Education Innovation Nonprofit Launches Online Series to Help School Teams Tackle Remote Learning Challenges

CHICAGO, May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LEAP Innovations, the nonprofit that has advanced  innovative personalized learning practices across Chicago and nationwide, is launching an online learning series designed to help educators develop new strategies for instituting routines and structures into their remote teaching practices, attending to students' social-emotional needs, and delivering high-quality, empowering instruction from a distance.

"As we've spent the last two months seeking to understand what's working best in the face of COVID-19, we've observed that schools and educators who have previously embraced pedagogies and technologies centered around the individual student are experiencing a less-challenging transition to remote learning," said Phyllis Lockett, founder and CEO of LEAP Innovations. "This series is about extending the learnings to educators in Illinois and beyond, to help stem the tide of learning loss and keep our students engaged and excited about their learning."                                

Launching this week, the LEAP Learning Series offers both free, individual courses for teachers as well as a fee-based professional learning program designed for school teams. The series content, designed to be actionable and implemented right away, was developed by the LEAP Professional Learning team, rooted in its six-year history of working across more than 140 schools throughout Chicago. The work was informed by in-depth listening exercises with Chicago principals about the most prevalent remote learning challenges facing their teachers and students.

"The essence of personalized learning is creating high levels of engagement and developing independent learning, teaching kids to own their own learning," said Katie Speth Principal of Disney II Magnet School in Chicago. "It has been the key aspect in the transition; schools focusing on personalized learning and competency-based learning are five steps ahead. We don't have to scramble, we have to adjust."                                 

The free, six-week Remote Learning Seminar Series offers educators across the U.S. live sessions, on Wednesdays, featuring LEAP experts, learning scientists, technology leaders and partner educators. It includes the following topics:

• May 6 — Connectivity Basics to Fuel the Continuity of Learning and Community
• May 13 — Relationships, Routines and Resilience: Addressing the Impact of Trauma and Enabling Children's Learning and Thriving, Both Today and After Re-Entry
• May 20 — How to Create a Quality Virtual Lesson Plan for Literacy
• May 27— How to Keep Making Moves with Math
• June 3— Parents as Partners: A Fresh Look at Parent Engagement
• June 10 — It's Year's End. How Do You Know What Progress Your Students Have Made?

In addition to the six-week seminar, LEAP Innovations is building on its professional learning program that has been implemented across the Chicago region to offer "Remote Learning in Action," a six-week, structured program for principals and educators to participate together, to minimize instructional loss, heighten student engagement and connection from afar, and plan for re-entry to the 2020-21 school year. The program is designed to guide school teams in strengthening their plans for virtual instruction and asynchronous learning. Educators will benefit from live webinars combined with administrator support, self-directed planning, discussion groups, and optional biweekly coaching. Topics will include leveraging data to inform small group instruction, helping students set goals to inform their learning, providing feedback and formative assessment, fostering ways to students to authentically demonstrate their learning.

Educators and school teams can register for the free Remote Learning Seminars and learn more about both programs at:  https://www.leapinnovations.org/lls/.

About LEAP Innovations
LEAP Innovations is a national organization headquartered in Chicago that connects innovation and education to transform how students learn. LEAP works directly with educators and innovators to discover, pilot and scale personalized learning technologies and innovative practices. LEAP's work is anchored by the LEAP Learning Framework, a suite of resources that educators across the country are using to define, design, and implement personalized learning models.

SOURCE LEAP Innovations

Related Links

http://www.leapinnovations.org