Workshop Guide

Participants will learn the what, how, who, and why of the AVID Site Team – a key aspect of successful AVID implementation schoolwide. They will create SMART goals, and be equipped with necessary tools to implement AVID Site Team Goals.

Participants will have opportunities to share their learning from Day 1, meet and network with AVID educators from across the country, and understand the role of the individual as an active contributor to AVID schoolwide efforts.

Participants will explore AVID Site Team materials and have designated time and space to work as a Site Team to identify site priorities, develop goals and undertake planning to deepen the implementation of AVID at their school.

Participants who attended Strengthening the AVID Site Team Day 1, will continue working as a Site Team to identify site priorities, develop goals and undertake planning to deepen the implementation of AVID at their school.

Participants will reflect on their learning and key takeaways from their Community of Practice. They will have an opportunity to connect, plan and share experiences with other AVID educators and explore ways to overcome challenges to implementing AVID in their school.

Participants will learn how to implement and apply collaborative study groups within their classrooms. The Collaborative Study Groups model supports students as they identify a specific question from any content area; collaborate to develop and deepen their understanding through Socratic inquiry, and apply their new learning to enhance classroom performance.

Participants will learn how to plan and execute Philosophical Chairs and Socratic Seminars in their classrooms.

Philosophical Chairs is an inquiry-based strategy that is built on a prompt and to which contradictory positions exist. Students address these positions through deep, academic discourse in a structured, formal process.

Socratic Seminar is a structured, collaborative dialogue, focusing on a common text or resource, which students have analysed and toward which they have prepared questions to spur the discussion.

Participants will learn how to create a classroom environment that develops and fosters a growth mindset by exploring Carol Dweck’s theory of mindsets. They will explore the difference between a fixed and growth mindset and how to help students develop and practise their growth-mindset skills.

Participants will understand the foundational power that relationships have over memory and resilient learning in order to show how grit, determination, and positive purpose arise from caring and committed relationships. In addition, they will explore how the neurochemistry of positive and challenging relationships increases memory and engagement with rigorous learning.

Participants will be introduced to different search engines, as well as basic and advanced search strategies, to become more effective and efficient at finding digital information. They will also learn how to model, intentionally teach, and support digital literacy skills to build student research fluency, communication, and citizenship skills.