ChatGPT? AI? Generative AI? What are these? We might have heard of students cheating with ChatGPT and many schools are struggling to curb that. But what about us using it? This session is meant to be an introduction to generative AI. Participants will get a chance to learn and understand what it is and how it can increase our productivity as well as learn of some of its harms. Participants will also get a chance to experience various generative AI tools that may help improve their productivity.

How do we create a positive and safe learning environment for all of our students beyond the first days of school? Get to know your students with rich literature, writing lessons, and art projects throughout the year and beyond the heritage months. Participants will receive book lists, resources, and lesson plans on cultivating students’ cultural wealth. This workshop is geared towards educators of grades 3-5.

Five key points will be highlighted for discussion and exploration:

Creating predictable routines

Building strong and supportive relationships

Empowering student agency

Supporting the development of self-regulation skills

Providing the opportunity to explore individual student identities.

Using informational stats, videos, engagement strategies, and dialogue, we will explore key trauma-informed SEL practices that help create the safest and most productive environment to help students feel supported and empowered. We will also discuss supporting self-regulation with predictable routines and opportunities to explore individual identity while also increasing community. Finally, we will explore various strategies to empower student agency by being responsive to student needs and supportive of their goals and aspirations.

Let’s foster inquiry-based learning through art. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is an approach to facilitating a discussion centered on works of art. Stimulate learning through teacher-facilitated discussion that promotes active listening and speaking. Meaning about a work of art is discussed by building upon one’s own and others’ observations. English learners must practice speaking skills and support their ideas with valid reasons. Learn how to allow students to make careful observations, look closely at a work of art, construct questions based on what they see, and give answers based on visual evidence. This session will include art lessons that tie into the Visual and Performing Art Standards(VAPA).

This session is an activity-based experience in making choices about technology use in your classroom. Teachers will learn by doing, discussing with peers, and decision making. Technology is a useful tool that was the only way for many teachers to reach students or for students to access curriculum. Many new teachers’ most recent classroom experience was either teaching or learning online for a majority of their time. As we transition back to face to face and looking ahead to a tech-reliant world it is important to consider and discuss when and how to use tech in your classroom to support learners. The answer is not all the time, nor is it never. The goal is to find the balance.

Set yourself up for success by learning that school and life balance doesn't come naturally and that it takes intention. 

In this session, we will debunk the myth that we can "keep all the balls in the air", and learn a more practical framework to prioritize tasks. Understanding which balls to intentionally drop (guilt-free) will enable you to maintain balance in all areas of your life and avoid overwhelm and burnout. 

Beyond discussing mindset and theory, you will receive a comprehensive tool to quickly diagnose areas of your life that are out of balance and how to course-correct them. This resource is uniquely geared towards educators, and the session will include a 20 minutes guided exercise that you can complete and gain immediate insights. Don't worry; there will be no "sharing out" of results!

You will leave the session feeling empowered to set yourself up for success and a more positive teaching experience.

This session focuses on the importance of BIPOC educators finding others they can deeply connect with and turn to for support when they feel like the only one in the room. These connections very well may take place across your district, not just at your site, where you may be the only BIPOC educator on campus. We will discuss finding your tribe, and creating safe AND brave spaces for you to connect and collaborate in order to gain strength through connection and survive the consequences of being "the only one in the room."

In the midst of figuring out who they are, their place in our recently disrupted and rapidly changing world, students are increasingly reluctant to speak up. Many have developed anxiety around this part of the classroom experience and we know the more that is shared the more that is gained. Silence stops the spread of diverse ideas, reduces sharing of experiences, and prevents students from participating in vital subject standards in meaningful ways. We will discuss strategies for creating a classroom environment and differentiated lesson options where students feel safe and confident so all voices can be heard.