9 More Free Professional Learning Opportunities for Educators

We’ve shared free professional learning opportunities for educators before. Here are nine more! Watch these edWeb webinar recordings, and you may be able to earn continuing education credits in 60 minutes or less. (All webinars are free, but you may be charged a small fee for continuing education credits.) You’ll find topics ranging from catching happiness to supporting twice-exceptional learners, from teaching growth mindset to student empowerment.

Professional learning can be quick, easy, and dare we say . . . fun. Be sure to bookmark this post for easy access!

1. Catching Happiness: How to Work Through Burnout and Be a Joy-Filled Teacher

In this webinar, award-winning teacher, motivational speaker, and author Justin Ashley addresses the whole teacher: You and your bank account. Your health. Your social network. How can you be a better teacher . . . and a better parent, spouse, and friend?

Learn how to:

Catch happiness in every domain—social, career, physical/emotional, and financial
Counteract burnout, reduce anxiety, and skillfully navigate through seasons of depression
Set up fun family field trips without breaking the bank
Build and live by a family creed
Create and follow a monthly cash flow plan
Bounce back from failure at work
Take advantage of exercise opportunities before, during, and after school
Increase your quantity and quality of sleep, so you can be fully present while you’re awake
Inject “Purple Cows” into your lessons that make your classroom feel like an academic playground
Set four “Rising Sun” goals for the next school year

2. Neurodivergent and Gifted: Supporting Twice-Exceptional Students

Sometimes, twice-exceptional (2e) learners’ giftedness hides their struggles. Other times, their disability overshadows their giftedness, leaving them without the opportunity for advanced learning. Teachers who understand how these factors interplay and develop strategies to use strengths-based accommodations give 2e learners the chance to succeed that they deserve.

During this free webinar, Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC, author of Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today’s Classroom, discusses:

The attributes of 2e learners
Considerations for assessments and identification
How to identify and provide appropriate accommodations in gifted, general, and special education classrooms

3. The Big Deal About Addictions: What Educators Need to Know

Since the pandemic, rates of addiction among all age groups have increased. The stress of online school, not seeing friends, and increased isolation make it harder for many kids (and parents) to cope. In addition to causing anxiety and depression, the pandemic has also led to an increase in addictions. These can take many forms, from substance addictions such as to marijuana and alcohol, to behavioral addictions such as to video games, social media, texting, and more. As a result, many kids and teens are struggling to keep up with online schooling.

In this edWebinar, Dr. James J. Crist, author of What’s the Big Deal About Addictions?, addresses the prevalence of addictive disorders among teens, how to spot the signs of addiction, how addiction impacts online learning, and how educators can work with teens and help them improve their learning experience.

4. Finding Your Way Through Conflict: Getting Started

Conflicts are inevitable, often hard to navigate, quick to multiply and become unmanageable—and they seem to be everywhere right now! We’re here to help. In this edWebinar, presenters Chris Amirault and Christine M. Snyder introduce you to the basics of finding your way through conflict. Using engaging, real-life scenarios to support your self-reflection and understanding, we discuss the critical principles and attitudes required for successful conflict engagement.

5. Ready, Set, Grow! How to Teach Growth Mindset in Grades K–8

Everyone faces obstacles and it’s easy to get stuck in a fixed mindset or give up when we encounter them. In this webinar from Shannon Anderson, learn how to change the way your students think about their challenges so instead of giving up, they can grow, feel better about themselves, and get better at the things they try.

6. Help Students Develop Critical Thinking Online and in the Classroom

Critical thinking is an essential tool in today’s highly complex and confusing world. In this webinar presented by Richard Cash, you will learn:

how to construct challenges that develop critical thinking, especially in an online platform
how to help your students develop effective conscious thinking that is organized, fair-minded, well-reasoned, and clearly communicated
how virtual learning can enhance deeper learning

7. How Educators Can Respond to Students Experiencing Trauma

The word “trauma” used to apply to a relatively small sector of students. Not so anymore. All students faced multiple traumas in 2020 and will continue to face them in 2021. In this edWebinar, school counselor Stephanie Filio, M.Ed., author of Responding to Student Trauma, gives an overview of how students experience trauma at four levels: self/home, school, community, and country/world.

Educators can play a powerful role in providing coping mechanisms for students to help them process and endure our often-chaotic world. Attendees will learn about activities and resources that can assist them in responding to today’s traumas and help them to prepare for the next crisis.

8. Inspiring Student Empowerment: Moving Beyond Engagement, Refining Differentiation

In this webinar, veteran educator Patti Drapeau shares practical, evidence-based practices that shift focus from engaging students to empowering them, and from differentiation to personalized learning. You’ll learn how school districts that have focused on student empowerment have seen a rise in test scores, motivation, attention, and self-confidence.

9. How Mindfulness Fits into Education in the Pandemic Era

In this webinar, participants will:

learn strategies for incorporating mindfulness into a daily self-care routine
explore mindful inquiry in their efforts to make sure all students have equitable access to education
engage with simple mindfulness practices that can be woven into synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities for students
explore how mindfulness fits into education during the coronavirus pandemic
grow their general understanding of mindfulness in education

Presenter James Butler, M.Ed., is formerly the SEL (social-emotional learning) mindfulness specialist for the Austin Independent School District.

If you like these webinars, join our edWeb community to be notified of new webinars—we’ll host more in 2022! And you can find even more webinars on our website: freespirit.com/webinar.

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