May 12, 2020 Working with Diverse Families: Supporting Dual Language Learners In this online course, participants will engage in an interactive session to build and strengthen knowledge working with diverse children ages birth to five and families. In order to support early childhood practitioners serving this population, this session will focus on current research, strategies when teaching dual language learners, and techniques to engage families. Limited spaces are available. All registrations must be submitted by May 26 at 5 p.m. Course Information Timeline: May 28 – June 18, 2020 Instructor: Mimi Loughead CKC: K3.1 C2 Keystone STARS Alignment: SQ. 3.4.3 CDA Subject Area: Building Productive Relationships with Families. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours available. Registration To register, please visit the event registration page. More Information For more information, contact Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org.
April 3, 2020 Equity in Education: An Examination of Practices in the United States Are you interested in learning ways that you can address equity in your classroom as an educator? Join Steven Almazan on April 8 for the webinar, “Equity in Education: An Examination of Practices in the United States.” About Educational equity is impacted by many contributing factors such as race, gender, socio-economic status, language proficiency, learning disability status, and other social and cultural factors. Students who hold unique identities should receive an adequate amount of resources, human capital, instructional time, and social support to ensure that they are learning and growing at their fullest potential. What can teachers and administrators do to promote equity in schools and classrooms? What practices should be examined and challenged as inequitable? In this webinar, presenters will explore a variety of policies and practices that aim to address the foundational challenges of achieving educational equity in the United States. They will also highlight ways educators can address equity in their school systems. This webinar will be of particular interest to pre-k through middle school teachers and school and district leaders and administrators. Time for questions will be included. Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage!
December 10, 2019 Early Language and Literacy Chat Join the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) this winter to discuss hot topics around early language and literacy development. From January through March 2020, 3o-minute chat sessions will be hosted on the second and fourth Friday at 8:30 a.m and repeated at 1:30 p.m. Participants will gain access to resources to share with families and use in their classrooms and centers. PQAS credit hours and infant/toddler hours available. Available Dates January 10, 2020: Those First Words January 24, 2020: Conversations with Kids February 7, 2020: Books, Books, Books! February 21, 2020: Print is Everywhere March 6, 2020: Sounds All Around! March 20, 2020: Celebrating Dual Language Learners More Information For more information, visit the event Padlet page.
December 2, 2019 The Vocabulary Edge for English Learners | Webinar How do we best support the vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge-building of our English Learners (ELs)? By building on their strengths! Join Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert on December 11 for her webinar exploring opportunities to better support ELs. About Developing a solid foundation in core vocabulary, which represents the key ideas about the world which ELs already have, is fundamental to supporting ELs in accessing their existing knowledge. By following Dr. Hiebert’s research-based principles, ELs become equipped with both the context and fluency required to understand the majority of text that they read—allowing them to later learn more difficult and rarer words with greater ease. This session will be of interest to pre-k through elementary teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders. Time for questions will be provided. Registration To register and learn more, visit the edWeb website. *Information provided by edWeb.net
August 14, 2019 Working With Diverse Families: Supporting Dual Language Learners (Online) In this online course, participants will engage in an interactive professional development session to build and strengthen knowledge in working with diverse children ages birth to five and families. To support early childhood practitioners serving this population, this session will focus on current research strategies when teaching dual language learners, and techniques to engage families. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours will be awarded. Course Timeline This course will be available online from September 16 through October 4, 2019. More Information For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. Registration To participate in this course, complete the registration process below.
August 9, 2019 Involve Parents for Greater English Learner Success Encouraging parents to become involved is the first step toward bringing parents and educators closer together on behalf of their English Learners. From organizing workshops for parents to developing classroom language learning assignments that include families, the process to boost involvement takes commitment—and an action plan. About In this edWebinar, presenters will discuss: the six categories of parental involvement; how educators can incorporate those categories into an effective action plan; best practices and real-world examples from districts around the country; common roadblocks and strategies to overcome the challenges they present a break down of the action plan to help participants begin to incorporate action steps; and strategies of what to do if the action plan falls off track. This edWebinar will be of interest to preK-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders. Register To register for this webinar, visit the EdWeb event page.
