School of Education announces free professional development in KC for 2019-20

OVERLAND PARK — The School of Education at the University of Kansas has announced dates for the 2019-2020 Strategies Event Series, which will include three interactive professional development lectures at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. 

The first session of the series, “'Being Lazy & Slowing Down’ in PK-12 Classrooms,” will feature M’Balia Thomas, assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum & Teaching. The presentation will explore the concept of embodied pedagogy and the practices PK-12 classroom teachers can adopt to “slow down,” reconnect to the body, and foster student learning and engagement.

Thomas’ session will take place at 9 a.m. Nov. 2 in Room 110 of the Regents Center. The session is free and open to the public, though an RSVP is required.

The second session will take place at 9 a.m. Feb. 22, 2020. Meagan Patterson, associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, will present “Getting Political: Strategies for Teaching About Elections and Other Current Political Events.”

The final session of the 2019-2020 series will take place April 18, 2020. Pattie Noonan, associate research professor in the KU Center for Research on Learning, will present “The Skills That Matter: Social-emotional Learning and Practice Across the Curriculum.”

“Each summer we host a free day of professional development called the Strategies for Educational Improvement Conference,” said Rick Ginsberg, dean of the School of Education. “We see this event series at the KU Edwards Campus as an extension of our goal and intention to support teachers and classrooms in the region.”

More information about the Strategies Event Series can be found here.  

The School of Education partners with the Edwards Campus for the Strategies Event Series in order to bring high-quality academic programs, research and public service benefits of KU to the Greater Kansas City community.

The KU School of Education is located in Lawrence and is a nationally ranked school, preparing educators as leaders. The school is in the process of changing its name to the School of Education and Human Sciences between now and fall 2020. More information on the name change can be found here.