What It Is:
A two part experiential training that provides a research-based approach for middle level educators to focus on the critical developmental learning needs of young adolescents. Creating a culture that initiates a learning community; this is the plan!
Why you want it:
The Middle School Course prepares your administrative and teaching staff to:
- Recognize and gain an understanding of the four developmental tasks of adolescents and how this helps to develop a positive learning environment in the classroom and school
- Explore and consider perceptions about adolescents and how this affects motivation – both student and teacher
- Understand why and how group learning supports adolescent development
- Establish the Tribes agreements for a democratic classroom and teach students specific collaborative skills for social development
- Understand the relationship of reflective practice, authentic assessment, and academic achievement by learning how to ask a variety of reflection questions to increase learning
- Design active group learning experiences that develop student-centered classrooms
How It Works:
Participants experience over 40 learning strategies and evaluate how to apply to age/grade/subject specific classroom situations. Participants will also receive the 432 page book, Discovering Gifts in Middle School, by Jeanne Gibbs, a Certificate of Completion, and the materials to enable you to implement Tribes in your after-school community learning center.
The Middle School Course can be presented over 4 consecutive six-hour days, or divided into a “two and two” plan to support staff while they learn and experience the process and apply it to their teaching environments. CenterSource will work with you to design a training plan that fits your school schedule.
What It Costs:
CenterSource Systems has developed a cost effective capacity building model, which is divided
over two segments designed to fit your middle school or district’s professional development
schedule.
Discovering Gifts in Middle School is a research- based approach for middle level educators to
focus on the critical developmental learning needs of young adolescents. The training
illuminates how to transform the cultures of middle schools into caring learning communities that
support the full range of student growth and development in order to establish academic
excellence.
Part A: Creating the Caring Learning Community (2 Days)
You will receive 12 hours of proven experiential professional development, our popular book
titled Discovering Gifts in Middle School by Jeanne Gibbs, and training materials to enable you
to implement Tribes in your middle school classroom and/or school community. In Part A middle
school educators will recognize the critical importance of the middle level school to make as its
focus, all aspects of the development of its young adolescent students. Participants will gain an
understanding of four developmental tasks of young adolescents and learn what responsive
middle level school is-the gifts students discover and the meaningful learning that is achieved.
Teachers will learn how to develop and facilitate small group and community circle inclusion
activities so that students can practice community agreements and learn collaborative skills that
build caring learning communities through classrooms and the whole school.
Cost: $4000 for up to 30 participants*
Part B: Integrating Adolescent Group Learning (2 Days)
To complete your Discovering Gifts in Middle School training experience in the Tribes process,
you will receive an additional 12 hours of professional development focused on understanding
how and why group learning supports adolescent development. Participants will learn how
teachers can move through sequential stages towards excellence and into responsive education
and discovery learning. Active learning experiences will be designed that develop studentcentered
classrooms and participants will realize the need for fairness, equity and social justice
in middle schools and consider ways to reverse inequities.
Cost: $2000 for up to 30 participants*
*Additional Cost for Trainer Travel, Accommodations, and Related Training Expenses – typically
priced at $1200 to $1500 per 2-day training within the continental United States.
Remember… Tribes TLC is not an add-on program (one more thing that you have to do), but becomes a way of teaching and learning — the foundation or plate upon which to layer other initiatives, programs or curricula.
What People Say:
I completely overlooked the idea of community building in my classroom. This is my first year as a teacher and I now understand what a mistake I made by jumping right into curriculum before building community.
…I, as the teacher, now have the power and process to teach student skills that will help our classroom culture; instead of complaining I can now be pro-active.
Would you like to learn more about how you can bring Tribes TLC to your learning community? Please tell us about your school…