top of page
Professional Development Catalog
(Student Engagement and Learning)
All trainings can be adapted to meet your specific needs and can be presented in person or virtually.
Bolster Executive Functioning Skills to Prepare Kids for School and Beyond
Do you have students who struggle with self-regulation and impulse control? What about organization and time management? These and other executive functioning skills are important aspects of early learning and development. Join us as we share practical, age-appropriate strategies for promoting and coaching the development of executive functioning skills for children of all ages, thus setting students up for social and academic success.
Boosting Brain Skills through Play: Executive Functioning in Action
Looking for practical ways to help kids build focus, memory, and self-control? Join us to explore how everyday play activities can strengthen executive functioning skills—essential for school success and lifelong learning. Learn how to spot these skills in action and use easy-to-implement games and strategies to coach and support children as they build and improve their executive functioning skills.
Commit to Be Fit! Routines and Practices to Offer Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles
Be active! Be healthy! Be happy! These are habits we want to instill in our youth. Join us as we share ideas about how to encourage youth to be physically active by planning and implementing a variety of physical activities that can be integrated across programming. We will address meeting the needs, interests, abilities, and talents of all youth and even how to engage families in physical activity! We will also discuss strategies for promoting hygiene best practices and precautions and for protecting youth from spreading illness.
Empowering Children through Voice and Choice
Sometimes it is difficult to let go, but if we want children to be independent thinkers and learners, that is exactly what we need to do. Allowing children to direct some aspects of their learning and giving them opportunities to learn the way they learn best will encourage them to be more invested in the learning process, which will result in more meaningful learning. In this session, we will share strategies for creating an environment that invites children to share their ideas and take ownership of their learning. Empowered students are engaged students!
Financial Literacy: Prepare Our Youth in Money Management
Financial literacy lessons teach children the basics of money management: budgeting, saving, debt, investing, and giving. That knowledge lays a foundation for our youth to build strong money habits early on and avoid many of the mistakes that lead to lifelong money struggles. Explore the benefits and importance of teaching financial literacy to our youth. Learn about resources to employ and steps you can implement to ensure an impactful experience to prepare our children for life.
Implementing Best Practices to Increase Engagement
Are you seeking new strategies to engage your school-age children? Let’s explore best practices to help increase achievement for struggling students, reduce disruption and allow a positive, productive environment.
Learning Styles to Engage and Support Learners
This session will introduce childcare providers to the various learning styles and inventories that are available to help differentiate information to help support and engage students in the classroom. Even our youngest learners have unique learning styles, and it is important to recognize those to help them continue to grow in their academic and social needs.
Letting Kids Lead: Voice and Choice in Summer Programs
Summer is the perfect time to give kids more ownership of their learning and play. This session explores simple, effective ways to incorporate voice and choice into your program. Discover how empowering children to make decisions can boost engagement, build confidence, and create meaningful learning experiences all season long.
Motivate, Captivate, Educate! Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement
When children are engaged in the learning process, motivation and achievement increase. Keeping students engaged is a common challenge faced by educators at any level. Join us as we share best practices and strategies for increasing student engagement in out-of-school time, reducing disruptions, and creating a positive, productive learning environment.
Pathways to New Experiences through Service-Learning in Afterschool
Picture a room full of children reading books they have written and illustrated to smiling senior citizens, a vacant lot buzzing with activity as children work to transform it into a community garden, or groups of children developing a recycling plan for their school community. When children engage in service-learning opportunities such as these, they make a positive impact on their communities while experiencing great personal growth. Service-learning is a student-centered approach to community service designed around providing as much education as possible every step of the way. Join us as we discuss ideas for incorporating service-learning into your afterschool programming as a means of engaging the community and helping youth build new skills that will help them grow into responsible, caring citizens.
Project-Based Learning to Engage and Provide Voice and Choice
Voice and choice are an essential part of Project Based Learning that often gets overlooked. Voice and choice happen when the teacher relinquishes the leadership of the lessons and projects to students, allowing them to design their own projects that show off their learning in unique and individual ways. Join us to discover the facilitator’s role, to explore techniques for facilitating youth voice and to identify steps for incorporating youth voice in project-based learning.
Projects with a Purpose: Getting Started with Project-Based Learning
Add a sense of purpose and relevance to students’ summer learning experiences with project-based learning (PBL). In this session, we will discuss the basics of PBL and how to select projects that align with student interests and allow for authentic and meaningful experiences. We will also explore the benefits of PBL, including increased student engagement, deeper learning, and improved critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Rain or Shine, It's Playtime! Finding Fun on Rainy Days
Stuck inside on a rainy day? This session will fill your toolbox with ideas to keep kids happy, active, engaged, and learning while developing important social skills such as teamwork and cooperation along the way.
Summer Memories: Creating Lasting Connections with Students through Engaging Programming
In this session, we will explore techniques for building meaningful connections with students, promoting positive relationships, and creating lasting memories that will extend beyond the summer months. Join us to gain practical knowledge and skills to enhance your ability to connect with students on a personal level through programming activities that promote student engagement, social-emotional learning, and community building.
Unlocking Individual Potential by Supporting All Learners
In this training, we will share valuable insights and strategies for fostering a learning environment in which every student can thrive. Join us to learn about indicators that will help you identify the preferred learning styles of your students and practical teaching tips tailored to each learning style. We will also explore how to employ multimodal learning strategies to create a supportive and effective environment, thus empowering every student to reach their full potential.
Unlocking Student Potential by Building Executive Functioning Skills
Set students up for success in school and beyond by helping them build important life skills such as self-regulation, organization, and time management. Join us as we share practical, age-appropriate strategies for promoting and coaching the development of executive functioning skills for children of all ages.
bottom of page