Pam DePinto's Topic Descriptions

Pam DePinto's Topics

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Workshop Descriptions

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Learn how to make assessment an interesting and exciting part of the learning cycle. This workshop will provide a big picture of assessment and its relationship to the needs of a diverse student population and curriculum that focuses on enduring understandings. A continuum of assessments will be presented with connections to curriculum and instructional strategies.

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Brain Research and Supporting Strategies

This workshop will present an overview of the brain structure and its functions along with key findings of brain research. Implications for educational practice will include strategies that support student growth for gifted, standard, and special education students. Participants will examine twelve brain/mind learning principles. Some strategies that support these principles include differentiation, thematic instruction, essential questions, strategic reading strategies and experiential activities.

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Critical and Creative Thinking

This workshop is designed to assist students with strategies to think critically and creatively, explore issues more fully, and be open to new and different approaches to learning. It will include critical thinking elements and standards along with problem solving and decision making models.

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Differentiating Curriculum to Support the Needs of Gifted, Standard and Special Education Students

Just what makes learning come alive for students? How can a teacher encourage students to delight and participate in thoughtful discussions? This workshop will present a variety of differentiation strategies that demonstrate the power of well-designed lessons that support the needs of diverse learners. Participants will examine eight kinds of diversity and focus on the needs related to motivational, socio-economic and intellectual differences. A substantial handout will support the strategies for implementation.

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Digging Deeper – Content Complexity and its Connection to Strategic Reading and Thinking

Rigorous content provides the platform for application of strategic reading and thinking skills. Participants will analyze the attributes that contribute to content complexity. These include issues, problems, themes, language & literary features, patterns, trends, vocabulary and text structure. Lessons will be modeled to provide appropriate links between rigorous content and the skills students need to dig deeper.

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Non-fiction Reading and Writing Strategies

How can a teacher encourage students to delight and participate in thoughtful discussions around non-fiction topics? This workshop will present a variety of strategies that support instruction for non-fiction text. Participants will analyze a fiction/nonfiction continuum to evaluate the essential differences between the genres and examine the attributes for selecting high quality non-fiction materials. This workshop will also explore the essential role of vocabulary instruction in non-fiction.

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Super Strategies – Before, During and After Reading Grades 2-8

Brain research explains that classrooms that support active, meaningful learning with a variety of rich stimulating activities maximize student potential for learning. This workshop will present a variety of strategies that demonstrate the power of engaging students in literature analysis. The class will be organized around Before, During and After reading strategies and the following six habits will support those strategies:

1. Organizing text information

2. Connecting to background information

3. Making predictions and inferences

4. Generating and answering questions

5. Understanding and remembering word meanings

6. Monitoring one’s own comprehension

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Using Picture Books to Teach Literary Devices

This workshop will present a variety of strategies to demonstrate the power of literary devices. Picture books can be an engaging way to teach literary devices such as alliteration, foreshadowing, metaphor, parody, personification and simile. Strategies for including these techniques in writing will also be included.

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Vocabulary Strategies That Support Student Growth

Building academic vocabulary is probably the strongest action a teacher can take to ensure that students have the background they need to understand the content. Teachers will analyze five phases that provide the structure of vocabulary instruction and analyze multiple strategies to support student growth.

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