Workshops

Workshops (5)

Monday, 25 November 2013 03:56

The Home-School Connection

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The Home-School Connection: A Complete Guide to Effective Parent Involvement


(This is an online course created for Udemy.com.)


Enroll NOW in The Home-School Connection



Course Description

Consistent parent involvement dramatically increases the likelihood that quality learning will occur. Parents play such a crucial role in their children’s academic, physical, social, and moral development that we, as teachers, make a huge mistake if we view them as anything other than indispensable collaborators. If we are committed to bringing the best out of our students, we need to build and maintain long-term relationships of loyalty, trust, and respect with their parents. Investing the time and effort to work closely with parents throughout the year maximizes our chances of helping students reach their incredible potential.
 

By the end of the course, you will be able to establish a strong home-school connection with parents. Specific topics include:

• keeping parents informed and involved in a variety of meaningful ways
• creating a favorable first impression with parents
• making the most of major events such as Back to School Night, Open House, Parent Conferences, & Student-led Conferences
• helping parents help their children at home.

Enroll NOW in The Home-School Connection


Endorsement Statements for the Course

"Great insight. Very informative."     - Vanessa Khani
 

"This course gives some excellent advice on the best way to make sure there is 2-way communication with the home. Really smart ideas coupled with practical suggestions. I highly recommend!"     - Marc Fienberg

Monday, 25 November 2013 03:49

Beyond Compliance

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Beyond Compliance: A Progressive Approach to Classroom Management


(This is an online course created for Udemy.com.)

Enroll NOW in Beyond Compliance.
 

Course Description

Traditional classroom management approaches tend to focus on getting students to comply with rules through the use of extrinsic rewards and punishments. These coercive approaches produce, at best, short-term obedience and have the potential to thwart the development of many positive student behaviors and dispositions that we promote in our classrooms. This course presents an alternative classroom management approach rooted in intrinsic motivation and designed to create a learning environment in which children work hard, work together, and work with purpose.


By the end of the course, you will be able to implement a progressive approach to classroom management that fosters responsibility, nurtures intrinsic motivation, and brings out the best in students. Specific topics include:
• encouraging students to invest their hearts and minds in the class mission
• establishing a strong sense of purpose in your classroom so that students find meaning in their work, experience joy, and understand the many reasons why pursuing an education matters so much for their futures
• empowering students with lasting habits of mind and habits of character
• establishing the routines, procedures, and expectations necessary to create a classroom environment in which students consistently behave well and produce quality work
• seeking opportunities to engage and inspire students
• understanding the problems associated with the use of extrinsic motivation
• learning how to nurture the intrinsic motivation to learn and grow that all students possess.


Enroll NOW in Beyond Compliance.

 

Endorsement Statements for the Course

"I had the privilege of hearing Steve speak in person on this topic at a local conference and left wanting more! This class delivers! Very comprehensive and full of great methods and ideas. I encourage educators, facilitators, and administrators to take this course!"         
          - Sandra Bowers Courtois-Lawrence
 

"The information was delivered in an organized, applicable manor. great ideas for running a super classroom."          - Patrice Law Murphy
 

"I found Steve's course very informative. It gave me some insight on how to prepare for and support my son's education and I now have better insight about what to look for in my son's teachers. I also found that many of the tools discussed can be replicated (with some tweaking) in my home in order to create a family environment that will encourage positive behavior...for all of us!"          - Sandy King
 

"This course went well beyond my expectations! Fantastic insights into creative ways to motivate my students intrinsically. I never realized how simplistic and inadequate simply offering rewards was. There is really a lot of brilliant, insightful information in this course that I'm already using."          - Marc Fienberg
 

"Steve Reifman has captured the essence of accomplished teaching and how these important elements contribute to student learning. His sense of classroom structure, mutual respect and knowing your students enhance the learning environment. Steve's course, his books and his presentations are very practical and easily implemented for both novice and experienced educators. I highly recommend his course for educators at all teaching levels."          - Clara Carroll
 

"Steve Reifman has done the deep dive on what it takes to improve learning for young people. I particularly like the emphasis on techniques that apply not only to the four walls of the classroom but to the big classroom we call "Life". Kudos for the great work!"          - Chris Kahn

Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:44

Professional Development Workshops for Educators

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Professional Development Workshops for Educators

Steve offers two distinct types of workshops, one based on the philosophical framework that comprises his UCLA Extension course and his book Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning, K-8 and the other based on the brain-friendly learning strategies found in his book Rock Your Students’ World. Each type is described below, and each type can be easily adapted to fit a variety of time formats, ranging from hour-long conference sessions to multiple-day course offerings.

