"How can we lean a little bit more into teaching in ways that will lead to new and long-lasting forms of resistance and healing?"
- Jamilah Pitts
Educator Workshops
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Educator Workshops are a great way to gain a deeper understanding of our work and approach. They allow educators, school leaders, and school support staff to do a deep dive into one area of focus.
Workshops take place online and topics develop based on the needs of our community and participant feedback. They span a number of different topics including, but not limited to, innovative community building, universal design for learning and learner variability, critical literacy, speaking up in the moment, and talking about race, power, and identity. Each workshop creates space for:
Engaging Content and Concrete Examples
Community Building and Personal Reflection
Small and Large Group Learning
Consideration of Application at One's Own School Site
Check out our Workshop Calendar for an overview of the year, and feel free to contact us if you would like to bring a specific workshop to your school site. View our upcoming workshops below!
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See our 2022-2023 calendar below for upcoming workshops open for registration!
To allow for deeper engagement with content we keep our groups small; so there is limited space in each workshop. For this reason, we encourage early registration.
Click here to see our list of offerings.
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Our on demand workshops are a great opportunity to take advantage of being able to access our courses at your own pace, online and anytime.
We currently offer the workshops below, which you may access by registering on our membership page here.
Establishing Classroom Norms for Vital Conversations: Discussing Current Events in K-12 Classrooms
This is a 3-part asynchronous course that can be taken at your own pace and viewed at any time. 1-time registration includes unlimited access to this page and its resources.
A stirring of consciousness around social justice has acted as a call-to-action across the nation. As teachers, with all that is going on in our world, we hold the incredible responsibility of making space for children to process a range of emotions, ask questions, and consider ways in which they can contribute to making change. But it is imperative that we talk about current events in a responsible way in our classroom conversations. Are we creating classroom norms that honor all perspectives and support a deeper understanding of current issues? Join our on demand workshop to learn more about establishing classroom norms for vital conversations.
Representation in our Classrooms: Creating Opportunities for Students to See Themselves and Others in Curriculum
This is a 1-part asynchronous course that can be taken at your own pace and viewed at any time. 1-time registration includes unlimited access to this page and its resources.
How can we create authentic moments, experiences, and lessons where students can see themselves in the curriculum and in classroom conversations? And why is this important? Through the framework of "mirrors" and "windows" participants will take a closer look at how curriculum and classroom conversations can and should be "fully inclusive of historically marginalized and minoritized perspectives," how inviting a student's authentic self can help cultivate authentic relationships, and where teachers recognize their children are "a group of students from whom they can learn." Diving deep into three proven strategies, participants will have a chance to think about how to increase representation in their own classrooms and create spaces where all students are seen and feel that they belong.
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Hear what the educators what to say about our workshops. Take a look at our testimonials below.
Our workshops are brave spaces for actionable professional development centered in anti-bias education. Have a look at our offerings this year and register individually, or organize a group of colleagues to attend!
2023-2024 Workshops
Have a look at our offerings this year and register for the ones that speak to you!
Live Educator Workshops
Teaching Equity Through Social Action
Join us to experience live modeling and have a chance to engage with real time practice examples of what social action can look like across developmental levels and in interdisciplinary ways. This workshop will set educators up with a deeper understanding of how to integrate social action skills and learning across all spheres of student experiences.
Seeing Others and Being Seen: Strategies for Representation in the Classroom
Join us as we explore why and how to increase engagement through curriculum and in classroom conversations by ensuring students see themselves represented and providing space to authentically learn about others.
Creating Classrooms of Connection and Belonging
Join us in this workshop to explore how we begin and build the school year, and continue it, in ways that build connections and spaces of belonging with our students beyond academic learning. Explore ways to make space for vulnerability, and create shared experiences.
Engaging Families in Schools: Innovative Approaches to Community Building
In this workshop, we will discuss the key elements needed for successful community programming and elements of careful program planning, particularly in diverse school environments. We will share a new approach to family programming that pushes us towards authentic relationship building.
Strategies For Educators: Critical Literacy as a Tool for Equity, Deeper Understanding, and Critical Thinking
Join us in this workshop to walk through critical thinking skills first hand. Educators will interact with a text as a learner, engage with critical literacy strategies, and see direct examples of how to support students in addressing race, power, privilege, stereotypes, and bias with a critical literacy lens.
Engaging Families in Schools: Innovative Approaches to Community Building
One of the most important stakeholders in a diverse school community are the families. In this workshop, we'll share a new approach to family programming that pushes us towards authentic relationship building. We will discuss the key elements needed for successful community programming and elements of careful program planning, particularly in diverse school environments. Participants will leave with an opportunity to think about how this presentation has a direct impact on their practice and will consider next steps in continuing to build their vibrant school communities.
