Workshops and Professional Development
with Dr. Linda Karges-Bone

Welcome to my page describing the workshops and professional development that I am currently doing in districts around the United States. I am also available to teach in Canada and Mexico. Some notes on planning for professional development:

  1. Dr. Karges-Bone will help you to develop a strategic initiative that meets your needs. For example, you may want to work on the test scores of a particular group of pupils, or on retention issues, or on the training of critical needs teachers. She has experience in all of these areas.
  2. Dr. Karges-Bone will help you to sequence training into manageable chunks for groups of faculty and staff or to fit into your calendar.
  3. Dr. Karges-Bone will work with your district over an extended period of time to do pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment regarding professional development.
  4. Dr. Karges-Bone can develop personalized training for your needs. You may want to select a strand of one of the workshops described below and work together to take the message into a fresh direction.
  5. Use the Contact Form to set up a conference, meeting, pre-assessment, or to receive a quote for services.



Parents and the Power of Assessment

Target Audience: Teachers, Special Educators, School Psychologists, Administrators, and Parents

Purpose: To give teachers and school leaders the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to make test scores and other data meaningful to parents and to use the same data to improve instruction.

Outcome: Improved school/parent communication. Increased Test Scores. Higher Parent Satisfaction Ratings on Survey Data.

Description:

The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards has several standards mandating teachers to help parents understand high stakes assessments and become partners in the assessment process. It is a lofty goal, but one that continues to escape most schools. Dr. Bone has created this lively new workshop that parents and/or teachers can engage in. Learn the basics of testing and measurement. Find out how to make sense of data and measurement terms. Work as a team to develop a Parent Assessment Newsletter filled with ideas, information, and invitations to become part of an assessment process in which children become the winners! Teachers receive Dr. Bone’s book A Checklist for Everything! as well as a notebook of exciting materials. This workshop can be expanded to include other aspects of school-community relations as needed by an individual site.


More Than Pink and Blue: It is the Gray That Matters!

Target Audience: Novice Teachers. Critical Needs Teachers. All Educators and Leaders. Parent and Community Groups. Districts interested in single-gender initiatives.

Purpose: To provide knowledge of and strategies for gender-based instruction.

Outcome: Increased pupil performance. Higher retention of at-risk students.

Description:

Join Dr. Bone, a member of the Gurian Institute’s Advisory Board for Brain-Based Teaching and Learning for a day of learning about the differences in boys’ and girls’ brains. Find out the secrets of gender-friendly, brain-happy teaching and learning. Explore ways to create rich, cognitive connections that suit the needs of boys and girls and help teachers to reduce their own stress in the classroom. Each participant receives Dr. Bone’s best-selling “brain book set” : Beyond Hands On: Techniques for Using Color, Scent, Taste, Touch, and Music to Enhance Learning and More Than Pink and Blue: How Gender Shapes Your Curriculum as well as a robust set of articles, hand-outs, and research material. This is a full day training and many sites choose to expand it to an evening before or after and treat parents to one of the “Biblical-Brain Friendly Ways to Raise Boys or Girls” sessions.


Classroom Management ER

Target Audience: New Teachers. Schools with Unsatisfactory Ratings. Special Educators. Teacher Trainers. All educators interested in improved school climate and pupil performance.

Purpose: To provide classroom teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to do diagnostic-prescriptive classroom management and integrate positive classroom management strategies before problems occur.

Outcome: Improved test scores. Fewer referrals for behavioral problems. Satisfied, less stressed faculty. More positive school climate.

Description:

This full day session offers educators an overview of the 7 major theorists that impact classroom management decisions, including extrinsic and intrinsic models. The emphasis is on preventing management problems with organization, understanding of students’ needs, a firm grasp of brain function and child development, and simple techniques for creating a positive, management-friendly environment. Based on the successful article Kids Gone Wild, Dr. Bone shows educators how the brains of children and their social situations affect behavior and how teachers can intervene successfully to shape desired outcomes. Video, power point, and small group instruction. Includes the book: A Checklist for Everything.







