Professional Learning Opportunities

Enhancing learner engagement is at the heart of effective teaching. In this workshop, educators will explore evidence-based strategies to create dynamic and participatory learning environments. This workshop will focus on identifying learner engagement vs. learner compliance, the exploration of evidence-based strategies rooted in Schlechty's Design Qualities, and the development of an implementation plan to infuse student-centered strategies.*Participants who are invited to attend by their district under an established cohort contract will not incur an additional cost. For participants who are not part of a district cohort the cost is listed below.

Lead, learn, and collaborate with other educators across the region through the IU13 Leadership Collaborative. If you are a teacher leader, department head, or administrator, this experience is designed to support your growth as a leader while connecting you with others in similar roles. Each session brings participants together for shared learning, followed by time to engage in content-specific groups to apply ideas, exchange strategies, and problem-solve with peers. Why join? * Strengthen your leadership practice through focused, relevant professional learning * Learn with and from others facing similar challenges in their roles * Build meaningful connections with educators across schools and districts * Share and refine ideas for supporting teaching and learning * Apply your learning within your content area through job-alike collaboration

Participants will have the opportunity and time to explore the virtual reality equipment available in the IMS Lending Library, and interact with other educators to brainstorm uses for the classroom. This hands-on session will provide certification for the IMS Lending Materials which includes the AR/VR mobile device kits and the TransfrVR headsets.

Numeracy is more than fact recall and using procedures. Numeracy is the ability to make sense of numbers, reason flexibly, and communicate mathematical ideas with confidence. In this interactive workshop, we will explore key dimensions of numeracy: what it is, the foundational role of number sense, the importance of reasoning, communication, and how fluency and numeracy work together. Participants will engage in classroom-ready rich tasks and classroom- ready routines that illustrate how numeracy develops and how we can empower students to explain, justify, and apply their thinking. Together, we will consider the role of numeracy in advancing equity, growing student agency, and ensuring that math learning lasts. You will walk away with a clear framework and practical strategies to strengthen numeracy in your classroom or school. Lunch will be provided Inclement Weather Makeup Date: March 31, 2026

In this workshop, participants will explore strategies to foster thinking and engagement in math classrooms, inspired by Peter Liljedahl's Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12 (book not included). Participants will leave with actionable ideas to shift learners' perceptions of math and implement student-centered practices that prioritize thinking and engagement.*Participants who are invited to attend by their district under an established cohort contract will not incur an additional cost. For participants who are not part of a district cohort the cost is listed below.

This 10-hour, Future-Ready Leadership: An Administrator's AI Playbook Act 45 workshop provides an essential framework, including strategies for instructional leadership, operational optimization, and strategic implementation of AI. In-Person Leadership Workshop (6 hours) This interactive session is focused on administrative strategy and hands-on tool evaluation: Practical Prompt Engineering: Learn to craft clear, effective prompts using the RAFTS framework to generate high-quality, relevant outputs from AI models. Live Demonstrations: See AI tools applied to real-world administrative challenges. Hands-on Evaluation: Assess leading AI tools (Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Magic School, SchoolAI, etc.) through the lens of a school leader. Job-Embedded Strategic Application (4 hours) Administrators will apply their learning directly to your administrative responsibilities by: Administrative AI Tool Evaluation: Test and evaluate at least two AI tools relevant to school management, exploring applications for communication, data analysis, or resource allocation. Strategic AI Implementation Plan: Reflect on your school's specific needs and draft a plan to integrate an AI tool to improve operations, support instruction, or boost student achievement. IU13 Coaching and Resource Support Cost IU13 Districts $149 Non IU13 Districts $199 Act 45 hours are available (please select Act 45 below) (10 total hours)

When algorithms, viral feeds, and generative AI do the thinking for students, they miss out on building essential muscle memory for independent reasoning. The good news? Reclaiming that critical thinking doesn't mean adding another task to your plate-it's about spotting and seizing the high-impact opportunities already built into your daily lessons. This interactive session gives you practical, discipline-specific strategies to weave media literacy, digital citizenship, and AI evaluation directly into your current curriculum. You will walk away with ready-to-use, student-centered routines that transform passive consumers into active, analytical evaluators, building authentic reasoning skills without sacrificing your valuable instructional time.

These half-day job-alike gatherings will be facilitated by IU13 and open to any staff invested in supporting the academic growth of gifted/advanced learners and complying with Chapter 16 regulations. A key component of each meeting will be time set aside for collaboration with grade-level, job-alike colleagues. District/school staff will also have the option to plan as a team during a portion of the meeting. Communication for the Gifted Network will primarily take place through Schoology, and anyone interested may join this Group for updates, resources, and discussions. The access code is FBGZM-ZHCMD. Registration will be required for each meeting for planning and Act 48 purposes. There is NO COST for IU13 district and nonpublic school staff to participate in network meetings.