Becoming Lasallian Educators

Lasallian pedagogy culture creates an environment that responds to students’ needs. To be effective, this culture should transcend the classroom and apply to all aspects of campus culture, even offices that don’t interact with students regularly.

This interactive workshop uses a self-assessment tool drawn from work done at St. Mary’s University (see Sorvaag et al. in the AXIS Journal) to prompt participants to think about the Lasallian practices they engage in every day, sometimes unconsciously, and reflect on ways in which they can increase or deepen those practices. The goal of this experience is not to suggest that one must incorporate every one of these practices in order to be a Lasallian educator. Instead, the self-assessment helps to make visible the habits of mind and heart that we often do without even noticing. It can also allow us to discover new habits that may resonant deeply with our Lasallian calling. The session will include time to complete the assessment, and do some individual reflection, as well as reflective breakout sessions that lead up to a virtual gallery walk and group debrief.

Dr. Jaime Longo

Engaged Pedagogy, Lasallian Pedagogy, Online Pedagogy?

In our unique historical moment, we are called to apply the Lasallian spirit of creativity to weaving engaged, Lasallian pedagogical threads through our online or hybrid pandemic teaching. But how can engaged, Lasallian pedagogy really work online? This workshop explores ways to weave our engaged, Lasallian methods into an online format. We’ll start by establishing some definitions for engaged pedagogy and Lasallian pedagogy. Then we’ll look more closely at the “thinking routines” that echo and overlap in those pedagogies. Next, we’ll use breakout sessions to explore case studies of engaged lesson plans; we’ll tease out their Lasallian components and then reflect and brainstorm about adapting those lesson plans for digital environments. We’ll close by looking at some adapted models on platforms like Padlet, Flipgrid, and Google Docs.

Relationship Presence and Lasallian Pedagogy

In a Lasallian context, relationship is everything. The idea of modeling a sibling relationship extends beyond our students to each other and to stakeholders beyond our ministries. This interactive workshop will emphasize best practices for incorporating “authentic presence” and a Lasallian emphasis on relationship building in an online or socially-distanced setting. Participants will have an opportunity to experience and evaluate several kinds of community-building activities as part of the session, using tools like discussion boards, Padlet, Google Slides, and Flipgrid. Most of those activities will be completed through breakout rooms or full-group discussions, but we will simulate some models for “asynchronous activity” by having participants post in discussion forums (as part of the time allotted for the workshop itself).

Dr. Jaime Longo

Transforming Traditional Lessons into Digital Learning Lessons

Lindsey Tula, Spanish Teacher
De La Salle Collegiate H.S.   

Lindsey Tula will be starting her 13th year teaching multiple levels of Spanish at De La Salle Collegiate in Warren, Michigan. She has a Bachelor of Science in Education with a Major in Spanish and a Master of Arts in Language Learning with a concentration in Spanish from Wayne State University.

This webinar will focus on helping teachers take their traditional in-person lessons and transform them into enhanced digital lessons using a variety of popular and user-friendly platforms. Teachers and students will need access to Google Apps for education to execute these lessons as shown, most importantly Google Docs and Google Classroom. However, this method could be adapted for any platform where you are able to post word processing documents for students. Lindsey will walk you through how to develop dynamic Google Doc lesson plans that lead students through each part of the learning process including video instruction, links to resources for learning and practice, and formative and summative assessments. She will also give a brief overview of popular online applications for learning Screencastify, Edpuzzle, Quizlet, Quizizz, and Flipgrid (and links to more information about how to use each) and how these can be used and organized in a Google Doc for ease of use for both teachers and students.

Exploring Different Free Online Resources

Wednesday, August 19, 3pm

Connor Carroll, Mathematics and Spanish Teacher
Christian Brothers Academy Syracuse   

Connor Carroll is a second-year Geometry and Spanish teacher from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Mathematics and a concentration in Education Studies.

Abstract

We will be exploring different online resources that are free to use that can assist with classroom management and offering students different ways of interacting with their teachers. After a brief introduction to each resource, we will talk about potential uses in a variety of disciplines, strengths, and challenges with each of the platforms. The resources that will be discussed include Google Classroom, Padlet, Khan Academy, EdPuzzle, Loom, Flipgrid, and ClassDojo. Examples have been created for public use as well if you would like to join and see what your students would see, as well as to test the resources out and see if you would like to use it in your own online classroom.

Surviving to Thriving: Practical Advice for Lasallian Educators in Building Online Community

Dr. Andrew Moore, Humanities Teacher and Associate Professor of Education
Calvert Hall College High School and Notre Dame of Maryland University 

Dr. Andrew Moore is the Coordinator of the Master’s Program for Gifted and Talented Education and an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University.  Earlier he taught French, History, and Humanities, and was the Director of the McMullen Scholars over his 21 years at Calvert Hall College High School.  Since 2015, Dr. Moore has been teaching face-to-face and online courses in Notre Dame’s undergraduate program and Master’s and Ph.D Programs, while returning part-time to the McMullen Program at Calvert Hall as a Humanities instructor.

This interactive webinar will focus on going beyond the “survival mode” of teaching online that occurred due to the disruptions of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020.  The presentation and ensuing discussion with participants will focus on long-term strategies, techniques, and tips to meet the challenge of Lasallian education by strengthening relationships and providing outstanding instruction as members of an online school community.  Rather than emphasizing specific content-area approaches, this session will concentrate on broad approaches for success as teachers and learners, as well as the opportunities and strengths that blended and online teaching present for everyone in the months and years ahead.

Google Drawings in the Distance Learning Classroom

Morgan Popple, Computer Science Teacher
St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute 

Morgan Popple is a Computer Science teacher at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo, NY. She is a certified Google Educator and has experience teaching Middle and High School students in technology and computer science courses.

Google Drawings is a great way to make graphic organizers, posters, and manipulatives that are interactive and engaging in the distance-learning classroom. In this session, you will learn the basics of Google Drawings and as well as walk away with numerous templates to start using in your classroom immediately!

Navigating Distance Learning—Assessments and Activities

Robert Zanneo, Mathematics Teacher
La Salle College High School   

Robert Zanneo is a mathematics teacher at La Salle College High School. This is his 9^th year of teaching, all at La Salle. During that time span he has had unique experiences with all grade levels and content within their mathematics curriculum.

The unchartered waters of online and hybrid learning have left students and teachers alike questioning themselves on how this process would work if it were necessary for an entire school year. To help ease that uncertainty, this webinar is designed to help teachers become more confident and well-versed in how to navigate the daily, weekly, and monthly challenges of engaging students, delivering meaningful feedback, and designing various types of assessments and activities. This webinar will anecdotally highlight best practices, dos and don’ts, and various platforms for teachers to use to promote high-quality, inclusive, and diverse online instruction.