Are you ready to take your teaching to the next level with gamified learning experiences? Join our self-paced professional development workshop centered around Legends of Learning Math Basecamp, an exciting platform that offers educators a vast library of curriculum-aligned math fluency. This course is completely asynchronous with no in person or live connections.

Create a Sooth account using your school email or single sign-on (SSO) Confirm your account and customize basic profile settings Explore key tools to support student research and critical thinking

You will watch short training videos, complete knowledge checks, and complete a hands-on task to apply what you learned. By the end, you will be prepared to guide students and colleagues in using Sooth effectively for inquiry and research.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet 5 times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Math Intervention teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

Group will decide on a book to ground our sessions.

One hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Algebra I teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Looking at the questions from the June 2024 regents.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

Group will decide on a book to ground our sessions.

One hour lunch on your own.

Join us to explore how intentional literacy integration is a fundamental element for achieving deeper scientific understanding. You'll experience alignment of literacy practices with 3 dimensional instruction that can immediately be put into practice, ensuring students can effectively engage with scientific concepts and communicate their learning.

Participants must attend all 3 sessions of this Community of Practice. One hour lunch on your own.

This year, we are on a mission to uncover and share the best new books for our libraries and classrooms. To streamline the process, each participant will fill out a Google form for every book reviewed, making it easier to focus on crafting insightful reviews. The collected information will be featured on our blog, helping us crowdsource top book recommendations from our region and beyond!

The Details:

• Review one chapter book (over 150 pages) or three picture books to earn 1 credit hour.
• Accumulate up to 16 credit hours from October to May.
• Open to all genres for PreK-12 readers and professional development titles.

Important Notes:

• This is an entirely online and asynchronous course, with no in-person meetings.
• All hours are recorded for district Professional Learning requirements.
• Participants are responsible for procuring their own books.

For questions, contact me at hturner@ocmboces.org.

How Can We Find the Best Place for a Plant to Grow? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 life science and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Figure out why a radish seed sprouted inside a backpack.

-Define the problem that a tomato plant needs to be pollinated to produce tomatoes.

-Design a tool that can be used to pollinate tomato plants.

-Figure out how an acorn was planted in a pot on a third-floor balcony.

-Find the best place to plant plants in a schoolyard.

One hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Geometry teachers across the CNY region. -Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Looking at the questions from the June 2024 regents.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

Group will decide on a book to ground our sessions.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Send a Message Using Sound? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 engineering and physical science standards.

In this module, students:

-Ask questions and use a modeling activity to better understand a problem.

-Use prior experiences and a reading to research ways that people communicate over different distances.

-Conduct investigations to test their ideas about how they can make sound.

-Use evidence from investigations and research to explain what causes sound.

-Design, build, and test sound-making devices to solve two problems.

One hour lunch on your own.

Participants will be able to:

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Middle School Math teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Looking at the questions from the June 2024 regents.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

Group will decide on a book to ground our sessions.

One hour lunch on your own.

Outcomes:

-Learn systematic ways to cultivate conditions and supports that foster adult learning and collaboration

-Develop a deeper understanding of how to lead and implement effective Tier 1 Literacy Instructional Best Practices at all levels for all students

-Build connections with administrators and teacher leaders with similar vision/goals

-Make evidence-based decisions to take actionable steps to improve effectiveness of teacher professional development, curriculum, instruction, intervention, and assessments

Time:

All Meetings will be held VIRTUALLY

All Meetings will be 2 hours (9:30-11:30 a.m.)

Anchor Texts:

-NYSED PreK-3 Literacy Instructional Best Practices Guide

-NYSED PreK-3 Writing Best Practices Guide

-NYSED P-3 Literacy Attestation

-NYSED Literacy Briefs

-Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (Grades 4-12)

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Stop Land from Washing Away? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 engineering and earth and space science standards.

In this module, students:

-Gather information to better understand a land-change situation and define a problem to solve

-Make observations to provide evidence to explain if wind and water can change the shape of the land

-Obtain additional evidence from a construction site and from a nonfiction text to support their explanation of land change over different time scales

-Test and compare models of four methods used to prevent or reduce erosion

-Apply their understanding of wind- and water-induced erosion to a new engineering problem related to land change at a beach setting

One hour lunch on your own.