It's Never Too Soon: Talking about Race, Power, and Identity in K-2 Classrooms
So often we are asked, aren’t they too young to talk about their identities, particularly race, power, and gender in early elementary school? What we have found is that K-2nd grade students are not only open to these conversations, but that, when addressed at a young age, they are able to continue these conversations as they get older and have a deeper understanding of how their identities impact their experiences. In this workshop we will look at how an anti-bias lens allows for these conversations to be embedded into every day lessons and conversations. Participants will learn from sample lessons that address these issues and have an opportunity to think about the implication in their own lessons, units, and/or read alouds.
Speaking Up in the Moment: Role Playing Against Microaggression
Speaking up in the moment against implicit biases, racist comments or actions, and microaggressions can be difficult. Sometimes we are on the receiving end of the comment and sometimes we are the ones who have made the comment and are being asked to reflect. We know harmful expressions can leave us wondering how to process our own feelings and to respond in ways that advocate for ourselves and others.
Gaining comfort to meaningfully respond and address these moments requires practice, empathy, and deep understanding. In this workshop, we will work together to name what is problematic, identify impact, and lay the groundwork for change (which may require us to step further into discomfort.) We will share an approach, internal reflections, and sentence starters to support speaking up when something doesn't sit right, and create theatre to provide a structured way to practice speaking up in the moment, to reflect together, collaborate and try again. This is a learning community, an interactive workshop, designed to help participants gain practice and comfort in addressing those moments where we may feel or observe implicit biases, racist comments or actions, and microaggressions.
The Power of Universal Design for Learning: Achieving Equity in the Classroom
Universal Design for Learning is a tool for creating more access and equity in the classroom space. Roots ConnectED believes UDL is an essential component of the Anti-Bias Framework and critical to engaging students to think about representation, critical literacy and social action in the curriculum. To best understand UDL, one must see it in practice and consider the planning and implementation of this approach in curriculum and classroom design. In this workshop, participants will see examples from the field in planning and curriculum design that is built on a deep understanding of the UDL framework.
Teaching Students How to Think Instead of What to Think: An Anti-Bias Approach to Unlearning Stereotypes with the Power of Critical Literacy
So often we are asked, aren’t they too young to talk about their identities, particularly race, power, and gender in early elementary school? What we have found is that K-2nd grade students are not only open to these conversations, but that, when addressed at a young age, they are able to continue these conversations as they get older and have a deeper understanding of how their identities impact their experiences.
Raising Change Makers: Teaching Social Action
One of the most powerful things we can do for our students is create space for them to process what has happened, and what is happening, in our country. The history of our country is one of horrific terror, trauma, and pain. We have a responsibility to help students feel, imagine, and take action in a way that allows them to learn from humanity's history of resistance, resilience, and hope as a way to create paths of action for the future.
Centering Hope and Social Action: Encouraging Our Students to Work Towards Change
For years, people throughout history and in current times have worked together to dismantle institutionalized and interpersonal racism. We know education has a role in this work. In this workshop, educators will walk away with a framework for thinking about social action with their students and concrete ways in which to support their children to know that their voices and actions matter in creating change.
Artivism: Using Art to Inspire Movements for Change with Students
How can art be used as a form of activism? How do we support our students to use their voices, through art, to make change? Specifically for educators teaching grades 4-12, participants will gain an understanding of the specific strategies to prepare for doing this work responsibly with students. Through inspiring curricular examples, participants will be able to identify clear ways in which they can incorporate artivism into their classroom communities. The workshop will also support how to identify an authentic audience for students to share their artwork to make it most meaningful. This workshop is not exclusively for art teachers, but for any educator who wishes to use art as a medium for creating change. It will not require teachers to plan new units or entirely new curricular content but rather to see this as an opportunity to rethink how to access and experience existing curricular content in a new way or to explore interdisciplinary connections.
Talking about White Privilege in Your Classroom
An important conversation that must start at a very young age, is one around privilege and power. Systems are set up to inherently give more power to one group of folks over the other. So how do we talk about this with our students in a way that they can understand? How do we do this in a way that separates humans from systems while not negating the responsibility of the humans in that system? In this workshop, our presenters will be facilitating space on how to use the lens of critical literacy and read alouds to talk honestly and openly about white privilege in our classrooms. Facilitators will share the adult re-framing required and give specific examples across grade levels that support the developmental readiness of students for conversations. Participants will leave with a deepened understanding of white privilege and strategies and approaches to use in conversations with children.
