Instructors

“Guided reading is a teaching approach used with all readers, struggling or independent, that has three fundamental purposes: to meet the varying instructional needs of all the students in the classroom, enabling them to greatly expand their reading powers; to teach students to read increasingly difficult texts with understanding and fluency; to construct meaning while using problem solving strategies to figure out unfamiliar words that deal with complex sentence structures, and understand concepts or ideas not previously encountered. Guided reading is the place where every child, every day, has the opportunity to learn by reading a book that is just right.” – Fountas & Pinnell, 2001 This course will provide a detailed explanation of the philosophy of guided reading. Various components of guided reading will be explored including: management, teacher and student roles, assessment, flexible grouping, strategy and skill lessons, etc. Participants in the course will research the history of small group instruction and compare/contrast guided reading with more traditional instructional approaches. In addition, participants will learn the benefits of guided reading and be given the resources and information to implement guided reading within his/her own classroom. ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only

*New Course Summer 2025

Instructor: Gayle Meinkes-Lumia- gaylelumia@yahoo.com

Course Credits- 3 Credits/45 Hours

Course Description:

High academic achievement can create more opportunities for students indefinitely. The study skills, social skills, knowledge, and problem-solving abilities that students learn at school will support them throughout their entire lives. This course will cover the practical and effective ways to boost students’ academic achievement, as well as the ways in which to develop students’ missions, goals, and core strategies of learning. Participants will delve into the most efficacious ways to instruct their students, including problem-based instruction, differentiated modalities, technological sources, as well as many other creative modalities.

*A Must for K-12 Educators*

Course Description: Writing can be complex and difficult activity for students of all ages. Writing is more than just a skill or taleant, it is a means of investigation and expression for learning. This course explores writing for learning in all grades and disciplines. In this course we will expose educators to effective approaches and best practices for helping students learn to write. Educators will discuss how ideas about how and wh to teach writing have progressed dramatically in recent years. Then teachers can work towads providiing the appropriate writiing activities for their students. A must for all educators grades K – 12.

Credits: (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only Instructor: Dr. Christopher Korolczuk    Email: DrK.liips@gmail.com Course Description: Do you find it challenging to help students navigate the complex, volatile, and emotionally charged events of our world? Are you unsure how to guide them in understanding the truth, processing their emotions, and responding thoughtfully to global issues? This professional development course is designed to equip educators with the tools and strategies needed to support students in analyzing current events critically and empathetically. Participants will explore topics such as media literacy, historical context, emotional resilience, cultural perspectives, and civic engagement. The asynchronous format allows teachers to learn at their own pace, making it a practical option for their busy schedules. Topics include identifying credible sources, managing classroom discussions, addressing bias, fostering hope, and promoting advocacy. By the end of this course, educators will be prepared to create safe, thoughtful, and engaging learning environments where students can explore challenging topics with confidence and empathy, developing skills that will serve them throughout their lives. NEW! This self-paced course uses an online learning platform called Canvas. All videos, reading materials, and assignments can be found in one online location. Also, you can simply type your assignments into the website and hit the "submit." button. This new feature makes the course easier to navigate and more user-friendly than other courses. The course consists of three main components: 1. Asynchronous Learning: Navigate through the course's content at your own pace on the online platform. The main topics for this engaging course include:

• Media Literacy and Critical Thinking
• Historical and Cultural Context
• Emotional Resilience and Empathy
• Civic Engagement and Advocacy

1. Assignments: Participants are responsible for submitting 10 written assignments that connect the course content, professional experiences, and personal views.
2. Required Reading and Videos: Various professional articles and videos are embedded in the course.

* Participants will need to create a free "student" account with CANVAS to begin the course. The link to sign up for the course in CANVAS will be emailed to course participants once they are signed up and paid through LIIPS. This engaging course is appropriate for general and special education teachers, school psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists/ teachers, physical therapists, social workers, guidance counselors, and any other professionals who interact with children regularly. This course will fulfill CTLE requirements.

Course Description: Educators will learn through this course effective teaching methods, Next Generation teaching strategies, and much more.  Teachers will examine best practices for instruction to hone your skills on highly effective teaching.  Participants will see how to transform your students into becoming more college and career ready individuals.  Teachers will study methods on how to create high performing classrooms.  In this course educators will “learn from doing” in the same manner to be expected of your own students.  This course shows educators how to create innovative but easy to implement, project-based learning units that work.  This course is a must for teachers of grades K-12. *Also offered as an online class.