Schedule

10:45-11:45- On Site: Everson Museum Tour

1:00-1:30- Private Tour of Syracuse University Art Museum with Kate Holohan

1:30-4:30- Campus Sculpture Tour (Weather Permitting), Exhibition reflection with project planning

4:30-6:00- K-12 Teacher Night at Syracuse University Art Museum

Can't make the whole event?

Sign up and email mgorham@ocmboces.org to let her know when you will be there, to maintain an accurate head count.

How Can We Find the Best Place for a Plant to Grow? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 life science and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Figure out why a radish seed sprouted inside a backpack.

-Define the problem that a tomato plant needs to be pollinated to produce tomatoes.

-Design a tool that can be used to pollinate tomato plants.

-Figure out how an acorn was planted in a pot on a third-floor balcony.

-Find the best place to plant plants in a schoolyard.

One hour lunch on your own.

The expectation for participating in this group is:

1. Attending all three meetings during the year. We will have a focus of study for the year that will build on our previous work.

2. Being prepared for the meeting by completing any personal learning required by the facilitator of this group.

3. Being responsible for working with your team to bring the learning from the meeting back to your district.

4. Being designated or gaining approval by your district to participate in this group.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Algebra II teachers across the CNY region. -Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Looking at the questions from the June 2024 regents.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

Group will decide on a book to ground our sessions.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Map Land and Water on Earth? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a new curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 earth and space science standards.

In this module, students:

-Compare maps from different cultures and historical periods.

-Observe patterns that can be used to categorize the shapes and kinds of land and water on Earth.

-Conduct an investigation into the observable properties of solid and liquid water.

-Obtain information about where solid water can be found on Earth.

-Use what they have learned about patterns as evidence to describe the types of land and water one could expect to find in a particular place on Earth.

-Develop and compare maps of the land and water in a particular place on Earth.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

The expectation for participating in this group is:

1. Attending all three meetings during the year. We will have a focus of study for the year that will build on our previous work.

2. Being prepared for the meeting by completing any personal learning required by the facilitator of this group.

3. Being responsible for working with your team to bring the learning from the meeting back to your district.

4. Being designated or gaining approval by your district to participate in this group.

The formal meeting will occur in the morning. However, your district may ask your team to use the afternoon to develop a plan for implementing the learning from the meeting in your district. If your district asks this of you the meeting space will be available in the afternoon for use by those who wish to stay and work.

Participants will be able to:

How Can We Light Our Way in the Dark? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 physical science, life science, and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Investigate interactions between a beam of light and transparent, translucent, and opaque materials, including the formation of shadows and reflection of light

-Identify cause-and-effect relationships as they explain their observations

-Obtain information about animal structures that use light to help the animal survive

-Obtain information about the parts of lighthouses that make the buildings stable and send signals to protect humans

-Design stable solutions to visibility problems, including biomimicry in the design

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

This group serves to support the development of the district and regional capacity related to the Next Generation standards. This includes sharing and discussing up-to-date information related to the implementation of the standards from the State Education Department. Additionally, the goal of this group is to develop collaboration between districts in the region to support high-quality PK-12 instruction and position the region to implement the standards and evidence-based practices successfully.

The expectation for participating in this group is:

1. Attending all three meetings during the year. We will have a focus of study for the year that will build on our previous work.

2. Being prepared for the meeting by completing any personal learning required by the facilitator of this group.

3. Being responsible for working with your team to bring the learning from the meeting back to your district.

4. Being designated or gaining approval by your district to participate in this group.

*It is recommended that districts send a team to these meetings that includes teacher leaders (elementary, middle, and high school teachers) as well as building and district leaders.

Participants will:

-Deepen their knowledge of the New York State Science Learning Standards

-Have a hands-on experience with the Lab Investigations

-Collaborate on strategies for successful implementation in the classroom

There will be a one hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of elementary teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

Group will decide on a book to ground our sessions.

One hour lunch on your own.

Students of all ages have an innate curiosity about our solar system and the broader universe. Space Systems Exploration taps into this curiosity by helping students clarify what they already know about space. Then, starting with the Sun-Earth-Moon system, it challenges them to perform a series of investigations through which they extend and enrich this knowledge. This unit addresses the 3 dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for grades 6 through 8.

One hour lunch on your own.

A discussion of the benefits of a Capstone course for high school upperclassmen and how it exhibits the components of New York State's Portrait of a Graduate, and a comparison of several models of Capstone courses will be presented. Cindy and Lisa look forward to your questions and further discussion after the presentation.

