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Professional Learning

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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

    Facilitator:
    Bob Measel, Title III Director and Bilingual Education Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Education and Julia Puza, Bilingual Education Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Andrea G. Kolb, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Education Officer, Pennon Education
    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
    Intended Audience:
    All PA Educators and Administrators
    Registration:

  • The Language Lens – An Educational Podcast

    Description:
    The Language Lens explores key issues, strategies, and stories shaping the education of English learners. Join expert guests and classroom voices for practical insights and fresh perspectives that help every multilingual learner thrive. Learn more and listen to new episodes on The Language Lens.

  • EL Accountability and the Future Ready PA Index

    Description:

    This tutorial is meant to introduce you to the Future Ready PA Index (FRI) and how the EL Indicator in the FRI is calculated.

    Act 48 Eligible:
    2 hours
    Registration:

  • English Learner Reclassification Tutorial

    Description:

    This tutorial is meant to help you plan for reclassification.

    Act 48 Eligible:
    2 hours
    Registration:

  • New EL Coordinator Training

    Description:

    This tutorial is meant to help you plan for meeting your responsibilities as an EL Coordinator and for implementation of your language instruction educational program (LIEP). When you complete this tutorial, you should have a collection of resources including the information that is covered along with your notes, a plan for addressing areas that need attention, and contacts for assistance if needed.

    Act 48 Eligible:
    2 hours
    Registration:

  • The EL Screening, Identification, and Placement Process

    Description:

    This tutorial will cover the EL screening, identification, and placement process.

    Act 48 Eligible:
    2 hours
    Registration:

  • LIEP Evaluation Tutorial

    Description:
    This tutorial covers the entire process of program evaluation and improvement planning. Specific topics include:
    • Understanding ACCESS data
    • Setting individual growth and attainment targets for ELs
    • Approaches to using data
      • Determining adequate ELP growth (using individual growth targets with percentile growth references)
      • ssessment types and uses
      • The use of formative information
      • Validity and reliability of assessments for ELs
    • The program evaluation process
    • Program improvement planning and implementation
    This tutorial also includes several tools that can be used in the process of program evaluation and improvement.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    2 hours
    Registration:

  • From Data to Direction: Using PVAAS to Empower English Learners’ Success

    Facilitator:
    Jennifer Ross, M.A., PVAAS Statewide Team for PDE, Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 Laurie Kolka, M.S., PVAAS Statewide Team for PDE, Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
    Description:
    Looking to better understand and support your English Learners? Discover how PVAAS can elevate your approach to planning supports, allocating resources, and evaluating ELD services. In this interactive webinar, you’ll dig into student projections—including ACCESS for ELLs—to inform goal setting and tailor services that meet your students' needs. You’ll also explore growth data to celebrate progress, target next steps, and strengthen outcomes for English Learners and all students. Join us to turn your data into impact that matters!
    Act 48 Eligible:
    1.5 hours
    Intended Audience:
    This session is designed primarily for ELD Program Coordinators, administrators, and data specialists, but is applicable to all educators who work with ELs.
    Registration:

  • Cross-Linguistic Considerations When Teaching Spanish-Speaking English Learners

    Facilitator:
    Andrea G. Kolb, Ph.D., Chief Education Officer, Pennon Education
    Description:
    This professional learning session explores how Spanish language structures influence English acquisition for Spanish-speaking English Learners. Educators will examine key cross-linguistic connections and contrasts in phonology, morphology, syntax, and literacy development, and learn how to leverage students’ primary language as an instructional asset. Participants will also look at immediate practical applications, such as differences in capitalization and how to leverage cognates to teach affixing and parts of speech.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    1.5 hours
    Intended Audience:
    This session is designed primarily for K-12 classroom teachers, ESL Specialists, and Reading Specialists.
    Registration:

  • Working Towards Meaningful Sensemaking in Science with Multilingual Learners

    Facilitator:
    Andrea G. Kolb, Ph.D., Chief Education Officer, Pennon Education & Jennifer Eley, M.Ed., Director of Education, Pennon Education
    Description:

    Asynchronous Online Course with 1 Synchronous Virtual Session – not recorded.
    Educators must complete the WIDA asynchronous course prior to the live virtual session. Educators may take this workshop as individuals or as members of locally formed teams to learn new ways and strengthen practices for increasing multilingual learners’ engagement in rigorous science learning. Working in a virtual, self-paced context, educators will move through three key themes central to science engagement for multilingual learners (Connecting Through Phenomena; Sensemaking; Developing Language for Science) to investigate their own practice, try out new approaches and strategies, and reflect with others through digital platforms to deepen their understanding and strengthen their practice. Instructors will engage with educators in the online discussion forums as well as in one live 90-minute webinar where we will explore connections to the PA STEELS standards framework.
    Participants will explore how to

