AVID Australia Professional Learning Modules 2019

AVID Australia Professional Learning Modules 2019

Each workshop is designed for any site to grow professionally within the AVID School and Work Readiness System.  While modules are suggested based upon site experience, schools may select modules that best fit their needs, or suggest combinations.

What to Expect:
  • Participate in modules focused on understanding AVID curriculum, making connections with AVID Essentials, and implementing AVID schoolwide.
  • Build upon AVID strategies to successfully implement in your schools.
  • Engage in opportunities of scholarly dialogue regarding the AVID system.
  • Share ideas and collaborate with other AVID colleagues from your region.
  • Unless otherwise noted in the description, most modules can be completed within two hours.

YEAR ONE OF IMPLEMENTATION AND BEYOND

Schoolwide (K-12) WICOR

Participants will understand how WICOR impacts all students, make connections with AVID Essentials, develop a plan for WICOR-ized lessons and an action plan to use WICOR to promote more rigorous teaching. Participants will also learn how to create an environment that is indicative of a university readiness system. The intended audience for this module is instructional faculty and content teachers (including AVID Site Team Members).

How to Take Focused Note-Taking Schoolwide

Participants will develop a plan to implement and demonstrate Focused Note-Taking consistently schoolwide at their sites. Participants will learn about effective processes and formats for the development of focused note-taking skills across grade levels and learning areas. The intended audience for this module is instructional faculty and content teachers.

Adapting and Using the Certification Self Study Documents to Improve your AVID

Participants will learn the AVID certification process and the purpose of certification. Participants will learn to read the Certification Self Study (CSS) document, and develop an inclusive process for completion. Additionally, participants will acquire knowledge in understanding the intent of indicators and which evidence to provide, with the goal to apply this new understanding of the CSS in their home district. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers, AVID Site Coordinators, and AVID Site Team Members.

Increasing Rigour in the AVID Tutorial

Participants will dive deeper into the tutorial process for AVID elective students to better understand the 10 steps of the process, completing the Tutorial Request Form and establishing a practice of rigour within the tutorial. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers.

Primary Socratic Seminar: Across the Years and Subject Areas

This module will strengthen the understanding of the Socratic Seminar methodology while giving a broader scope of how and when to use seminars across the subject areas. The instructional focus is targeted toward increasing the student application of inquiry and collaboration in a variety of Socratic Seminar models across the subject areas. Participants will practise organising the inquiry and the structure of the seminar for different year levels. The intended audience for this module is the primary school wide instructional and leadership staff.

Schoolwide Academic Language and Literacy: Sentence frames, word banks and academic

Participants will develop strategic scaffolds and instructional routines that support all students as academic language learners, so they can successfully navigate rigorous academic conversation and content in order to be college and career ready.

NEW: AVID Strategies for Teachers of The Arts, Technologies, Health & Physical Education

This module is designed to look at WICOR strategies to support teachers of the Arts, Technologies, Health & Physical Education and Languages. We will identify what WICOR is for these learning areas, examine critical reading strategies using AVID Australia Monthly, and practise Socratic Seminars customised for these learning areas during the session. Participants are asked to come to the module ready to engage in experiences that they can take back to their students. The intended audience for this module is teachers from these learning areas across primary and secondary AVID schools.

NEW: Using the Why to Inspire Achievement

This module focuses on the power of “starting with why we do what we do” when communicating and attempting to inspire a commitment to action. The focus will be on illustrating and discussing what “Why” messaging is in contrast to the “How” and “What.” Finally, participants will apply their understanding by creating a “Why” message connected to core AVID strategies. The intended audience for this module is primary and secondary teachers and leaders.

NEW: Developing Disciplinary Literacy: Using mentor texts as a foundation for content area

Participants will use mentor texts as a basis for student writing in all content areas in order to develop college-ready writers who can demonstrate a deep understanding of rigorous content.

NEW: Taking Focused Note-taking Schoolwide: FNT phases, EQs, note-taking formats

Participants will implement the five phases of Focused Note-Taking in order to develop college-ready skills that support their own learning and academic success. Participants will guide students in choosing the most conducive note-taking format, based on the lesson’s objective, to better prepare them to be successful, independent learners.

