Customized
Professional Development Programs
Our custom programs are designed for schools interested in substantive
professional growth through on-going learning, support, evaluation,
and peer-driven replication. We use a three-part model:
Step
1: Professional development combining content and pedagogy
Step 2: Support
to teachers as they create "makeovers" for units or
courses
Step 3: Evaluation,
communication, and replication
Programs are flexible in length and structure; training
and follow-up support can occur in the summer and/or at intervals
during the school year. Sample the model with an
introductory program, or contact
us to discuss your professional development goals.
See examples
of this model and work created by teachers and students.
Step
1: Professional development
Programs begin with on-site workshops
combining content knowledge, unit design, and effective pedagogy.
Teachers learn how knowledge is constructed across disciplines,
and how to build this understanding in students through powerful
instructions. Workshops provide models, resources, and strategies
to help teachers
- reframe instruction around compelling
guiding questions
- present content within the environmental,
economic, and cultural contexts shaping students' lives
- use questioning strategies to promote
critical thinking
- support literacy and writing skills
through content instruction
- design and use assessments that
have a real audience and purpose
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Preview some of the content areas schools can choose
as an emphasis for the professional development stage:
| Intro. to sustainability
| Economics
| The
Ecological Footprint | Land
Use | Food
Systems | Culture
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Step 2: Support to teachers as they create
"makeovers" for units or courses After
professional development, we provide one-on-one support to teachers
as they create instructional "makeovers" that integrate
best practices in content and methods. Using our unit design framework,
below, teachers create units that start with students' experiences,
build deep understanding, and culminate with meaningful civic
involvement.
Support, provided on-site or through
attentive phone- and e-communication, includes assistance
with unit planning, designing assessments, securing supplemental
resources, and facilitating collaboration among teachers. See
examples
of work created by teachers and students.
Curriculum resource: Creative Change maintains
an extensive curriculum and resource library with hundreds of
lessons, articles, project ideas, assessment tools, and other
materials. Schools can choose a support package that include access
to these materials for teachers to incorporate into their curriculum.
Creative Change's
Unit Design Framework
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Step 3: Evaluation
We evaluate and document
teachers' work are doing to help sustain learning, communicate
results, and provide models for replication. Services include
- evaluating teacher- and student
progress
- documenting and communicating results
through articles, photos and text
- developing presentations, articles,
and other media to communicate results
Learn more about the
results of our programs. |
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