    • Investigate their own science teaching practice
    • Try out new approaches and strategies for engaging multilingual learners in scientific sensemaking
    Reflect with others through digital platforms to deepen their understanding and strengthen their practice   Fall Course Dates: September 8 – December 5, 2025 Fall Meeting Date: December 2, 2025 | 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.  Spring Course Dates: February 2 – May 1, 2026 Spring Meeting Date: April 30, 2026 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    5.5 Hours
    Intended Audience:
    This virtual workshop is designed for language or science educators.
    Registration:

  • IN-PERSON: WIDA Engaging Secondary Newcomers in Content Area Literacy

    Facilitator:
    WIDA Facilitator
    Description:

    Educators will explore key factors that influence literacy development in content areas, focusing on how to engage students in content learning. Participants will learn strategies to analyze newcomers’ literacy strengths and identify areas for growth. Through practical application, educators will gain tools for scaffolding instruction to ensure secondary newcomers can engage with grade-level content in reading and writing, promoting their academic success.
    Participants will

    • Identify ways to create supportive and rigorous literacy learning environments for secondary newcomers in any program model
    • Analyze secondary newcomers’ literacy strengths and areas of growth
    • Examine approaches to scaffolding secondary newcomers’ engagement in grade-level content area literacy learning

    October 3, 2025 | 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
    WITF Public Media Center
    4801 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111

    April 14, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
    Westmoreland Intermediate Unit (IU7)
    102 Equity Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601

    Act 48 Eligible:
    6 Hours
    Intended Audience:
    This workshop is designed for secondary English language development specialists and content teachers who aim to create supportive and rigorous learning environments for adolescent newcomers.
    Registration:

  • Engaging English Learners in STEELS-Aligned Science Instruction

    Facilitator:
    Christin Adams, Staff Development Facilitator, Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit Monica Pangaio, Staff Development Facilitator: Secondary STEM, Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit
    Description:
    This professional development focuses on aligning the new STEELS science standards with the needs of Multilingual Learners (MLs). You will explore 3D phenomenon-based learning and analyze practical, research-backed strategies to ensure equitable access to rigorous science content, allowing you to immediately implement actionable tools in your classroom.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    1.5 hours
    Intended Audience:
    This session is designed primarily for science teachers who teach English learners in their class(es).
    Registration:

  • IN-PERSON: WIDA Writing With Multilingual Learners in the Elementary Grades

    Facilitator:
    WIDA Facilitator
    Description:

    This 2-day workshop focuses on writing instruction that supports the use of the Teaching and Learning Cycle as a way to empower multilingual writers, not only to produce successful academic writing but also, more importantly, to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes and different audiences. We want students to know how to leverage writing as a powerful tool to understand the world, express themselves effectively, learn from one another, and argue for the things they believe in. This vision requires intentional, language-focused instruction and is strengthened when it occurs through authentic writing tasks in the content areas.
    In this interactive workshop, we will explore a pedagogical approach that apprentices multilingual learners into writing in various academic genres. Specifically, we’ll look at examples of this in science and consider how this approach develops multilingual learners’ writing skills and their awareness of how language works in written form. This will allow them to become effective and informed writers across content areas.
    Participants will explore how to

    • Build content area background knowledge with the whole class so that students are equipped to write knowledgeably about the topic
    • Examine the language of mentor texts with students in order to unpack highly valued ways of using language in a specific genre
    • Jointly construct a text with students based on what was learned from those mentor texts
    • Support students as they apply their learning about language choices in a target genre to their independent writing
    • Engage students in a cycle of review, reflection, and revision to increase the effectiveness of their own writing

    September 30 & October 1, 2025 | 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
    Westmoreland Intermediate Unit (IU7)
    102 Equity Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601

    April 16 & 17, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
    WITF Public Media Center
    4801 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111

     

    Act 48 Eligible:
    12 Hours
    Intended Audience:
    This workshop is designed for elementary grade-level teachers, English language development specialists, and instructional coaches
    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, 2025 through August 31, 2026. 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, 2026.
    • Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics
    • Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena
    • Exploring the WIDA PreK-3 Essential Actions
    • Let's Play! Multilingual Children's Joyful Learning in PreK-3
    • Making Language Visible in the Classroom
    • Newcomers: Promoting Success Through Strengthening Practice
    • Reading Comprehension Across Content Areas with Multilingual Learners
    • Reframing Education for Long-Term English Learners
    • Teaching Multilingual Learners Social Studies Through Multiple Perspectives
    • The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach
    • (WIDA Español) Desarrollando el español: Las expectativas del lenguaje
    • (WIDA Español) Evaluaciones del desarrollo del lenguaje a nivel de salón | Classroom Assessment for Language Development
    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, 2026.
    Act 48 Eligible:
    Yes, various
    Registration:

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