IN THIS EDITION

• Computer Science Performance Standards      Educator Input Survey
• Summer K-3 Literacy Conference
• Native American Education Conference
• Professional Development: WebEd Radio
• LinkedIN Learning
• UW Virtual Science Workshops
• Survey: COVID-19 Impacts on Science Learning
• Computer Science Teacher Workshops
• Energy and Equity in High School Physics Summer Workshop
• Camp Mo Online Summer Youth Camp
• Learning Express Library
• Teaching Academic Language to English Language Learners
• Creative Native Call for Art
• The Arts Under the Cuban Revolution
• Social Studies Summer Leadership Institute
• Educator Anti-Racist Conference
• Teaching Black History Conference
• History of American Protest Online Course
• National Museum of the American Indian Webinar Series
• National Archives Webinar Series
• Great Debates Curriculum
• SHAPE American Guide to Reopening in Fall

The Wyoming Department of Education is seeking input from educators on the proposed Computer Science Performance Standards to accompany the adopted 2019 Wyoming Computer Science Content Standards. The input, taken from an online survey, will be shared with the State Board of Education for consideration of adoption.

The Performance Standards, also referred to as Proficient Statements, describe how well students must demonstrate their understanding of the Content Standards to be deemed proficient.

All of the Content Standards are critically important to build upon the skills students need to master this content. However, the Performance Standards are the essential standards by which a student’s performance is measured to ensure they are proficient on (have mastered) the content. In the secondary levels, only students electing to take a course aligned to the Computer Science Standards would need to be assessed.

July 21-August 13, 2020, Virtual

The WDE and the University of Wyoming (UW) will co-sponsor Embracing Literacy, a summer professional development opportunity focused on literacy practices. District- and building-level teams are encouraged to attend and hear from many nationally renowned literacy experts.

The conference theme, Optimizing Learning for All: Supporting Evidence-Based Literacy Practices, provides the foundation for participants to learn more about the components that combine to create literacy. The Implementation of screening, progress monitoring, and various classroom practices will also be explored.

Embracing Literacy will be held virtually over a four-week span on Tuesdays and Thursdays. PTSB and UW credit is pending.

Cost is $50 per person or buy 2, get 1 free.

August 5-6, 2020, Virtual

The 11th annual Native American Education Conference will be offered online and feature more than 40 workshops related to Native student achievement, youth empowerment, the history and culture of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes, suicide prevention, and many other topics.

Dr. Darryl Tonemah, health psychologist, will offer the opening keynote on trauma-informed counseling and behavioral change 

This year's youth Pacesetter Awards will be honored. Registration is $25 for adults and free for students.

Tuesdays at 1 p.m.

Wyoming WebEd Radio is a weekly live professional development webcast designed to assist teachers with efforts in personalized learning.

The series is designed for on-the-go education professionals, offering 15-minute sessions, including a live interactive question & answer opportunity. Each session will be hosted on Zoom and live-streamed to YouTube.

The inaugural season will center on the theme, Creating a Connected and Engaging Classroom. This series will explore:

• Creating Virtual Classrooms
• Open Education Resources
• Social Emotional Learning
• Equity in Access, and more.

The schedule is available on the WDE professional development page.

Contact Dustin Brown at 307-777-3679 or dustin.brown1@wyo.gov.

The Wyoming State Library has purchased LinkedIn Learning, an online educational platform that helps anyone discover and develop business, technology-related, and creative skills through expert-led course videos.

The library is providing LinkedIn Learning using CARES funding, allowing any Wyoming public or community college library card to unlock over 6,500 free resources. These resources can be utilized to enhance educational technology, eLearning, learning management systems, student tools, and more. The resources are available through September 30, 2021.

For more information, contact Paige Bredenkamp, at 307-777-6331 or paige.bredenkamp@wyo.gov.

Are you working to shift your 3D science instruction online? Do you want some ideas for supporting students in 3D science thinking at home?

The Science and Mathematics Teaching Center at the University of Wyoming invites PreK-12 teachers, leaders, coaches, instructional facilitators, and administrators to participate in virtual professional learning workshops focused on 3-Dimensional science learning in virtual settings.

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of instructional practices aligned to the research on science teaching and learning and how that instruction can be used in virtual settings.

• August 5–6, 2020: 3-Dimensional Science in a Virtual Setting (PreK-12 educators)
• August 10–11, 2020: Bringing 3D science thinking home for PreK-5 educators
• August 12–13, 2020: Bringing 3D science thinking home for 6-12 educators

Registration is $75 (discount available). PTSB and UW credit is available.

During school closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing NGSS-aligned science instruction through distance learning poses an exceptional challenge. 

WestEd is asking teachers to complete a survey on how pandemic events are impacting you and your students.

Participating teachers will be entered into a drawing for a $75 gift card for completing the survey before August 1.

