Vermont Higher Education Collaborative Logo

Collaborating with experts to support schools and deliver professional development, ensuring the success of all students.



Spring Preview – General Education

VT-HEC has a full schedule of learning opportunities planned for the spring covering a variety of topics within the general education area including the practical use of learning scales, gender diversity, using technology in early elementary grades and a series on where proficiency & personalization is working in Vermont. We welcome some of VT-HEC favorites such as Jen Patenaude and Bill Rich as well as some new presenters that we are very excited about including Paul Foxman on anxiety in the classroom and Joelle van Lent and Gillian Boudreau on trauma and resilience. In short, there is something for just about everyone.

Creating Gender-Affirming School Environments: What Leaders Need to Know and Do in S. Burlington, VT (2/15) Experts from Outright VT will help leaders and their teams understand gender-related issues, the challenges, legal implications and, most importantly, what you can do to create a system-wide environment accepting of all kids.

Where is it Working? Studying VT-Made Models of Student-Centered, Proficiency-Based Learning in Action with Bill Rich in Montpelier, VT ~ Two more workshop dates (3/22, 5/15) presenting real examples from VT schools that are working hard to implement the ideals of personalization and proficiency-based instruction.

The Why, What, and How of Taking a Brain-Based Approach to Student-Centered, Proficiency-Based Learning with Bill Rich in Killington, VT ~ Two more WORKshops covering performance assessment and how to put it all together in your classroom and school (3/7, 5/11)

It Came from Outer Space: Integrating Technology and Writing Across the K-3 Curriculum with Arlyn Bruccoli and Jennifer Fitch in Montpelier, VT (3/9) The title says it all…. Arlyn, a library/media specialist, and Jennifer, an accomplished classroom teacher, will show you how. They will have you practicing with the tools they use working together using technology to help younger students express their ideas and reactions about science, social studies, literature, etc.

Creating a Gender Inclusive Classroom with Lisa Estivill in Montpelier, VT (4/5) How to move past basic understanding of gender diversity to reviewing examples of classroom resources and strategizing how to implement gender inclusive language, curriculum and group expectations in your own classroom.

Fostering Resilient Learners: Creating Trauma Sensitive School Communities, with Joelle van Lent, Psy.D, and Gillian Boudreau, Ph.D., in Montpelier, VT ~ Four workshop days (1/18, 2/16, 3/16, 4/12) and an additional date (5/17) for 3-credit graduate course. From the basics on the impact of trauma on kids’ ability to form relationships to utilizing mindfulness and other strategies to build their resilience, these workshops and course will put you and your school on track to support students dealing with or recovering from trauma.  Joelle and Gillian form a dynamic team with complimentary expertise and experience.

Managing Anxiety in the Classroom, with Paul Foxman, Ph.D., in Montpelier, VT (1/26) Daily headlines seem to bring more sources of anxiety that are difficult enough for adults to deal with but are putting more and more kids in the situation of trying to deal with chronic anxiety without the supports or tools to help. Paul will help you recognize the symptoms and develop strategies to help your students cope and succeed.

MTSS Ground Level Systems Planning: What does effective, daily implementation look like? (K-6) with Jen Patenaude in Rutland, VT (4/4 & 4/5) Do you need to make changes to your MTSS structure and systems in order to more effectively implement multi-tiered programming designed to serve all students? If so, this intensive two-day workshop is the perfect time to plan with your team for the next school year. Strategies and suggestions are drawn from the collective experience of schools from across Vermont that are well underway with implementing MTSS. Jen is the perfect person to lead your team to assess your needs and design the changes your system should put in place for next year.

Proficiency-Based, Personalized-Learning within an MTSS System: What does effective, daily implementation look like? (7-12) with Jen Patenaude in Rutland, VT ~ A two day offering (5/8 & 5/9) A middle/high school version of the above offering taking into account the efforts toward personalization and proficiency-based learning.

Check out our other series for offerings that may also address your interests and needs including: Special Education and Early Childhood – Grade 3

 VT-HEC WORKshops are learning opportunities that are planned to have participants practicing, applying and tailoring the concepts, skills and models that are being shared for much of the day and often include a course option to support implementation in your own setting.

