Healing From COVID: An OWL Online Series

We are currently living through a time when our classroom and daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for dedicated teachers, providing learning opportunities in difficult circumstances and going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them, and for students, adapting to learning in a new way, learning to interact differently with teachers and friends, and coping with the anxiety of their futures. This series will explore how to establish support and encouragement for students, for yourself, and for your colleagues, as we all navigate the new normal. This five session experience focuses on the whole teacher and whole child through Social and Emotional Learning practices, experiential learning of OWL methods and strategies, and implementation of target language, multiliteracies, and community in the classroom.

The Healing from COVID series connects teachers from all different backgrounds and ranges of experiences. The series itself is structured as an OWL virtual classroom and the opportunities for relationship-building throughout the five months of support will bring you to a higher level of collaboration and connection with colleagues. Specific strategies and activities will focus on how to initiate, cultivate, and build relationships, both virtually and in the physical classroom. Channeling social and emotional elements, participants will experience how to move forward and create spaces of joyful learning. This innovative OWL event will help to create a confident, whole-hearted teacher who is ready to dive into an authentic and immersive environment with their students. It truly is a connection-building experience: one you won’t want to end.

 

Session 1: Foundations of Joyful Classroom: January 23, 2021

A strong community is essential to fostering a love of language and communication in our classrooms. We kick off our Series by modeling how to build community, while focusing on the essential element of Social and Emotional Learning, and the need for play. With intentional teaching, this session will offer specific activities and strategies to build relationships and enable the healing that needs to occur owing to these current times. The power of positivity and play is necessary to foster a space where students feel connected and valued.  This session also provides a space for teachers to reflect on their personal engagement  in the classroom. Teachers will reaffirm their passions, joys, and whys for teaching during the pandemic. 

 

Session 2: Creating an Effective Structure: February 20, 2021

Within the constantly changing classroom, we are tasked with providing structure that can transcend both virtual and in person experiences. This session will explore the necessary elements of a high engagement, student-directed classroom. Strategies and resources will be provided for teachers to implement clear structures that ensure the safety and security of our students. This session supplies teachers with an opportunity to create their own personal structure through boundary setting and teacher empowerment. 

 

Session 3: Cultivating Communication Strategies: March 20, 2021

When we effectively Prompt and Question our students targeting intentional function and text type, and we root our conversations in student interest and relevancy, our student output increases tenfold!  This session will give participants a chance to use the ACTFL levels to become more mindful of the prompts we are creating for our students. As we continue to dive into the personal element of the profession, teachers will investigate the iceberg illusion of their own practice and how to productively implement feedback received by colleagues, administrators, students, and parents. 

 

Session 4: Fostering Connections in the Target Language Environment: April 10, 2021

The essential need to provide connections for our students between classroom content and their community allows students to lower the affective filter and acquire the language! In this session, participants will explore how Pairings & Groupings and Transitions provide rich context, build trust within the community, and bring down the affective filter of the individual student, as well as the classroom as a whole. Through a collaborative lightning round, teachers will leave with a bank of methods to implement new techniques for connection in the classroom. As we continue our series, teachers will investigate the importance of their own communities of support and celebrate the relationships grounded by accountability. 

Session 5: Celebrating Growth & Nurturing Empowerment: May 15, 2021

As the school year comes to a close, it is important to take the time to reflect with students on their growth and development this unusual school year. Feedback and assessment is not only essential to benchmark a student’s acquisition, but it also informs where we can take students, and ourselves, in the coming year. Through the collaborative session, teachers will reflect on their own personal growth and development of the school year. We will celebrate successes, and also set new goals- professional and personal- for continued growth on our journeys. 

Schedule-

Times are in Pacific Standard Time.  Click here  for a schedule for your time zone!

9:00 am- 10:00 am	Session focusing on Whole Teacher Development
10:30 am -11:30 am	Collaborative Session on classroom methods & strategies (based on session’s theme.)

 

What’s Included

The Healing from COVID Series includes:

• All online materials: videos, webinars, printable prompts and questions pages, printable Whole Teacher reflection and more
• Access to Live Webinars with inspiring and informative facilitators
• A dynamic, and collaborative online community through Mighty Network. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need social media accounts to participate?

• No! We’re using a community based platform that allows you to engage with fellow participants without the distraction of a feed.

If I live internationally, can I participate?

• Yes! You will be charged additional for shipping of the resource materials. With questions, reach out to [email protected].

If I cannot attend a live session, will I be able to experience the Symposium?

• Yes! All live webinars will be recorded for your perusal up to two weeks after live sessions.