Brain 101: Bringing Cognitive Science into Your Classroom

Target Audience: Novice and Critical Needs Teachers. Teacher Training Colleges. All educators and leaders interested in developing a working knowledge of the brain’s needs, geography, and ways to improve teaching and learning with the brain in mind.

Purpose: To introduce participants to the “pieces and parts” of the human brain and to the physical, social, and emotional needs of a healthy brain.

Outcome: Improved pupil performance. Higher test scores. Fewer behavior problems. More motivated, relaxed faculty. *There is a major component on reducing teachers’ stress.

Description:

This is an exciting full day adventure into the “pieces and parts” of the brain and how this information can improve teaching and learning. Did you know, for example, that the scent of peppermint may raise test scores? Dr. Bone is the “peppermint lady” who brought this information into schools. Educators receive the two book set Beyond Hands On: Strategies for Using Color, Scent, Taste, Touch and Music to Enhance Learning and More Than Pink and Blue: How Gender Shapes Your Curriculum. Topical issues include: gender differences, ADD, stress and the brain, “fragile brain theory”, foods that impact the brain, the 5 senses of learning, and current information on memory and thinking. This workshop can be tailored for parents, curriculum leaders, special educators, early childhood educators, or Head Start.





Lesson Planning 101: “Plan Your Work and Then Work Your Plan”

Target Audience: New Teachers. Critical Needs Teachers. Schools with low test scores. Schools serving at-risk populations.

Purpose: To improve test scores through long-range instructional planning tied to brain research.

Outcome: Higher test scores. More creative, productive faculty. Enhanced school climate.

Description:

Many educators have forgotten the importance of careful, quality planning. Using Dr. Bone’s best-selling book The Best Plan Book Ever, teachers learn the steps of quality planning and brain-friendly ideas to improve teaching and learning. Emphasis on the use of state standards in long-range planning that leads to more coherent daily plans. The importance of planning for accommodations for special needs children, as well as integration of technology and the arts makes this training unique. This workshop includes the matching text A Checklist for Everything to match assessment with instruction. This training is also available in DVD Kit format from Otter Creek Institute. Watch a clip from the DVD below!.


Testimonials:

"A fresh perspective on lesson planning and identifying with the students we teach, plus a new way of applying what I learned in school to real-world teaching!!"
Jennifer Duddleston, 1st Grade Teacher

"... practical methods I can use immediately!"
Colette Peaks, 2nd Grade Teacher

"..detailed, sequential presentation of ideas that are both valuable and easy to use!"
Nell Lindner, 3rd Grade Teacher

Note: Some schools will want to include a second day for Dr. Bone to assist teams in developing standards-based Long-Range Plans.




Long Range Planning to Improve Standardized Test Scores

Target Audience: All teachers, with emphasis on teacher working in at-risk or low-performing schools. Curriculum leaders and planners.

Purpose: To give teachers the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to engage in diagnostic-prescriptive long –range planning. To add coherence to standards-based instruction.

Outcome: Improved school report card rating. Enhanced instruction.

Description:

Although long range plans based on state standards are now required for most teachers, few have the benefit of training or good samples. Research suggests that schools that engage in long-range planning see a marked increase in standardized test scores, making this training ideal for schools that are using No Child Left Behind funds for enhancement. Using Dr. Bone’s best-selling book on Long Range Planning, teachers will tackle the job with confidence and produce quality plans. This is a full day session with the option of a follow up day to review LRP’s in progress. Ideally, this training is followed by Lesson Planning 101.


Productive Instruction and Authentic Assessment

Target Audience: New teachers. All teachers working in low-performing schools. National Board Teaching candidates. Curriculum and school leaders.

Purpose: To give teachers the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to improve assessment practices in both high stakes and low stakes formats.

Outcome: More confident faculty. Improved assessment practices. Higher test scores.

Description:

Using the book by the same title, teachers visit the cycle of planning, instruction, assessment in a holistic fashion, learning how critical standards can be accommodated in a seamless, brain-friendly way. This is a great workshop for magnet schools, charter schools, and any group that needs a “fresh wind” for curriculum planning! Includes a review of assessment terms, types of intelligences, and differentiated assessment practices. Each teacher will receive the Productive Instruction and Authentic Assessment book as well as A Checklist for Everything.