 

Summer Preview: Integrating Tech Tools to Maximize Learning

Google Tools + Social Media; Chris CichoskiKelly + Mike Berry

A new course looking at the latest ways to utilize & integrate various tech tools for learning.  Discover new ways to use and combine Google Tools and Social Media to personalize, differentiate and demonstrate student learning, and then measure and share progress.  Chris CichoskiKelly with guest Mike Berry will lead this 3 credit course that will support the implementation of your own plan through the end of October.  Course meetings will be August 7-11 in Waterbury, VT, with a last day in October.

Chris and Mike have gotten positively rave reviews separately and this will be a chance to learn from them both and apply your learning to your own content and students.

Registration open soon at vthec.org

 

Tech Tools & Assessment – Rescheduled

Tools To Match Assessments to Content and Students; Develop & Manage Learning Scales & Performance Tasks; Assist With Proficiency-Based Assessment & Grading 

“The most applicable course I have ever taken. I used what I learned immediately”

VT-HEC’s workshops and course Technology Tools to Improve Assessment have been rescheduled.  The series will begin with the first workshop scheduled on February 3rd, and the second workshop on March 17. During the two workshop days, Chris will explore with you over a dozen tools that will help you tailor assessments to your content and learners. If taken for credit, course meetings will be on February 11th and April 8th. Take the course to apply what you learn to your own setting, as well as get personalized support and feedback from Chris.

Join Chris CichoskiKelly in an exploration of how to use technology to:

  • design and organize assessments that meet the needs of you and your students
  • improve your current assessments and keep your data organized
  • make learning goals and progress clearer to students and parents
  • help teachers and students better focus their efforts and involve students in the assessment process

 

Among the tools Chris will be reviewing are: PlayPosit; Socrative; Quizlet; Plickers,  Goobric, Flubaroo and Kahoot.  You will learn how to make creative and tailored use of Google Forms and Sheets, better use Excel for graphing and help make more efficient use of checklists and rubrics.

Chris’s workshops and courses on these topics have gotten rave reviews from past participants:

  • This course was amazing!! The knowledge I gained has been so incredibly useful; we can see that it is clearly benefiting the students.
  • This class is my favorite one I’ve ever taken as an adult!
  • So many skills and tools; all kinds of useful shortcuts and ways I can assess my students and analyze assessment results.
  • I immediately began integrating the tools I learned about into my practice. I am so impressed by the breadth of this course.
  • I had knowledge of google tools before, but I would say my knowledge tripled or more, and that I have applied that knowledge daily.

for more information and to register go to: vthec.org

Preview – Technology Tools & Assessment – Chris CichoskiKelly

woman typing on laptop and media icons fly off

Matching Technology Tools with the Assessments You Need for your Students

Join Chris CichoskiKelly in an exploration of how you can use technology to design and organize assessments that meet the needs of you and your students. Over two days of workshops Chris will review over a dozen tools that will help you tailor assessments to your content and your students’ goals.

Chris will review tools that can help educators develop and manage learning scales and performance tasks and assist with proficiency-based grading. There are tools that will make learning goals and progress clearer to students and parents and help teachers and students better focus their efforts. Many of these tools can involve students in the assessment process and increase their participation and learning.

Among the tools Chris will be reviewing are: PlayPosit; Socrative; Quizlet; Plickers,  Goobric, Flubaroo and Kahoot.  You will learn how to make creative and tailored use of Google Forms and Sheets, better use Excel for graphing and help make more efficient use of checklists and rubrics. Improve your assessments and keep your date organized with the right tools.

The workshops are on February 3 and March 17 (new date) ; to get the most from this offering take it as a 3 credit course through which you will get support from Chris for the application of the tools you select to your own assessment goals. In addition, you will be able to see how your fellow students are utilizing these tools in different ways.

Chris’s workshops and courses have gotten rave reviews from past participants:

This course was amazing!! The knowledge I gained has been so incredibly useful; we can see that it is clearly benefiting the students.

So many skills and tools. all kinds of useful shortcuts and small ways I can assess and analyze assessments. This class is my favorite one I’ve ever taken as an adult!

I immediately began integrating the tools I learned about into my practice. I am so impressed by the breadth of this course.

I had knowledge of google tools before, but I would say my knowledge tripled or more, and that I have applied that knowledge daily both in my professional life and my personal life.