    "Since I worked with Steve at Roosevelt Elementary School, I have observed hundreds of teachers. I have rarely seen any who approach his level of skill in building student-centered learning and self-reflective learning for young people. No one comes close to Steve in creating self-directed learners! If you have a chance to learn from Steve as a child or an adult, you are indeed fortunate- he is a gifted teacher, a role-model for all of us."
    - Amy Fowler, Educational Consultant

Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning

Steve's Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning comprise a comprehensive approach to organizing and managing classrooms at any level. Come discover the promise these principles hold for improving the effectiveness of your teaching.
  • Help your students develop positive habits and take greater responsibility for their own learning.
  • Establish high expectations for your class while still preserving student enjoyment and love of learning.
  • Bring out the best in your students by establishing an environment of trust, respect, and cooperation.
  • Learn strategies for increasing students’ self-esteem, confidence, and intrinsic motivation.
  • Empower your students by involving them in group problem solving and in the process of continuously improving your daily classroom life.
  • Examine the connections that exist between these ideas and such current topics as differentiated instruction, multiple intelligences, parental involvement, and authentic assessment.
  • Learn More



Rock Your Students’ World

This activity-based workshop is intended for classroom teachers who are looking to incorporate music, movement, and storytelling strategies into their standards-based instruction to improve student learning and transform their overall classroom environment. Strategies that incorporate movement, music, and storytelling offer unparalleled novelty, interest, stimulation, excitement, and joy, and as a result, students become emotionally involved in these activities, pay more attention, remember better, and, in short, learn better. In addition, the activities featured improve class morale, build self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning, and increase feelings of student “connectedness” to the class and to one another.

Contact

  • If you are interested in arranging a workshop or speaking engagement, please e-mail Steve.
  • Thursday, 04 March 2010 07:14

    Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning

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    Introduction

    Since 1996 Steve has taught his Eight Essentials to local educators through a UCLA Extension course entitled “The Eight Keys to Classroom Quality.” Recently, the course underwent a format change and is now available exclusively as an online class. This workshop is available in a variety of time formats, ranging from hour-long conference sessions to multiple-day course offerings.

    UCLA Extension Course Description

    The Eight Keys to Classroom Quality comprise a comprehensive approach to organizing and managing classrooms at any level. Come discover the promise these principles hold for improving the effectiveness of your teaching. Help your students develop positive habits and take greater responsibility for their own learning. Establish high expectations for your class while still preserving student enjoyment and love of learning. Bring out the best in your students by establishing an environment of trust, respect, and cooperation. Learn strategies for increasing students’ self-esteem, confidence, and intrinsic motivation. Empower your students by involving them in group problem solving and in the process of continuously improving your daily classroom life. Examine the connections that exist between these ideas and such current topics as differentiated instruction, multiple intelligences, parental involvement, and authentic assessment.

    Endorsement Statements for the Course

    • “This class has great success.” -Mervat Fam, Program Representative for UCLA Extension

    Feedback from Previous Students

    • “This has been the best class that I have taken while at UCLA Extension. Excellent!”

    • “After completing 45 units in Education over the past year I can say beyond question that this class, as well as the instructor was the best. I learned information that is truly applicable to my everyday life, both personally and professionally.

    • "Steve Reifman is an exceptional instructor. He clearly strives to be an outstanding educator in his elementary classroom and he sets a high standard for us as educators to follow. He should be proud of his continued efforts to improve his own teaching styles and know that his efforts are helping to change the lives of children and educators all over the city.”

    • “I have not come across someone who values students as much as Steve does.”

    • “Steve was fantastic! This class was highly informative, interesting, and motivational. He is a great presenter and welcomed class participation and contributions. Well done!”