NEW: O is for Organisation

During this module, participants will have an opportunity to explore AVID resources that assist in increasing the organizational skills of their students, better preparing them for success in college. Participants will discuss best practices and how to increase the effectiveness of strategies they are already using in their classrooms. Finally, participants will review the vertical alignment of organizational strategies to ensure usage is increasing and being refined annually.

YEAR TWO OF IMPLEMENTATION AND BEYOND

Completing the Tutorial Request Form (TRF) Pre-Work for Non-Maths Questions

Participants will learn to effectively use the “Critical Thinking” and “General Steps” sections of the TRF, specifically in support of non-maths initial questions, so that they can guide their students through the understanding and use of the boxes with questions other than maths. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers and AVID Students.

The Tutorial Analysis Grade (TAG) Reflection

Participants will understand how the TAG Reflection can be used to help students identify academic needs and learn how to use the components of the TAG Reflection. Teachers will also make connections to the US AVID Elective Standards and be able to consider how those standards correlate to the academic expectations for Australian students, Weeks at a Glance, and the US Certification Self-Study as an example of how that process works there and how it can be modified to measure the success of AVID at your site. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers.

Coaching Higher-Level Tutorial Reflections

Participants will identify the differences between summary and reflection and how to coach students to higher-level reflections. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers.

Achieving Rigour through Reading, Writing and Collaboration

Participants will learn how to implement critical reading and writing strategies to support AVID’s Essential 6. Participants will also learn how to engage with students in a reading lesson using the Critical Reading Process and extend reading and writing into opportunities for collaboration supporting AVID’s Essential 7. The intended audience for this module is AVID Site Team Members and core-content teachers.

Classroom Observation and Debrief

Participants will visit an AVID classroom and classrooms of content area teachers using AVID strategies and engage in a coaching discussion on the implementation of AVID methodologies and strategies observed in the classroom. The intended audience for this module is AVID Site Coordinators, AVID Elective Teachers, Content Area Teachers, and AVID Administrators.

Content-Specific Critical Reading

Participants will learn the similarities and differences between literacy across the content areas, implement critical reading strategies to support content-specific literacy, and develop a plan for teaching and reinforcing effective reading strategies in addition to content. The intended audience for this module is secondary content area teachers.

Efficient, Effective, and Rigorous Lesson Planning for the AVID Elective

Participants will learn to troubleshoot current lesson planning barriers inside the AVID elective class and select appropriate supports to positively inform lesson planning in the AVID elective classroom in order to deliver effective, rigorous instruction. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective teachers.

Text-Dependent Inquiry Across the AVID University Readiness System

Participants will learn how to incorporate text-dependent questions as a part of the Critical Reading Process, craft text dependent questions in order to help students to access complex texts in their content areas, implement a system to assess whether or not a question is text-dependent, and reflect on how text-dependent questions support university and work readiness. The intended audience for this module is secondary content area teachers.

On-Demand Timed Writing

Participants will learn how to provide students with skills, strategies and opportunities to navigate and practice the on-demand/timed writing experience to develop university readiness. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective teachers and schoolwide secondary teachers.

Content-Specific Socratic Seminars

Participants will learn to implement scaffolded Socratic seminars in order to increase students’ level of academic literacy, content knowledge, and university readiness and develop an action plan for Socratic seminar implementation. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective teachers and schoolwide secondary teachers. This module requires a minimum of three hours to complete.

Text-Dependent Inquiry Across the AVID University Readiness System

Participants will learn how to incorporate text-dependent questions as a part of the Critical Reading Process, craft textdependent questions in order to help students to access complex texts in their content areas, implement a system to assess whether or not a question is text-dependent, and reflect on how text-dependent questions support university and work readiness. The intended audience for this module is secondary content area teachers.

On-Demand Timed Writing

Participants will learn how to provide students with skills, strategies and opportunities to navigate and practice the ondemand/timed writing experience to develop university readiness. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective teachers and schoolwide secondary teachers.

