Collection | High-Leverage Practices Deep Dive

Presenter: Dr. Marilyn Friend

Time: 60 minutes

More than ever before, collaboration is integral to the responsibilities of educators. Not surprisingly, nearly all professionals have found themselves in challenging or awkward interactions, wondering what to say and how to say it to keep the conversation constructive. Are you thinking of your own experiences? Wondering if you could have said something different? This webinar can help! It will discuss real-life examples of difficult interactions that may occur with co-teachers, other colleagues, principals, paraeducators, and parents, focusing on words to choose and ways to respond that will make you into a collaboration superhero.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer these questions:

• What difficult interactions might you experience with other colleagues?
• How might you address difficult conversations with peers as opposed to paraprofessionals, or administrators?
• What strategies can you employ in any difficult situation to increase collaboration and student success?

Presenter: Dr. Marilyn Friend

Time: 60 minutes

Special educators lead and participate in a variety of meetings. They serve together on RTI/MTSS teams, share responsibilities for preparing IEPs, partner to co-plan and co-teach, and participate in professional learning community and school improvement work. The success of these meetings depends on collaboration and communication, and your ability to build consensus. This webinar will help you further your collaborative skills to lead effective, productive meetings where all participants feel heard and respected.

• What sorts of roles might you play in different types of meetings?
• How can you prepare for meetings, in both your collaborative skills as well as logistically?
• What skills and strategies are the most important for you as a member and leader of school teams?

Presenter: Dr. Erica Lembke

Time: 60 minutes

The first letter in DBI is also the first thing you need—Data. Collecting data using reliable, valid assessments allows you to understand where students are and where they need to go. Once you have established a student’s strengths and needs, you can use this data to set goals, plan instruction, and implement individualized strategies.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer these questions:

• What sort of data is important to collect, and how do you collect it?
• What does the data tell you about potential supports or barriers to students’ achievement?
• What goals should you set for students based on their present levels of performance?
• How do you determine a goal that’s reasonable, but ambitious?

Presenter: Dr. Erica Lembke

Time: 60 minutes

You’ve collected data and implemented instructional strategies, but how will you know if your students are improving? Continually using data to adjust your instruction is an essential piece of the DBI process. Learn how to monitor student progress, evaluate your strategy’s effectiveness, and determine what adjustments you may need to make to further support your students.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer these questions:

• How do you know if a dosage of intervention is appropriate and intense?
• What modifications/adjustments might you make to a lesson to match a particular student’s needs, without compromising fidelity?
• At what point should you consider discarding a strategy, and how would you select a new one?

Presenter: Dr. Brandi Simonsen

Time: 60 minutes

A consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment gives students the best possible setting for success. In this webinar, you’ll learn about implementing and differentiating positive classroom behavior support practices, including: (a) effective classroom design, (b) predictable routines, (c) positive expectations, (d) engaging instruction, (e) proactive prompts and active supervision, (f) specific feedback, and (g) other strategies to support and respond to student behavior.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer the following questions:

• What are the foundational practices to support student behavior in the classroom?
• What positive and proactive practices can be used during each classroom activity?
• How can you use data to guide support for all students in the classroom?

Presenter: Dr. Michael Kennedy

Time: 60 minutes

Feedback should be more than just noise. Providing high-quality academic and behavioral feedback to students is an essential high-leverage practice because teachers and other educators are constantly (or should be anyway) doing so. In this webinar, you’ll explore positive and constructive feedback and how it can improve student engagement and meeting learning goals.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer these questions:

• What are the hallmarks of effective feedback?
• When should feedback be given, and when is it most effective?
• What areas of student behavior and performance are most important for feedback?

Presenters: Dr. Charles Hughes & Dr. Courtney Dexter

Time: 60 minutes

As an effective teacher, you make sure your students learn to solve problems, complete tasks, and use that learning beyond one single lesson. Explicit instruction can help you design and deliver the most successful learning opportunities for all your students.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer these questions:

• What are the underlying principles of effective teaching?
• Which elements of Explicit Instruction (EI) address the principles of effective teaching?
• What research supports EI?

Presenters: Dr. Charles Hughes & Dr. Courtney Dexter

Time: 60 minutes

Now that you know what explicit instruction is—how do you use it? This webinar will explore the steps needed to plan and implement an explicit lesson, no matter the content or skills you’re teaching.

After this webinar, you’ll be able to answer these questions:

• What are the 3 major components of an explicit lesson?
• What are the instructional subcomponents of these components when teaching a skill or strategy?
• How can the needs of your learners and the content of what you are teaching influence your use of EI?