The Code.org Professional Learning Program is hosted by Code.org Regional Partners across the country, and is designed to prepare teachers before and during their first year teaching Computer Science Discoveries or Computer Science Principles.

Compared with similarly-situated schools, a school's participation in the Code.org program typically increases the number of students who take and earn qualifying scores on the AP Computer Science Principles exam.

Workshops are available for elementary teachers and middle school/high school teachers.

August 3-7, 2020, Virtual

The Energy and Equity Portal, funded by the National Science Foundation, offers a weeklong workshop examining the role of energy in sociocultural realities, economic issues, and public policies. High school teacher participants will develop a robust model of energy, grounded in the NGSS and constructed to support engagement with current sociopolitical issues.

The course will model best practices for engaged distance learning from a science disciplinary perspective. Participants will gain classroom-ready teaching tools, enjoy a dynamic and compassionate professional learning community, and be energized for the upcoming academic year.

For students ages 9-15

Camp Mo is a series of free online summer camps that are both educational and fun, touching themes such as backyard conservation, theater, and STEM challenges.

Combining online instruction with offline activities, campers will log in to their camp and get daily activities, challenges, and tasks. Camps are operated through Edmodo. Students will need access to a laptop, phone, or tablet with the Edmodo app and will need to create a free Edmodo student account.

As an instructional leader, you know that while many English Language Learners can speak fluently, the transition to “school talk” poses particular challenges. For example, they must simultaneously develop everyday language already familiar to their peers along with academic language skills.

If your students are in the process of learning English, consider incorporating these three instructional strategies for teaching academic language into your classroom routine.

Deadline: August 26, 2020

Students aged 5-24 who self-identify as Indigenous are invited to submit artwork in the Creative Native Call for Art contest. This year's theme, Native Youth Are Medicine, focuses on what strength and resilience mean to Native youth. 

Examples of submissions include but are not limited to paintings, poetry, drawings, photography, sculptures, beadwork, carvings, sewing, and baskets.

Prizes include funding for art supplies and award of $200. An artist between ages 15-24 will also be recognized as the grand prize winner and will be flown to Washington, D.C. for an event in November.

July 20-24, 2020

The Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University presents its 2020 K-12 Summer Teacher Institute, The Arts Under the Cuban Revolution: Protest, Propaganda, Politics? 

In this virtual Institute, participants will explore a less familiar side of the Cuban story beyond its Cold War conflict with the United States. Scholars and experts on Cuban history, politics, sociology, music, theater, photography, film, and dance will provide new insights into the politicization of daily life in Cuba during 1960's, while also exploring universal dilemmas about the relationship between art and politics. 

July 20-21, 2020

The National Council for the Social Studies presents its first virtual Summer Leadership Institute

Engage and learn from social studies leaders and educators across the country. You will be empowered to advocate for social studies and create transformational change for the profession and within your own district, affiliated council, organization or community. 

July 24-25, 2020, Virtual

The University of Missouri’s Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education will present its Teaching Black History Conference, which brings together educators who seek transformative and engaging ways to teach PK-12 Black history.

The program is led by Carter Center professors Dr. Lagarrett King and Dr. Ashley Woodson. This year’s theme is Teaching Black HERstories. Attendees will learn tangible strategies that focus on content and pedagogy, active learning, support and collaboration, and instructional approaches. 

July 21-23, 2020

Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) is the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s national initiative to inspire and support transformative teaching and learning about Native Americans. This free, three–part webinar series is designed for education professionals who are new to incorporating more complete narratives about Native American histories, cultures, and contemporary lives into their teaching.

Educators whose primary teaching focus is social studies, English language arts, or library sciences and who work with students in grades 4–12 are encouraged to register. 

July 16, 2020

The National Archives will present a webinar to support secondary teachers in using resources from the Archives in their classrooms.

The webinar is presented by Charles Flanagan, Outreach Supervisor for the Center for Legislative Archives.

The webinar will highlight Teaching Visual Literacy and Foreign Affairs.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications is offering free lesson plans related to the presidential election as you teach critical thinking, civic engagement, and media literacy.

The Great Debates looks at the impact of the broadcasting industries — online, television, and radio — on the presidential debates and campaigns with an online, real-time, non-partisan approach with modules that overlay on to the Common Core for grades 9-12.  

• Presidential Elections and the Neutrality of the Media
• Political Candidates, Public Opinion and Social Media
• Presidential Candidates: The Influence of 150 Years of Media
• Presidential Debates, Leadership and the COVID-19 Crisis
• Debates and the Influence of Late Night TV

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how schools operate and has illuminated the need to prioritize students’ safety, health and well-being.

SHAPE America offers a guide for 2020-21 School Reentry Considerations based on recommendations by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as national recommendations for physical education, health education, recess, and classroom-based physical activity.

These school reentry considerations are intended to guide administrators, staff, and teachers as they prepare an environment for safe and supportive instruction using one of three models of learning:

• In-school instruction with physical distancing
• Distance learning
• Hybrid learning