Episode 19 - Preventing the Summer Slide in Reading

Episode Link
35 Min. 35 Sec.

John and Kelly welcome Agora Cyber School Reading Specialists, Janet Whippo, Lisa Samar, and Michelle Tilsner to discuss "the summer slide." They share strategies on how teachers can motivate students and parents to get reading over the summer, and to avoid the dreaded summer slide.


Resources

• Summer Reading Calendar
• Classroom Slide to Promote Summer Literacy
• Fourth Graders Free National Park Passes
• Summer Reading Info for Learning Coaches / Parents

Episode 18 - High School Students Mentor Elementary Students

Episode Link
19 min. 17 sec.

Why have high school students mentor elementary school students? How does it benefit the high school student? How does it benefit the elementary student? And how would a school go about setting up a program where elementary school students are mentored by high school students?

All of these questions are answered in this episode, where John and Kelly welcome Agora High School Instructional Coach, Rebecca Adams, and Agora Elementary School MTSS Coordinator, Lauren Wilson, who established a mentoring program.

We also welcome Agora Kindergarten teacher, Amy Lutz who has a high school mentor in her classroom.

And we welcome our very first student guest, Erica M., who mentors Amy's Kindergarten students.

Episode 17 - Differentiation in Cyber Schools

Episode Link
33 min. 48 sec.

The four hosts of the Cyber PD Podcast, Katie, Kelly, Steve, and John, are reunited in this episode to discuss differentiation in cyber schools. They define the term, discuss its importance, the philosophy behind it, and some strategies that could be used to incorporate differentiation into your classroom.

This was a listener requested episode. If you would like to request an episode, please do so in the comments section of  our blog.

Episode 16 - Teaching Advanced Learners in Cyber Schools

Episode Link
35 Min. 52 Sec.

John and Kelly welcome Pam Sieger to the show to discuss methods for teaching students who are advanced learners or who are gifted in cyber schools. Pam is an ELA teacher at Agora Cyber Charter Middle School, and is also on the board of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE).

Resources

• Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE) Website

Suggested Reading

• When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers
• The Gifted Teen Survival Guide
• More Than a Test Score: Teens Talk About Being Gifted, Talented, or Otherwise Extra-Ordinary
• Succeeding with Habits of Mind: Developing, Infusing and Sustaining the Habits of Mind for a More thoughtful Classroom
• Aiming for Excellence: Annotations to the NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards
• Methods and Materials for Teaching the Gifted
• Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom

Episode 15 - Trauma Informed Part 2

Episode Link
31 min. 22 sec.

In this episode, Katie and Steve take a closer look at being trauma informed and trauma sensitive with guests, Maegan Bregenser and Mike Scheirer. They discuss signs of trauma that cyber school teachers can see when they are on the other side of a computer, how teachers should respond when seeing signs of trauma, research about the importance of building relationships with students affected by trauma, and more.

Instructional Strategies mentioned during the episode include:

• Routines
• Modeling Stress Management
• Music
• Wait Time
• Brain Breaks
• Apologize 

Resources

• Book Mentioned - What We Say and How We Say it Matter
• 10 Things Every Educator Should Know About Trauma-Informed Care
• The Trauma Informed Positive Behavior Support
• The Attachment and Trauma Network (ATN)
• Mike Anderson on Twitter
• Teachers at Agora Cyber Charter School also have access to Quest

Episode 14 - Trauma Informed Part 1

Episode Link

23:06

Jennifer Barrios and Gina Sczepkowski join Katie and Steve to discuss being trauma informed and trauma sensitive. They briefly discuss how trauma affects the brain, and why language, empathy, listening to students, and recognizing that “one-size-fits-one” is critical to student learning. They also discuss the unique situation Agora Cyber Charter is in for addressing the needs of students who have suffered through traumatic experiences.

Episode Resources

Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools

The Child Trauma Academy

Get Your Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Score

Episode 13 - Co-Teaching in the High School Classroom

Episode Link
39 min. 12 sec.

Katie DiSefano and Stephen Nugent are joined by Agora High School Literary Analysis and Composition co-teachers, Jordan Alderson and Anna Lepsch, to discuss co-teaching in the high school cyber-classroom. They discuss the importance of building trust between co-teachers to form a solid co-teaching relationship for the importance of students.