Why Workshops by Bryce Hedstrom?

Bryce teaches teachers how to teach with principles and methods that work.  This is not theory for Bryce, he teaches teachers with what works with today’s students–techniques that are grounded in the latest brain research and are combined with current best practice in education, all mixed with the insights that only a successful and experienced teacher can apply.

Bryce offers a variety of valuable workshops to train teachers in your school, district, or region. See the descriptions below and let’s make arrangements to have him present to your teachers.

Email:   contact@brycehedstrom.com

 

 

Teacher Testimonials

Click here to see what teachers across the country are saying about Bryce’s workshops, in-service training and presentations!

Bryce’s teacher training sessions are valuable for all teachers.  His workshops are divided into learning about the theory, explaining the ideas, modeling the techniques and allowing participants time to practice the skills.

“As part of Bryce’s workshop on understanding TPRS and reading in the target language, he taught a demo lesson with real kids. Kids he didn’t know. It was incredible how quickly and easily he gained rapport with the students. They felt at ease with him even with 20 language teachers observing. We observed his calm, measured approach to personalization and story-asking up close. Observing a master teacher helped me apply the tips and tricks we learned in his workshop. It helped me improve my pacing. I felt like it gave me permission to explore how to adapt the most effective CI strategies to my own personality and style.”
—Grant Boulanger, St. Paul, MN
• MCTLC (Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures) Teacher of the Year
• CSCTFL (Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Teacher of the Year
• ACTFL Teacher of the Year Finalist

 

Handouts & Slides

  • Workshop handouts and presentation slides are found in the Free Stuff section.

 

WORKSHOPS FOR ALL TEACHERS:

INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Learn how to capture student attention and keep them highly involved in their learning—all in the target language. Participants will get practical tips, activities and assignments to engage even beginning students using the TL. Attendees will get the feel for activities by participating in them and practicing during this hands-on workshop. Keys points:

  • How to ask questions that will spark engaging classroom discussions
  • Templates for class discussions at all levels
  • How to take advantage of natural student inclinations
  • Techniques to get students to explain their thinking
  • The role of rapport and teacher body language in student engagement
  • The secret to keeping engaging conversations going
  • Techniques to encourage all students to contribute—and all to listen
  • How to start it on Monday and keep it going the rest of the year

 

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT WITH RESPECT & CARE

Learn how to keep order in the classroom with strategies based on positive relationships and group dynamics rather than on force or threats. Participants will get practical tips, activities and assignments to engage even beginning students using the TL. Attendees will get the feel for activities by participating in them and practicing during this hands-on workshop. Keys points:

  • How to begin and end a class
  • How to preemptively establish routines (before the students do it)
  • Getting them on your side with classrooms jobs
  • The secret of getting students invested in making the classroom run well
  • Techniques for showing and getting respect
  • How we can show care without getting walked on
  • Mixing it up to keep the class fresh

 

MINDSET WORKSHOP/KEYNOTE

The concept of Mindset, developed by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, has the power to change the way students react to challenges in your classroom. Learn why and how to implement Mindset techniques to help all students develop perseverance and achieve their potential. In this fascinating and immensely helpful workshop attendees will learn:

  • The difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset
  • the “Mindset Rules” we commonly see in our students
  • Why and How to teach students about the way the brain functions
  • How to motivate students to get the quality practice they need to be successful
  • How giving permission to fail helps students to succeed
  • The power of …yet
  • Practical tips for implementing Mindset principles in your classroom
  • Time to practice, with coaching

 

WORKSHOPS FOR WORLD LANGUAGE TEACHERS:

TEACHING WITH TPRS/CI WORKSHOP

Teaching with Comprehensible Input is more of an approach than a method. It is a mixture of science and art. Learn why and how to begin changing your mind about how students learn L2 and begin to develop your skills in this workshop. Attendees will learn:

  • The research behind Comprehensible Input-Based teaching
  • The 3 steps to teaching with storytelling
  • Why you do not have to teach with storytelling everyday
  • How to build student confidence and trust
  • Personalizing
  • How to teach reading
  • Asking questions
  • What to teach
  • Differentiating your teaching with Bloom’s Taxonomy

