TEACHER TRAINING –
Hillside School Professional Development Training for Educators
Hillside School is a Boulder-based half-day program than enables students with dyslexia and other learning differences become capable and confident learners. Learn from our experienced faculty as we share best practices, research, and cutting-edge strategies that have been making life-changing impacts on students since 2005.2023 Summer Courses
Please click on the course name for more information. If you have any questions you can reach out to Rachel Paradis, rachel@hillsidelearning.org
Understanding Dyslexia in the Classroom
Dates: June 14 & 15, 2023
Times: 8:30–4:00
Cost: $375
Register Here
Summary: This two-day course is designed to help educators gain a greater understanding of dyslexia and how it impacts students in the classroom.
Description:
This fifteen-hour, two-day course is designed to help educators gain a greater understanding of dyslexia and how it impacts students with all languages in the classroom, specifically in the areas of reading, written language, and math. Course content will address the following three areas:
- What is dyslexia? This module will highlight common indicators of dyslexia across languages at various age-groups, how dyslexia can contribute to student dysregulation, and best practices for teaching dyslexic learners.
- What are the components of an effective reading intervention program and why do students fall behind when these are missed? How do deficits in reading impact a student academically and socially in the classroom and what strategies can educators use to increase success for students with dyslexia?
- Why is writing so difficult for the dyslexic student? Educators will increase their understanding of the neurological demands of writing and learn techniques and strategies to support struggling writers.
- Dyslexia is language-based, right? So why can math be a challenge as well? This module looks at the common areas of math that are challenging, even while students can excel to very high levels on related mathematical concepts.
Oh No! to Oh Go! Aligning the Science of Reading and Orton-Gillingham with Multi-Sensory Instruction
Dates: June 20 & 21, 2023
Times: 8:30–4:00
Cost: $375
Register Here
Summary: This workshop will provide practical tips and multi-sensory activities to incorporate the Orton Gillingham methodology into the five components of effective reading instruction.
Description:
You have done the 40 hours of Orton-Gillingham training, and you have your card deck. What next? This workshop-style course focuses on developing multi-sensory activities for teaching basic language skills in small and whole group settings.
Learning to read seems to come naturally to some children, like learning to speak. For others, it is a struggle and a guessing game. Research has shown that reading is not a natural process, and it is not a guessing game. Teaching systematic phonics is the best way to ensure that all kids learn how to read. This workshop will focus on the five components of effective reading instruction and how it aligns with current research on the science of reading. We will explore how to teach basic language skills with a multi-sensory approach.
Topics will include:
- Current research about how our brains learn to read and how to apply this knowledge to our instruction
- Using auditory, visual, and kinesthetic strategies, activities, and games to develop phonemic awareness, orthographic mapping, and language comprehension
- How to use informal assessments to guide instruction
The Magic of Sensory Mathematics: Math Intervention at a Deeper Level
Dates: June 22 & 23, 2023
Times: 8:30–4:00
Cost: $375
Register Here
Summary: This two-day workshop will focus on the core elements of effective math intervention to remediate the difficulties so many students with learning differences face when it comes to understanding numbers and the too-often abstract nature of math.
Description:
A workshop-style course that focuses on the importance of math intervention that works with the way our brains are wired for numbers through games, activities, and real-world problems that develop flexible number thinking for struggling math students.
For some students, understanding how to use numbers in creative ways seems to be part of their DNA, while others struggle with the simplest of tasks such as counting and combining two quantities. This two-day workshop will focus on the core elements of effective math intervention to remediate the difficulties so many students with learning differences face when it comes to understanding numbers and the too-often abstract nature of math. Through hands-on activities and discussions, we will explore how to develop a deeper understanding of number and computational concepts for upper elementary and middle school students who still haven’t mastered the core of math concepts.
Topics will include:
- Current neuroscience findings about how math is processed in the brain and the best way to capitalize on these discoveries in our teaching
- Using auditory, visual and kinesthetic strategies, activities, and games to develop an understanding of numbers and computational algorithms
- Using technology to support instruction and engage struggling math students
- Reconsidering the questions we ask students in math to encourage more flexible thinking and problem-solving
Quotes from Previous Participants:
"I am writing to thank you for the phenomenal PD you gave to all of us with your Dyslexia in the Classroom workshop. I have been to many, many PDs. I don't think I have ever been in a setting where all of the presenters were as knowledgeable and skilled as you were. Your expertise, as well as your deep love for the learner in all children flowed through all of your teaching. You were so incredibly, warm, welcoming, as well as being so very humble. Thank you, again, for offering this workshop and for giving me a chance to see the affirming and amazing work you do on the behalf of children. You are all an inspiration."
"This was a fabulous class for all teachers to take - should be offered more often for more teachers to take advantage of it."
"This was an awesome class - one of the best I have taken in quite some time! I was very impressed with the knowledge that both Rachel and Jill brought each week. I will definitely search out more of their classes in the future. Each week I learned something new that I can implement myself and/or share with colleagues."
"Each of the strategies used to teach students with Dyslexia/learning disabilities are useful and valuable. Resources could be used immediately. Activities demonstrated the thought processes that students with Dyslexia must go through when given writing assignments."
"Once again, I am reminded that Dyslexia has no boundaries. It affects people from ALL walks of life in extremely complex ways. This class has certainly made me more aware of what my students may be experiencing and how I can respond with purposeful accommodations."
