Help Them Think” by Marilee Sprenger, this workshop will explore the potential marriage between emotional learning strategies and executive functioning skills. Participants will leave this session with additional tools to add to their toolboxes to best help their students.

The Neuroscience of Classroom Engagement

Presenter: Marc Cicchino

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

This workshop will delve into the neuroscience behind student engagement. Participants will explore four key areas of importance, each corresponding to different architecture of the brain - with strategies for optimizing instruction for each: attention (reticular activating system), the importance of a safe learning environment (amygdala), memory (hippocampus), and executive function (prefrontal cortex).

The Neuroscience of Classroom Engagement II: Pathways, Research, and Applications

Presenter: Marc Cicchino

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Building on the foundational brain-based framework introduced in Part I, this hands-on, inquiry-driven workshop invites educators to dive deeper into the neuroscience of student engagement through the lens of their own instructional interests. Participants will select a specific pedagogy or practice, such as project-based learning, game-based learning, or culturally responsive teaching, and explore how the neuroscience of attention, emotional safety, memory, and executive function can be intentionally applied within that context.

Part II offers a more flexible, inquiry-oriented structure, with time dedicated to collaboration, investigation, and the development of personal practical applications to a teacher's specific classroom setting.

*Prerequisite: The Neuroscience of Classroom Engagement I

Time with Released Standardized Test Items

Presenter: Laura Sullivan

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of 3-12 ELA, Math, and Science

This workshop explores ways to integrate released state-test items into your teaching repertoire. Delve into the provided resources to gain valuable insights into assessment expectations, question formats, and content, as well as to build a collection of questions that you can use in your classroom. Utilizing released items can help when teaching students valuable test-taking strategies and reinforcing your content. Together, we will explore ways to use these questions to supplement your current teaching. Participants will receive many different resources and the well-needed TIME to review them and align them with your current units so that you can start using them with your students tomorrow.

Universal Design for Learning

Presenter: Marc Cicchino

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades Pre-K-12

Neuroscience indicates that every brain is unique and that every person is an individual, yet common instructional practices encourage students to learn at the same pace and in the same way. This workshop will review the research supporting Universal Design for Learning (UDL), explore strategies for designing instruction from the start with learner variability in mind, and prepare participants to purposefully implement UDL in their own classrooms. Participants will become familiar with the Universal Design for Learning guidelines and will have the practical opportunity to design or refine existing learning tasks with these principles in mind.

Unlocking Informational Text: Strategies for Content Area Teachers

Presenter: Nancy Mliczek

Tentatively Scheduled for

Recommended for Educators of Grades 6-12

Discover the keys to unlocking the full potential of informational texts in content area classrooms. This dynamic professional learning experience is designed to equip content area teachers with a robust toolkit of strategies that enhance students' comprehension, critical thinking, and engagement with informational texts. This workshop will be aligned with the new NJSLS English Language Arts standards.

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