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Professional Development
Public Schedule
Using WorkKeys to Unlock Skills and Understanding in the CTE Classroom
This course is designed for educators in career and technical schools who want to improve student literacy skills while tackling the challenges of the ACT Work Keys Test. Teachers will learn to generate effective strategies and techniques that provide students with the skills and understanding for approaching the test and their program. These include comprehension of informational reading and summary skills, teaching and using academic and domain specific vocabulary, and decoding the mystery of all standardized tests. Participants will be supported as they refine classroom instruction and design and implement practical and sustainable literacy strategies that provide a foundation for students.
More Information on Using WorkKeys: https://088f70c5-8532-4fe0-ab33-d9f4d8da30b1.usrfiles.com/ugd/088f70_84156865bdb94fe292e28b2e28efd34f.pdf
Date
February 18 - June 30, 2025
Location
Online. Offered in collaboration with Vermont State University.
Simple Strategies for Building Revising and Editing Skills
Too often, when we assign writing, students’ greatest desire is to pass their work from their desk to yours as quickly as possible. This online workshop will help participants rethink their approach to editing so students assume more of the responsibility for revising and editing and have tangible evidence to show for it. The presenter will discuss how to guide students to practice the sophisticated skills of review and revision using just a few minutes of class time.
Date
February 26, 2025
Location
Online
Instructor:
Kristine Gibson
Grade:
3-10
Making Mechanics Matter: Holding Students Accountable for Your Biggest Writing Pet Peeves
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!
Date
February 26, 2025
Location
Online
Instructor:
Kristine Gibson
Grade:
4-10
Managing and Improving Writing Skills and Habits in the Primary Grades
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 in-person 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.
Date
March 7, 2025
Location
MUJC, PD Center, 340 Central Ave, New Providence, NJ
Instructor:
Kristine Gibson
Grade:
K-2
Activities That Promote Close Reading and Thoughtful Text-Based Response
Participants will leave this workshop fully prepared to plan, assign, and quickly evaluate assignments designed to improve close reading skills and text-based writing. In this session, you will learn key, routine assignments that significantly impact student achievement in cross-curricular literacy. The assignments align perfectly with the performance tasks that appear on state assessments, but they are easily modified to meet individual classroom and subject-area curricula.
Date
March 20, 2025
Location
The Royal Banquet Hall, 613 Hope Road, Eatontown, NJ 07724
Instructor:
Kristine Gibson
Grade:
3-8
Writing Roadmap
Writing Roadmap: Improving Writing Skills and Habits Through Meaningful Preassessment , Purposeful Focus Correction Areas, and Strategic Instruction
Three one-hour, pre-recorded video modules.
Date
Pre-Recorded, Anytime, Asynchronous Access
Location
Online
Offered in Collaboration with Central Intermediate Unit 10 in PA
Instructor:
Kristine Gibson
Grade:
K-12
Introduction to the Collins Writing Program
Six one-hour, pre-recorded video modules:
1. Overview of the Five Types of Writing, With a Focus on Type One
2. Improve Student Retention and Understanding of Content With Type Two Writing
3. Types Three, Four, and Five Writing: Focus on Selecting Critical Writing Skills
4. Teaching Critical Writing Skills to Mastery and Making Peer Editing Work
5. Help Students to Retain and Use Critical Content Vocabulary
6. Integrating the Five Types of Writing
Date
Pre-Recorded, Anytime, Asynchronous Access
Location
Online
Offered in Collaboration with Central Intermediate Unit 10 in PA
Instructor:
John Collins
Grade:
3-12
Online Graduate Courses - Stay Tuned!
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