The Engaged Classrooms Institute

The Learning Challenge

Multiple factors contribute to student disengagement at the secondary level. Unmet learning needs and a lack of student social and emotional skillfulness and well-being can interfere with academic and school success. Some students don’t feel safe, connected, and that they belong. Limited time for collaborative planning and meaningful professional learning makes it challenging for teachers to navigate these conditions effectively in order to create classroom environments that support  the range of learners in their care. 

The Opportunity

Educators are searching for ways to reach and teach all learners and to re-discover the joy in their craft. The in-person Engaged Classrooms Institute offers a dynamic set of experiences that inspires and empowers teachers to cultivate students’ academic, social, and emotional development. Over the course of three days, teachers take a deep dive into what it takes to create Equity-Centered Classrooms that support all adolescent learners to experience high levels of achievement and social and academic efficacy. Participants will walk away energized and equipped with a core set of viable strategies grounded in research-based frameworks for making the Engaged Classroom a reality for their students.

Topics

• Cultivating adult mindsets and an Empowered Teacher Presence that make Engaged Classrooms a reality
• Exploring adolescent development essentials
• Fostering and sustaining positive personal relationships with and among students
• Designing purposeful, well-paced lessons
• Organizing the learning environment to support student readiness to learn, ensure smooth transitions, and optimize time on task
• Ramping up rigor and meaning to strengthen academic engagement and achievement
• Integrating academic support into lessons to improve academic performance and strengthen social and emotional competencies
• Planning for, responding to, and managing unwanted behaviors

Key Frameworks

This institute for teachers, teaching assistants, instructional coaches, teacher teams, and administrators is grounded in the following frameworks:

• Six Conditions for Academic Engagement
• Learning and Life Competencies
• Domains of the Engaged Classroom
• Multi-Tiered System of Supports

Resource

Participants will receive copies of Engaged Classrooms: The Art and Craft of Reaching and Teaching All Learners

“This institute was fun and informative. You allowed us to learn by doing. I loved the readings, practical applications, time to collaborate with others, and the push to think about my own practice.”  (Institute participant, NYC, 2018)