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Professional Development
Public Schedule
Making Mechanics Matter: Holding Students Accountable for Your Biggest Writing Pet Peeves
Date:
January 13, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Online – Access information will be emailed to registrants.
Grade:
4-10
During this online workshop, participants will learn strategies that tackle one of the biggest challenges facing any teacher who collects written work from students—poor mechanics! Learn what the essential conventions of formal language are, how to teach them, and most importantly, how to coach students toward applying these skills within their own writing and hold them accountable for doing so. Stop being a copyeditor for your students; make mechanics matter!
Complete Assessment Makeover! Improving Assessment and Feedback Across the Curriculum
Date:
January 14, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Morris-Union Jointure Commission, PD Center, 340 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ
Grade:
3-10
This workshop focuses on designing meaningful assessments that integrate reading, writing, and speaking to measure students’ understanding of course objectives through real-world tasks aligned with state standards. Participants will explore how to create a range of assessments—from quickwrites to complex projects—and how to provide timely, actionable feedback that fosters a growth mindset. Emphasis will be placed on practical strategies for promoting literacy, critical thinking, and student reflection throughout the assessment process.
Activities That Promote Close Reading and Thoughtful Text-Based Response
Date:
January 22, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Morris-Union Jointure Commission, PD Center, 340 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ
Grade:
3-8
This workshop will focus on fully preparing participants to plan, assign, and quickly evaluate assignments designed to improve close reading skills and text-based writing. During this workshop, participants will learn key, routine assignments that significantly impact student achievement in cross-curricular literacy. Participants will be able to guide students in organizing and structuring key assignments (summaries, compare and contrast essays, arguments, and text analyses) that demonstrate and increase understanding of both fiction and nonfiction texts. The assignments align perfectly with the performance tasks that appear on state assessments and are easily modified to meet individual classroom and subject-area curricula.
Managing and Improving Writing Skills and Habits in the Primary Grades
Date:
February 2, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Morris-Union Jointure Commission, PD Center, 340 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ
Grade:
K-2
Research shows that the frequency of writing is directly correlated to student growth in writing. However, finding time for writing and providing students with meaningful feedback on their writing is a challenge in the primary grades. During this workshop, participants will learn practical strategies and techniques to help their students gain writing fluency, become comfortable thinking on paper and develop the essential writing skills they need for future academic success, starting as early as kindergarten. Strategies addressed align with the NJ Student Learning Standards and are compatible with any existing English Language Arts (ELA) program.
Literacy Power Tools: How to Include Authentic and Relevant Literacy in the CTE Classroom
Date:
February 10, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Morris-Union Jointure Commission, PD Center, 340 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ
Grade:
9-12
Designed for career and technical education (CTE) and elective educators, this workshop focuses on integrating literacy strategies that enhance professional communication skills. Participants will learn how to reinforce course content while improving students’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in real-world workplace contexts. This workshop provides practical tools to design and implement an effective, sustainable communication program tailored to the CTE classroom.
Sentence Building: From Basic to Breathtaking
Date:
March 5, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Online – Access information will be emailed to registrants.
Grade:
4-10 ELA
This online workshop offers practical strategies to help students write clear, correct, and compelling sentences. Participants will learn to use sentence templates that guide students from basic to more sophisticated structures, improving grammar and style. With focused criteria and logical progression, these activities support students in mastering sentence construction, while encouraging creativity and voice in their writing.
Embrace the Past! Using Past Work to Practice New Skills
Date:
March 9, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Morris-Union Jointure Commission, PD Center, 340 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ
Grade:
3-10
Student writing—both strong and flawed—can be a powerful teaching tool. This workshop explores how to use real student samples to model effective writing techniques, highlight common errors, and strengthen revising and editing skills. Participants will learn practical strategies for leveraging past student work to build clarity, accuracy, and confidence in current writing instruction.
Retrieval Routine: A Daily Learning Routine That Works
Date:
March 13, 2026
Kristine Gibson
Location:
Online – Access information will be emailed to registrants.
Grade:
6-12
Based on the latest cognitive research, the Retrieval Routine offers four short, high-impact activities designed to boost student understanding and retention across all subject areas. These five to ten minute strategies help combat forgetting, promote learning accountability, and strengthen students’ ability to recall and apply knowledge. Participants of this online workshop will explore how to integrate these routines into daily instruction to enhance long-term learning and engagement.
Improving Student Performance Through Writing and Thinking Across the Curriculum Grades K-2
Date:
Dates Coming Soon
Dr. Lauren Cunningham
Location:
Westmoreland IU - Hanna's Town Room, 102 Equity Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601
Grade:
K-2
This is our foundation session and it shows teachers in any subject area how to use the Five Types of Writing to increase understanding and retention of course content, build student involvement and motivation, and efficiently and fairly evaluate student writing in a manner that not only improves student skills, but increases student confidence.
Improving Student Performance Through Writing and Thinking Across the Curriculum Grades 3-5
Date:
Dates Coming Soon
Dr. Lauren Cunningham
Location:
Westmoreland IU - Hanna's Town Room, 102 Equity Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601
Grade:
3-5
This is our foundation session and it shows teachers in any subject area how to use the Five Types of Writing to increase understanding and retention of course content, build student involvement and motivation, and efficiently and fairly evaluate student writing in a manner that not only improves student skills, but increases student confidence.
Improving Student Performance Through Writing and Thinking Across the Curriculum Grades 6-12
Date:
Dates Coming Soon
Dr. Lauren Cunningham
Location:
Westmoreland IU - Hanna's Town Room, 102 Equity Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601
Grade:
6-12
This is our foundation session and it shows teachers in any subject area how to use the Five Types of Writing to increase understanding and retention of course content, build student involvement and motivation, and efficiently and fairly evaluate student writing in a manner that not only improves student skills, but increases student confidence.
Online Graduate Courses - Stay Tuned!
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