Creating student ownership of learning outcomes through structured and consistent feedback. Will learn, discuss, practice, and debate classroom tracking that has worked, failed, and could possibly work at the secondary level.
In this session, you will hear a layman's perspective on the ever-growing range of negative behaviors that you will see in any given classroom, as well as the prescribed ways in which adults are expected--or obligated--to respond.
This professional development session is designed for beginners who want to learn the basics of using IXL in the classroom. Participants will receive an overview of what IXL is and how it supports student learning through personalized practice and real-time data. The session will highlight key features, including skill plans, diagnostic tools, and analytics, to help teachers monitor progress and target instruction. By the end, teachers will feel more confident navigating the platform and incorporating it into their daily instruction.
Brent Mischnick is a Digital Learning Specialist at ESC Region 11 in White Settlement, Texas. He is dedicated to helping educators use technology effectively to enhance student learning and prepare them for the future. Brent is committed to supporting the school districts within Region... Read More →
In this elementary-focused session, participants will explore how coherence in mathematics emerges through intentional connections among addition and subtraction problem types. Educators will examine common word problem structures—such as joining, separating, part-part-whole, and comparison—and how these problem types develop across grade levels. Using the progression outlined in the TEKS, participants will analyze how learning builds over time and how connecting new problem types to students’ prior experiences supports deeper understanding. The session will highlight models and representations that support student reasoning and help teachers plan instruction that tells a connected, meaningful story of addition and subtraction.
In this session, participants will examine how thoughtful task selection and purposeful questioning set the stage for meaningful student thinking and mathematical independence. Using a task-quality rubric, educators will analyze and select tasks that promote conceptual understanding and strategic reasoning rather than answer-getting. Participants will also explore questioning strategies that surface student thinking, press for clarity, and support students in making sense of mathematics on their own. By the end of the session, teachers will leave with tools and examples for designing learning experiences where students do the cognitive work and build confidence as problem solvers.
How can we support all students in thinking more deeply about social studies content? In this interactive session, educators will explore practical strategies for differentiating instruction through effective questioning, structured student dialogue, and short constructed responses. Participants will learn how to align questions and tasks to the TEKS while using student responses as formative data to guide instruction. Walk away with ready-to-use strategies that promote critical thinking, meaningful discussion, and greater student engagement in the social studies classroom.
I was in the classroom for 20 years teaching grades 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th. I've taught all subjects. I hold a bachelor's degree in education with a minor in English and a master's degree in educational leadership. I hold certificates for ESL, GT, and Principalship. My mission... Read More →
Instructional Content Specialist Elementary ELAR, Region 11
Kimberly Smith currently serves as an ESC Region 11 Elementary ELAR Instructional Content Specialist specializing in delivering creative, engaging, and research-based professional learning experiences. During her 28 years in education, she has served as an instructional coach, reading... Read More →
Let’s be honest - when behaviors are high and time is short, “Choose Love” can feel like one more thing on your plate. If you’ve ever thought, “This is great… but what about that kid?”—this session is for you. We’ll bridge the gap between behavior management and heart work by giving you simple, realistic ways to use Choose Love in your classroom—especially in the moments that feel the hardest. This isn’t about excusing behavior—it’s about understanding what’s driving it and responding in a way that actually leads to change. Structure and support don’t compete… they work together. Walk away with practical strategies that support regulation, improve behavior, and actually make your day-to-day feel more manageable.
This professional development session is designed for educators who want to take a deeper dive into IXL Analytics and better understand how to use data to drive instruction. Participants will explore IXL’s real-time reporting tools and learn how to interpret student performance data to identify strengths, gaps, and growth opportunities. The session will focus on key analytics features, including diagnostic insights, usage reports, and progress monitoring tools. By the end, teachers will feel more confident using IXL data to make informed instructional decisions and support student success.
Calling all Content K-8: Learn about Levels of Questioning from the Teacher and from the Student to optimize inquiry, levels of learning, and retention for all tiers. Learn how to differentiate your questioning so students will reach their potential. Also, learn how students can create levels of questions to increase their depth of understanding. Make Inquiry part of the culture in your classroom!
