Continuing Education Courses

Professional Learning Opportunities

Our continuing education sessions have been developed to meet the needs of our community. They are open to individuals as well as school groups, unless noted. Do you have specific learning objectives for your school or learning community? Contact us about designing something to fit your needs.

Current Offerings

Cognitive Coaching℠ 8-Day Foundations Course: Leadership Training to Support and Enhance Teacher Thinking Processes Learn More

Makey Makey® - Invention Literacy Workshop: Makey Makey® invention Kit Training for Educators Learn More

STEM Certification Strategic Planning Institute: STEM Leadership Instruction Learn More

STEM Professional Learning Opportunities: Getting Started in STEM Learn More

STEM Summer Institute 1.0: Foundational STEM Instruction Learn More

STEM Summer Institute 2.0: Advanced STEM Instruction and Integration Learn More

Cognitive Coaching℠ 8-Day Foundations Course

Overview
The 8-Day Foundations Course is a year-long leadership training course designed for administrators and instructional coaches. Participants learn the skills needed to support and enhance teacher thinking processes.

The mission of Cognitive Coaching℠ is to produce self-directed persons with the cognitive capacity for excellence both independently and as members of a community. Research indicates that teaching is a complex intellectual activity and that teachers who think at higher levels produce students who are higher achieving, more cooperative, and better problem solvers. It is the invisible skills of teaching, the thinking processes that underlie instructional decisions, which produce superior instruction. Cognitive Coaching℠ is a research-based model that capitalizes upon and enhances teachers' cognitive processes.

Learning Outcomes
Meeting once per month for a total of 8-days, participants will learn to:

build trust by developing physical and verbal rapport.
develop an identity as a mediator of people's thinking.
utilize three mediative maps for planning, reflecting and problem resolving.
facilitate self-directed learning through reflective questioning.
develop teachers' autonomy and sense of community.
develop higher levels of efficacy, consciousness, craftsmanship, flexibility and interdependence.
distinguish four support functions: coaching, evaluating, consulting, collaborating.
practice coaching interactions to differentiate for individual needs.
utilize the coaching toolkit of pause, paraphrase, and pose a question.
apply coaching skills that enhance the intellectual processes of instruction.
distinguish between the five categories of feedback.

Cost
$1,000/participant
Materials and lunch are included.

Location
Whitlock Flexible Learning Center
Spartanburg, SC 29303

Course Dates* are:

Day 1: Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Day 2: Thursday, August 8, 2019
Day 3: Friday, September 13, 2019
Day 4: Friday, October 11, 2019
Day 5: Friday, November 1, 2019
Day 6: Friday, December 6, 2019
Day 7: Friday, January 10, 2020
Day 8: Friday, January 31, 2020

* Participants meet 9am - 4pm on the above dates. If a day is cancelled due to inclement weather, Thursday (March 5th) and Friday (March 6th) will serve as the make-up dates (ONLY IF NEEDED).

Trainer: Dorothy Earle

Hear from Gloria Brown, 6th Grade Math Teacher at Colleton County Middle School on her experience with Cognitive Coaching℠.

Makey Makey® - Invention Literacy Workshop

Overview
Get ready for a fun hands-on workshop where you’ll learn how to teach Invention Literacy, Making, and Design Thinking using the award winning Makey Makey® invention kit.

Participants will:

learn how to teach invention literacy, making and design thinking using the award Makey Makey® invention kit.
explore how to teach basic circuits and conductivity including building switches from cardboard.
use paper and pencil to create drawings that speak.
make clever inventions that solve real world problems.

Details
Workshops are $90/participant. Each participant takes home a free Makey Makey® (retail value of $49.95) and will receive a certificate of completion. Recommended for K-12 teachers.

Dates and Locations

June 11, 2019: Walterboro, SC Register
June 18, 2019: Spartanburg, SC Register
July 30, 2019: Goose Creek, SC Register
August 5, 2019: Rockhill Register
August 6, 2019: Greenwood, SC Register
August 6, 2019: Lexington, SC Register

STEM Summer Institute 1.0: Foundational STEM Instruction

Overview
This flexible multi-day series allows participants to choose their focus, number of days, and location. Each day will be focused on one of the following four "STEM" topic areas:

Focus on Science
Explore a variety of life, earth and physical science concepts through the lens of the Science and Engineering Practices with a focus on the integration of knowledge and skills necessary to develop a STEM focused environment.

Focus on Technology
Explore the K-8 Computer Science and Digital Literacy standards and free technologies for perfecting your practice and elevating your students’ computational thinking abilities.

Focus on Engineering
Engage in real-world engineering experiences. Learn to integrate the Science and Engineering Practices, skills from the Profile of the SC Graduate and Engineering and Design processes in daily instruction.

Focus on Mathematics
Learn to use hands-on, inquiry based learning and real-world applications to ignite productive dialogue, thinking and reasoning and problem-solving in student learning.

Session Details

Sessions start at 10 am and end at 3 pm, with an hour break for lunch. Lunch is on your own.
Each day participants will participate in a preK-8 general session followed by differentiated grade level break-outs.
Our facilitators tailor each session to maximize your learning experience.
All materials and handouts will be provided.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion after the session – 4 hours per day, 16 hours for the entire week.

Registration
Designed with flexibility in mind, you'll choose your days AND location. Register to attend one day, multiple-days or come for the entire 4-day series and save $25 off registration.

You may attend individually or with a school group. Space is limited, so groups are encouraged to register early!

Location	June 24	June 25	June 26	June 27
Berkeley CSD, Goose Creek	Mathematics	Science	Engineering	Technology
USC Salk, Walterboro	Engineering	Tecnology	Science	Mathematics

$50/participant per session.

