Professional Development Workshops
Join us for a five-week online class designed for educators looking to deepen their understanding of gifted and talented readers. Participants will engage with a variety of resources, including readings, videos, and podcasts, while also having dedicated time to collaborate on discussion boards. We will delve into current research on comprehension instruction, gaining insights on effective strategies to support advanced readers. Additionally, we will address the social and emotional needs of gifted students, ensuring that academic support is coupled with the nurturing of their well-being. By the end of the course, educators will be equipped with practical strategies and tools to apply their newfound knowledge directly in their classrooms, fostering an inclusive and challenging learning environment for all students.
This course includes independent applications of learned material in classroom situations. Upon successful completion of this class, participants will receive 15 hours of recertification credit.
Date: January 6, 2025 - February 17, 2025
Location: Virtual: Asynchronous and self-paced
Cost: $65
Facilitator: Ashley Romanowski
Ashley Romanoski is passionate about learning and building connections with others, particularly through her work with educators, gifted students, and their families. Her journey in education began as a sixth-grade teacher, where she discovered her love for working with gifted learners. This passion led her to become a gifted resource teacher, allowing her to support students from kindergarten through sixth grade. In this role, she gained a deep understanding of the unique needs of gifted students and their families, which further fueled her advocacy for this population.
Outside the classroom, Ashley has worked to empower parents of gifted children by founding a S.E.N.G. Virtual Community Parent Group in her district which provides resources and support to the district's community, and she is the leader of Marana Supporters of the Gifted, an A.A.G.T Parent Affiliate. With a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from Northern Arizona University, she holds a gifted endorsement and is a certified SENG Model Parent Group Facilitator. She has also presented at SENG, AAGT, and NAGC conferences. Ashley is committed to sharing strategies for fostering meaningful connections between educators, families, and gifted learners. When not teaching or presenting, Ashley enjoys spending time outside with her husband and three children exploring Arizona in their camper or running her children from sports and dance events. You can also find her frequently lost in a good book or watching Hallmark movies.
Cost: Free
Facilitators: Gifted Coordinators from the Southern Arizona Gifted Network and Marianne Landrith, Program Director of GiftED.
Cognitive giftedness is one type of neurodivergence. Twice exceptionality refers to cognitive giftedness layered with another type of neurodivergence, such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, or Dysgraphia. Participants will learn about the four key ingredients needed to create a neurodiversity affirming classroom and school as described by Emily Kircher-Morris, gifted educator and counselor. Participants will walk away with the skills they need to meet the needs of every gifted learner.
This course includes independent applications of learned material in classroom situations. Upon successful completion of this class, participants will receive 6 hours of recertification credit.
Date: January 20, 2025 - February 24, 2025
Cost: $45
Facilitator: Vanessa Hill
Vanessa has been an educator for over twenty years. She is a gifted specialist who taught in Title 1 schools for a decade before becoming Amphitheater Public Schools Gifted Education Coordinator. Vanessa has two twice exceptional children of her own, so understands the unique needs of this population on a very personal level. She has presented at the AAGT Annual Conference, the NAGC Annual Convention, and the ADE Teacher's Institute and Leading Change Conference. Vanessa facilitates professional learning experiences for gifted and general classroom educators. Vanessa is the 2019 AAGT Gifted Educator of the Year, Raytheon Leaders in Education Award Finalist 2021, and the 2024 NAGC National Gifted Coordinator Award Recipient.
Teachers who facilitate meetings with their peers encounter unique challenges. Often, they struggle to balance the demands of managing time, energy and processes while simultaneously navigating the challenges of being a colleague and maintaining one’s own professional integrity.
This is the workshop for teacher-leaders who:
The goal of this two-day workshop is to increase the quality of collaboration that produces benefits for students. You will gain an enhanced understanding of the importance of facilitation. Through a variety of learning formats, you will experience the effects of the Five Mindsets and recognize them in facilitation. You will increase your efficacy and repertoire of tools and processes to operationalize each Mindset.
Based on the Teachers As Facilitators handbook and Teachers As Facilitators workshop design of Bob Garmston and Carolyn McKanders, presenter Mary Bouley provides practical strategies and tools organized by Five Mindsets with a focus on individual contexts and applications.
More about Teachers as Facilitators: https://teachersasfacilitators.com/
Seminar Materials included in the cost: -It’s Your Turn: Teachers as Facilitators A Handbook, Garmston and McKanders -It's Your Turn: Teachers as Facilitators Participant Guide
Intended Audience: Classroom Teachers and any Educational Professionals who facilitate or plan to facilitate groups of teachers through PLC’s, Department collaborations and other school and district leadership opportunities.
Dates: February 10 & 11, 2025
Time: 8:30a.m. - 4:00 p.m. with breakfast provided at 8:00 a.m.
Fee: Early Bird: $275 on or before January 17
$300 after January 17
Registration deadline is January 31.
Presenter: Mary Bouley, M.Ed
Mary Bouley is a trainer, facilitator and consultant who strives to impact systems through professional development and coaching. In addition to her work as a Teachers as Facilitator presenter, Mary is a Training Associate for Thinking Collaborative, providing professional development in Cognitive Coaching℠. Her commitment to building self-directedness, supporting thinking and facilitating learning allows her to impact individuals, groups and systems as they build relationships and adapt to change and challenge.
This course will equip educators to better understand and develop creative thinking across all content areas. Participants will learn how to help their students overcome common barriers to creative thinking and ways to encourage students to think divergently, embrace risks, and explore innovative solutions to problems. Emphasis is placed on the FFOE framework for understanding, measuring, and developing creative thinking skills. Participants will walk away with concrete strategies and resources that can be implemented immediately in the classroom.
This course includes independent applications of learned material in classroom situations. Upon successful completion of this class, participants will receive 5 hours of recertification credit.
Date: February 24 - March 31, 2024
Facilitator: Paige Riffle
Paige Riffle is the Librarian at Tanque Verde High School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Arizona and is a certified teacher with an endorsement in gifted education. As the librarian, she collaborates with teachers to personalize student learning, help students develop critical thinking skills, and connect students with good books for research and personal enjoyment. As a gifted learner herself, she is passionate about helping her high school students understand the nuances of giftedness and equipping them to thrive in school and beyond. Paige is a member of the Southern Arizona Gifted Network.
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