Stretching the Lines of Inclusion: Best Practices in UDL Virtual Instruction (2 Part Series)
Session 1:
As we enter the Fall we are uniquely aware of the challenges remote learning presents for all of our students and also the lessons learned. Universal Design for Learning is an important approach to centering equity in any remote or hybrid model. Focusing on our hopes for children in the 2020-2021 school year helps us to reimagine what is familiar and find more innovative ways to ensure all students have access to meaningful and rigorous curriculum. This session does a deep dive into the principles of UDL as well as best practices in remote learning therefore requiring participants to have foundational knowledge in the UDL framework.
Session 2 :
Assessment and meaningful connections with students is critical in the remote setting. We need data to inform our instructional decisions and that is ever more critical when we are not in the same physical space together. Educators will follow up on the impact of centering the UDL principles in their planning with how to effectively implement and use assessment data given remotely to ensure students have access to the curriculum and are making academic progress.
Building Your Co-taught Classroom (Levels I and II)
In these workshops we take a deeper look at the three high impact models, parallel teaching, station teaching and alternative teaching and discuss how they can be used effectively to create an increasingly inclusive classroom where students are engaged and the learning is rigorous.
Level I Includes:
Overview of the 6 models of co-teaching, including how to address common barriers; an in depth look at co-teaching relationship including strategies for building and maintaining a collaborative relationship; and classroom visits to observe the models and variations of these learning structures in practice.
Level II Includes:
An in depth look at how variations of the co-teaching models and student choice can increase engagement and understanding; time to look at the planning process including how to combine assessment data and your understanding of your students to guide planning and instruction; and classroom visits to observe the models and variations of these learning structures in practice and debrief with our classroom teachers.
Self-Regulation and Sensory Support for the Inclusive Classroom
Inclusion is “not a place” and students are better able to get what they need in meaningful ways in the inclusive classroom, including highly effective and specialized supports for self-regulation. Participants will learn how their mindset can affect their interactions with students as well as learn about helpful tools, programs and systems to support student need. Establishing an inclusive foundation in your classroom will impact the way students care for each other and engage in rigorous and meaningful learning and work with each other.
Communication, Classroom Design, and Routines for a Strong Inclusive Classroom
Join us to talk about how classroom design, teacher communication, systems and routines can impact equity and create a space where students feel a sense of belonging and are encouraged to work hard. Teachers will explore common classroom routines and structures to evaluate the messages they send about students’ ability to access the same rigorous curriculum as their grade level peers. Participants will see curricular examples and have time to apply to their own practice, also develop effective practices around planning and communicating openly with related service providers, co-teachers and other professionals.
Planning to Address Learner Variability in the Classroom: Workshop a lesson or unit to increase rigor, student interest (and teacher interest)
In this session we will be taking a look at how to increase the opportunity for learning in our lessons based on what you know about your students, the curriculum and the relationship between the two. We will talk about how our understanding of learner variability can impact the amount of choice and independence incorporated into a single lesson or unit. Student engagement increases dramatically when given choice about how they will learn and what they will learn, combined with clear goals and expectations and meaningful and challenging content.
On Demand Workshops
Establishing Classroom Norms for Vital Conversations: Discussing Current Events in K-12 Classrooms
This is a 3-part asynchronous course that can be taken at your own pace and viewed at any time. 1-time registration includes unlimited access to this page and its resources.
A stirring of consciousness around social justice has acted as a call-to-action across the nation. As teachers, with all that is going on in our world, we hold the incredible responsibility of making space for children to process a range of emotions, ask questions, and consider ways in which they can contribute to making change. But it is imperative that we talk about current events in a responsible way in our classroom conversations. Are we creating classroom norms that honor all perspectives and support a deeper understanding of current issues? Join our on demand workshop to learn more about establishing classroom norms for vital conversations.
Representation in our Classrooms: Creating Opportunities for Students to See Themselves and Others in Curriculum
This is a 1-part asynchronous course that can be taken at your own pace and viewed at any time. 1-time registration includes unlimited access to this page and its resources.
How can we create authentic moments, experiences, and lessons where students can see themselves in the curriculum and in classroom conversations? And why is this important? Through the framework of "mirrors" and "windows" participants will take a closer look at how curriculum and classroom conversations can and should be "fully inclusive of historically marginalized and minoritized perspectives," how inviting a student's authentic self can help cultivate authentic relationships, and where teachers recognize their children are "a group of students from whom they can learn." Diving deep into three proven strategies, participants will have a chance to think about how to increase representation in their own classrooms and create spaces where all students are seen and feel that they belong.
Testimonials