PDLI 9140

Instructor: Gayle Meinkes-Lumia – gaylelumia@yahoo.com

(45 HOURS/3 GRADUATE CREDITS)

Course Description:

Education that incorporates a multiethnic perspective recognizes children’s own frames of reference, ones that utilize ideas formed through the traditions of the students’ families and communities. It is a way of teaching that addresses issues of equity and commitment to social action. Teaching in a multiculturalism fashion promotes academic excellence and social justice for all children. Helping children become critical thinkers and make connections in their learning is the essence of multicultural instruction, one that promotes democracy and recognizes that proactive engagement in students of all ages is the key to their success. 

In this course, participants will be instructed on the ways in which to infuse multiethnic strategies into students’ repertoires. Teachers will be able to create a successful classroom environment where culture is at the forefront, developing and maximizing responsibility, diversity, and cognitive growth in students throughout this course. They will explore various resources such as articles, interviews, readings, differentiated learning sites, lesson plans, and links to literary sites.  Additionally, they will research a variety of sources and decide which ones are engaging and fit into their curriculum.  Teachers will gain student centered ideas, lessons that differentiate, challenging ways to motivate students, current research on pedagogy, various interdisciplinary websites and Socratic seminars and philosophical rounds that take literacy and learning to a new level!

Goals and Objectives: Upon completion of the course, participants will be better prepared to:

How do skillful readers think when they are reading subject-matter text? How do they formulate connections and interactions with texts? As teachers, we have these strategies in our own brains; they were never explicitly taught to us. Instead, during our mostly fortunate lives as children, students, and teachers to be, we gradually cobbled together this repertoire of cognitive thinking through our reading, story-telling, family literacy, school, and books. Unfortunately, many of our students do not come from these literate backgrounds. We need to demonstrate the strategies to them, explicit instruct them, and become more aware of what is occurring in their minds. This course will guide you through the seven core reading strategies that will assist students in developing their own internal cognitive repertoire. You will be provided with articles and activities that will assist your students in progressing further and succeeding in life. A must for all K-12 educators. ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only

Kim Kittredge  Kkittredgeliips@gmail.com

The challenging student will always be in your classroom, and teachers will always be looking for a way to deal with them.  In this course educators will be given strategies on how to deal with their most challenging students on a day-to-day basis.  Educators will be taught various skills on conquering behavioral challenges in and out of their classrooms.  Skills such as behavior interventions and management, behavior support, how to properly implement an IEP will be discussed.  Teachers will also learn the importance of social skills, modeling techniques, effective praise in the classroom and the importance of developing proper daily routines. Educators will also work on how to support and sustain proper relationships with parents of behavioral students.

This course is a must for all educators of all grades K-12.

Course Description: With all the virtual learning going on, how do we as educators help students learn independently?  This course will focus on how to facilitate lessons instead of teaching them as we have always done in the past.  With the world changing, we must too.  Students must independently create their own learning experiences, and become more active learners. It is our responsibility to teach them the skills to guide them through it.  Educators will learn how to encourage students to think creatively and take an independent and active role in their own learning.   Teachers will discuss how to first identify what it is to be an active learner, and then how to go beyond that.  Teachers will learn how to work with students to stretch their minds to the limits, help students manage time constraints, take effective notes and annotate, and be creative and organize their roles as learners on a daily basis.  This is a must for all educators of all disciplines K-12.

All teachers have become ELA instructors. What are we to do? We need a way to stay calm and incorporate refreshing ideas into our classroom. Participants will learn how to maintain a semblance of creativity in a test driven world, while still raising our scores. All disciplines are welcome. K-12 course. ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only

ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) In-Service Credit only Instructor: Jessica Armbruster jarmbrusterliips@gmail.com Course Description: When students are stuck with a math problem what do you want them to do? Students need exposure to multiple math problem solving solving strategies if we want them to utilize a variety of them when they are stuck. This course will explore different problem solving strategies that students in all age groups can utilize, including mental math and critical thinking approaches to problem solving. Teachers will be able to engage their students in all aspects of the problem solving process. Topics covered include categories of Problem Solving Strategies, Matching the strategy to the learner, and benefits of multiple strategy usage in the classroom. This course welcomes educators of grades K-12!

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” – William Butler Yeats A teacher that ignites the fire in his/her students and fuels their thirst for knowledge and curiosity is the key to success. In this course, teachers will learn to inspire students, motivate them, impact their learning. They will be able to fuel the passion and engage their students through creative activities and ideas. A myriad of techniques and strategies will be explored as well as collaborative means and activities to fully engage learners. A conflagration of ideas shall ignite within all! A must for K-12 Educators!!!!! ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only

Course Description: Implicit bias refers to unconscious attitudes, reactions, stereotypes, and categories that affect behavior and understanding.  In education, implicit bias often refers to unconscious racial and socioeconomic bias toward students.  This course will explore what implicit bias is, and how we as educators can reduce the effects of it in our schools.  We will discuss the consequences of implicit bias and how it affects individuals in different ways.  Educators will discover the roots of implicit bias and participants will discuss how to move away from theses attitudes and stereotypes.  Teachers will also discuss that with understanding and attitude change comes improved behaviors.  Implicit bias scenarios will be posed for deep discussion.  This course is a must for all educators levels K-12.

