Clerc Center Training and Professional Development Opportunities

The Clerc Center develops and conducts training programs related to its national mission priorities. The following is a brief description of the programs currently available. For more detailed information and a calendar of upcoming events, refer to the Clerc Center Web site at: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/tpd/index.html.

You may also contact the Office of Training and Professional Development at 202-651-5855 (V/TTY) or via e-mail: training.clerccenter@gallaudet.edu.

The Shared Reading Project: Keys to Success Training for Site Coordinators

A training program for educators, administrators, and parent leaders

The Shared Reading Project: Keys to Success is a five-day training program of special interest to educators, administrators, and parent leaders. It is designed to prepare site coordinators to establish the Shared Reading Project (SRP) at their own schools or programs.

Read more information on the SRP.

Participants learn to:

• use the 15 principles for reading to deaf and hard of hearing children;
• recruit, hire, and train deaf adults to be tutors;
• market the SRP to families;
• work effectively with parents, caregivers, educators, and tutors; and
• plan for and manage the SRP budget, personnel needs, and program evaluation.

The Shared Reading Project: Keys to Success training program is conducted through the Clerc Center and the Gallaudet University Regional Centers.

Leading from Behind: Language Experience in Action

A workshop for classroom teachers, parents, dorm staff, and other professionals

Language Experience is a highly motivating approach that utilizes student-initiated experiences and reflective inquiry. It provides teachers with opportunities to facilitate authentic language and literacy learning. Briefly, students initiate and then work on a project for several days, documenting the experience. They dictate their experiences to an adult, who translates their ASL into written English. This then becomes material for reading and writing instruction as the teacher helps the students see the connection between what they signed and what was written.

This workshop provides an introduction to using Language Experience in a student-centered classroom. It is designed primarily for classroom teachers and other educators, but parents and dorm staff will find it of interest as well. It is conducted in a highly interactive style so that participants are well prepared to use Language Experience when they return to their respective schools and programs.

Literacy—It All Connects

A workshop for teachers and other professionals

This workshop is an overview of the nine areas of literacy used in the Clerc Center's literacy program. The nine strategies encourage the development of reading and writing skills of deaf and hard of hearing students from preschool through high school. This workshop introduces the concept of each of the nine areas:

1. Reading to Students
2. Dialogue Journals
3. Shared Reading and Writing
4. Writer's Workshop
5. Independent Reading
6. Journals and Logs
7. Guided Reading and Writing
8. Language Experience
9. Research Reading and Writing

Presentation lectures use examples from real classrooms and teachers. Participants come away with a general understanding of the nine areas and their importance in supporting students' literacy development.

An attractive poster identifying the nine areas of literacy is also available and the Literacy—It All Connects manual.

Reading to Deaf Children: Learning from Deaf Adults

A workshop for parents, caregivers, and teachers

Based on the Reading to Deaf Children: Learning from Deaf Adults manual and videotape, this workshop teaches the effective book-sharing techniques known as the "15 Principles for Reading to Deaf Children." These principles were developed from research studying effective communication strategies deaf adults use when reading to deaf and hard of hearing children.

The workshop focuses on these key concerns:

• Why is reading important?
• How do I use sign language to share stories?
• What if I don't know all the signs related to a story?
• How do I keep American Sign Language and English visible while reading?
• How do I arrange the placement of the child and the book?

Participants learn to recognize and apply the 15 principles for reading to deaf and hard of hearing children. They practice these principles and gain new skills that they can use with their own children or with the children they teach.

This highly interactive workshop is available in a three-hour or six-hour format. It is available to individual schools and programs upon request, and offered regionally through the Clerc Center and the Gallaudet University Regional Centers.

Read It Again and Again

A workshop for classroom teachers, librarians, and other professionals Read It Again and Again is a powerful one-day workshop that corresponds to the shared reading and writing component of the Clerc Center's literacy program. Participants learn to use repeated reading of a story to deepen students' understanding of the text and improve their reading and writing skills. A book and video titled Read It Again and Again are also available. The workshop focuses on key questions:

• Why are multiple readings of the same book important?
• How do I sustain interest over multiple readings?
• How can I tie repeated readings to writing activities?

This workshop is available to individual schools and programs upon request and is offered regionally through the Clerc Center and the Gallaudet University Regional Centers.