Content-Specific Socratic Seminars

Participants will learn to implement scaffolded Socratic seminars in order to increase students’ level of academic literacy, content knowledge, and university readiness and develop an action plan for Socratic seminar implementation. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective teachers and schoolwide secondary teachers.  This module requires a minimum of three hours to complete.

Cognitive Organisation by Discipline

Participants will learn the similarities and differences between cognitive organisation (organisation of thought) and operational organisation (organisation of time) in order to prepare their students effectively for both. Various graphic organisers will be used to support each process, as participants plan effective cognitive structures across curriculum areas for greater cognitive organizational development. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective teachers and schoolwidesecondary teachers.

Developing Teacher Leaders for AVID

This workshop is designed to support sites in defining what a teacher leader is and their role in AVID implementation. The workshop will examine teacher leadership through the Site Team Plan to identify leadership traits and characteristics that have led to the success of AVID, as well as to identify gaps in leadership that will need to be improved to deepen AVID implementation. The intended audience for this module is AVID Site Coordinators, AVID Elective Teachers, AVID Site Team members, Content Area Teachers, and AVID Administrators.

Fostering Growth Mindset for K-12 Student Success

This workshop is an exploration of Carol Dweck’s theory of mindsets. Participants will explore the difference between the fixed and growth mindset and how to use that understanding to help students be more successful in any learning task. A model for coaching students to move from the fixed to the growth mindset will also be practiced. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers, Content Area Teachers, and Administrators.

How to Re-teach the AVID Practices to Colleagues

Do you want to maximize the benefits of sending staff to Winter and Summer Institutes? Do you want to accelerate your schoolwide access to AVID practices? In this workshop, participants will learn how to teach adults using AVID Adult Learning Practices so they can utilize meetings and school development days to re-teach AVID strategies to staff throughout the year. These skills will further support schools as they build their professional learning communities and work to implement AVID schoolwide. The intended audience for this module is AVID elective Teachers, Site Team Members, Teacher Leaders, Coaches, and Administrators.

Maths: Additional uses for Focused Note-Taking

This workshop further explores various ways students utilise Focused Note-Taking strategies in Maths and analyses everyday practices, including various collaborative and organisational practices that can be implemented on a variety of levels. The intended audience for this module is teachers of mathematics and teaching/learning coaches.

Scaffolding Lessons Through WICOR

This workshop introduces three theories of scaffolding: Vygotsky (1978) and his Zone of Proximal Development; Mariani (1997) High Challenge, High Support; and Hammond & Gibbons (2005) Designed in and Contingent Support. Participants will learn how to apply the three theories of scaffolding to their content area and will workshop current lessons to reconsider how they are scaffolded to maximize student learning opportunities. The intended audience for this module is teachers of any subject area.

NEW: Leveraging AVID to Advance School Initiatives

This module is designed to allow participants to explore how AVID can serve as the foundation for organisational improvement and provide sites with a structure and resources to strengthen the implementation of other initiatives on their campuses. Overall, the goal of the training is to assist participants in shifting their thinking and that of others in moving AVID from being “another thing” on their organisational plate to AVID becoming the plate itself. Participants will explore the difference between AVID as a program and a system, using that initial exploration as a jumping off point into analysing the AVID domains as defined within the AVID certification instruments: Instruction, Systems, Leadership and Culture. Finally, participants will explore how to align AVID with other state/regional or departmental school improvement initiatives. The intended audience for this module is primary and secondary teachers and leaders.

NEW: Developing a Schoolwide Organisational System for College Readiness

Participants will develop, implement, and monitor schoolwide organisational systems in order to increase student success and college readiness.

NEW: Interactive Notebooks for Content Area Classes

Participants will provide purposeful input and output activities to be organized in interactive notebooks to increase student metacognition. Participants will integrate interactive notebooks into daily lessons so that students have multiple opportunities to interact with and process content to develop college-ready organizational skills.