Instructor:  Kim Kittredge     kkittredgeliips@gmail.com

3 credits – In service Course (45 Hours); online or in-person

Students will learn various methods to increase and improve communication with families and students by multiple means of technology. These methods will increase communication and decrease the stressors related to the lack of time and resources to always make phone calls. Improving communication is not only necessary but required as a part of teachers’ annual performance reviews which culminate each year. The applications and websites we will explore and implement will increase communication as well as improve student productivity with a strong student-parent-teacher connection. Recommended for all Educators K – 12. ON-LINE (3credits/45hours) In-service credit only

Academic Competitions can help motivate students to follow their passions and achieve success. Local, national, and international competitions related to English-Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies provide effective opportunities for student recognition. Participants in this course will learn about different competitions, contests, and programs that celebrate academic accomplishments. Connections will be made to the standards and curriculum. This course is suitable for all educators, K-12. ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) In-service credit only

Setting up a classroom that has an atmosphere of cooperation and consideration is crucial for students today. Effective communication is necessary for both teachers and students to be successful. In this course, teachers will: • Study effective test-taking strategies • Comprehend the ways to improve standardized test scores • Learn the ways to creatively implement activities into the classroom • Understand how to motivate students intrinsically • Help students recognize their inner potential • Address a myriad of student needs and perspectives • Connect the impact of reading and writing across the content areas • Complete research on academic success in the classroom • Envision alternatives for their students Overall, teachers will emerge with a plethora of insight and information that will increase their students’ love of the subject matter! ***A must for all K-12 teachers! ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) In-Service Credit only

This course equips educators with practical strategies to deepen student thinking and foster a classroom culture of inquiry and problem-solving. Participants will explore research-based approaches to increase students’ critical thinking time during math instruction, including the use of open-ended questions, rich tasks, error analysis, and collaborative learning structures. Teachers will leave with ready-to-implement tools and techniques to transform their math classrooms into spaces where critical thinking thrives.

The course is designed to enhance the knowledge base for professionals in an era of school restructuring, technological innovation, and social change. Teachers and administrators will learn first-hand about innovative practices and recent research in the field. Topics include: student self-assessment, teacher reflection, cooperative learning, mentoring, the use of technology in schools, home-school communication, inclusion to support learning diversity, and the challenge of school restructuring. Areas covered are: Learning Theory, Curriculum Design, Classroom Atmosphere, and Instructional Strategies among others. This course also covers the dilemma children face who are experiencing difficulty in learning situations because of ethnic group frustrations in the community, problems of social adjustment, socio-economic inequities, and learning gaps. The role of the school in facilitating the program for children of various cultures to become valued members of the community is discussed. Activities, content, and materials are related to current and relevant frameworks and standards. Recommended for all instructors K – 12. Course Purpose: The direct aim of this course is to add to personal professionalism as an educator by becoming more attentive to current issues in schools today and by being informed of some of the choices available to empower teachers in their own classrooms, including theories, methods, strategies, techniques, and ways to differentiate instruction to further aid student achievement. ON-LINE (3 Credits – 45 Hours) In-service Credit only

This course is designed to provide educators with instructional strategies and apply it to meet the needs of all students grades K-12. Emphasis will be placed on how to effectively design your lessons, how to evaluate your curriculum, distinguish between learning styles, and how to provide instruction that enhances and improves academic performance for all students. This course examines how all these concepts combined serve as the basic design of curriculum and instruction overall. Educators will discuss proper planning of the core concepts, essential questions, how to use metacognitive reading strategies, background knowledge, and scaffolding, in order to lead to a successful classroom environment. Additional applications introduced in this course include rubrics, graphic organizers, vocabulary strategies, peer tutoring, note-taking, paraphrasing, summarizing (with the use of 10% summary), reciprocal teaching, and questioning. Educators will learn practices in this course that relate to district-wide teacher evaluations, the New York State Teaching Standards, and the Common Core Standards. Participants will also discover how to engage students, deepen their understanding of context, and prepare them for success beyond the classroom. ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only

*New Course Spring 2026 Integrated Health and Wellness for Every Learner is a dynamic, engaging course designed to empower educators with practical strategies that support the whole child - mind, body, and emotional well being. Through a blend of clear, direct instruction and high impact video based learning, participants gain ready to use tools that seamlessly fit into any classroom. Walk away, inspired, equipped, and confident in creating healthier, more balanced learning environment for student.