From Scribbles to Writing | Online Webinar Art is the “first language” of the beginning reader and writer. Children usually draw or paint before they write. They use what might seem like just scribbles, lines and blobs to represent things. But isn’t that what writing is all about? About Both art and writing are a process of symbol making and can be a means of communication. Children’s pictures are words to them and represent an essential step on the road to literacy. In this edWebinar, participants will: Look at the ages and stages of writing from infants to kindergarten and explore the many ways to support children’s beginning writing and art skills; Explore the essential social and emotional aspects of art and writing expression while building an emotional vocabulary; Develop new ideas for process-based art activities for self-expression and storytelling; Use poetry and the work of modern artists to inspire children’s art and writing; Build positive and supportive strategies for talking to children about their art; and Define the current brain research that supports the importance of art as a tool for self-expression, language, and writing. This edWebinar will be of interest to pre-k and kindergarten teachers. Register To register for this webinar, visit the EdWeb event page.
July 3, 2019 Little Listeners Play Group Families with children under the age of three with hearing loss are invited to join the DePaul School for Hearing and Speech for their Little Listeners Play Group sessions! About This playgroup focuses on developing listening and spoken language through play and social interaction. Designed for children under the age of three with hearing loss, participating families will enjoy a variety of developmentally appropriate play-based activities, an onsite pediatric audiologist who can guide and answer questions, and time for parents to relax and unwind. Siblings are welcome. Registration To register, contact Michelle Parfitt at mparfitt@depaulhearingandspeech.org. For questions, call 412.924.1012. Share this flyer with your network.
May 20, 2019 Development Through the Eyes of an ELL Child Join Professor Lois Wachtel in this edWebinar as she discusses early childhood developmental milestones through the eyes of a child, particularly an English language learner (ELL) child. Those who work with three- and four-year-old children will have the opportunity to take a closer look at their growth. About While we know all young children are amazing individuals, can you recall the vast amount of growth that is taking place in their world on a regular basis? At what age can we expect young children to be able to answer a simple question, name familiar colors, throw a ball, or demonstrate simple problem-solving skills? During this webinar, Wachtel will discuss all this and more, providing a well-rounded perspective of how young children are building language, physical, cognitive, social-emotional, and motor development skills. Specific examples will be provided with ELLs in mind. Time for questions will be provided. Continuing Education Credits available. Registration For more information and to register, visit the event website.
May 7, 2019 Pittsburgh Apraxia Specialists Panel Join Apraxia Kids on May 16 for their Pittsburgh Apraxia Specialists Panel. Attendees will join local speech-language pathologists (SLPs) for a one-of-a-kind panel and Q&A session, visit the Apraxia Kids headquarters, and network with local families, caregivers, and therapists. About Apraxia Kids is the leading nonprofit that strengthens the support systems in the lives of children with apraxia of speech by educating professionals and families; facilitating community engagement and outreach; and investing in the future through advocacy and research. This event coincides with Apraxia Awareness Month, an important time for informing the local community of the struggles that children with apraxia face each day. Apraxia Kids hopes to bring the Pittsburgh community together to raise awareness, support each other, and build a bridge between parents and professionals! Speakers Megan Overby, Ph.D., CCC-SLP – Duquesne University Kathy Helfrich-Miller, Ph.D., CCC-SLP- Rehabilitation Specialists Jen Rakers, MSLP, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVEd. – UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Carrie Van Soest, MS, CCC-SLP – UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Eileen Cirelli, MS, CCC/L-SLP – Allegheny Intermediate Unit Gretchen Myers, MSLP-CCC; Recognized by Apraxia Kids for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech – Center4Speech Katie Micco, MS, CCC-SLP; Recognized by Apraxia Kids for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech – Duquesne University Registration Registration for this event is free and may be accessed via the event’s webpage.
