Professional Development Events

SEDL's professional development takes many forms: face-to-face, Web-based video conferencing, and online applications. Our professional development is rooted in research and designed with practical use in mind. Some of our most recent work encompasses the following:

Professional development for literacy coaches relies on examining and analyzing student data and focuses on five areas of structural support for teachers.
Training on the professional teaching and learning cycle was developed through research with 60 schools and districts. It shows school staffs how to focus on student learning through structured teacher study and discussion.
District-wide literacy professional development for all teachers—no matter what subject they teach—incorporates state literacy standards and covers evidence-based instructional strategies for daily use in the classroom.

Professional Development Offerings

Active Learning With Technology

SEDL's award-winning Active Learning With Technology (ALT) professional development workshops enable educators to incorporate technology into their classrooms by creating an environment that makes the most of the way people learn. The 18 ALT modules put constructivist learning theory into practice and increase teachers' understanding about how student learn. Workshops focus on the uses of technology for learning supported in the No Child Left Behind Act, Title II, Part D.

Beyond the Building: Facilitating School, Family, and Community Connections

Students, families, schools, and communities all benefit from family and community connections with schools. However, while many educators have good intentions in trying to make positive connections between the school, families, and the community, they are often disappointed when their efforts don't always produce the kinds of outcomes they want. Beyond the Building will help participants gain insight into important involvement issues and develop practical strategies to build lasting connections.

Concerns Based Adoption Model

New school programs often fail because changes are not being implemented properly or because staff concerns about the ensuing changes aren't addressed. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model, well known as CBAM, is a conceptual framework that describes, explains, and predicts probable teacher behaviors throughout the change process, helping administrators and change facilitators avoid these problems.

From Conflict to Creativity

Conflict is increasing in schools today and occurs in all areas of education, including exchanges between educators and students, colleagues, and community members. Although conflict may occur for many reasons—change, power, scarcity, diversity for example—all unresolved conflict can lead to physical and/or emotional violence. This workshop is designed to teach the strategies and skills needed to effectively deal with conflict, especially in a supervisory role. These strategies can be used for individual issues as well as organizational and group problems of school leadership and management, for facilitating committee work, and for short- or long-term planning.

Leadership for Changing Schools

Leadership for Changing Schools is SEDL's most popular and enduring professional development package. Designed to help administrators and facilitators understand the change process and how it affects individuals involved, Leadership for Changing Schools provides tools and six-research based strategies to help guide schools through the change process.

Leading With Organizational Savvy: Increasing Influence and Impact

In Leading With Organizational Savvy: Increasing Your Influence and Impact, participants will discuss the critical interplay between values, vision, and mission within schools and districts. Participants will convert values into “simple rules” to guide their daily behavior to promote organizational effectiveness. They will learn how their actions today can lead to the desired results of tomorrow. Participants will also develop a plan to bring key measurements into day-to-day conversations about how the organization is performing relative to its mission.

Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle (PTLC)

Designed for the experienced change agent, the PTLC is a powerful, standards-based professional development approach to improve classroom achievement in reading and mathematics. The PTLC helps inform the work of highly skilled facilitators who have the responsibility of guiding districts and schools in a long-term systemic improvement effort. This session will provide facilitators with a well-developed and tested structure that shows how to de-isolate the classroom by convening teachers for the purpose of sharing their craft knowledge.

Quality Classroom Assessment

In today's climate of high-stakes testing and accountability, quality assessment planning and design is an essential ingredient of successful classroom practice. The Quality Classroom Assessment training package helps teachers, school administrators, and other educators make the most effective use of assessment. Participants examine their own classroom or school assessment practices and explore a variety of assessment formats and strategies that are closely aligned to meeting the needs of diverse learners, standards-based instruction, and high-stakes testing.

Teaching Thinking Through Effective Questioning

Teaching Thinking Through Effective Questioning (Effective Questioning) is designed to help teachers improve their questioning skills. In this professional development session, teachers learn to use the types of questions that promote and assess student thinking. Participants will be able to apply these new questioning skills in all grades and subject areas.