Tuesday Talks for Teachers

Engagement is a key to learning. So, what are the teacher moves that help increase student engagement? This session will share the research that informs our engagement efforts, and will provide easy and intentional moves to increase student engagement across the school year. Bring a planner so that you can embed the specific practices that will work in your classroom. We will explore ideas that work best with Kindergarten all the way through high school and beyond. Build these intentional engagement moves into your school year to support student learning.

Mary Jo Ziegler is an experienced education consultant and instructional coach. Her career spans over 36 years in diverse educational settings, including rural and urban classroom, school, district, and state level leadership. She spent the first 15 years of her career teaching grades 2-8, and has completed two Master’s Degrees, one in curriculum with a reading specialist certification, and one in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis both from U.W.-Madison. These led to roles as instructional resource teacher, coach, literacy coordinator, PK-12 director of instruction, and DPI Consultant for Title I and reading followed.

Throughout the years, Mary Jo has worked to support educators as they design engaging and effective learning opportunities to motivate achievement by building routines and scaffolds that increase access for all learners. Most recently, through her training as an implementation specialist, MJ has honed skills in supporting district and school leaders as they plan and implement innovations to ensure effective learning across the system.
 

¡Hola a todos! Get to know and connect with your English Language Learners and their families. These sessions will focus on understanding the basics of language acquisition and levels of English your students may have, building rapport, and practical ways to assist students in the classroom.

Our second session will focus on using assessments for students with varying levels of English. We will also differentiate between students who may need further support due to lack of English fluency versus those who may need academic support due to a learning disability.

Anna Morgan is an educator passionate about reaching second language learners and students with unique abilities. She worked many years in Milwaukee Public Schools in the areas of language immersion, DUAL language and Special Education. For the past 5 years, Ms. Morgan has enjoyed teaching educators at University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She currently is spending time with her children and provides pro-bono English translation.

This session is all about secondary literacy and will focus on practical strategies and ideas that educators can immediately implement. During this session, participants will learn to identify and address the diverse literacy needs of secondary learners, in both content-specific and general literacy skills. Key areas of focus would include explicit instruction in vocabulary development, strategies for improving reading comprehension of complex texts, and techniques for fostering effective writing across disciplines. The session will also emphasize the importance of creating a literacy-rich classroom environment, including incorporating digital tools and promoting student engagement through active learning and collaborative activities. Participants will ideally leave the session with concrete examples, adaptable resources, and a renewed understanding of how to empower all students in the secondary literacy classroom.

Sallie Berndt has spent her entire professional career of over 19 years in middle schools, working with students and staff. Starting as an English Language Arts teacher, a reading interventionist, Reading Specialist, Instructional Coach, and now EMLSS (Equitable Multi Levels Systems of Support) Coordinator, it's safe to say that Sallie has a passion for secondary literacy! Through working with students and educators in several settings over the years, Sallie has a larger systems-approach to literacy and learning, and loves to inspire future and current educators.

Motivation is a tricky word because it can be difficult to quantify. Many studentsstruggle with this concept because their lack of "follow through" can look like they don't care, or they just aren't motivated. What if there was a better way to recognize and support the underlying skill gaps that lead to a presentation of lack of motivation? In this presentation we will explore all the different presentations of motivation and where it really stems from and how you can best support your students to produce outcomes. We will also look at how motivation is rooted in a student's social and emotional wellbeing.

Through her warmth and kindness as well as her extraordinary powers of observation, Jenny seeks to create healthy and productive working relationships with her clients. She is highly skilled at the evaluation process, which allows her to diligently assess the needs and desires of people of all ages, including young children. Her approach is proactive, exploratory and creative which promotes growth and identity development within an individual as well as the family. Jenny seeks to help her clients live a life that is a good fit for them.

As a listener, Jenny has an uncanny ability to integrate what she hears and notices things that others often do not. Jenny activates self-awareness in others through her mastery of combining honesty and a sensitivity to other’s vulnerabilities. She has personal experience with physical disability and has spent many years conducting workshops and facilitating group discussions pertaining to the challenges of creating identities beyond disability or exceptionality.

If we believe all students possess talents then providing opportunities for talent development becomes standard operating procedure. The challenge, many educators face, however, centers around how and what types of activities provide a systematic talent development foundation. This 90 minute session will outline how the humanities (specifically art theory and practice) allow all students to develop a wider understanding of their world and build stronger academic skills.

Dr. Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, Ed.D is a retired educator with over 33 years of classroom experience. During her tenure with the Oregon School District she worked with and advocated for students with exceptional needs.  Dr. KM believes all children deserve the right to reach their fullest potential.  A fine artist by training, Dr. KM has infused all her classroom environments with art theory and practice. 

Haidt’s book, about how smartphones and social media have transformed childhood and adolescence, is scary but convincing. Its premise states that starting in the early 2010s, there was a “great rewiring” of an entire generation’s social and intellectual development. 

What makes The Anxious Generation different from other books on similar topics is Haidt’s deduces that we’re actually facing two distinct crises: digital under-parenting (giving kids unlimited and unsupervised access to devices and social media) and real-world over-parenting (protecting kids from every possible harm in the real world). The result is young people who are suffering from addiction-like behaviors, while struggling to handle challenges and setbacks that are part of everyday life. 

Participants need not have read the book to attend. 
 

With a rich and diverse background spanning various roles in education, I bring a wealth of experience to our work. From my beginnings as an elementary teacher to serving as a reading specialist, advanced learner coordinator, principal, director of instruction, CESA consultant, and adjunct university instructor, I've cultivated a unique expertise that informs my approach to diverse instructional challenges.