$40 members, $50 non/members

If you have any questions please contact Dana Ziegler dziegler@liverpool.k12.ny.us

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Predict When the Sky Will Be Dark? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 earth and space science and physical science standards.

In this module, students:

-Use observations of real and photographed objects as evidence to explain that a girl can see objects outside because light from the Sun is shining on them.

-Use sunrise and sunset data as well as data from text to identify times of the year when the sky will be dark.

-Explain observed phenomena of the Sun and the Moon using observations of the Sun and Moon's position in the sky.

-Use a model Moon to explain that the Moon appears to change shape because we see different amounts of the part with light shining on it.

-Use observations to describe the effect of a light source on the visibility of objects to solve the problem of kids having to walk to school in the dark.

One hour lunch on your own.

Already applied? We will then work on to implementing the IAAP in your district by

Additionally, participants will develop an understanding of the three dimensions of the NYSSLS and the associated instructional shifts. Teachers will gain access to Carolina Science Online and resources created by OCM BOCES to help with implementation of the Smithsonian Science Curriculum.

Teachers are encouraged to bring a device to access these materials digitally.

One hour lunch on your own.

Participants will:

-Deepen their knowledge of the New York State Science Learning Standards

-Have a hands-on experience with the Investigations

-Collaborate on strategies for successful implementation in the classroom

There will be a one hour lunch on your own.

▪ Instrument Repair: Woodwind and Brass sessions

▪ Textured Pulp Painting

▪ Positive/Negative Space Action Portrait

▪ Meaningful Assessment in the Vocal Music Classroom

▪ Creative Connections: Creating Imaginative Experiences in the Voices of our Diverse Students

▪ Syracuse Orchestra- Masterclass & Coaching

▪ Teacher's Race & Ethnicity: Building Multicultural Competencies in the Classroom

▪ …and additional offerings

(Sessions subject to change.)

Please note: Registration fees are aidable through the Arts in Education CoSER.

Saving time on administrative tasks, like making rubrics, spreadsheets or organizing materials

Supporting you in creating and delivering lesson plans

Helping you better understand and respond to your students' needs

This is an asynchronous online course, allowing you to learn at your own pace. This course will run from November 5-December 10. The dates listed below are the course start and end dates-they are not scheduled meeting times.

Participants will attend all three meetings to allow us to build something meaningful over time, focusing on whatever the group decides to work on together. This is an extension of the Humanities Leadership meetings, providing a space to dive deeper into topics discussed in those sessions. In this ongoing professional development series, participants will:

- Collaborate with regional Social Studies teachers to enhance instructional practice.

- Receive updates from the New York State Department of Education, including insights into the latest standards and assessments.

- Learn research-based instructional strategies to improve student outcomes.

- Gain insights into the essential skills students need for success on the new Global and U.S. History Regents exams.

- Explore best practices in writing instruction, including strategies from The Writing Revolution and other evidence-based approaches to improve students' writing.

- Collaborate with colleagues to help build students' proficiency in critical thinking, historical inquiry, and the essential Social Studies practices of the NYS S.S. Framework.

This is a must-attend series for educators seeking to stay informed, improve practice, and ensure student success in Social Studies.

In this collaborative series, participants will:

-Connect with colleagues across districts to exchange ideas, strategies, and resources.

-Receive timely updates from the New York State Education Department, including guidance on standards and assessments.

-Explore research-based instructional practices that support literacy growth and improve student outcomes.

-Strengthen approaches to writing instruction with evidence-based strategies such as The Writing Revolution.

-Learn and apply methods that foster critical thinking, text-based analysis, and academic writing.

-Work together to address shared challenges and identify best practices for supporting diverse learners in ELA classrooms.

This is a valuable opportunity for educators who want to stay informed, collaborate with peers, and enhance instruction to better prepare students for success in ELA and beyond.

This professional development opportunity is designed for educators with 0-3 years of experience or any educator looking for a refresher.

Additionally, participants will develop an understanding of the three dimensions of the NYSSLS and the associated instructional shifts. Teachers will gain access to Carolina Science Online and resources created by OCM BOCES to help with implementation of the Smithsonian Science Curriculum.

Teachers are encouraged to bring a device to access these materials digitally.

One hour lunch on your own.

Participants will be able to: