Deepenings: Custom Faculty Training
Our series of interactive sessions deepen your understanding while fostering new insights into the foundations of human development. You’ll learn practical pedagogical approaches to classroom learning support to meet the varied developmental needs of modern students.
This hybrid course is made up of a sequence of short in-person meetings for practical work, supplemented by asynchronous work and online communication between sessions. A certificate is earned for the completion of each of the three layers. Practical pedagogical approaches to classroom learning support will offer you and your colleagues skills to meet the varied developmental needs of today’s classes.
From observations and questions about the children in their care, Waldorf teachers bring both common and unique experiences. “Deepenings” aim to start here—with real experiences in real time paired with pedagogical knowledge—then to go deeper into the pedagogy to penetrate the issues from the very foundations of the process of human development given us by Steiner. We work with real life issues that teachers in the group are facing today and bring clear focus to how the curriculum and developmental picture come together. Our goal is to take you through the developmental layers starting with Foundations and deepening further with each level to “Build the House” and finally, to “Move-in & Maintain.”
” The obstacle that prevents us from doing what we should is usually very obscure, but it is always a condition of the physical organism…If we realize the full significance of this, we might tell ourselves that a teacher’s primary task is to nurture the body to be as healthy as possible. This means that we use every spiritual measure to ensure that in later life a person’s body will be the least possible hindrance to the will of one’s spirit. If we make this our purpose in school, we can develop forces that lead to education for freedom.” ~ Rudolf Steiner, 1922
DEEPENINGS I : FOUNDATIONS
Deepen your understanding of child development & how to meet student needs presenting in our classrooms. Topics may include:
– Learning to See/level I: “reading” & interpreting children’s movements, gestures, behaviors
– selecting the right movements & how to introduce them to a class
– Integrative classroom movement exercises, painting & form drawing–EC to early grades
– Early reflex activity–introduction to reflexes & access to capacity
– Fine motor development– hands & feet
– handwriting/cursive
– Causes of learning difficulties
– Foundations for learning & skills attainment
– Sensory-motor development: first 7 years
– Sleep–impact on learning
– 12 senses I–FOUR Foundational Senses
– Student Success Planning I– building an active circle of support; family support
– open forum
– Integrative movement home program
– Inner work I–self-awareness
DEEPENINGS II: BUILD THE HOUSE
Discover the framework; building the Self.
Finding center & balance within.
Topics may include:
– Level II–“reading” & interpreting children’s movements, gestures, approaches
– Visual & auditory capacity basic screening & exercises
– Observe & identify issues related to: static balance, midline crossing (& bilateral integration), dominance, fine & gross motor coordination
– Integrative movement & painting–moving up through the grades
– dynamic drawing
– Proprioception
– Two-fold physical body re: learning
– Uprightness of the HB–Introduction to earth currents
– Breathing, Digestion, Comprehension & Memory
– 12 Senses II — FOUR Middle Senses
– Facilitating & maintaining effective care group & child study practices
– classroom accommodations & creative tutoring
– Inner work II–self & other
DEEPENINGS III: MOVE-IN & MAINTAIN
Moving into adolescence–overcoming developmental hindrances to find freedom.
Topics may include:
– fine-tuning observational skills
– practice towards mastery
– Screening–fine-tuning previously learned methods + additional supports
– Classroom management–adapting activity & movement for older students & adults
– Case histories
– gaining mastery–from erratic to fluent
– integrative movement & painting–middle & high school
– Imprinting as described by Steiner
– Developmental thresholds—nine-year, twelve-year & adolescence
– Other topics from McAllen, König & others, customized for your school’s needs
– 12 Senses III — FOUR highest senses
– Student success planning for middle & high school
– working with your faculty to share LS knowledge
– Inner work III — sharing insights