CULLOWHEE—North Carolina educators have several opportunities in June, July and August to attend the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), a recognized national leader in professional development programming for teachers.
Literacy instruction is as difficult as it is essential. This program will provide early grades teachers with a complement of research-based tools and strategies to help answer some of their more burning questions: How do I teach close reading to students who don’t yet know the alphabet? What level of writing can I attain from children who are still learning to spell? How do I simultaneously provide enrichment for advanced readers and remediation for delayed readers? How can I integrate reading and writing instruction into all other subject areas? Finally, what does this instruction look like in the classroom and how are student engagement and learning measured in this process?
CULLOWHEE—The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) will partner with Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) from April 10–13 to offer “Total Solar Eclipse Training” to K–6 educators from across the state.
On August 21, a portion of the western part of the state will experience a total solar eclipse for approximately two and a half minutes. Prior to the “Great American Eclipse,” 15 teams of two teachers apiece will be offered valuable information and insight into this rare celestial phenomenon.
Designed for teachers of grades 6–12.
Imagine a classroom where digital learning is already immersed into every aspect of the curriculum. Educators today have so many components to consider when creating a lesson, including: content, assessment, collaboration, and digital technology. Learn how to create a learning space where digital tools are seamlessly integrated. Investigate a variety of digital tools and see example lessons for the English/language arts, history, and science classrooms. Inspire your students to become more engaged by creating an immersive digital learning environment.
Designed for those that have participated in NCCAT’s “Canvas Connections: Beginning Users” program or that have comparable intensive Canvas training.
Canvas, North Carolina’s Learning Management System (LMS), is your place for one stop learning and course management. Teachers who are currently u sing Canvas will learn how to use buttons and banners to give their course a more professional look. Engage students by creating blended lessons using Canvas and a variety of Web tools. Design an ePortfolio for professional use. Become more familiar with using an LMS to collaborate with teachers from across the state. This program is designed for intermediate users and will allow teachers time to map their course for an entire semester using the calendar feature.
Designed for teachers in grades 3–6.
As our students develop as mathematicians, we often wonder if we are best supporting them along that pathway. Learn how to facilitate activities that promote deeper understanding of the mathematical practices that are the foundation of the 21st century classroom. Discover engaging tasks that involve collaboration and problem solving. Explore creative classroom-friendly activities that build mathematical fluency. This program will offer multiple opportunities to collaborate and to understand more clearly the correlation of math standards across grade levels.
Open to teachers in their first, second, or third year of teaching, this program supports motivated beginning teachers by strengthening their knowledge base and classroom expertise. Through experiential learning, teachers will explore pedagogical concerns including differentiated instruction, brain-compatible teaching, assessment, the effect of poverty on achievement and behavior, and classroom management. Come prepared to build professional competence and confidence, improve student achievement, and reinforce your commitment to this critically important profession.
Designed for teachers in grades K–5.
Good readers ask questions before, during, and after reading to make sense of text. Questions provide the opportunity to interact with the text and figure out the deeper meaning of what is being read. How do teachers model good questioning strategies? How do teachers pose questions that foster critical thinking? What types of questions help readers understand confusing parts of a book? Learn how to use questioning strategies to enhance reading comprehension for all students.
Designed for teachers in grades 4 to 12.
The statistics are consistent: young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. In many instances, the reading scores of boys bring down the reading scores for the entire school. Explore the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why boys lag behind girls. Identify reading materials you can use in your classroom to capture and keep the attention of your struggling readers. Experience a variety of instructional methods such as text selection designed for boys, contests and competitions, focus reading groups, and the latest websites and blogs to boost literacy achievement. Discover solutions to capture the attention of reluctant male readers and examine strategies that motivate boys to sustain reading in the classroom and at home.
Whether or not your school or district has adopted a Google Chromebook environment, if your LEA infrastructure allows for the use of Google Tools and/or Apps, the “Googlesphere” can be an immense help. It can aid in engaging students, keeping in touch with parents, automating feedback and assessment, sharing documents, and more. Hone your skills with the Google Chrome Browser, with Google Apps, with Android Apps, and with Chrome OS so that you can engage your students using freely available tools on almost any platform.