STEM Summer Institute 2.0: Advanced STEM Instruction and Integration

Build on your classroom STEM experience using coding, robotics, 3D printing, and application/problem/project-based learning to deepen STEM learning through integration. Participants will use disciplinary literacy teaching and learning strategies to solve real-world problems. Explore and learn with your colleagues in fun and meaningful ways.

Integrated Math and Science
Experience hands-on learning using the mathematical practice standards and science and engineering (crosscutting) concepts. Learn how to engage your students in meaningful and challenging ways. Be prepared to get a little dirty, work with your peers, collect data and solve the world’s problems.

Integrated Technology and Engineering
Experience how to use and manipulate technology in engineering design challenges that cross the curriculum. Work with your peers to create, design and put your ideas to the test in this very collaborative, highly challenging and tremendously fun problem-solving day!

Session Details

Sessions start at 10 am and end at 3 pm, with an hour break for lunch. Lunch is on your own.
Each day participants will participate in a preK-8 general session followed by differentiated grade level break-outs.
Our facilitators tailor each session to maximize your learning experience.
All materials and handouts will be provided.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion after the session – 4 hours per day.

Registration
Register to attend one or both sessions at the location of your choice. You may attend individually or with a school group. Space is limited, so groups are encouraged to register early!

Location	July 23	July 24
Berkeley CSD Goose Creek	Integrated Math and Science	Integrated Technology and Engineering
USC Salk, Walterbo	Integrated Technology and Engineering	Integrated Math and Science

$50/participant per session.

Upcountry STEM Summer Professional Learning Opportunities

Designed for educators looking to get started integrating STEM into daily practice. Our hands-on sessions will give educators strategies and ideas that can immediately be used in classroom learning. Explore and learn with your colleagues in fun and meaningful ways.

Overview
This flexible multi-day series allows participants to choose their topic, number of days, and location.

Session One: STEM 101: It's more than an acronym!
Participants will:

explore the what, why and how of STEM Education.
discover content and instructional strategies to support and extend STEM learning.
understand the essentials of a STEM lesson.
examine the STEM learning continuum.
collaborate with peers to design STEM lessons aligned to their academic standards.
identify Engineering Design as an approach to STEM teaching and learning.

Focus will be on understanding what STEM is and how to create multi-disciplinary content lessons. Recommended for K-8 Content Teachers and Education Leaders.

Session Two: Engineering Design Process & You

Participants will:

identify Engineering Design as an approach to STEM Teaching and Learning.
engage in a STEM learning experience and examine how design challenges can be connected to multiple content areas.
explore how the design process connects to the Profile of the SC Graduate.
collaborate with peers to design a lesson incorporating the Engineering Design Process and aligning with the academic standards.

Focus will be on creating learning experiences where students explore their natural engineering, problem solving, and collaborative abilities. Recommended for K-8 Teachers and Education Leaders.

Session Three: Project-Based Learning: Where do I begin?
Participants will:

identify the essential elements of Project-Based Learning (PBL).
identify projects vs PBL.
examine planning tools for developing a PBL.
collaborate with peers to plan a grade level PBL aligned to academic standards.
examine PBL as a path for personalized learning.

Focus will be on learning what PBL is and how to plan effective lessons including developing a driving question. Recommended for K-8 Teachers and Education Leaders who have not yet taught PBL or those needing a refresher.

Session Four: Early Childhood Literacy: Making STEM Connections
Participants will:

experience literacy-based STEM lessons
identify the components of a STEM lesson and how to use a read aloud and the engage activity
design a lesson integrating multiple content areas and making purposeful connections with ELA, math and science academic standards as well as inquiry and science and engineering practices.

Focus will be on experiencing a literacy-based STEM lesson and then designing a learning experience for students. Recommended for K-3 teachers, Literacy Coaches and Education Leaders.

Session Five: Makey Makey® - Invention Literacy Workshop

Participants will:

learn how to teach invention literacy, making and design thinking using the award winning Makey Makey® invention kit.
explore how to teach basic circuits and conductivity including building switches from cardboard
use paper and pencil to create drawings that speak
make clever inventions that solve real world problems.

This a fun hands-on learning experience. Each participant takes home a free Makey Makey® (retail value of $49.95) and will receive a certificate of completion. Recommended for K-12 teachers.

Session Details

Sessions start at 9:30 am and end at 3:30 pm, with a one-hour lunch break. Please bring your own lunch.
Our facilitators tailor each session to maximize your learning experience.
All materials and handouts will be provided.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion after the session – 5 hours per day.

Registration
Register to attend sessions at the Rock Hill or Spartanburg locations. Choose to attend any number of session, or the entire series! You may attend individually or with a school group. Space is limited, so groups are encouraged to register early. Discounts are available for multiple days and groups of 10 or more.

Location	STEM 101	Engineering Design	PBL	Early Childhood Literacy	Makey Makey®
Spartanburg	June 10	June 11	June 12	June 13	June 18
Rock Hill	July 29	July 30	July 31	August 1	August 5

$75/participant/session. The Makey Makey® session is $95/participant and includes a kit.

STEM Certification Strategic Planning Institute

This four-day strategic planning institute is designed for school teams of 3-5. Teams will develop a shared definition of STEM based on the AdvancED STEM Standards and learn to support STEM teaching and learning in their schools. School teams will leave with a plan for moving forward with AdvancEd STEM Certification. Teams should include at least one instructional leader (principal or assistant principal).

Dates: July 29—August 1, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Location: Newberry School District Office, 3419 Main St, Newberry, SC 29108
Cost: $1250 per team (up to 5), $300 per participant (teams less than 5, or additional team members)

Registration Limit: 50 total participants
Registration Deadline: July 19, 2019