Professional Learning Series

Thriving Together: Building Inclusive Classrooms from Day One 
A New Teacher Summit 

Dates: July 15th - July 19th, 2024
Time: 10am-12pm ET
Cost: Free for UK College of Education graduates, $175 all other participants

Summit Description: This is a week-long summit aimed at teachers who will be going into the classroom for their first year in the Fall of 2024. The summit will take place virtually Monday, July 15th through Friday, July 19th from 10am-12pm ET. Daily workshop sessions will be led by expert University of Kentucky College of Education faculty and current in-service veteran teachers. Workshops take place on Zoom, and a computer with a camera and internet connection are required to participate. Participants are required to attend all five days in order to earn 10 hours of PD credit and a certificate of completion.

This Summit is FREE for UK new teacher graduates and $175 for others. 

Summit workshop topics include: 

• Intersectional Approach to IEP Development
• Getting Classroom Ready
• Parent and caretaker communication 
• Setting Expectations & Beginnings 
• AI Lesson Planning 
• And More! 

Register here for the summit. The final agenda will be sent to participants a week before the launch date. This summit takes place on Zoom, and a computer with a camera and internet connection are required to participate. 

Questions in the meantime? Contact coelearningseries@uky.edu 

Simplifying STEM Learning Workshop

Date: July 15th - July 19th, 2024 
Time: 12:00-2:00 pm EST
Cost: $250

Workshop Description: Unleash the next generation of STEM superstars! In our week-long virtual Simplifying STEM Learning Workshop, we'll show you how to foster inclusivity, build student agency, and help students see themselves as capable STEM experts. Our "Simplifying STEM" workshop empowers you with practical strategies to make STEM learning relevant and engaging for all. We'll equip you with how to center your teaching around inclusivity and belonging; make STEM learning relevant and engaging; develop activities that allow students to experience STEM as innovators and solution seekers; and gain access to planning guides, strategies, and assessment tools to simplify your STEM implementation. This workshop is a must for any educator seeking to create a dynamic and inclusive STEM environment. 

Register here for this virtual, week-long workshop with sessions from 12-2pm EST each day. The final agenda will be sent to participants a week before the launch date. This workshop takes place on Zoom, and a computer with a camera and internet connection are required to participate. 

Questions in the meantime? Contact coelearningseries@uky.edu 

Workshop 1: Disrupting Deficit Thinking: Intersectional Approach to IEP Development 
Taught by Dr. Whitney Hanley

Date: Tuesday, June 25th
Time: 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
Cost: $50/single workshop or bundle 5-part series for $200

Workshop Description: The objective of this workshop is to integrate asset-based pedagogical practices in the Independent Education Plan (IEP) development process. While beneficial for all youth, the use of intersectional, asset-based approaches to IEP development is particularly supportive of BIYOC students with disabilities. Participants will leave this workshop with resources to support the development of a strengths-based IEP and additional tools for student centered inclusive practices. 

Instructor Bio: Dr. Whitney Hanley’s research focuses on transforming systems and practices that perpetuate opportunity gaps and marginalization of Black, Indigenous Youth of Color (BIYOC) with dis/abilities. Hanley uses intersectional and social justice frameworks to analyze the qualitative ways teacher identity is shaped and how to support educator decisions that resist and disrupt inequities and forms of oppression, particularly as it relates to Black girls with dis/abilities. Her most recent research focuses on using critical frameworks to guide practice-based opportunities that give pre-service teachers the language they need to discuss racism and ableism as well as dispositions necessary in the work of inclusive, equitable education.

Register here

Workshop 2: Cultivating Resilience & Well-Being in the Classroom 
Taught by Dr. Lali McCubbin

Date: Thursday, June 27th
Time: 1 p.m. -2:30 p.m. ET
Cost: $50/single workshop or bundle 5-part series for $200

Workshop Description: Are you an educator or student seeking strategies for resilience and well-being in the classroom? This workshop is designed specifically to empower you! Discover tools to navigate challenges, promote recovery from stress, and cultivate a sense of thriving within academic environments. This supportive space will explore techniques that honor your unique experiences and build a foundation for success. 

