Targeted Professional Development, Part II

At Excel Math, we focus on both the profession of teaching and "the professional" (the teacher) when creating professional development seminars. These information-packed sessions are intended for administrators and teachers who want to learn more about using Excel Math and discover best practices for implementing elementary math lessons in the classroom. 
Read Part I of this series.

Reports such as the 2009 “Professional Learning in the Learning Profession,” by the National Staff Development Council and the School Redesign Network at Stanford University affirm a direct link between highly effective, sustained professional development and differentiated approaches to teacher training, collegial collaboration and risk taking. Read more at http://www.districtadministration.com/article/sustainable-professional-development

Choose between two Excel Math Professional Development seminars: one for users new to Excel Math (Initial P.D.) and the other (Next Step P.D.) for schools that have used Excel Math for a period of time.

For the Initial P.D.: The Excel Math Professional Development gives teachers instructional strategies (best practices) for effective direct instruction and tips to take full advantage of the three components of Excel Math. Plus, you will learn how to utilize the regular assessment in Excel Math for maximum instruction. Because Excel Math emphasizes Critical Thinking instead of fill-in-the-blank answers, the Excel Math lessons are an outstanding bridge to the new requirements of the Common Core Standards. Additionally, this seminar includes how to effectively blend Excel Math with an adopted core curriculum for maximum instruction in cases where Excel Math is used as a supplement.

For the Next Step P.D.: Excel Math—Your Bridge to the Common Core explores in more depth the specifics of Excel Math as an outstanding bridge to the new requirements of the Common Core Standards (CCS) and reviews Instructional Strategies outlined in the Initial Professional Development. View CCS correlations for Kindergarten through Grade 6 here.

Texas P.D.: We also offer a separate Texas Professional Development seminar. Because Excel Math emphasizes rigor as well as in-depth learning (with our unique spiraling process) and regular assessment, Excel Math lessons are an outstanding bridge to the new requirements of the STAAR Readiness Standards. For Texas Professional Development and Excel Math correlations to TEKS click here.

Contact Bob Parrish via email (bob@excelmath.com)  or by phone (1-866-866-7026) for more information and to schedule your seminar(s). Watch Bob in action here.

Take a look at the glowing report one principal sent us after an Excel Math P.D. seminar:

“Robbinsville Elementary School has used Excel math in previous years with great results (4th grade 96% of students passing state tests) at some grade levels, but this year we adopted Excel Math school wide (K-6). To ensure effective math instruction and consistency across grade levels we requested a one day training that involved a school wide presentation and breakout sessions for each grade level for follow-up questions or concerns.

We are extremely fortunate to have had Mr. Bob Parrish to provide this training. Mr. Parrish was very informative, approachable, and well prepared using PowerPoint presentation of Excel Math. Mr. Parrish is an extremely competent and engaging presenter and extremely knowledgeable of the needs of math instructors and their students. Thank you, Mr. Parrish and AnsMar Publishing for enlightening and energizing the staff at Robbinsville Elementary School. ”

— William Laughter, Principal

Robbinsville Elementary School

Available for No Charge — Watch the Excel Math Overview DVD to prepare for your P.D. session. Our DVD contains an overview of Excel Math plus training and instructional strategies. 

Part one of the DVD introduces you to Excel Math. Watch the intro video here [7:00 minutes]:

Part two guides you through the implementation of Excel Math in the classroom.

Part three includes instructional strategies and best practices. This segment helps you get the most out of the Excel Math lessons.

The contents of the DVD are available on the Excel Math website. The videos describe how to teach Excel Math with actual classroom examples. You may want to view them at the beginning of the year for an overview of the program, and review again in 4-6 weeks for a refresher course.

The Excel Math DVD is available as a part of our free Sample Packet and is also available separately at no charge. Email us for a DVD or Sample Packet, and we'll send them to you immediately.

If you've attended P.D. seminars in the past, let us know what you thought. Leave a comment in the box below. We love hearing your feedback and suggestions!