The Five First Steps of Literacy

Target Audience: Head Start. Pre-School and Primary Teachers. Reading Teachers. Language and Literacy Staff. Teacher Coaches. Reading Grant Recipients. Schools with at-risk populations. ELL teachers, parent-education programs.

Purpose: To give teachers the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to improve language and literacy performance among all types of learners. To increase children’s interest in reading.

Outcome: More literate children. A more literary-rich school culture.

Description:

Based on No Child Left Behind research, teachers review the 5 key elements of literacy: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension and apply them to instruction using children’s literature. This is ideal for preschool teachers, Head Start programs, parenting initiatives, and literacy leaders. Participants will receive Dr. Bone’s Lesson Planning book, and gain confidence and skill as the first literacy teachers of young children.





Grant Writing for Teachers

Target Audience: Educators and Non-Profit Staff with development responsibilities.

Purpose: To provide new and experienced grant writers with skills to find grant resources and write winning proposals.

Outcome: Funding for your Classroom or Program Dreams!

Description:

This is Dr. Bone’s signature workshop, designed to help teachers and districts secure funding for special needs. Each teacher will receive The Educator’s Guide to Grants. The full day training offers and overview of proposal design, funding sources, and strategies for dealing with federal, state, and private funding sources. To date, schools have received over $20 million dollars in funding after applying these strategies. Ideal for small groups, such as a grant-writing team, fund-raising and development officers, and school leaders who are interested in bringing funding to their creative ideas.

Note: See the Grant Writing Tab on the Menu for details on Dr. Bone’s grant writing expertise.


Unlocking the Needs Assessment in Grants

Target Audience: Educators and Non-Profit Staff with development responsibilities.

Purpose: To provide new and experienced grant writers with skills to find grant resources and write winning proposals.

Outcome: Funding for your Classroom or Program Dreams!

Description:

Designed as a follow-up for groups that have completed the first grant training, this session narrows the focus to the Needs Assessment, the most critical piece in proposal design. Participants will have the opportunity to write their own Needs Assessment and receive feedback on proposals in progress. The Educators’ Guide to Grants is included in this session.

Note: Dr. Bone can tailor grant-training for all curriculum areas: technology, the arts, science, special education. The Science of Grants is a special grant-writing class for science and math educators.


Welcome to the Classroom

Target Audience: Designed for first year or critical needs teachers who need a boost of energy and a review of “the basics”. This session is also useful for support staff and paraprofessionals.

Purpose: To prepare teachers for a positive first or new year experience. Excellent for “summer retreat” for staff or to invigorate a faculty going through a difficult transition period.

Outcome: More prepared, positive faculty and staff.

Description:

Join us for an invigorating and inspiring full day session designed to motivate experienced teachers and educate novice teachers with an overview of the basics of good teaching. This is terrific when coupled with Lesson Planning 101 for two full days of staff development. Books include: The Best Lesson Plan Book Ever and Productive Instruction and Authentic Assessment.




Workshops for Christian Schools or Programs

Designed for Parent Nights, Retreats, Staff Development



Biblical-Brain Friendly Strategies for Raising Boys

Description:

Applications of brain research and scripture to raise boys who are confident, healthy, and firmly rooted in God’s plan. More Than Pink and Blue: How Gender Shapes Your Curriculum is included.



Biblical-Brain Friendly Strategies for Raising Girls

Description:

Applications of brain research and scripture to raise girls who are confident, healthy, and firmly rooted in God’s plan. More Than Pink and Blue: How Gender Shapes Your Curriculum is included.



The Story of Character Education

Description:

Using Dr. Bone’s books: Poems With a Purpose (pre-k);Developing Character in Christian Kids (elementary); and Character Building Stories for Middle Grades (middle), teachers and parents learn how to use original children’s stories and accompanying teaching materials to build the character traits of work ethic, compassion, integrity, honesty, and courage.