See a handout that corresponds to this presentation here: http://www.brycehedstrom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/THE_BASICS_OF_TPRS2.pdf

 

TPRS IN UPPER LEVEL CLASSES (Levels 2 – AP)

Learn to keep the Comprehensible Input-based approach working beyond level I.  In this workshop you will learn:

  • How to teach required grammar with stories
  • How to develop “classroom banter” for confident, spontaneous L2 speakers
  • How to get students to pay attention long enough to acquire through personalization
  • How to get repetitions and keep class interesting
  • The why’s and how’s of teaching reading
  • How to teach students to write informal and formal essays
  • How to use ACTFL’s three speaking modes in the upper levels
  • How to prepare students for the AP Language exam

 

STORIES WORTH RE-TELLING: How to Teach with Jokes

Jokes are mini stories that people like to tell and hear again and again. Using a good joke is an effective way to deliver comprehensible input in a TPRS® classroom because jokes are inherently interesting and can stand up to re-telling. Jokes also often have simple vocabulary, bare-bones language, which can be easily adapted to fit varying student comprehension levels. Workshop attendees will learn:

  • How to pick a winner joke
  • How to adapt jokes as stories.
  • How to stretch out a joke without giving away the punchline
  • How to tell jokes slowly… while still keeping student attention.

Participants will have time to practice storytelling and joke-telling with their colleagues to develop the skills. Examples in Spanish.

 

STORIES WORTH RE-TELLING: How to Teach with Legends

Authentic folktales and legends give students glimpses into the essence of a culture and its people. In many ways these tales are the marrow of the history, values, desires, and taboos of a culture. But there is no need to wait to give students this gift to our students–even novice level students can begin to understand stories in the target language, retell them in their own words and begin to authentically interpret their meanings.

Specific techniques for making an authentic tale comprehensible to even lower level students and then engaging them through personalization and re-telling at increasingly complex levels will be modeled, analyzed and experienced by participants, who will then practice these skills with one another with a legend from their own language and culture. Workshop attendees will learn how to:

  • Pick an authentic folktale or legend
  • Simplify the story
  • Tell the story
  • “Ask the story” to increase the complexity level
  • Re-tell the story with more detail—begin to tell it the way a storyteller tells it
  • Interpret a story with students

 

GET THEM READING!

Reading is the fastest way to learn another language. This workshop will show you why and how to start a reading program. Most teachers are sold on the idea of reading and excited to begin reading with their students, but they face difficulties carrying out their plans. Here are teacher-tested ideas that have had long-term success at all levels. Attendees will come away with a framework for organizing a reading program and many specific ideas for implementing it. Teachers will practice personalized questioning while reading.

  • What to Read?
  • How to Organize Reading Materials
  • Scheduling Reading
  • Types of Reading: SSR, whole class, kindergarten reading, reading outside of class, on-line reading
  • Assessing Reading
  • Maintaining the Enthusiasm

 

KEEP THEM READING!

This is a follow-up to the “Get Them Reading” workshop. Have you ever tried to start a reading program, but shortly found it sputtering? This workshop will present practical techniques and tips for keeping students reading and wanting to read including: free reading, whole class reading, acting, Kindergarten reading, discussing reading, reading outside of class, reading logs, reading reports and catch-up reading. Handouts and forms will be provided with examples in Spanish.

 

DELIVERING CULTURAL CONTENT WITH COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT

Learn how to begin using the target language to teach authentic cultural content in your classroom. We can deliver C.I. through more than just stories. Learn to use geography, legends, history, current events, and biographies at all levels in the target language. Learn how to:

  • Make cultural lessons comprehensible for all students
  • Keep students actively involved
  • Assess student understanding
  • Lower the affective filter
  • Use higher order thinking skills
  • Make connections to other content areas

 

How to Write Effective Embedded Readings with Authentic Legends in the TL

Legends have staying power because they are interesting stories that touch people across the  generations. Using authentic legends can be interesting, comprehensible and cultural– a rare and coveted triple play in the classroom. In this workshop you will learn how to:

  • Choose the right legend
  • Pare down a legend and build it back up
  • Add details and drama at each step–with the right vocabulary
  • Get students comfortable with unanswered questions
  • Use higher order thinking skills–even in a 20 word story