While many educators strive to meet the needs of all their learners, determining which specific practices to use can be a challenging task. This is made even more challenging because evidence-based recommendations from various educational specialties do not always overlap and can even contradict each other. In this interactive session, participants will be walked through a framework for how to select and incorporate best-practices from various educational fields into a comprehensive classroom environmental model.

Most districts, schools, and teachers are inundated with datasets from all areas of their workday, yet they are overwhelmed by the volume of data and often don’t know where to begin. This presentation will support district leaders, school leaders, and teachers to identify which data sources are most useful to inform instructional decision making. While all datasets have relevance and are important to view, there are a handful that are useful on a daily basis. These types of data will be reviewed and analyzed using imaginary data and a discussion protocol. Leaders will have tools to bring back to their teams to support analyzing the most useful datasets for informing instructional improvements. Teachers will have tools for applying datasets to their classroom level instruction in order to see quick gains in student achievement.

Successful instructional practices and “just good teaching” are synonymous; yet since the pandemic many teachers have struggled to reestablish successful teaching practices throughout their school day. This presentation provides a reboot and review of tried-and-true practices to help jump start implementing them in the classroom. All five of the practices can be implemented by teachers and leaders immediately upon returning to their classrooms and schools, and they can be used across PK-21 environments. Some of the practices address reading comprehension, some address math conceptual knowledge, and some address behavior and social emotional learning skill development. The elements of Explicit Instruction and Universal Design for learning will be woven throughout the descriptions of each of the practices. Participants will leave with a completed lesson plan for how to apply one or more of the practices within the objectives and standards to be taught. They can use the lesson when they return to school.

Precision Teaching was established by Dr. Ogden Lindsley and brought to Kansas in 1965. Since then, data has shown a significant increase in skill acquisition for learners with and without disabilities. In this session, you will receive a brief overview of what Precision Teaching is, why it’s important for skill acquisition, the method for data collection, and practice a fluency timing.

Embedding evidence-based teaching practices within the classroom is essential to increase positive student outcomes. In this session, we will look at the research to identify evidence-based teaching strategies for children with autism and how to individualize antecedent strategies and positive reinforcement within the classroom.

Target Audience: PreK-12, Special Education

Join us for an engaging and interactive session that delves into the evolving landscape of grading practices in K-12 education. In this thought-provoking workshop, we will explore innovative approaches to assessment and grading that prioritize student learning and growth over traditional metrics. Session Highlights: · Shifting Paradigms: Explore the rationale behind reimagining grading practices and understand the impact on student motivation and achievement. · Beyond the Gradebook: Discuss alternative assessment methods that capture a holistic view of student abilities, including project-based assessments, peer evaluations, and self-assessments. · Feedback that Matters: Discover the power of effective feedback in driving student improvement. We'll share strategies for providing constructive feedback that fosters a growth mindset. · Inclusive Assessment: Address the challenges of diverse learners and discuss strategies to create fair and inclusive grading practices that consider individual student needs and strengths. · Tech Tools for Modern Grading: Explore technology-driven solutions that streamline grading processes and allow for more meaningful teacher-student interactions. · Hands-On Activities: Engage in collaborative activities designed to spark creativity and encourage participants to share their experiences, challenges, and successes in implementing new grading practices. Target Audience: K-12 Educators School Administrators Key Takeaways: · Practical strategies for implementing alternative grading methods. · Insights into fostering a positive learning environment through effective feedback. · Tools and resources to support modern grading practices. · Networking opportunities with like-minded educators.

Join this journey of reimagining grading practices, where collaboration and exploration pave the way for a more student-centered, equitable, and inspiring educational experience. Together, let's revolutionize the way we assess and support our students in their academic journey!

Embark on an exciting exploration of personalized learning in our dynamic session designed for educators eager to revolutionize their classrooms. "Unleashing the Power of Personalized Learning" is an interactive discussion-based workshop that unveils the principles, strategies, and practical steps for implementing personalized learning at the classroom level. Session Highlights: · Demystifying Personalized Learning: Gain a comprehensive understanding of personalized learning, breaking down the concept into its core components and exploring its transformative impact on student engagement and outcomes. · Designing Student-Centered Environments: Learn how to create a classroom atmosphere that caters to individual learning styles, preferences, and pace. Discover adaptable instructional strategies that empower students to take ownership of their learning journey. · Assessment for Growth: Explore alternative assessment methods that align with personalized learning, moving beyond traditional grading to measure progress and achievement in a more nuanced and meaningful way. · Differentiation Strategies: Discuss practical methods for differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of learners. Explore tiered assignments, flexible grouping, and other techniques to accommodate various learning styles. · Case Studies and Success Stories: Hear real-life examples of personalized learning implementation in diverse classroom settings. Learn from educators who have successfully navigated the challenges and reaped the rewards of embracing this transformative approach. Target Audience:

