Thinking Maps is a set of 8 visual patterns that correlate to specific cognitive processes. Based on the building blocks of brain-based learning, they are used across all grades and content areas to build critical thinking, problem-solving, comprehension, and communication skills necessary for academic success in every domain.
Participants will gain:
- Overview of Theory, Research Basis
- Introduction to the Defining Characteristics of Thinking Maps
- Learning the Thinking Maps: 8 Visual Patterns for Critical Thinking – Asking Questions
- Strategies for Developing Independent Learners: Teaching the Maps to Students
Participants will receive a copy of Thinking Maps: A Language for Learning, 2nd Ed. Teacher’s Guide.
Target Audience: Teachers, Instructional Coaches and Administrators
Please contact holly.lawrence@ckec.org with any questions.
Note: A PO Number must be provided at time of registration.
Promoting inquiry and literacy without losing content coverage is possible with Document-Based Questions (DBQs). In this dynamic one-day workshop, the DBQ Project team will equip educators with practical strategies to build historical thinking, support all learners, and strengthen argumentative writing- all through inquiry based units mirroring the evidence-based writing and synthesis of SAT and AP level expectations.
Target Audience: Social Studies Teachers (4th-12th), Administrators and Instructional Coaches
Email Sherra.Caudill@ckec.org if you have any questions.
Note: A PO Number must be provided at time of registration.
This face-to-face workshop is designed for anyone who has completed the 8-day Cognitive Coaching Foundations Seminar. Topics reviewed and rehearsed will include: rapport, pausing, paraphrasing, and posing mediative questions; reflecting and planning maps; and the problem resolving conversation. Participants will rehearse skills using authentic situations.
*Participants need to bring their Learning Guide from the Foundations Seminar with them to the training.
Target Audience: Anyone who has completed the 8-Day Cognitive Coaching Foundations Seminar
Please contact mark.helton@ckec.org with any questions.
6 Hours of EILA/PD available.
Strong PLCs don’t happen by chance—they happen through intentional planning and focused collaboration. Join us for a one-day learning experience built to help you strengthen and refine your PLC practices.
During this interactive session, we’ll explore key ideas from Make It Happen: Coaching With the 4 Critical Questions of PLCs at Work and connect them directly to the work happening in your school. Participants will reflect on current PLC structures, examine the four critical questions that drive effective teams, and collaborate with other instructional leaders.
You’ll leave the day with practical strategies, clearer systems, and a concrete plan to make your PLC time more focused, productive, and impactful for teachers and students.
Target Audience: Instructional Coaches, Instructional Leaders, Teacher Leaders who facilitate PLCs
Please contact lindsey.ellis@ckec.org with any questions.
Note: PO Number must be provided at time of registration.
Effective science instruction begins with a deep understanding of the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Science. In this full-day session, K-12 educators will engage in an interactive exploration of the vision, design, and instructional implications of the standards. Participants will unpack the architecture and organization of the KAS, focusing on the three dimensions that, when used together, support students’ deep understanding of the sciences, how science knowledge is acquired and understood, and how the sciences are all connected through concepts that have a common application across the disciplines.
These three dimensions include: science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas.
By the end of this session, participants will leave with practical strategies, instructional tools, and resources to support standards-based planning and assessment. Whether you’re new to the KAS for Science or looking to refine your approach, this session will provide clarity, confidence, and actionable takeaways for effective classroom implementation.
Target Audience: Science Educators, Administrators and Instructional Coaches
Please contact holly.lawrence@ckec.org with any questions.
6 hours of PD/EILA credit will be provided.
Effective social studies instruction begins with a deep understanding of the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies. In this full-day session, K-12 educators will engage in an interactive exploration of the vision, design, and instructional implications of the standards. Participants will unpack the architecture and organization of the KAS, focusing on the integration of disciplinary concepts, inquiry practices, and inquiry practice skills to enhance student learning. By the end of this session, participants will leave with practical strategies, instructional tools, and resources to support standards-based planning and assessment. Whether you’re new to the KAS for Social Studies or looking to refine your approach, this session will provide clarity, confidence, and actionable takeaways for effective classroom implementation.
Target Audience: Social Studies Educators, Instructional Coaches and Administrators
6 hours of PD/EILA credit will be provided.
Email Sherra.Caudill@ckec.org with any questions.
Congratulations! You’ve hired new teachers and they are excited to get started. Now you must support them and help them develop into amazing educators who have a significant impact on student learning. This in-person workshop will provide participants with the system necessary to ensure new teachers feel supported and help them develop strong instructional skills. The workshop will work through eight monthly cycles that can be implemented with a year long new teacher onboarding program. Participants will spend time between learning information from the anchor texts and planning a new teacher onboarding program for the 2026-27 school year. All participants will receive copies of Onboarding Teachers and Welcome to Teaching! and will leave the two day workshop with 7 ready-made presentations to utilize throughout a yearlong new teacher onboarding program.
Success Criteria:
- I can assess the needs of new teachers and design learning opportunities for them.
- I can support new teachers in creating an engaging climate that invites students into learning.
- I can support new teachers in designing learning opportunities for students.
- I can provide learning opportunities for new teachers that focus on curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
- I can implement a systematic approach to address the personal and professional needs of new teachers.
Target Audience: School Leaders, District Leaders, New Teacher Mentors, Instructional Coaches (anyone who supports new teachers)
Participants will receive 6 Hours of EILA/PD credit. Please contact holly.lawrence@ckec.org with any questions.
NOTE: You must provide a PO Number when registering for this training.
Effective social studies instruction begins with a deep understanding of the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies. In this full-day session, K-12 educators will engage in an interactive exploration of the vision, design, and instructional implications of the standards. Participants will unpack the architecture and organization of the KAS, focusing on the integration of disciplinary concepts, inquiry practices, and inquiry practice skills to enhance student learning. By the end of this session, participants will leave with practical strategies, instructional tools, and resources to support standards-based planning and assessment. Whether you’re new to the KAS for Social Studies or looking to refine your approach, this session will provide clarity, confidence, and actionable takeaways for effective classroom implementation.
Target Audience: Social Studies Educators, Administrators, Instructional Coaches
6 hours of PD/EILA credit will be provided.
Email Sherra.Caudill@ckec.org with any questions.
AI is moving fast — and so are the questions from teachers, parents, and students. Many districts are still figuring out where to start when it comes to policy and/or guidance. This regional think tank brings together school, district, and teacher leaders from across the region to have the conversations that matter most: What do we currently have in place? What are others doing? And what would actually work for our community?
Over these three hours, participants will share existing AI policies and guidance from their own districts, learn from the experiences of peers facing the same challenges, and spend the majority of the session collaborating to prototype practical frameworks that can be adapted and taken back home. This isn’t a lecture or a panel — it’s a working session designed for the people closest to the problem to build solutions together.
Target Audience: District Leaders, CIOs, School Leaders, Digital Learning Coaches, Teachers, Library Media Specialists
Please contact holly.lawrence@ckec.org with any questions.
Join the Kentucky Department of Education and the Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative for a collaborative session exploring the updated Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing. Together, participants will build a shared understanding of the architecture and key revisions of the standards, examine the critical role of Standard 10 in shaping reading comprehension instruction, and explore how to bundle standards through grade-appropriate, complex text and text-based writing. This session is designed to equip district and school leaders with the foundational knowledge needed to lead the process of aligning instruction to the revised standards with clarity and confidence.
Target Audience: District & School Leaders
Please contact tabor.placido@ckec.org with any questions.
