Participants in this course will examine methodologies to facilitate the growth of a positive relationship with the most challenging of parents in a variety of school settings. Participants will focus on effective parent communication and engagement for K-12 education. Participants will explore methods to improve communication and collaboration that will focus on parent engagement and, in turn, will create a positive learning environment for every student. Emphasis is on exploring and learning ways to connect with parents and families. Participants will synthesize paradigms and leave the course with a better understanding of developing parent communication techniques leading towards sharing responsibility to help children learn and meet their educational goals.

Course #: IMS24503
Dates: 08/05/24 - 08/18/24
Categories:

Positive Classroom Management Innovative Classroom Instruction

Format:

Interactive

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From looking beyond the ‘autism spectrum disorder’ label to preparing students for adulthood, this course is designed to empower educators with effective, research-based strategies to incorporate into their classrooms and professional practices. Course participants will examine nine strength-based mindsets necessary for navigating autism - as presented by Dr. Temple Grandin and psychologist Dr. Debra Moore. This course prepares educators by emphasizing strengths and assets of individuals with autism to maximize their potential inside and outside of school.

Course #: IMF24000
Dates: 09/09/24 - 10/06/24
Categories:

Equity & Diversity 21st-Century Teaching Instructional Strategies

Format:

Interactive

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Participants in this course will learn how to build academic success by exploring and developing tools to increase K-12 students’ soft skills (communication, work ethic, leadership, personal responsibility, and listening.) They will recognize and prioritize their students’ soft skills that will be valuable in reaching future goals, remaining optimistic, and dealing with conflict in their schooling. Participants will explore a series of strategies for reaching and helping students learn appropriate behaviors, strategies for the future, and ways to help prepare them for college and career readiness. Research is based on the works of Robert W. Gaines, II, Ph.D., Meca B. Mohammed, Ph.D., Cheryl Talley, Ph.D., and Marcheta Evans, Ph.D., among others. Foundational work in this course will include the research on understanding soft skills, strategies to develop soft skills, bringing students' soft skills to reach within the classroom, and the different types of soft skills: communication, work ethic, leadership, personal responsibility, and listening. Participants will synthesize these paradigms and develop a new understanding of the role that soft skills can play in student learning, along with new tools and techniques for cultivating students’ soft skills.

Course #: IMF24001
Dates: 10/07/24 - 11/03/24
Categories:

Positive Classroom Management Content-Area Teaching

Format:

Interactive

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Educators today are tasked with improving student learning. This course equips educators in K-12 classrooms to do so. Participants in this course will examine many methodologies of different brain researched-based frameworks to help educators improve student learning and educate parents on their child’s learning strengths and weaknesses. Participants will gain knowledge of how the brain works and how educators can use brain-based strategies to improve memory and retrieval of information. The course will center around the research of Dr. Judy Willis, Dr. Eric Jensen, and others on understanding brain processes that can help educators rethink how they engage students in their own learning. Additional topics include developing lesson plans and activities with brain-based research in mind, critical thinking methodologies, teaching students to self-reflect on their own learning process and how they learn, looking at how social and emotional learning impacts learning, the impact learning styles have on thinking strategies, developing assessments built around brain-based learning principles, and connecting parents/home to brain-based learning to aid in their child’s cognitive development at home.

Course #: IMF24002
Dates: 11/04/24 - 12/03/24
Categories:

21st-Century Teaching Instructional Strategies

Format:

Interactive

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