K-12 Educators Curriculum Coordinators Instructional Designers Anyone Passionate about Enhancing Student Learning Experiences Key Takeaways: · An understanding of personalized learning principles. · Practical strategies for creating a student-centered classroom environment. · Knowledge of technology tools to support personalized learning. · Inspiration from real-world success stories and case studies. · Join us for a lively and interactive session where discussions and activities converge to empower educators with the knowledge and tools needed to embark on a personalized learning journey that will revolutionize the way they approach teaching and inspire a lifelong love of learning in their students. Let's explore the possibilities together!

Participants will explore the foundational principles of Social Emotional Learning and gain practical insights into how it can be effectively taught and measured. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• Understanding SEL 
• Core components of SEL 
• Varying methods for teaching SEL ·
• Measuring social emotional growth

Fostering student autonomy and agency is essential for promoting lifelong learning and personal growth. This session is designed to provide the tools and strategies needed to support and nurture these critical aspects of student development. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• Student Choice Making: The role of choice in student engagement and motivation
•  Strategies for offering meaningful choices in the classroom Goal Setting for Empowerment: •
• The significance of goal setting in fostering autonomy and agency 
• Encouraging self-directed learning through personalized goal setting

We have a literacy crisis. The National Assessment of Educational Progress has found that only about a third of 4th grade students are reading at proficient levels. Low levels of literacy are associated with higher dropout rates, unemployment, and poverty. Approximately 70% of all incarcerated adults cannot read at a 4th grade level. The good news is that we know how to fix this. We can prevent reading failure in all but a small percentage of students. Join this session to gain an understanding of what science tells us about how reading happens in the brain, what we should teach, and how we should teach reading so that ALL students can be successful readers. 

Target Audience: All educators and prospective educators

Okay, we know about the science of reading. Now What? This session will take participants a little further into the science of reading and what that knowledge means for instruction. They will learn about the use of diagnostic data in identifying skill gaps and have an opportunity to practice explicit instructional practices that they can bring back to their classrooms. 

Target Audience: K-3 educators, educators of struggling readers in older grades, prospective teachers

Explore the many resources that work together to provide quality mathematics instruction to your students, including those that outline mathematics standards, identify student needs, support teacher understanding of math content, and promote engaging lessons. This session is ideal for preservice and beginning teachers or teachers needing to reenergize their mathematics instruction.

Target Audience: Middle and High School

How do we know our impact? This session will provide an overview of how we can “make learning visible” and understand what works best in the classroom. Dr. John Hattie has synthesized over 130,000 studies of more than 400 million students to discover how our practices affect student learning. Almost everything we do in a classroom has some positive effect. This session will reveal what practices have the most impact on student learning and some practices we should reconsider because of low or negative impact. 

Target Audience: All

Why do some high school graduates do well in college or the workplace while others do not? Education and business leaders say that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive skills are all equally important for a successful life after high school. To experience success, our teens must develop all three competencies. A student’s level of self-efficacy is a strong indicator of success. Many students do not believe they can succeed, leading to low performance or failure. This session will focus on understanding the Kansans Can Competency Framework and how to help students grow their self-efficacy. Participants will learn about the free resources and lesson sets and will walk away with the tools to help all students become more self-efficacious.

Target Audience: All

Many schools are seeing a crisis of student disengagement. The student, teacher, and content all have a role to play in engaging all students in their learning. This professional learning opportunity will identify research-based reasons students are disengaged, define classroom components that engage students, and introduce a continuum for students to use to identify and reflect on their level of engagement. Participants will walk away with practical ideas, tools, and strategies to help students take responsibility to engage in their learning. 

Target Audience: All

Target Audience: Any teacher who is interested in an instructional procedure that is used to teach new behavior or skills through systematic processes of modeling, role-playing, feedback, and reinforcement.

Target Audience: Any teacher who is interested in ways to smoothly transition students from one activity or lesson to another.

Every teacher’s responsibility is to provide opportunities for students to grow in academic language and literacy. Practices used for English language learners are also relevant for all learners in every content area and grade level. This interactive presentation will focus on the PWIM (Picture Word Inductive Model) - a highly engaging, ELL, research-based, multi-step process that integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Other inductive approaches will be discussed including the value of using sentence stems and visuals to advance students’ language and critical thinking skills.