Teachers spend non-student day advancing their own learning
While there were no kids at school on Feb. 20, Edina Public Schools educators, in addition to some from outside the district, filled classrooms to learn, share and network during a full day of professional development.
The schedule included topics around personalized learning, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning, and curriculum-specific training, as well as new ways look at grading and use of student data. Sessions about mindfulness and art, using heart rate monitors in phys. ed. classes, and exploring virtual reality provided hands-on learning. There were also options for learning about the district’s primary ethnic cultures from district liaisons, and about student mental health and suicide prevention from a district counselor.
Among the presenters were experts from curriculum publishers, teachers from Westside High School in Omaha, and EPS staff and educators, who shared expertise and first-hand classroom experience with teaching techniques and tools.