Wilson Certified Teacher Conference
The Wilson Reading System® (WRS) Certified Teacher Conference is intended for Wilson® Dyslexia Practitioners, Wilson® Dyslexia Therapists, and WRS Certified Educators. This year we will connect virtually with all the informative and engaging sessions you’ve come to expect.
We invite you to explore the 2021 theme with us:
Reading and Dyslexia: Making Connections That Matter
Hear renowned featured speakers, join practical sessions to improve your instruction, and connect with the Wilson community that speaks your language. Come together to share ideas and “click” with other WRS enthusiasts.
In this real-time event, you will learn from featured speakers and Wilson expert presenters and have the opportunity to ask questions. Recordings also will be available to conference participants through October 31, 2021.
Your school’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds can be used for conference tuition, since it supports the development of student literacy and addresses learning loss. You don’t want to miss out on this learning opportunity!
Dates: Monday, July 12 & Tuesday, July 13*
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. ET each day
Tuition: $369
REGISTER NOW
By attending the WRS Certified Teacher Conference, Wilson Reading System® Certified Educators can earn 11 Wilson® Professional Learning Credits (WPLC) in the Wilson category toward their credential renewal. If staying for the Fundations Conference, an additional 6 WPLC can be earned.
* On Monday and Tuesday, Featured Speaker and General Sessions will be shared with participants in the Wilson® Trainer Meeting. In addition, Fundations® Conference participants will join for Tuesday afternoon’s Featured Speaker Sessions.
If you’re also implementing or supporting Fundations®, we invite you to stay another day. After you sign up for the WRS Certified Teacher Conference, a link will be provided to register for the Fundations® Conference at a discounted tuition rate of $130.
As a bonus, Fundations Conference participants will receive a $100 online store discount code, good toward a Wilson materials order!
Learn from our Featured Speakers
Explore research-based insights and implications for instructional needs of students with dyslexia.
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| Susan Brady, Ph.D. | Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D. | Eric Tridas, M.D., FAAP | Barbara A. Wilson, M.Ed. |
“Phonological Awareness: Focus on What Matters” – Susan Brady, Ph.D.
The importance of phoneme awareness for acquiring the alphabetic principle and for learning to read has been documented since the 1970s, gaining broad recognition when the National Reading Panel Report was published in 2000. In turn, instruction to foster phonological awareness has become routinely recommended for the early grades. The widespread practice in kindergarten and first grade curricula is to target awareness of larger phonological structures such as words, rhymes, syllables, and onset-rimes before focusing on phonemes. Once at the phoneme level (continuing into second grade or later), phoneme manipulation tasks often are given to build ‘advanced phoneme awareness.’ In this talk, Dr. Brady will discuss research that raises questions regarding whether fostering this broad continuum is necessary and/or beneficial for students, along with other implications for instruction such as the importance of linking awareness of phonemes with letters and providing instruction that follows the developmental sequence for phoneme awareness per se.
“Neurobiological Processes in Reading and Reading Difficulties: The Role of Executive Function” – Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D.
It is well established that proficient reading requires being able to recognize and decode words and engage linguistic processes for discourse-level material (i.e., reading comprehension). Additionally, studies indicate that domain-general processes also contribute to reading, most centrally executive function, a cognitive control system in the brain. However, executive function’s exact role in reading development and disabilities, and its importance in terms of intervention, has remained elusive. This presentation will review our neuroimaging and behavioral work that delves into piecing apart how executive function relates to reading development and disabilities and implications for reading intervention.
“Students with Dyslexia and Related Disorders” – Eric Tridas, M.D., FAAP
Dyslexia is the most common learning disorder. Students with dyslexia often have coexisting conditions that impact their learning. During this presentation Dr. Tridas will define dyslexia and explain its neurological basis. He will provide a simple description of reading and how it guides the assessment and management of reading challenges in poor readers, including students with dyslexia. Furthermore, this session will explore the relationship between dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, and executive functions. Participants will learn how these conditions impact reading. Factors such as attention, inhibition, flexibility, planning, and working memory can have a dramatic effect on a student’s academic performance and self-regulation. Dr. Tridas will also describe some of the strategies used to address dyslexia and related disorders in the classroom, beginning with educational remediation and accommodations. In addition, descriptions of general behavioral and cognitive behavioral classroom strategies will be provided along with various approaches to address executive functions and medical management of ADHD and anxiety disorders.
“WRS Block 3: Advanced Goals for Reading Success” – Barbara A. Wilson, M.Ed.
In WRS, your goal is to take a student from having difficulty reading three-sound words to proficiently reading grade-level text. And not just any students – those with dyslexia. It is no small task! In the early steps of WRS, Blocks 1 and 2 instruction set the foundation for students to develop word reading automaticity. Likewise, your Block 3 focus on visualization and comprehension monitoring has set the foundation for students’ more advanced work. In this session, Barbara will outline and describe the Block 3 instruction that you will do in Steps 7-12 to move your students to reading proficiency and independence.
Enrich your Wilson Reading System® Instruction
Gain insights at sessions presented by Wilson® Fidelity Team members:
“A Look at the Comprehensive Wilson Word Study Curriculum”
The accurate and automatic reading and spelling of words are key components of your Wilson Reading System instruction. Let us kick off this year’s conference by taking a comprehensive look at the in-depth word study structure in the 4th edition. We will take a journey from start to finish by unpacking and linking all there is to learn about words – the phonology, the morphology, and the orthography – as it relates to the beginner through advanced levels of Wilson’s 12-Step Scope and Sequence.
“Wilson Word Study – A Close-Up Look”
Spend focused time examining specific examples of Wilson’s advanced study of sounds, syllable types, word elements, and spelling rules. With expert guidance, you’ll get a chance to work with words that contain language concepts you will teach to your students. Head-scratching to be expected!
“WRS Block 3: Putting It into Practice”
In Barbara’s session, she outlined the components of Block 3 Upper Step instruction. In this session, we will take you through activities to help you internalize and apply what you will do with your students. Note that the progression of instruction in Block 3 is not precisely aligned with the scope and sequence of the 12 Steps, so some students in earlier Steps will also be ready for this Block 3 work.
“Getting It Right – Phonemic Awareness & Word Study Instruction”
This session will examine phonemic awareness and the mental process of orthographic mapping and how these building blocks of decoding and encoding are addressed in your Wilson Reading System instruction. Application of these critical constructs supports the “why” behind our scaffolded approach and explicit instructional routines.
