August Is Professional Development Month with CSPD
July 29, 2020
With registrations due as early as July 31 and workshops beginning on August 4, Region II of the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) is offering a buffet of professional development topics during the month of August. Featuring three high profile speakers: Dr. Lucy Hart Paulson, Denny McLoughlin, and Eliza Sorte Thomas, these FREE trainings target General and Special Educators, Paraprofessionals, Agency Personnel, and Parents.
The first workshop, Early Literacy and Learning Language, will be presented on August 4 by Dr. Paulson. Paulson will not only share the current research on early literacy learning skills and instructional strategies in preschool and kindergarten that provide the foundation for the next steps of early reading and writing but will highlight current recommendations for assessment and instruction. Six OPI renewal units are available for this training, which will take place at the Best Western Plus Havre Inn & Suites, located at 1425 Highway 2 Northwest. Workshop registrations will be taken through July 31.
A literacy specialist and speech-language pathologist, Dr. Paulson believes that a powerful connection exists between the way children learn to talk, their language experiences, and the way they learn to read and write. To her presentation, Dr. Paulson brings several years of experience working with young children, their families and their teachers in public school, Head Start, private and university settings. She presents a broad-based perspective that blends areas of language and literacy, resulting in effective, developmentally appropriate, and engaging language-based literacy instruction and intervention for all children.
From this one-day training, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the early literacy processes in oral language, phonological awareness, and print knowledge and take away key strategies that make an important difference for young children. Anyone wishing to attend should bring a children’s book that will be used for instruction in the weeks that follow.
Dr. Paulson has provided professional development for a variety of audiences across the United States and internationally. She is also the author of several books, including Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling for Early Childhood Educators, Building Early Literacy and Language Skills, and Good Talking Words.
Dennis McLoughlin, the Creator and Founder of Trust Psychology & High Trust Thinking/Leadership, is the second presenter with CSPD. He will present the workshop High Trust on August 5-6 at the Fifth Avenue Christian Church in Havre. Anyone interested in attending should register by August 3.
A seasoned presenter from California with fifty years of working in education and with educators, McLoughlin shares clinically proven, classroom-researched ideas. His Trust Psychology/High Trust Thinking and Teaching strategies are influencing a major evolution, a “paradigm thinking shift” from fragmented, non-emotional, passive learning to teaching/learning that has been called “vital, passionate, cognitive-emotionally integrated, and intuitive.” Using his strategies, students take all learning to performance levels in an atmosphere that nurtures “a high need to achieve,” moral commitment, and energy for the new world of thinking, responsibility. and community.
On the first day of a two-day presentation, McLoughlin will discuss how a post COVID-19 (C-19) classroom can be a great gift to students. Although C-19 has changed education forever, its mutations and impacts will affect children differently. According to McLoughlin, educators can mitigate the negative impacts by using their professional skills and influence alongside some of his High Trust Thinking/Teaching strategies. He will address the effects of social distancing, the loss of local and state revenues, and that severe budget problems that may contribute to education-parental confusion on “what to do.”
On day two, McLoughlin will share the “ARFF Factor” so that educators can leverage a student’s intrinsic motivation. Additional topics will include the relationship between student-teacher trust and work ethic, unique skills that influence students to “do the work,” strategies for encouraging online students to stay focused and committed, and new communication and teaching skills that reflect current brain research.
“We are performing artists. The classroom is our stage. We dedicate our life to our art. We explain what we mean, by living it, with our body, brains, emotions, and from our guts,” McLoughlin claims.
The third workshop will be presented on August 7 at the Fifth Avenue Christian Church. Registration for this workshop also worth six OPI renewal units, is due on August 4. In Differentiation, Eliza Sorte-Thomas, who is a frequent CSPD presenter, will define differentiation in today's digital as well as face-to-face classrooms through content, experiences, and reflection. From creating a classroom environment conducive to differentiation, to assessing the learning of the differentiated classroom, the ideas shared will be applicable to any content area.
Sorte-Thomas describes her workshop as “fast-paced, engaging, practical, and designed for all teachers—whether newbies or veterans. The techniques shared will be high yield and low prep—a winning combination for students’ success.” Sorte-Thomas plans to fulfill four objectives with participants:
• Define and illustrate the basics of differentiation
• Experience, through hands-on activities, differentiation
techniques and tips
• Connect assessment strategies for differentiated content
• Reflect and plan on how the strategies shared can be applied in the unique classroom setting of each participant or team of participants.
Registrations for these workshops, which are sponsored by CSPD in partnership with Havre Public Schools, are now open. Those interested in attending should go online to http://www.blueponyk12.com where they will click on the CSPD icon and then on the hyperlink that reads: “Register Here For Upcoming CSPD Training Events!” On this site, individuals will also find flyers outlining each workshop’s schedule and its details.
Questions about any one of these training can be directed to Region II CSPD Coordinator, Aileen Couch by calling (406)395-8550, ext. 6714, or by emailing cspd@blueponyk12.com. As a professional courtesy, Couch asks that anyone needing to cancel a registration to please contact her office.
Region II CSPD coordinates personnel development to meet the diverse needs of all children and youth in the counties of Cascade, Teton, Pondera, Toole, Glacier, Liberty, Hill, Blaine, and Chouteau. Although preference will be given to people living in these areas, participation by individuals from outside of Region II is also welcome.