 It is the most applicable course I have ever taken. I used what I learned immediately.

https://www.vthec.org/wp-content/uploads/Flyer-Technology-11-21-16.pdf

 

Applying Neuroscience to Standards-Based Learning & Professional Learning Opportunities

TASS Consultants Practice What They Preach in a Series of WORKshops

This past year TASS consultants, Bill Rich, Wendy Cohen & Val Gardner, offered a very successful series of WORKshops focused on applying principles of neuroscience to the practical implementation of standards-based learning. The topics covered included developing learning targets, using performance tasks, instituting standards-based grading and utilizing management tools to  keep it all together.

Individuals and teams who attended experienced learning opportunities that were designed around the very principles from education neuroscience that formed the content of the series. They assessed their level of learning using learning scales, set goals and measured their progress. Participants devoted considerable time  working with the concepts to further their understanding and practiced applying the principles  to their own work with the support of Bill, Val and Wendy and others in the room. They were able to share their work, get their questions answered, see the work of others and get feedback on their efforts.

Participants worked with the teams they came with or with other participants to experience collaborative application of the principles. They were given access to resources and models that they could use during the session and in the future.  Not only was the content aimed at the practical issues facing educators implementing the Common Core and other sets of standards but they were able to experience the concepts in action applied to their own learning and work.

Based on this year’s success TASS will be offering this series again in 2014-2015. WORKshops may be taken individually, as a series or as a graduate course.  More details will be coming soon on how to register for these exciting and different sessions that will help educators put their ideas to work and reach their goals for the year.

  • Crafting Student-Friendly Learning Targets – October 9, 2014; Capitol Plaza, Montpelier, VT
  • Designing Performance Tasks to Power Student Learning – November 21, 2014; Capitol Plaza, Montpelier, VT
  • Getting to (& Surviving) Standards-Based Learning March 6, 2015; Capitol Plaza, Montpelier, VT
  • Data Tools to Keep You in Sync with Your Students – May, 1, 2015; Capitol Plaza, Montpelier, VT

 

TASS (Teaching All Secondary Students) is the VT-HEC program that supports middle and high schools in their efforts to improve outcomes for all students utilizing the best from research on the brain and learning, education and systems change. TASS works to offer schools a comprehensive and coherent approach to implementing standards-based learning and improving outcomes for all students. TASS can deliver a tailored array of coaching and consultation to teachers and leaders as well as embedded professional learning opportunities designed specially for individual schools.  In addition, TASS offers a variety of learning opportunities that are open to all but built on the same foundation and research.  TASS has an impressive team of experts who can meet most any school or professional learning need – all based on the same values and principles of learning.

VT-HEC’s WORKshops are special learning opportunities designed to put into practice what we know from neuroscience about effective learning design to better ensure the content of the session is applied in the school setting.  Each session will present some key concepts on the topic that is the focus of the day along with examples and models of application of the concepts.  Participants assess their current status, set goals for their learning and mark their progress using tools consistent with the principles being covered.  At least half the day is devoted to the participants applying the principles to their own work situation along with their colleagues. Support will be available from the presenters and other participants who have had experience with the work.  Participants get feedback and support on taking their work farther and, if they are taking the WORKshop as part of a course, they will get continued support in putting their new knowledge and skills into practice in their own settings. 

Using Technology to Support Struggling Learners

VT-HEC Announces New Learning Opportunities

The number of applications and computer programs that address specific learning issues and target particular skills has exploded over the past few years.  These new learning tools have greatly increased the options for helping struggling learners practice and apply the specific skills that they need and to become more independent and effective learners. There are so many choices and the quality of programs ranges so dramatically, however, that it can be very challenging to find the best programs and to know how to use them in an effective manner.

In the coming months the VT Higher Education Collaborative will be offering exciting new opportunities to explore the use of these new learning tools to support students with various learning challenges, from mild organizational issues to significant disabilities such as Autism.  These workshops are part of the VT-HEC’s continuing focus on helping to ensure that students who have barriers to their learning receive the most effective and appropriate learning opportunities and supports.

