ONLINE LEARNING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SECONDARY TEACHERS

In an effort to strengthen distance learning capabilities, the Guam Department of Education (GDOE) College Pathway Project in conjunction with Ace Digital Academy, will be conducting the GDOE Online Learning Professional Development for middle and high school teachers this week. The training will take place via Zoom video conferencing from May 28-29, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

This two-day professional learning session will prepare middle school and high school teachers to successfully teach content online, integrate online experiences into their classrooms, develop practices to make online learning successful, and identify online learning approaches that will enhance work in the classrooms. 

Secondary teachers will work with selected online tools, resources or existing courses to build their capacity for interacting and communicating with students remotely. Additionally, educators will begin to develop methods and practices for student engagement. Throughout the sessions, teachers will also work to strengthen the district's distance learning program in light of the challenges posed by COVID-19. Over the past several months, the GDOE has been in the process of developing a wide range of distance learning opportunities to strengthen the department’s remote learning curriculum. 

“Our district team and educators have been working hard to develop new and innovative ways to ensure that teaching and learning continues, even in this new COVID-19 reality,” GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez. “This training for our secondary teachers will help propel us toward our goal of ensuring we are ready to continue that mission this summer and this coming school year.”

“We want to use this opportunity to capitalize on the urgency that COVID-19 has created to push our creative thinking about what is possible, to really examine what quality instruction and learning looks like beyond the daily four walls of the traditional classroom,” GDOE Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum & Instructional Improvement Joe Sanchez said.

The training is open to GDOE middle and high school teachers. Previous participants who are integrating online learning into their classrooms, as well as beginners interested in gaining skills to build the proficiency to use online tools and resources are all welcome to attend. 

This federally funded project is administered by the GDOE Federal Programs Division and funded by the U.S. Department of Education Consolidated Grant to the Outlying Areas.

For more information please contact College Pathway Project Lead Dr. Leah Beth Naholowaa at lonaholowaa@gdoe.net.