This professional development session is designed to help teachers build a strong foundation in what Content Language Supports (CLS) are and why they matter for student learning. Participants will explore how CLS appear within our online platforms and how they enhance access to academic content. The session will also focus on practical strategies for bringing CLS to life in the classroom, even in low-tech or no-tech settings. By the end, teachers will be equipped with concrete tools and ideas to effectively integrate CLS into daily instruction.
In this session, math teachers will dive into strategies that make learning more interactive, relevant, and accessible for all students. Through collaboration and real classroom examples, participants will explore ways to promote critical thinking, encourage student discourse, and connect math to real-world experiences. Special emphasis will be placed on using simple tools—like sticky notes—to increase student engagement through quick checks for understanding, collaborative problem-solving, and student voice. Teachers will walk away with practical, ready-to-use strategies that foster active participation and help all students feel confident and capable in mathematics.
Brent Mischnick is a Digital Learning Specialist at ESC Region 11 in White Settlement, Texas. He is dedicated to helping educators use technology effectively to enhance student learning and prepare them for the future. Brent is committed to supporting the school districts within Region... Read More →
This session focuses on how math language routines can strengthen student sense-making, communication, and perseverance. Participants will experience and practice routines that support students in articulating their thinking, listening to others, and refining ideas through discussion. Emphasis will be placed on how consistent use of these routines helps students persist through challenging tasks while deepening understanding. Teachers will leave with practical strategies for embedding language routines into daily instruction to create classrooms where mathematical reasoning is made visible and shared.
This session focuses on how problem-solving routines can strengthen student sense-making, communication, and perseverance in mathematics. Participants will experience and practice pairing Read-Draw-Write with routines such as Three Reads and numberless word problems to support students in making sense of problem situations before focusing on computation. Emphasis will be placed on how these routines help students slow down, attend to meaning, and use representations to articulate and refine their thinking. Participants will explore how consistent use of these paired routines supports students in persisting through challenging tasks while deepening conceptual understanding. Teachers will leave with practical strategies for embedding these routines into daily instruction to make student thinking visible and support meaningful mathematical reasoning.
This session will introduce teachers to a format for student led text based academic discussions they can use either as formative assessments or as end of unit summative assessments. These socratic discussions are highly engaging, and students learn so much from preparation and participation. We will walk you through materials, resources, preparation, facilitation and scoring, with materials and takeaways you can use all year.
This professional development session is designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of supplemental aids and their role in supporting student success. Participants will learn how supplemental aids are defined according to TEA and explore the research-based reasons they have a meaningful impact on learning. The session will highlight a variety of supplemental aids for both instruction and assessment across content areas. Teachers will also gain access to a curated Google Drive of ready-to-use resources for RLA, Math, and Science in grades K–5.
In today’s classrooms, teachers are often faced with a difficult challenge: how do we maintain grade-level rigor while still supporting struggling readers, multilingual learners, and students receiving special education services? This session introduces a practical, step-by-step instructional framework that scaffolds learning without lowering expectations. Participants will explore how to use structured supports, including anticipation guides, targeted annotation guides, collaborative reading, Harkness-style discussion, and a jigsaw short-constructed response writing protocol, to gradually release responsibility to students and build independence with complex texts and STAAR-aligned writing tasks. Attendees will see how these strategies reduce cognitive overload, increase engagement, and help all learners access rigorous academic standards. This highly interactive session explains models the full lesson cycle from start to finish, allowing participants to experience the strategies as students. Teachers will leave with ready-to-use tools such as annotation guides, sentence stems, structured discussion protocols, revision checklists, and writing scaffolds that can be implemented immediately in any secondary content classroom. Designed for general education, special education, and multilingual settings, this approach emphasizes accessibility, collaboration, and high-level thinking for every learner. By the end of the session, participants will confidently apply a system that maintains rigor, improves discourse and writing outcomes, and increases student independence across content areas.