First, is a 2-part workshop series focused on how technology can be used with students who have a wide variety of challenges to their learning. Chris CichoskiKelly will explore this topic in depth and give participants time to address the needs of their own students. Chris will share a process to help choose which technology learning tool to try and how to collect the right data to evaluate its impact on student learning. Chris will also share his knowledge of effective programs to support students in reading, writing, note taking and others areas. Participants will have the opportunity to try out programs with students between the two workshops and receive direct feedback and support from Chris. This will be a great opportunity to get practical support in using technology to address learning challenges from an accomplished expert in the field. https://www.vthec.org/documents/2013/11/technology-updated.pdf

Next, is a workshop that will focus on using tablets (Ipads, Ipods, etc.) when working with students who have Learning Disabilities (LD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) or other moderate to severe developmental disabilities. Kathryn Whitaker will be leading the morning session targeted on helping students with Learning Disabilities to practice and learn new skills and become more independent learners.  In the afternoon, Kathryn will focus on ASD and other developmental disabilities. She will show how tablets can be used in areas such as scheduling and self-management.  Kathryn will also share how tablets can be used for increasing learning for students who are more concrete learners. Kathryn serves as consultant and trainer for children with autism spectrum and other neuro-developmental disorders in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She is also a trainer for Structured Teaching as well as being an instructor and presenter for the VT-HEC.

To find out more about these exciting learning opportunities see: https://www.vthec.org/documents/2013/10/autism.pdf  and https://www.vthec.org/documents/2013/11/technology-updated.pdf.

 

ASAP: VT-HEC’s Comprehensive Training Program on Autism Spectrum Disorders

ASAP  – Approaching the Solution to the Autism Puzzle

The Vermont Interagency White Paper on Autism Spectrum Disorders of 2006 confirmed what all school districts in Vermont have been experiencing: a dramatic increase in students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) over an extended period of time.  Among the things the White Paper identified as being critical to address this growth was a significant increase in professional development to expand the capacity of case managers and staff to meet the needs of these students. Unfortunately, research has shown that most inservice training never results in the new skills and knowledge being consistently applied to benefit students.

VT-HEC’s new program, ASAP, aims to change that by developing a sustained, comprehensive and coordinated professional learning program on ASD that includes graduate courses, embedded professional development and workshop series that provide multiple year-round options for effective professional learning on ASD.  ASAP graduate courses can lead to VT-HEC’s Autism Specialist Certificate and include two courses to be offered this spring, ABA I starting in January, and ASD: Issues in Assessment & Intervention taught by the distinguished Dr. Particia Prelock of UVM. (If you have not taken a course from Patty you are missing a great opportunity to learn from an extremely knowledgeable and accomplished educator)

To help ensure professional development actually results in changes for students ASAP is providing a coordinated program of sustained and embedded inter-disciplinary professional development and supports for schools working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The ASAP team of experts takes the best interventions and assessments from multiple perspectives and delivers training and coaching to the school team to help them work together to apply the new skills to the students they are working with. Ultimately, it is the goal that these local school teams will be able to act as supports for other members of their school community in addressing the needs of all their students with ASD. ASAP has been piloting this program in Barre City and is now ready to accept new school districts in the program.

To compliment this work, the ASAP program is also offering a series of three workshops this spring focused on increasing learning opportunities for young children with ASD as well as a special workshop focusing on using iPads with students with ASD.  Chris Knippenberg, OT, will be the lead presenter for the series of workshops that will have participants actively engaged in developing the kind of appropriate tasks and materials for pre-school and early elementary-aged students with ASD that will result in increasing their engagement, independence and learning.

Kathryn Whitaker will be leading the workshop that will show how iPads can be used effectively and creatively for students with SLD in a morning session and ASD in the afternoon.   To find out more about these exciting learning opportunities see: https://www.vthec.org/documents/2013/10/autism.pdf  and https://www.vthec.org/documents/2013/11/technology-updated.pdf.

If you are particularly interested in how technology can be used with students who have challenges to their learning, the VT-HEC is offering another interesting option: two workshops with Chris CichoskiKelly that will explore this topic in depth and give you the opportunity to try out programs with students in between the two workshops https://www.vthec.org/documents/2013/11/technology-updated.pdf

For more information on ASAP and VT-HEC’s other related offerings contact Joy Wilcox, ASAP Coordinator  ([email protected])

 

Bill Daggett’s 13 Recommendations for VT’s Transition to the Common Core

Schools have to get more efficient to free up time for work on literacy, application, personalization and guiding principles (more…)