Professional Development Sessions Offered
WQED Education is comprised of multi-disciplinary educators who create interactive learning experiences for students in any learning space. Our staff provides useful, child-engaging professional development that feature PBS programs, standards-aligned and highly effective evidence-based curriculum.
Don’t see a topic you need or are interested in? Contact education@wqed.org to discuss more! Our programs can be customized and created to fit the needs of your educators and organization.
Career Exploration
We believe it’s never too early to engage students in meaningful discussions about careers and the essential skills needed to succeed in any field. This session emphasizes not only exploring diverse career opportunities but also resources aimed at PA Career Ready skills such as goal setting, self-management, relationship building, clear communication, and conflict resolution. Utilizing locally curated content and national resources from PBS, including media, podcasts, and lesson plans with printed materials, educators will gain practical tools to enrich classroom instruction. Participants will receive PBS materials tailored for teachers, parents, and students, empowering them to effectively guide young learners toward future career readiness and success.
Intended Audience: Educators K-6.
PBS Tools 101 Early Childhood Track
60 Minutes. PBS is a treasure trove of digital and non-digital resources for educators. WQED Education Department staff provide a comprehensive overview of the most useful and well-liked PBS programs and media tools. Explore the full range of PBS materials on literacy, numeracy, and social and emotional wellness in this fast-paced session that integrates games with books, apps, and videos, while connecting home to school and back. You’ll be amazed and well-equipped to harvest every PBS tool! Learn about PBS Learning Media. Find out what’s new and explore the many ways in which PBS programming naturally embeds best practices and rich content into a broad range of programs. PBS materials for parents, students and teachers will be provided.
Intended Audience: PreK- 3rd Grade Educators
PBS Tools 101 Middle School Track
60 minutes. PBS is a treasure trove of digital and non-digital resources for educators. WQED Education Department staff provide a comprehensive overview of useful and well-liked PBS programs and media tools. Explore the full range of PBS materials on literacy, numeracy, and social and emotional wellness in this fast-paced session that integrates games with books, apps, and videos, while connecting home to school and back. You’ll be amazed and well-equipped to harvest every PBS tool! In addition, learn how to use PBS Learning Media. Find out what’s new and explore the many ways in which PBS programming naturally embeds best practices and rich content into a broad range of programs. This session will feature STEM and ARTS content for upper grade levels.
Intended Audience: 4 – 8th Grade Educators
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) with PBS and WQED
Social and Emotional Learning for young children might be one of our greatest challenges. WQED uses its child-engaging media assets to demonstrate to children how to regulate one’s emotions to handle stress, control impulses, persevere in overcoming obstacles, express emotions effectively, empathize with others, and recognize and appreciate individual differences. Learn techniques, drawn from Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and other PBS programs, to assist children in handling disappointment, anger, and conflict. Learn about WQED’s PBS Learning Media, video assets, clips, and songs you can share with your children. PBS materials for teachers, parents and students will be provided.
Intended Audience: PreK-5 Educators
Grades 6-12 SEL Resources are also available upon request featuring nationally acclaimed PBS programming such Ken Burns’ Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness and WETA’s Wellbeings.
Full STEAM Ahead with PBS
Engage early learners in interactive science and engineering practices based on learning standards. In this professional development experience, we’ll look at interactive STEM practices from PBS KIDS programs for engaging students in the conversation and teamwork necessary to support their STEM learning. Science, engineering, literacy, arts and math will be explored in accessible ways and through games, apps and more, using a variety of PBSKIDS shows. Materials for teachers, parents, and students will be provided.
Intended Audience: PreK-5 Educators
Health and Wellness
In this course, WQED Education will share a Safety, Nutrition, and Wellness curriculum that explores diverse topics – such as trying new foods, practicing fire safety, and learning the importance of brushing your teeth – through Sesame Street, Arthur, and other PBS shows. The curriculum, based on Pennsylvania’s State Standards, gives early childhood providers links to videos, printables, and games.
Intended Audience: PreK-3 Educators.
Social Studies with PBS
Explore how children can learn about their community, cultures and the world around them without ever leaving the classroom using PBS Digital Assets. Video clips from City Island, Sesame Street, Alma’s Way and PBS Learning Media will help children to understand their role in a community. Learn about the voting process with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and geography with Let’s Go Luna. Make Social Studies lessons, which can often times be abstract concepts, come to life with help from PBS. PBS materials for teachers, parents and students will be provided.
Intended Audience: PreK-3 Educators
Literacy
Join the WQED education team as we explore the unique language and literacy resources that can be found in PBS KIDS and WQED programming. Out of this world reading, writing, and technology proficiency are within every child’s grasp. PBS’s commitment to early childhood literacy is unparalleled. WQED brings you quality programming each and every day to encourage children’s ability to read, write, and comprehend language. Discover how these childhood favorites can be entwined in the learning environment to enhance literacy skills for all students.
Intended Audience: PreK -3 Educators
Math 4U
Engage early learners in interactive math practices based on the Common Core Standards as well as the PBS Math Framework used across the nation as part of Ready to Learn. WQED Education’s team will demonstrate classroom use of PBS programs for specialized mathematics skill-building and share a Math curriculum built on themes such as counting, shapes, patterns and much more. The curriculum provides links to videos, printables, and games. Featuring beloved PBS KIDS shows.
Intended Audience: Head Start teachers; Math coaches; administrators; supervisors; Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 teachers; science consultants; and STEM enthusiasts.
Back to School & Kindergarten Readiness + Transition
Get ready for the start of school with some of our favorite back-to-school resources! This professional development experience features activities and video resources created by PBSKIDS and WQED to help students get to know each other and their new school routines, and lesson plans to help you get your new class off to a great start. Family materials are also featured to help you engage parents and caregivers into their child’s learning process. PBS materials for teachers, parents and students will be provided. An opportunity to purchase Kindergarten Readiness Cards for your classroom is also available.
Intended Audience: PreK-3 Educators
Family Engagement
In this professional learning experience, WQED Education will share WQED/PBS created family engagement modules, with links to media, printable resources, and facilitator guides. Every family engagement module features a book, a media piece, a family hands-on activity, and a caregiver take home letter to continue the learning at home. This professional development also has an opportunity for participants to have hands-on interaction with the materials in a family engagement module. Participants will leave with a list of family engagement topics they can choose from, curated activities using everyday items, comfort in knowing that any module implemented in their space is reliable, research-based, and an overall fun experience for their learners and families! Leave the creation to us and have fun with your families using our family engagement resources!
Intended Audience: PreK-5 Educators