Instructor Bio: Dr. Laurie “Lali” McCubbin is a Professor and Chair at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology and an Indigenous/multiracial scholar (Native Hawaiian Kanaka ‘Oiwi/Japanese/European American). She received her master’s degree from Boston College and her PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests and expertise include resilience, recovery, and well-being among BIPOC folx, cultural identity development, decolonization in psychology training programs, and stress and cultural factors related to trauma, recovery, and resistance at the individual, family, and community levels.

She is currently the Executive Director of the Resilience, Adaptation and Well-Being Project (www.mccubbinresilience.org). She has served as past Chair for the Children, Youth, and Families committee for the American Psychological Association and past President of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP). She currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Training and Education in Professional Psychology journal and editorial member for the Journal of Counseling Psychology, Asian American Journal of Psychology, and The Counseling Psychologist.

Register here

Workshop 3: Active Students, Engaged Learners: Integrating and Championing Movement in the Classroom for Holistic Health 
Taught by Dr. Hildi Nicksic

Date: Tuesday, July 2nd
Time: 1 p.m. -2:30 p.m. ET
Cost: $50/single workshop or bundle 5-part series for $200

Workshop Description: This 90-minute interactive workshop will increase awareness of and justification for classroom physical activity practices as a mechanism for enhancing overall wellbeing while equipping participants to integrate and champion movement in the classroom. Participants will discover and explore the multiple dimensions of health, forms of classroom physical activity, tips for integrating and managing movement, and common facilitators that support implementation. Further, promotion strategies and methods of mitigating perceived barriers to classroom movement will be addressed to enable facilitation of a physically-active school culture that supports active students as engaged learners. 

Instructor Bio: Dr. Hildi Nicksic – teacher, reader, runner, nature-lover – joined the University of Kentucky faculty in 2022. A native Oregonian, she spent 16 years in Texas prior to moving to Kentucky. She holds a doctorate in Health Behavior and Health Education from The University of Texas at Austin, and taught for seven years in the health division at Texas A&M University in College Station. With over ten years of experience as a public school classroom teacher in grades ranging from kindergarten through seventh, Dr. Nicksic is passionate about teaching and strives to provide students with meaningful learning experiences that facilitate critical thinking and application of content to real life. Her primary interest is classroom physical activity, which refers to student engagement in movement within the general education classroom as facilitated by the classroom teacher. As a member of the Department of Kinesiology & Health Promotion, Dr. Nicksic serves as the Program Faculty Chair for Health Education and is delighted to be preparing UK students to teach and support holistic wellness!

Register here

Workshop 4: Identifying and Serving Vulnerable Students: Research-Based Practices for Educators
Taught by Dr. Zitsi Mirakhur 

Date: Thursday, July 11th
Time: 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
Cost: $50/single workshop or bundle 5-part series for $200

Workshop Description: In this workshop, we will use an asset-based framework to identify vulnerable student populations in contexts where we work. Drawing on existing research evidence, participants will then identify strategies that might be relevant for their teaching practice and context.

Instructor Bio: Dr. Zitsi Mirakhur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation. Her research focuses on identifying vulnerable student populations and evaluating the policies and practices which govern their school lives. Trained as a demographer, Dr. Mirakhur has experience conducting mixed methods research, working on program evaluations, and in research-practice partnerships. 

Register here

Workshop 5: One size doesn't fit all: Utilizing Culturally Responsive SEL to Meet the Needs of Minoritized Students  
Taught by Dr. Meagan Scott 

Date: Thursday, July 25th
Time: 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
Cost: $50/single workshop or bundle 5-part series for $200

Workshop Description: During this workshop, participants will discuss the current state of culturally and linguistically minoritized youth’s social-emotional learning and mental health, note culturally responsive and sustaining practices related to supporting healthy social emotional development, and implement culturally adapted behavioral interventions to meet the social-emotional needs of minoritized youth.

Instructor Bio: Dr. Meagan Scott received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Cincinnati in 2023. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Nebraska Internship Consortium of Professional Psychology at Munroe Meyer Institute with a focus on comprehensive school-based mental health services. Dr. Scott also is a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA). Her primary research interests include culturally responsive SEL and behavioral interventions for minoritized youth in school settings.

Register here