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 as three-or six-hour sessions for a maximum of 30 teachers. For information on pricing and scheduling, contact info@appliedpractice.com.
NEW! Designed Specifically for Texas Teachers: ONLINE Gifted & Talented 6-Hour Annual Refresher Course
Applied Practice has partnered with iDesign to make it easier than ever to earn six hours of professional development credit to satisfy the Texas Education Agency’s Gifted & Talented requirement. This online GT refresher course meets the six-hour requirement and is an ideal solution for busy teachers and administrators. The online course is available 24 hours a day and is self paced, so you can start and stop as needed. Your progress in the self-paced course is always saved and when completed, a customized certificate of completion can be printed or downloaded as record of your achievement. The online Gifted and Talented 6-Hour Refresher course is the simple and easy way to conveniently learn and earn the credit you need!
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Face-to-Face Classroom Mentoring
Applied Practice offers teachers the opportunity to collaborate with a master teacher during the school year. In addition to classroom-ready resources, each teacher will receive two classroom visits, email and phone support, and an optional opportunity to visit the master teacher’s classroom to observe and share with other teachers in the program. Mentorships are available for English, math, science, and social studies teachers. Mentorships begin in September 2019. Spaces are limited.