Course: Sessions from TFA DFW Sept 29 ACC

Ever find that language barriers are holding your students back from learning content? Learn some ESL/ELL strategies that can be used in their classroom – no matter the content – without risking isolation, but rather supporting students to work with their content through quality interaction and scaffolded learning. This is a pedagogy of promise.

Research shows that when teachers execute a strong opening and closing, students retain more of what was taught during the lesson itself. This session focuses on helping first year teachers execute strong lesson openings and closings with strategies and guidance on procedures so students can “sandwich” the day’s learning.

As a general education teacher with special needs students, it can be difficult to navigate the ins and outs of IEP accommodations and modifications. Run by a special educator, this session will clarify the differences between accommodating and modifying for students. You will leave with at least four strategies for more easily accommodating or modifying lessons for your special needs students.

Our students face huge obstacles to success, many in part due to the lack of resources in their communities. Learn how to responsibly teach and talk with your students about the achievement gap between students in low income communities and students in high income communities so they can be invested and advocate for their own futures.

Spice up your introduction of new material and amplify your “lecture”! This session will provide strategies to plan and execute an INM that get students capturing, processing and interacting with new material in a meaningful way that sets them up for success in guided practice.

Who is leaving more tired at the end of each day in your classroom? This session will focus on how to build student independence and how to structure learning so that students are bearing the major load of cognitive work, rather than the teacher. Self-reflect on where students need to be doing more of the work in your classroom and learn techniques for shifting the ratio to kids.

Our students’ influencers and family members are the best advocates they have, whether our students are 5 of 19. Sharing students’ data with family members in meeting and conferences can be an essential starting point for a powerful family advocate. Learn some techniques for sharing data appropriately, opening the conversation with family members, and building relationships rooted in partnership for students’ success.

Teaching literacy can’t just be the ELAR teachers’ job, as it is critical to learning any content and to our students’ overall futures in a technological future. In this session, you will learn how you should be thinking about literacy in your content area and walk out with strategies to promote students’ vocabulary acquisition, comprehension, and writing skills.

Guided practice is the daily lesson’s bridge between new information and independent learning. This session will focus on how to make the most of this bridge by intentionally creating a gradual release of responsibility so that the majority of learners will be ready to independently practice and show mastery of the day’s learning goal.

How to craft and communicate purpose every day at the beginning of class and before each learning activity.

A focus on how to INVEST students by pitching your goal and sets of strategies for reinforcing your goal daily.