NEW: Navigating Change Through the Use of Data

This session is designed to utilise the continuous improvement cycle to change systems and strengthen AVID implementation. Participants will become familiar with the continuous improvement cycle, including phases of the cycle and the application in schools. As part of the cycle, participants will learn about a variety of data sources and the purpose for data use while reflecting on the current use of data at their site. To apply their learning, participants will engage in collaborative problem-solving to support each other in addressing barriers to the full use of continuous improvement cycles in their work. The intended audience for this module is primary and secondary teachers and leaders.

YEAR THREE OF IMPLEMENTATION AND BEYOND

Developing Schoolwide Professional Learning Opportunities

Participants will learn how to develop quality Professional Learning workshop(s) to build instructional capacity by increasing the use of AVID strategies schoolwide. Participants will explore the us and/or adapt a survey to determine the use of WICOR strategies, explore professional learning models/methods, explore AVID professional learning resources to deliver quality professional learning workshop(s), and explore feedback and observation tools that may be used after the professional learning workshop. The intended audience for this module is AVID Site Coordinators, AVID Administrators, and AVID Site Team Members.

Sustaining a Rigorous AVID System

This module establishes guidelines for intentionally selecting AVID Elective teachers and site team members. Participants will identify processes to ensure AVID students have access to rigorous courses schoolwide. The intended audience for this module is AVID Site Coordinators, AVID Administrators, and AVID Site Team Members.

Rigour Across the AVID University System

Participants will understand how rigour impacts all students. Participants will apply knowledge of the inquiry process to increase rigour and learn to plan for more rigorous lessons that increase student engagement. The intended audience for this module is AVID Site Team Members and AVID Elective Teachers.

Collaborative Study Groups Across All Subject Areas

Participants will understand how to implement and apply collaborative study groups (CSGs) within their classrooms. Participants will experience how students in CSGs can identify a specific question from any subject area, collaborate to develop and deepen their understanding through Socratic inquiry, and apply their new learning in order to enhance classroom performance. CSGs are a critical component of moving AVID strategies schoolwide. The intended audience for this module is AVID Elective Teachers, Content Area Teachers and Administrators. This module requires a minimum of three hours to complete. For sites that also want to include lesson application, a minimum of five hours is required.

NEW: Collaborative Leadership: Developing Teacher Leaders

Participants will create shared leadership opportunities on their campus in order to address priority areas of Schoolwide AVID through systematic improvement efforts that build collective capacity and foster commitment to the success of all students.

NEW: Digital Teaching and Learning: Using the Four As to Develop Digital Lessons

Participants will use the 4 “A”s Framework to differentiate and enhance instruction while integrating digital tools and WICOR strategies. Participants will design lesson plans that integrate the 4 “A”s in ways that empower students to become more independent and take ownership of their learning.

NEW: Digital Teaching and Learning: Critical Reading Digitally

Participants will integrate technology-based critical reading strategies in order to develop college-ready readers who successfully engage in rigorous reading, analysis and application of content. Participants will incorporate the AVID Digital Learning Framework with critical reading strategies in order to choose digital tools and critical reading strategies that allow students to interact with the text and apply their learning in ways not possible without technology.

NEW: WICORizing Instruction with Digital Tools

This module is designed for participants to engage in a collaborative setting to identify how to infuse the use of digital teaching and learning tools into WICOR strategies. Participants will examine the impact of integrating technology resources and tools into effective professional practices in order for students to collaborate and communicate within and beyond the classroom walls. Additionally, they will make connections to 21st century skills that students need to develop in order to further prepare for success in postsecondary and workplace settings. Participants are recommended to have device capabilities in the form of a laptop or similar, as well as complete AVID account set-up prior to attending in order to participate fully in the digital resources being shared throughout this session.  The intended audience for this module is primary and secondary teachers and leaders.

NEW: Using Data to Tell Your AVID Story

This module is designed to support teachers and leaders in strengthening their AVID story through the use of data, and using the data to show alignment and impact on regional/state and departmental data sets. Merging data and student success examples brings about a passionate and heartwarming story that makes the data meaningful for students, staff, administrators and parents. Participants will be able to identify the purpose and use of data, collaborate with colleagues, and pinpoint action steps to craft their AVID story. The intended audience for this module is primary and secondary teachers and leaders.