Bobbie Solley Center of Excellence in Teaching

AUGUST 2022

ENGAGING WITH THE C-R-A (CONCRETE-REPRESENTATIONAL-ABSTRACT) APPROACH TO MATHEMATICS

PART #1: CONCRETE STAGE

Session Summary:

USING HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN THE ELA CLASSROOM: MOVING FROM PLANNING A LESSON TO PREPARING TO TEACH IT

Session Summary

High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) - such as EL Education, CKLA, and Wit and Wisdom - are powerful curricular resources that have shown they can help move students’ literacy outcomes, but they represent a significant shift in how we think about literacy instruction and classroom practice. In this session, participants will explore the Prepare to Teach Cycle, a continuous preparation cycle that helps teachers use these materials well, moving us from away from traditional lesson planning and to intellectually preparing to teach. This session is ideal for K-12 classroom teachers and university education instructors.

Session Summary:

This session will feature two K-5 teachers sharing ideas from their classrooms for how to teach science with limited time. We will explore practical ways to approach hands on, phenomena based science instruction in 30 minutes or less. All current or aspiring science teachers are welcome! 

ENGAGING WITH THE C-R-A APPROACH TO MATHEMATICS

(CONCRETE-REPRESENTATIONAL-ABSTRACT)  

PART #2: REPRESENTATIONAL STAGE

This is the second session of a three part series on Engaging with the CRA (Concrete, Representational, and Abstract) Approach to Mathematics. CRA is a gradual systematic approach where each stage builds on the previous stage.  This approach can be found in all grade levels.

Session #2:  This session continues working with the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) instructional approach.  The second step is called the representational stage.  It is known as the "seeing" stage involves using images, such as graphs, number lines, and models, to represent objects to solve a math problem.

Session Summary

We will answer the question, WHY SEL? We will talk about the fundamentals of social and emotional learning. We will explore this through the CASEL framework and competencies.

KEEPING TEXT AT THE CENTER OF THE ELA STANDARDS-ALIGNED CLASSROOM

Session Summary:

Our literacy standards call for us to center the text - rather than skills or strategies - in our instruction. This is a subtle but significant shift that can radically change literacy instruction and, by extension, student outcomes. In this session, participants will read excerpts from an anchor document, experience this shift as adult readers, and explore concrete principles for centering text in instruction that can be applied in the classroom. This session is ideal for K-12 teachers and university instructors.

APPLYING SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Session Summary:

We will dive into each of the SEL competencies to build on what you are already doing in the classroom to support students’ social and emotional learning.

OCTOBER 2022

DIGGING INTO BLOOM'S TAXONOMY PART 1 & PART 2

PART 1 SESSION SUMMARY:

PART 2 SESSION SUMMARY:

THE 8 LITERACY PRACTICES

Session Summary:

Not to be outdone by the world of mathematics, this session will introduce 8 literacy practices that include the major types of thinking that complex texts and our standards demand of students. Participants will gain an understanding of each practice, analyze a TCAP released item to see how each of the practices is reflected in our end-of-year assessment, and apply what they have learned to an upcoming lesson of their own. This session is ideal for teachers in grades 2-8.

CRA is a gradual systematic approach where each stage builds on the previous stage.  This approach can be found in all grade levels.

Session #3:  This session concludes the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) instructional approach.  The final step in this approach is called the abstract stage.  It is known as the "symbolic" stage and involves using only numbers and symbols to solve a math problem.

LITERACY & SCIENCE  (IN-PERSON SESSION)

Session Summary:

Saturday, October 22, 2022

9:00 - 11:00 am CST

TO REGISTER FOR THIS IN-PERSON EVENT, PLEASE EMAIL bobbiesolleycenter@fhu.edu

HOOKED: HOW TO GRAB YOUR STUDENTS ATTENTION IN THE FIRST 5 MINUTES OF CLASS

Session Summary:

Hooks frame our thinking as learners and give context to the goals of the lesson. Join this session to learn how to strategically gain momentum for engagement and learning from the second a lesson begins.

Intended audience: anyone seeking to capture and hold the attention of learners in any setting

FEEDBACK THAT MATTERS: TOOLS AND STRATEGIES FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN

Jackie Walsh is a life-long advocate for learning for all students and is passionate about the potential of classroom questioning to promote this goal. She began her questioning journey as a high school social studies teacher and school leader. She has deepened her knowledge through research and by listening to and learning from thousands of teachers whom she has engaged in professional learning over the past three decades. Seven books have emerged from this work, the most recent of which is Questioning for Formative Feedback (ASCD, 2022). Jackie works with schools and districts across the country as an independent consultant. She is an avid reader, traveler, sometime gardener, and sports enthusiast who enthusiastically follows her alma maters’ teams— Duke (A.B.) and the University of Alabama (Ph.D). Her greatest joy comes from experiences shared with her children and grandchildren.

Session Summary

How can you engage all students in seeking and using feedback? Why does effective feedback to learners depend upon first securing feedback from them? In this interactive webinar, you’ll develop your responses to these questions as you focus on the connections between questioning, dialogue, and feedback. Along the way, you’ll explore new roles and responsibilities for learners and examine tools and strategies to nurture student regulation of their own learning. You’ll also delve into the relationship between effective feedback and social-emotional considerations and the creation of a positive classroom community. The webinar will feature video clips from Questioning for Formative Feedback (ASCD, 2022) and offer opportunities for interacting with the author and co-participants. You’ll also make explicit connections to Questioning and Feedback indicators embedded in Tennessee’s TEAM Rubric.

NOVEMBER 2022

CONNECTIONS AND PROGRESSIONS: GEOMETRY

HOW TO BE HEARD: A PRIMER ON HOW TO USE YOUR TEACHER VOICE IN POLICY

Session Summary

There is no one better equipped to be a voice in the world of education policy than those in classrooms every day … our teachers. Often, teachers are unsure of how policy works, how to communicate their ideas, and how to effectively engage with stakeholders about education issues that are important to them. In this session, participants will gain an overview of how policy is made in education, learn specific strategies for crafting and sharing a message of their own, and explore opportunities to engage with education policy at the state level. This session is ideal for teachers in grades K-12.       

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Session Summary:

This session will focus on different strategies for creating a safe and supportive learning environment for students. The discussion will range from greetings and class meetings to calm down corners and natural/realistic consequences. Elementary educators are the intended audience for this session. 

DECEMBER 2022

STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Session Summary

Research has shown trust and respect are essential to building meaningful and effective relationships. However, building and maintaining those types of relationships is often a struggle for educators as they work together to serve students and their families. 

This session will provide proven strategies for building meaningful and trust-filled relationships by looking at techniques used in coaching, including David Rock’s SCARF model.    

Intended audience: classroom teachers, instructional coaches, administrators

NCTM Teaching Practices:

Planning for Effective Instruction