CULTURALLY PROFICIENT TEACHING

CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY AND STUDENTS
FROM DIVERSE CULTURES

NEW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES

COMING SEPTEMBER, 2008....

Learning Bridges® is proud to announce the availability of four (4) new courses/workshops that will be ready for teachers in September, 2008. Grounded in the research of the Learning Bridges Aligned Instructional Database and two new books by Tileston & Darling (Solution Tree and Corwin Press), this professional development series will allow teachers to improve academic achievement and close the achievement gaps for culturally and economically diverse students.

Do your teachers...

• Know how to focus on BOTH the learner AND curriculum, instruction, and assessment so that all children can succeed?
• Have the knowledge and skills to provide culturally proficient instruction?
• Have the background knowledge to reach students living in poverty and students from diverse cultures, i.e., collectivist vs individualist?
• Understand how to create a culturally responsive classroom?
• Know how to contextualize and pluralize curriculum for relevancy to meet the needs of their diverse learners?
• Have the knowledge and skills to modify the MOST effective instructional strategies so that children living in poverty and from diverse cultures can make personal meaning of curriculum (and content standards)?
• Know how to differentiate context for culture, content/product, and process for students of poverty and from diverse cultures?
• Know how to motivate diverse learners, building on the assets that they bring to the classroom?
• Build resilience in students to succeed despite adverse conditions?

If the answer is NO to one or more of these questions, these professional development courses will build the capacity in teachers to BOTH increase achievement AND close the achievement gaps for diverse learners with culturally proficient instruction. The courses are:

1. Foundations of Culturally Proficient Teaching (Prerequisite Course)
2. A Differentiated Model for Teaching Culturally & Economically Diverse Learners
3. Culture and Poverty’s Impact on Achievement
4. Modifying Instructional Strategies to Close the Gaps in Achievement

“To strengthen the abilities of educators… (the authors)…illuminate these complexities and introduce an asset model of instruction to address achievement gaps evidenced by students whose cultural experiences and poverty continue to be viewed as deficits.” Belinda Williams – author, Closing the Achievement Gap

DELIVERED IN YOUR CHOICE OF:

1. ONLINE Professional Development – Accredited or Accelerated
2. ONSITE Professional Development Workshops
3. ONSITE 4 – 5 Day Institutes – Entire Series

For more information, contact: Learning Bridges

Dr. Sandra K. Darling, President     480-883-0704 sdarling@learningbridges.com
Charles Lowry, Vice-President       480-396-6289 clowry@learningbridges.com