Hidden Sparks and Jewish New Teacher Project Collaborate!
Hidden Sparks and JNTP have collaborated to provide aspects of their training programs for one another. Earlier this month, Fayge Safran, Interim Director of JNTP and Amy Ament, JNTP Academy Facilitator, presented a very engaging workshop on developing mentoring skills which included “Understanding Attitudinal Phases of First Year Teachers; Building Trust and Mentor Language Stems and Attitudes for Effective Listening” to the newest Hidden Sparks Internal Coaches. In return, Hidden Sparks’ Director of Education, Karen Kruger, will be leading a workshop in January for JNTP on “Understanding Your Students’ Learning Profiles, Your Teaching Style, and Demands of Your Lessons”
At The Jewish Education Project’s Professional Development Day…
Thirty-six teachers attended a Hidden Sparks sponsored session presented by Director of Education, Karen Kruger, at The Jewish Education Project’s Professional Development Day on November 8, 2011. Exploring the topic: “Classroom Modifications to Enhance Student Success”, participants considered the dominant learning pathways that are involved with classroom procedures and classroom setup. They discussed and developed strategies for students who struggle with spatial ordering, temporal sequential ordering, social cognition and language. Karen kept participants engaged as she provided an overview of what it might look like when students struggle with these different pathways of learning and then encouraged participants to think about their students who might have similar challenges. As one participant noted, “I was given great ideas and insights into how to help my students achieve. I plan to try some of these strategies immediately.”
School Leaders Gather for Hidden Sparks Retreat
Twenty-eight principals and school leaders gathered recently for a stimulating day with the Hidden Sparks leadership team.
They had the opportunity to hone their observation skills in the session What Are We Seeing?” led by Claire Wurtzel. After attending Elevating Our Conversations about Students with Dr. Rona Novick, many participants echoed the sentiments of a principal who said “I am leaving with specific ideas for helping my teachers redirect their frustrations with students.” In Facilitation for Maximum Impact, Karen Kruger, the new Hidden Sparks Director of Education, gave principals ideas for leading effective workshops with their teachers.
Following an overview of the new “Learning Lenses” course presented by Claire, participants learned about how they can use various Hidden Sparks Without Walls webinars such as Communicating with Parents, Is This Typical? and Assessment and Differentiated Instruction in their schools. Principals were enthused, as indicated by one who remarked, “I am definitely going to use HSWOW webinars as part of my faculty’s professional development program this year.”
At Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva… Setting up Your Classroom for All Kinds of Learners
Judaic and general studies teachers in all divisions at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison, NJ gained much from a workshop led by Karen Kruger on August 31st about sensitivities and strategies for setting up one’s class to meet the needs of a wide range of students. We videotaped Karen and are delighted to share it with you!
We know you will come away with some valuable tips!
At Bet Yaakov Ateret Torah, Shaare Zion Ohel Bracha and Yeshivat Shaare Torah…
Hidden Sparks External Coach, Dr. Tamar Bauman, gave three riveting anti-bullying workshops at Shaare Zion Ohel Bracha, Yeshivat Shaare Torah and Bet Yaakov Ateret Torah as part of the schools’ preparation for the new school year. Dr. Bauman described the commonly held misconceptions about both bullies and their victims and explained when it was appropriate for adults to intervene and how they should respond when bullying was happening in their classrooms. Participants read case studies about bullying situations and discussed how they would interact with the students in the case studies. Dr. Bauman encouraged the teachers and administrators to describe the difference between “bullying” and “horseplay” and reminded the participants that “careful observation is required to distinguish between the two.” She provided specific examples of what bullying can look like versus “accidental” interactions between children that can sometimes be incorrectly labeled “bullying.” It was a very engaging and stimulating workshop that captured everyone’s attention.
At Yeshiva of Central Queens…
Yeshiva of Central Queens faculty and administrators enjoyed presentations from Hidden Sparks’ Director of Education Karen Kruger as they prepared for the new school year. The workshops for administrators focused on higher order cognition and Collaborative Problem Solving, and the connections between the two. Administrators were excited to share the content of the workshop with their faculty.
The faculty of YCQ received an overview of the work of Hidden Sparks and Karen Kruger used this opportunity to introduce the five members of the YCQ faculty who serve as Hidden Sparks Internal Coaches to the full faculty. She explained that in their capacity as Internal Coaches they will be mentoring colleagues about teaching to diverse learners and will be available as resource for the entire school.
Summer Title IIA Workshop at the BJE – July/August 2011
Teachers from ten schools benefited from two Hidden Sparks workshops held this summer at the Jewish Education Project (formerly the BJE) as part of the New York City Department of Education’s Title IIA program.
During the first day of Helping Your Students Maximize Their Learning Strengths and Manage their Struggles, participants experienced firsthand how it feels to struggle with memory, attention and language through a variety of activities and had the opportunity to delve deeper into each of these areas. During day two, participants explored more learning pathways including: the ordering systems, neuromotor function, and social cognition.
