Professional Development

Online Workshops

Compositional Strategies for AP® English

Teacher Talk Series

Registration is now open for the 2024-25 Applied Practice Teacher Talk Series where leading educational consultants from around the country will share ideas for meaningful classroom instruction and will facilitate focused discussion among participants in an online space.

Registration is FREE and OPEN to all teachers! To view scheduled Teacher Talks or register for an upcoming event, click below.

Standardized Workshops

Overview and Approach

Applied Practice brings relevant, discipline-specific workshops to teachers, with instructional strategies embedded in all training content to guide teachers to prepare students for advanced courses and future college work. Instructional strategies include team-building, collaboration in science labs, techniques for deconstructing new and difficult material, demonstrations of test-taking techniques for varied learner behaviors, and methods to enhance problem-solving and critical thinking in students. All workshops are modeled after the most effective participant-centered approaches to professional development.

Workshops are organized to focus on raising the level of rigor and higher-level thinking in the classroom, giving teachers multiple opportunities to collaborate with peers and an experienced facilitator to review best practices, effective strategies, and teaching behaviors.

Workshops are offered for a maximum of 30 teachers. For information on pricing and scheduling, contact info@appliedpractice.com.

English from A to Z

• English from A to Z supports a vertically aligned curriculum by utilizing examples from classic and modern literature. Participants will review topic-based lessons and activities appropriate for college-ready classrooms and discuss various approaches for implementation.

Master Classes Writing Series

• The Master Classes Series is based on the premise that purposeful analysis of great literature leads to the development of proficiency in student writing. In this session, teachers examine writing skills such as thesis construction, argument development, purposeful syntax, and comparison/contrast in excerpts from well-known published texts. Under the guidance of an experienced facilitator, teachers develop instructional strategies for encouraging students to implement these skills in their own writing.

Middle Grades Skills Workshops

• Social Studies Preparatory Skills Workshop
  In this session, teachers will explore activities and strategies geared toward building historical thinking skills and applying those skills to historical argumentation and writing.  The session will emphasize comparison, causation, document analysis, and writing skills that will aid in developing historical understanding and prepare them for later AP or college-readiness courses.
• English Skills Workshop
  In this session an experienced facilitator will introduce classroom activities in which key skills for close reading, effective writing, and overall critical thinking are embedded in creative and engaging ways. Topics such as analyzing figurative language and allusion, enhancing comprehension of written texts, improving vocabulary acquisition through close reading exercises, and incorporating TED Talks into students’ critical thinking and reading provide teachers hands-on experience and opportunities to collaborate and create their own lessons. 
  

STAAR Reading and Writing

Teachers will use literature-based materials designed to prepare students for STAAR. Facilitators will demonstrate an approach to the materials that combines test prep with planned curricular units for maximum time on task.

STAAR Middle Grades Science and Biology EOC

• Using engaging, hands-on lessons combined with test preparation strategies, teachers will participate in activities and collaborate on best practices for increasing student achievement. Science workshops are available to support either the 8th grade STAAR test or the Biology EOC test. All workshops provide teachers with activities that address science content and effective instruction, helping increase students' conceptual understanding and providing them with adequate practice for success on the STAAR test.

Customized Workshops

• Applied Practice is proud to offer customized Professional Development to meet the needs of teachers of Advanced Placement and other courses designed to foster college readiness.

For more information or to request a quote, please complete and submit the form below. For other questions, please contact info@appliedpractice.com.