Services for Educators

Instructional Strategies for Building Inferencing Skills – IDRA Services

Literacy Learning Series

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IDRA conducted research on the reading test questions that a high percentage of students miss across grade levels. We found that students were having difficulty with questions that require a high level of proficiency in the underlying and foundational skill of inferencing.

And we looked at the professional development that teachers had received. After an analysis of the topics, we saw a heavy emphasis on pedagogy and little, if any, on strengthening the content that teachers must deliver. Specifically, this means inferencing as the content: what it is, what types of inferences are addressed during instruction and testing, how inferences are foundational skills that affect the curriculum throughout the day, and how to address inferences during instruction.

At the end of these workshops, teachers report being filled with hope that, as one teacher stated, “excites and boosts our efficacy as effective teachers.”

Designed for…

  • Classroom teachers
  • Instructional specialists
  • Instructional leaders

Schedule your training today!

Services are customized to the needs of the district or campus. Cost per day of consultant services in Texas is $2,000 and includes materials, resources, planning, presenting and evaluating a day’s activity. This cost includes travel and per diem costs for consultant. Cost to provide services out of state is $3,000 per day.

To learn more, please contact Dr. Sulema Sánchez at 210 444-1710.

Educators will walk away with new understanding to apply in the classroom…

  • Inference as one of the most critical reading skills
  • What breaks down in reading for comprehension and interpretation
  • Critical brain research and its implication for instruction
  • Explicit instruction in context and its effectiveness as an instructional intervention practice
  • The critical relationship between background knowledge, vocabulary and inferencing
  • The viable practices for accessing background knowledge and cultural experiences of students
  • The cognitive benefits of bilingualism
  • The types of inference that are traditionally tested on standardized tests
  • The critical content knowledge and instructional intervention practices to develop inferencing as a “Habit of Mind”
  • Lesson study as a collegial practice
  • The power of a collaborative and individualized plan of action

What the Training Looks Like?

Optimally, this training is designed for groups of teachers either by grade level or vertical teams who participate in a three-day hands-on and dynamic work session where teachers and presenters problem solve instructional issues in teachers’ own contexts.

This learning series can be delivered at one time or spaced out during a semester. We are flexible and work with schools or a consortium of schools and school districts to find the best fit for dates that will ensure that the time out is not taken away from instructional time. IDRA is happy to discuss other options for delivery of these services.

Educators will be immersed in learning simulations and constructing meaning using questioning, academic vocabulary, content standards and the 13 forms of inferencing.

The three-day learning series is structured around literacy research, readings, learning protocols, content knowledge and instructional intervention practices, think-alouds, lesson study and Habits of Mind.

Teachers will be equipped to…

  • recognize that literacy skills in English learners’ native languages have an influence in students’ processing of linguistic information in English;
  • identify and facilitate English learners’ mastery of academic vocabulary; and
  • become proficient in metacognitive reading strategies that give the tools to teach, monitor and repair comprehension of text when needed.

What Makes This Workshop Unique

The Intercultural Development and Research Association is an independent, non-profit organization with a reputation and solid experience in pioneering innovative professional development that targets the underlying difficulty teachers face when working with struggling learners. Our mission is to achieve equal educational opportunity for every child through strong public schools that prepare all students to access and succeed in college.

IDRA strengthens and transforms public education by providing dynamic training; useful research; evaluation and frameworks for action; timely policy analysis; and innovative materials and programs.

IDRA has researched the root causes for schools’ insufficient success in reaching students’ learning needs and addresses these causes through professional development activities. We customize to a school’s contextual needs, and we encourage, equip and join teachers in becoming strategic problem solvers in their particular classrooms.

This learning series addresses the knowledge that we must teach: the craft of inference granted that this foundational skill is required to answer the high percentage of questions in a standardized test, which some researchers calculate at about 60 percent to 90 percent of a test. IDRA also provides teacher coaching services onsite or online, upon request by school or school districts.

Start your literacy series today!

With an unwavering commitment to student success, IDRA services provide innovative, practical and sustainable solutions for diverse student populations based on the unique needs of each district, campus or classroom.

Request a quote today!

Contact sulema.sanchez @idra.org or 210-444-1710

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