Penn Literacy Network

Literacy Seminar for School Leaders (PLN 18)
This seminar is designed to help school leaders develop, implement, and assess the effectiveness of their balanced reading/writing or math literacy programs. The program is tailored to the needs of each district and school. School leaders also learn about how to observe and give feedback to teachers who have participated in PLN seminars.

Seminar for School Coaches (PLN 19)
This seminar focuses on the development of the personal and cognitive skills necessary to the role of coaches in improving classroom instruction. The seminar presents practical, research-based strategies tied to reading, writing, talking, and listening across the content areas to build confidence and provide a supportive framework for the work of coaches. The seminar helps participants define and shape their roles in relation to the district's goals and expectations. Emphasis is placed on successful models of collegial observation and feedback, with a focus on pre-and post -visit conferencing, trust building, and addressing how best to work with a colleague to improve instruction. Topics include strategies for co-teaching, the integration of demonstration lessons, facilitating pre- and post-visit focus group discussions, curriculum problem solving, and presenting to and interacting with colleagues in professional learning opportunities. Participants work through a variety of active scenarios designed to provide opportunities to role-play and model with colleagues while building trust and positive group dynamics. Participants are required to actively envision, build, and practice their crucial role in supporting literacy and numeracy in their schools.

Curriculum Backmapping (PLN 20)
The ultimate goal of any educational program is to ensure access to high quality curriculum and instruction for all students in order to meet or exceed state content standards. This seminar is designed to help teachers develop focused, practical, and challenging curricula that integrate PLN frameworks and meet the needs and goals of students, teachers, and districts. Curriculum design is best accomplished through school-wide teacher reflection and discussion that brings about a coalescing of vision and reality. This seminar utilizes backmapping as the strategy to best facilitate this process, and entails systematic realization of a goal by working backwards from a goal.

The program consists of the following experiences: PLN faculty and teachers present the PLN framework with hands on literature and math demonstrations that are discussed and explored with the participating teachers. The focus is the classroom implementation and supportive research related to these practical concepts and strategies. Teacher to teacher participants then share their classroom practices. This activity is led by the visiting PLN faculty members. Teachers share classroom stories, photos, sample curricula and student writing samples with one another. The goal is to form an extended learning community as educators learn about the rich array of possibilities for their own teaching from their new colleagues. PLN will provide online networking possibilities such as blogging and one-on-one emailing as a follow up to this local, national or international exchange. Classroom visits take place on day three. Please contact the PLN office (215-898-1984) if your school is interested in setting up a PLN Teacher to Teacher Exchange on-site.

Price to be negotiated with the PLN Director.

Spanish Language Learning for Educators (preK-12) (PLN 22)
This seminar is designed for adults who want to learn Spanish. Participants will develop Spanish language skills and simultaneously explore culturally-relevant content, including Spanish and Spanish-American fiction and informational texts that highlight current events and traditions from Spain and Latin America. Additionally, there will be opportunities for linking with the Spanish-speaking community and provide authentic contexts for using language. The seminar is structured around the PLN frameworks of the Lenses of Learning and Critical Literacy Experiences, and blended with language acquisition theory and practice. Given the high population of English language learners in school districts across the country (Spanish is a first language for many), this seminar provides participants with an opportunity to experience the language learning process firsthand and thus reconceptualize the language and literacy experiences of their students.
There is no previous Spanish language experience required. Participants will be expected to complete work outside of class time in order to fulfill University of Pennsylvania requirements for granting continuing education graduate level credits.