    • “The class was very fulfilling, organized and professional. I appreciate your effort and enthusiasm. Thanks.”

    • “Great course! Thank you for teaching such a valuable class to educators.”

    • “What an outstanding course! I’m thrilled to implement ideas from this course into my own classroom! Mr. Reifman was quite professional and consistently positive. He’s a great role model for all teachers!”

    • “I was impressed with the course and the instructor. The information was very valuable.”

    • “This is the best course I’ve taken. All teachers should be a part of this course. We would solve a lot of problems in education if we began implementing the philosophies of this course.”

    • “Steve was so knowledgeable and very thoughtful about his subject. It was clearly a subject dear to his heart. He was genuine in his commitment to students and to bettering the educational process.”

    • “His experience, especially research, is very extensive. He was able to support his theories fully.”

    • “I will recommend Mr. Reifman to my colleagues.”

    • “Should be required for all teachers.”

    • “He set a very good example for the kind of teacher I’d like to be.”

    • “You come out inspired.”

    • “Great class. Mr. Reifman is a very dedicated teacher. He gives me hope for the future.”
    • Course Text: Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning, K-8: Bringing Out the Best in Your Students (2008, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA.)

    Contact

  • If you are interested in arranging a workshop or speaking engagement, please e-mail Steve.
  • This activity-based workshop is intended for classroom teachers who are looking to incorporate music, movement, and storytelling strategies into their standards-based instruction to improve student learning and transform their overall classroom environment. Strategies that incorporate movement, music, and storytelling offer unparalleled novelty, interest, stimulation, excitement, and joy, and as a result, students become emotionally involved in these activities, pay more attention, remember better, and, in short, learn better. In addition, the activities featured improve class morale, build self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning, and increase feelings of student “connectedness” to the class and to one another. Specifically, this session focuses on the following topics:

    • A morning movement warm-up routine that prepares students mentally and physically to have a productive school day by helping them achieve an ideal mindset for learning - calm, relaxed, focused, and confident.

    • Teaching math, language arts, social studies, and science content through “concept-embedded movement.” In the examples presented, the activity itself features a type of movement that represents, matches, or embodies the meaning of the content students are expected to learn. Thus, when students move around and participate in the activity, they are actually bringing the content to life.

    • Using “Piggyback” Songs to Entrain New Learning. Includes fifteen songs that set academic content to music to help students learn and memorize information.

    • Scheduling short “Movement Breaks” between academic activities to allow time for children to process new learning, catch their breath, and recharge their batteries. This section describes a series of engaging, user-friendly Movement Breaks that reenergize the room, increase the sense of connection students feel to one another and to the class, and simply make everyone happier and more cheerful. Three categories of Movement Breaks are addressed: individual, partner, and those involving objects.

    • Incorporating rhythms, chants, and movement stories into the curriculum. This part focuses on two broad categories of teaching strategies consistent with the well-known Total Physical Response (TPR) approach that aids students in their understanding of academic concepts through the use of hand and body movements. The first features short, simple rhythms and chants that help children learn information and transfer it to long-term memory. Movement stories (a newer, lesser-known strategy) enable teachers to harness the power of storytelling to great advantage in our efforts to provide novel, multi-modal instruction to our students. In a movement story children learn, practice, and review important knowledge and skills in a meaningful, engaging context.

    Feedback from Previous Students

    • “I have not come across someone who values students as much as Steve does.”

    • “Steve Reifman is an exceptional instructor. He clearly strives to be an outstanding educator in his elementary classroom and he sets a high standard for us as educators to follow. He should be proud of his continued efforts to improve his own teaching styles and know that his efforts are helping to change the lives of children and educators.”

    • “This is the best course I’ve taken. All teachers should be a part of this course. We would solve a lot of problems in education if we began implementing the philosophies of this course.”

    • “I will recommend Mr. Reifman to my colleagues.”

    • “Should be required for all teachers.”

    • “He set a very good example for the kind of teacher I’d like to be.”

    • “You come out inspired.”

    • “Great class. Mr. Reifman is a very dedicated teacher. He gives me hope for the future.”

    Contact

  • If you are interested in arranging a workshop or speaking engagement, please e-mail Steve.