Read VT Professional Learning Facilitated Workshop Series

Course description

The workshops will be recorded for registered participant viewing, but live participation is required to earn a certificate of completion.

All workshops take place from 3:30-5:30 pm EST.

The first three workshops in the Read VT series are currently available for registration. Please check this page and AOE communications for future workshops in the series.

Session 1:
Overview of Explicit, Systematic, and Evidence-based Literacy Practices

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024
3:30-5:30 pm EST

This two-hour interactive virtual workshop will help educators teaching PreK–12+ and administrators in a variety of roles to develop a confident understanding of explicit and systematic evidence-based instruction. We will cover common myths and misconceptions about evidence-based instruction, and tips to shift instruction to better align with what research tells us about how students learn to read.

As a result of participating in this workshop, you will have have the foundational knowledge and skills to:

• Consider our literacy improvement efforts in Vermont as they reflect a national context;
• Understand the “reading brain” and core principles behind how we learn to read;
• Identify the language systems involved in reading and writing;
• Understand the importance of explicit instruction and systematic instruction;
• Identify evidence-based literacy practices applicable in your role;
• Make connections between these key principles and Vermont Act 139.

Join live for the opportunity to ask questions of the facilitators, participate in breakout rooms, and be in conversation with educators and leaders across the state.

NOTE: Participating live is required to earn a certificate of completion.

Session 2:
Introduction to Reading Comprehension: Strategies for Common Roadblocks

Wednesday, December 11th, 2024
3:30-5:30 pm EST

What’s the connection between explicit and systematic evidence-based literacy instruction and comprehension? In this two-hour interactive virtual workshop, educators teaching Pre-K–12 and beyond and administrators in a variety of roles will learn about and explore:

• the complex nature of reading comprehension;
• the critical processes and knowledge necessary for our students to be able to make meaning;
• practical ways to incorporate evidence-based instructional practices to best support student comprehension.

Join live for the opportunity to ask questions of the facilitators, practice some of the instructional strategies that relate to your role, and be in conversation with educators and leaders across the state.

NOTE: Participating live is required to earn a certificate of completion.

Session 3:
Literacy Assessments: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why?

Wednesday, January 8th, 2025
3:30-5:30 pm EST

Assessing students with the right tools can be one of our most powerful ways to gather data and target our instructional responses. But which literacy assessments should we use and when? What measures work and why? This two-hour interactive virtual workshop will help educators teaching Pre-K–12 and beyond and administrators in a variety of roles understand:

• the different types of assessments;
• when to use different types of assessments;
• how we can use the gathered data as a springboard for systematic, targeted instruction to support all students.

Join live for the opportunity to ask questions of the facilitators, practice some of the instructional strategies that relate to your role, and be in conversation with educators and leaders across the state.

NOTE: Participating live is required to earn a certificate of completion.