The workshop Helping Your Students Unlock and Address Their Learning or Behavior Challenges presented teachers with ways that they can teach children about their own learning strengths or struggles and strategies that the children can use to improve their abilities. Self advocacy for the struggling learner was also discussed. The second part of the workshop focused on Collaborative Problem Solving as an approach to addressing challenging behavior. Short case scenarios and role plays were used to introduce participants to this approach for helping shift behavioral challenges to collaborative and positive solutions.
As part of each workshop, participants receive 2 half-days of follow up school-based coaching.
Hidden Sparks in Action
Hidden Sparks and Jewish New Teacher Project Collaborate!
Hidden Sparks and JNTP have collaborated to provide aspects of their training programs for one another. Earlier this month, Fayge Safran, Interim Director of JNTP and Amy Ament, JNTP Academy Facilitator, presented a very engaging workshop on developing mentoring skills which included “Understanding Attitudinal Phases of First Year Teachers; Building Trust and Mentor Language Stems and Attitudes for Effective Listening” to the newest Hidden Sparks Internal Coaches. In return, Hidden Sparks’ Director of Education, Karen Kruger, will be leading a workshop in January for JNTP on “Understanding Your Students’ Learning Profiles, Your Teaching Style, and Demands of Your Lessons”
At The Jewish Education Project’s Professional Development Day…
Thirty-six teachers attended a Hidden Sparks sponsored session presented by Director of Education, Karen Kruger, at The Jewish Education Project’s Professional Development Day on November 8, 2011. Exploring the topic: “Classroom Modifications to Enhance Student Success”, participants considered the dominant learning pathways that are involved with classroom procedures and classroom setup. They discussed and developed strategies for students who struggle with spatial ordering, temporal sequential ordering, social cognition and language. Karen kept participants engaged as she provided an overview of what it might look like when students struggle with these different pathways of learning and then encouraged participants to think about their students who might have similar challenges. As one participant noted, “I was given great ideas and insights into how to help my students achieve. I plan to try some of these strategies immediately.”
School Leaders Gather for Hidden Sparks Retreat
They had the opportunity to hone their observation skills in the session What Are We Seeing?” led by Claire Wurtzel. After attending Elevating Our Conversations about Students with Dr. Rona Novick, many participants echoed the sentiments of a principal who said “I am leaving with specific ideas for helping my teachers redirect their frustrations with students.” In Facilitation for Maximum Impact, Karen Kruger, the new Hidden Sparks Director of Education, gave principals ideas for leading effective workshops with their teachers.
Following an overview of the new “Learning Lenses” course presented by Claire, participants learned about how they can use various Hidden Sparks Without Walls webinars such as Communicating with Parents, Is This Typical? and Assessment and Differentiated Instruction in their schools. Principals were enthused, as indicated by one who remarked, “I am definitely going to use HSWOW webinars as part of my faculty’s professional development program this year.”
At Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva… Setting up Your Classroom for All Kinds of Learners
Judaic and general studies teachers in all divisions at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison, NJ gained much from a workshop led by Karen Kruger on August 31st about sensitivities and strategies for setting up one’s class to meet the needs of a wide range of students. We videotaped Karen and are delighted to share it with you!
Follow this link for the video.
Follow this link for the accompanying PowerPoint (PDF).
We know you will come away with some valuable tips!
At Bet Yaakov Ateret Torah, Shaare Zion Ohel Bracha and Yeshivat Shaare Torah…
At Yeshiva of Central Queens…
Yeshiva of Central Queens faculty and administrators enjoyed presentations from Hidden Sparks’ Director of Education Karen Kruger as they prepared for the new school year. The workshops for administrators focused on higher order cognition and Collaborative Problem Solving, and the connections between the two. Administrators were excited to share the content of the workshop with their faculty.
The faculty of YCQ received an overview of the work of Hidden Sparks and Karen Kruger used this opportunity to introduce the five members of the YCQ faculty who serve as Hidden Sparks Internal Coaches to the full faculty. She explained that in their capacity as Internal Coaches they will be mentoring colleagues about teaching to diverse learners and will be available as resource for the entire school.
Summer Title IIA Workshop at the BJE – July/August 2011
During the first day of Helping Your Students Maximize Their Learning Strengths and Manage their Struggles, participants experienced firsthand how it feels to struggle with memory, attention and language through a variety of activities and had the opportunity to delve deeper into each of these areas. During day two, participants explored more learning pathways including: the ordering systems, neuromotor function, and social cognition.
The workshop Helping Your Students Unlock and Address Their Learning or Behavior Challenges presented teachers with ways that they can teach children about their own learning strengths or struggles and strategies that the children can use to improve their abilities. Self advocacy for the struggling learner was also discussed. The second part of the workshop focused on Collaborative Problem Solving as an approach to addressing challenging behavior. Short case scenarios and role plays were used to introduce participants to this approach for helping shift behavioral challenges to collaborative and positive solutions.
As part of each workshop, participants receive 2 half-days of follow up school-based coaching.