Opportunities for New Teachers
Beginning in January 2021, the AFT is offering virtual professional development courses aimed at the needs of early career teachers. This offer includes a discounted rate and is available to anyone in their first five years of teaching. New teachers are invited to register for as many courses as you like—they are all stand-alone courses.
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TYPE
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COST
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AFT members - Per person
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$10
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AFT New Teacher Leaders
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No cost
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Nonmembers - Per person
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$70
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If you are unable to participate in these opportunities but would like to be informed of future courses in the new teacher PD track, please complete this survey and we will follow up with you when more courses become available.
Courses:
| Differentiating Instruction |
Putting activities on a chart and giving students choice is not a Choice Board. Giving just the struggling students a different activity is not differentiation. Thinking you can do differentiation every day is not differentiation. So what is differentiation? Take the module on differentiation and get the skinny on this research-based concept.
Dates: Wednesday-Thursday, Jan. 27-28
Hours: 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. EST; 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. PST
What if we made thinking the core of our instruction—made it more explicit? What if we helped students understand the thinking domain and learn how to make sound decisions, solve problems with an analytical approach and assess the reliability of the source? This module explores thinking in a way that has never been done before.
Dates: Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 16 and 17
Hours: 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. EST; 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. PST
| Teaching for Engaged Learning Course Options (4) |
| The Classroom Management Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together |
Whether your classroom is virtual, physical or a mixture of both, using time efficiently and supporting students’ academic and behavioral needs are essential. Join this two-part session to explore and share multiple approaches for establishing and maintaining routines, co-regulating student behavior, and reflecting upon how classroom management affects student progress. Participants will also learn strategies to reflect upon their own practices and set goals to effect change.
Participants will be able to:
- Design and implement classroom procedures and routines for virtual and physical learning settings in order to increase instructional time.
- Utilize multiple strategies for creating a classroom management system that includes clear behavior expectations, positive reinforcement and co-regulation.
Format: Synchronous/asynchronous (pre-reading and homework between classes)
Date: Wednesdays, Jan. 13 (part 1) & Jan. 27 (part 2) *Participants are required to attend both sessions.
Hours: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. EST
| Every Child Needs a Champion: Unlock Your Ability to Build Online Caring Relationships |
Are you looking for ways to refresh and renew relationships with your students? Regardless of whether you are teaching virtually or in person, cultivating positive teacher-student relationships is key. This course explores ways to unlock the power of care in building and sustaining safe and supportive learning communities and attending to individual students’ academic and emotional well-being.
Participants will be able to:
- Apply a variety of approaches to building and sustaining caring relationships with and among students.
- Reflect upon their own practices and design a plan for improving and strengthening relationships with individuals or groups of students in their classrooms.
Format: Synchronous (pre-reading required)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 3
Hours: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. EST
| What You Get Is What You Expect |
How do teacher expectations influence student performance, attitudes and behaviors? What messages are communicated to individuals or groups of students through our instructional practices, the way in which feedback is provided, and the quality and quantity of teacher-student interactions? This session will take you on an introspective journey to examine how the self-fulfilling prophecy may be unintentionally leading to negative expectation effects.
Participants will be able to:
- Use self-reflection to assess their own beliefs and how they affect student outcomes.
- Apply strategies to encourage and support high expectations for all students.
Format: Synchronous (pre-reading required)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 10
Hours: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. EST
Expressing ideas, valuing diverse views and communicating respectfully are all skills necessary for success in life and career. This course provides attendees with a mix of strategies to promote meaningful discussion across content areas, elevate student voice and input, and welcome multiple perspectives and opinions.
Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Select and implement techniques for explicitly teaching speaking and listening skills across content and learning experiences.
- Use sentence stems as a way to support students in communicating effectively.
Format: Synchronous (pre-reading required)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 17
Hours: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. EST
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