Skip to Main Content

Share Suggestion

Professional Learning

Home / Instruction / English Learner Portal / Professional Learning

Professional Learning

Office Hours and training activities are designed for Pennsylvania educators and students or faculty members in PA institutions of higher education. Participants must register with their respective education institution’s email address.  

  • PDE Office Hours

    Description:
    PDE's English Language Development Office Hours is an open forum for educators across the Commonwealth to engage in Q&A with PDE staff, content experts, and ELD colleagues across the state. All educators in PA LEAs are encouraged to attend, including ESL Specialists, PreK-12 content teachers, building and district level administrators, paraprofessionals, specialists, and Intermediate Unit personnel. Office Hours are not eligible for Act 48 continuing education credits.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    No
    Registration:

  • ELD Curriculum Development

    Facilitator:
    Andrea G. Kolb, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Education Officer at WITF, Inc. Bob Measel, Title III Director and Bilingual Education Adviser, Pennsylvania Department of Education
    Description:
    This three-part online series introduces educators to the state’s recommended ELD curriculum development framework. Educators will deep dive into the 2020 WIDA Standards, Understanding by Design (UbD), and linguistics while being guided through the development process in a step-by-step and modeled approach.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    up to 9 hours
    Intended Audience:
    K-12 content teachers; K-12 ESL Specialists; school and district administrators
    Registration:

  • When Literacy Ate Language: Transitioning from Literacy Interventions to Multilingual Pedagogies

    Facilitator:
    Andrea G. Kolb, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Education Officer at WITF, Inc.
    Description:
    English learners often find themselves assigned to scripted literacy interventions to address their below-grade-level reading abilities. Yet, this designation does not often consider the intersections between multilingual learning and literacy development, and, worse yet, most literacy interventions assigned to ELs are actually designed for use with monolingual students. In this session, we will explore ways to move from commonplace scripted literacy interventions to practices that situate literacy in a multilingual pedagogical framework.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    1.5 hours
    Intended Audience:
    K-12 ELA teachers, ESL Specialists, Reading Specialists, and K-12 ESL Specialists; school and district administrators
    Registration:

  • Nurturing Speaking Growth

    Facilitator:
    Maya Martinez-Hart
    Description:
    This workshop includes one mandatory self-paced module and two live webinars. Participants will explore the underpinnings of the Speaking Test in a self-paced module that allows for choice and control. In the webinars, participants will engage in meaning making activities that provide ways to nurture students’ speaking growth. This workshop is unique in that participants will be asked to speak and share ideas with colleagues during the webinars.
    By engaging in the workshop, participants will:
    • Apply the underpinnings of the Speaking Assessment to classroom practice
    • Connect the Key Language Uses to instructional practices in speaking
    • Explore the impact of holding the floor for extended classroom discourse
    • Choose Teacher Moves to support student voice
    • Develop an ear for language to support precision decisions
    Please note: Participants must complete Module 1 before the first webinar and complete post-webinar tasks. Webinars will not be recorded. This course takes place in WIDA’s Canvas platform. Once registering, you will be enrolled in the Canvas course, where you will go to participate in all aspects of the workshop.   UPLOAD YOUR CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
    Act 48 Eligible:
    4 hours. Educators must complete all aspects of the workshop and submit their WIDA certificate of completion to be awarded Act 48 credits.
    Intended Audience:
    This virtual workshop is designed to support all K-12 educators who would like to explore the connection between the ACCESS Speaking Test and classroom practices that promote oral language development.
    Registration:

  • WIDA Professional Learning Self-Paced Courses

    Description:

    We are excited to once again be able to offer all PA educators access to WIDA’s full catalogue of online self-paced (asynchronous) courses! The following courses will be available beginning September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024. 

    • Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics
    • Engaging Multilingual learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena
    • Exploring the WIDA PreK-3 Essential Actions
    • Home Languages in the Classroom (ICMEE)
    • Making Language Visible in the Classroom
    • Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice
    • Reframing Education for Long-term English Learners
    • Social Studies: Engaging Multilingual Learners through Inquiry
    • The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach
    UPLOAD YOUR CERTIFICATE(S) OF COMPLETION *Please note that Act 48 credits will be processed monthly. All certificates must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 2024.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    Yes, various
    Registration:

Add Content


Edit A Content Section


Delete A Content Section

Confirm Delete

Are you sure you want to permanently delete this content item.

Loading
Please wait...

Insert Template

Information