All of our teacher-faculty in-services are presented in a fun, interactive style that brings humor to the topics. Our team-teaching approach offers live demonstrations of “everyday” teacher struggles and shows teachers how they respond with either helpful or unhelpful strategies. Your staff will have a unique opportunity to “see themselves” while discovering practical ways they can nurture the healthy development and foster the unique potential of their students. All programs provide staff with practical and easy-to-implement tools and strategies for establishing and nurturing an on-going positive and connected relationship with their students.
Staff trainings are typically 3 hours. However, we can customize the length to meet your needs. All programs allow plenty of time for questions & answers.
Bully-Proof Your School
Creating a safe school environment and promoting tolerance and respect for all students, requires that staff members have a clear definition of bully behavior, be consistent when addressing unacceptable behaviors, and actively work towards prevention in the classroom. Parenting Perspectives will facilitate this in-service and help the group explore these aspects of bullying as well as gain insight into how bullying affects everyone. Teachers will be exposed to an extensive range of practical, hands-on strategies for bully prevention and intervention.
Length: 3 hours (flexible)
Objectives:
Teachers will:
- Develop a deeper understanding of bullying issues
- Gain insight into the unique psychological aspects of the bully, the target and the bystander
- Gain confidence in responding to bullying incidents by knowing what to say and how to intervene with each of the involved parties (i.e. target, bully, bystanders, parents of all parties and other staff members)
- Understand the difference between effective discipline and punishment
- Acquire classroom tools that promote respectful behavior among students. Specific ideas will be presented to help students:
- Feel safe, accepted, and valued
- Stick up for themselves and each other
- Treat each other with kindness and respect
- Build self esteem, empathy and social skills
- Resolve conflicts appropriately
- Break the “code of silence” and report bullying incidents
- Take responsibility for their behavior
- Find positive ways to feel powerful
- Integrate social-emotional and traditional academic learning
Creating the Classroom You Want: Nurturing Children’s Potential
Parenting Perspectives will help teachers examine a variety of teaching styles and how a style helps or hinders academic and social and emotional skill-building of students. Ideas will be provided to help teachers appreciate the unique qualities of each child and how to develop a productive relationship with all students. Numerous strategies to manage and prevent unwanted classroom behavior will be demonstrated and teachers will gain confidence utilizing effective discipline techniques. In addition, teachers will learn how to create cooperative classrooms while nurturing academic growth and promoting social-emotional learning.
Length: 3 hours (flexible)
Objectives:
Teachers will:
- Examine three different teaching styles and what makes them effective or ineffective
- Explore specific strategies for building a positive teacher/student relationship
- Recognize the spectrum of temperament traits and the role temperament plays in learning. Appropriate interventions for maximizing learning potential based on temperament will be discussed
- Deepen their awareness of how teaching social skills is directly linked to academic success
- Acquire classroom tools that promote respectful behavior among students. Specific ideas will be presented to:
- Promote cooperation and reduce conflict
- Help students develop group problem-solving skills
- Create a climate of trust and safety
- Learn how to intervene and discipline effectively when children are aggressive
- Gain confidence in their ability to reduce and avoid power struggles with students
- Understand the emotional needs underlying misbehavior and learn strategies for meeting those needs.
- Discover the difference between effective discipline and punishment
Promoting Parent-Teacher Communication
Parents today play a more active role in their children’s education than ever before. While parent involvement increases the likelihood of academic success, it is making teacher’s jobs more challenging. The cover of the February, 2005 issue of Time was titled, “Why Teachers Hate Parents.” Parenting Perspectives will provide a wide range of tools designed to strengthen teacher skills to make them more confident, effective and comfortable in their interactions with parents.
Length: 3 hours (flexible)
Objectives:
Teachers will:
- Develop insight as to what makes communication with parents effective or ineffective
- Understand the parent’s perspective including their fears and concerns
- Develop a variety of specific strategies for building positive relationships with parents to prevent/reduce problems--including getting off to a good start
- Gain confidence in handling student “issues” by having improved communication tools to partner with parents. Specifically, teachers will delve into the elements of communication that make responses effective, explore problems meaningfully, and promote joint problem solving
- Increase their ability to cope with and establish boundaries with “toxic” parents. Discussion will include the following types of parents:
- Defensive/angry
- Powerful
- Intrusive
- Emotional
- Rescuing/enmeshed
- Undermining
- Demanding
- Learn how to effectively address behavior and/or learning problems
- Learn a variety of strategies to increase communication with parents including making the most of conferences
Understanding Temperament: A Tool for Connecting With and Teaching Children
Parenting Perspectives will help teachers understand the influences of temperament in children’s behavior. They will gain insight into why children respond to the world differently. Looking at children through the lens of temperament will help teachers achieve their goal of making children feel understood and respected for who they are. Numerous strategies will be provided to help teachers develop deeper connections with each of their students. Also, the 10 temperament traits will be described along with useful tips and “encouraging words” appropriate for each trait.
Length: 3 hours (flexible)
Objectives:
- Develop strategies for developing a connected relationship with all students
- Understand the uniqueness of all temperament traits
- Gain strategies to nurture the gifts inherent in all temperament traits and strengthen the aspects that pose challenges
- Learn how to help students better understand themselves as academic and social-emotional learners in the classroom
Addressing Unwanted Behavior in the Classroom
Parenting Perspectives will provide practical, easy-to-implement and creative approaches aimed at helping teachers effectively reduce and manage the unwanted behavior in their classrooms.
Length: 3 hours (flexible)
Objectives:
- Understand students’ emotional needs underlying misbehavior
- Prevent and reduce power struggles
- Encourage responsibility
- Discipline without yelling and threatening
- Minimize hassles, tantrums and tears
- Enhance connection and cooperation with students
- Set effective limits and utilize natural and logical consequences
- Feel calmer and more confident in the classroom
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