The One Thing Conference Workshops: Content or Pedagogy Related to an Area of Licensure

The One Thing Conference Workshops: Content or Pedagogy Related to an Area of Licensure

Date and Time

This is a one-day, four-hour, in-person workshop on Saturday May 2, 2026 from 9am-1pm.

Location

This workshop will be held in-person at the Edward St. John Building (4131 Campus Dr, College Park, MD 20742) on the University of Maryland College Park Campus. Room details will be provided following registration. 

Description

In this one-day, four-hour, in-person workshop on Saturday, May 2, 2026, learners will choose one of two tracks: Math or Writing.

Track 1: Leveraging Math Games to Improve Student-to-Student Discourse and Mathematical Reasoning

In this track, you’ll play games, experience purposeful teacher moves firsthand, and discover how small shifts in how games are facilitated can unlock deeper reasoning and genuine student-to-student dialogue in your mathematics classroom. You’ll analyze your own curriculum games with fresh eyes and leave with game-based lesson plans designed to spark the mathematical thinking your students are capable of. This track is intended for Elementary and Middle Grades educators.

Track 2: Teacher-as-Writer Workshop

The best writing teachers are writers themselves, but many educators do not see themselves as writers. If you want to improve your skills and develop your identity as a writer and writing instructor—regardless of grade level or content area—this workshop is for you! In this workshop, you’ll pick up a pen alongside your colleagues and compose your own original mentor text through three guided writing experiences focused on volume, variety, and depth. Along the way, you’ll grapple with the real challenges your students face as writers—and problem-solve them together. You’ll leave with an authentic mentor text in hand and three mini-lessons ready to bring student authorship to life across any grade or discipline. This track is intended for all educators, or all disciplines, from Early Childhood through Secondary Education.

Audience

This workshop is open to ALL educators, of all disciplines, from Early Childhood through Secondary Education, and is designed specifically to support MSDE-licensed educators in earning Professional Development Points (PDPs) for recertification hours.  If you are not currently affiliated with the University of Maryland (welcome!), you will be prompted to create an affiliate account upon registration. Simply follow the prompts to create an affiliate account, then you will be able to register. 

Faciliators

Track 1 will be facilitated by Dr. Sara Kirschner and Dr. Carolina Napp-Avelli

Track 2 will be facilitated by Dr. Margaret Peterson and Dr. Kerry Alexander

PDP Alignment

Content or Pedagogy Related to an Area of Licensure

The One Thing Conference workshops provide eligibility for 4 MSDE Professional Development Points (PDPs). You can learn more about PDPs at the MSDE website. Following each workshop or conference,  attendees will be provided with the following completed documentation via email. Attendees will be responsible for submitting the documentation to the appropriate entity to ensure points are counted toward their recertification. Learn more on our website.

Parking and Transportation

Parking and public transit instructions can be found on our website.  

Registration Tips

If you are not currently affiliated with the University of Maryland (welcome!), you will be prompted to create an affiliate account upon registration. Please do this first by simply following the prompts to create an affiliate account, then you will be able to register. Note: Some users have reported difficulties creating an affiliate account on a Safari Browser. If you encounter issues with this process on a Safari Browser, we apologize; please switch to a Chrome, Firefox, or alternate browser of your choice. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

If you are entering a promotion code during registration, please make sure you are logged in to your UMD or UMD affiliate account before entering the code. When you are logged in, your screen will read: "Logged in as [Name]" above the promotion code box.

Bulk Registration

Interested in registering a group of educators from your school or district? This can be done in one of two ways. 

(1) If you would like to pay by Credit Card, simply select "Bulk Purchase" on this page; you will select the number of educators you want to register for this workshop. After you pay via credit card, you will be prompted to invite the individual educators to register via email. 

(2) If you would like to pay by invoice, please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt egotwalt@umd.edu for assistance. 

Questions?

Please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt, egotwalt@umd.edu