Teacher Summer Camps
Camp Overview
The UCCS College of Education Teacher Summer Camps offer immersive professional development for both beginning and veteran educators alike.
You will engage in hands-on workshops exploring innovative strategies to bring back to your classroom. Discover fresh and creative ways to expand your professional toolkit, collaborate with colleagues, engage all learners, and reinvigorate your passion for teaching!
All camps are held in-person at UCCS, and parking is free. All participants will receive a certificate of professional development for hours completed.
Session A: June 2-6, 2025
Campsite | Camp Director | Description |
EdTech Essentials: A Teacher's Guide to Technology Integration | Dr. Josie Smith | Camp EdTech Essentials is a hands-on experience designed to empower you with the skills to integrate technology into your classroom. Over five days, you'll explore digital tools, engage in collaborative activities, and develop a personalized 'Back-to-School Digital Toolkit.' Perfect for both new and experienced teachers who want to bring purposeful technology into their classrooms! |
New Teacher Summer Camp | TBA | New Teacher Summer Camp (NTSC) offers long-term substitute teachers, alternative licensure candidates, and other new educators a 'boot camp' experience. Covering the fundamentals of positive classroom management, lesson design and implementation, differentiation, and professional expectations, NTSC is your 'survival guide' to your first year of teaching! |
New Teacher Summer Camp - Rural / J1 | TBA | New Teacher Summer Camp (NTSC) - Rural/J1 offers new rural and international educators a 'boot camp' experience. Covering the fundamentals of positive classroom management, lesson design and implementation, differentiation, and professional expectations, NTSC is your 'survival guide' to the start of your career! |
Team Up & Tune In: Kagan Cooperative Learning with a Self-Care Twist | Laurilea McDaniels & Friends | At this campsite, you’ll experience hands-on strategies to promote positive classroom culture, collaboration, engagement and creativity while earning your Kagan Cooperative Learning certification for Days 1-5. “Team Up & Tune In” is not just about professional development; it’s a chance to recharge, reflect, and reignite your passion for teaching! |
Multisensory Phonics Instruction: Engaging All Learners | Allison Davenport & Amy Battin | This campsite will equip you with multisensory strategies for teaching phonics, using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods to engage all learners. You'll gain hands-on experience with techniques to support struggling readers and enhance skill retention. |
Science of Reading & Beyond | Dr. Lesley Noel | This campsite dives deep into early literacy! You'll explore culturally responsive literature and reading, vocabulary development and writing, as well as the history and impact of the 'science of reading.' You'll leave with a 'make and take' toolkit of instructional materials to enhance literacy learning in your classroom. |
Literacy Through the Arts | Dr. Dan DeCelles | This campsite explores a variety of meaningful ways to bring engagement and relevance to the upper elementary and secondary literacy classroom. Based in the work of the Arts/Lit Project at Brown University, you'll learn to integrate art, exploration, and creativity to build community, explore texts, create performances, and reflect on learning. |
Supporting Newcomer Students & Their Families | Mary Hanson & Dr. Stephanie Dewing | This campsite is for teachers, counselors, and administrators to learn and share best practices for working with their newcomer students (and their families) as they transition to life in Colorado. Interactive sessions will have you creating cultural tools to share with your colleagues, language guides to better understand your students’ home languages, and tools to support lesson planning with 'push-in' content class sessions. |
Session B: June 23-27, 2025
| Campsite | Camp Director | Description |
| Practical Language and Literacy Strategies for Working with Multilingual Learners | Dr. Monica Yoo & Dr. Leslie Grant | This hands-on camp is designed for teachers at all levels to explore teaching and supporting multilingual/CLDE learners. You'll walk away from this camp with key concepts of second language acquisition and literacy development, investigate teaching scenarios, and adapt your classroom materials to ensure success for all learners. |
| Multisensory Phonics Instruction: Engaging All Learners | Allison Davenport & Amy Battin | This campsite will equip you with multisensory strategies for teaching phonics, using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods to engage all learners. You'll gain hands-on experience with techniques to support struggling readers and enhance skill retention. |
| Team Up & Tune In: Kagan Cooperative Learning with a Self-Care Twist | Laurilea McDaniels & Friends | At this campsite, you’ll experience hands-on strategies to promote positive classroom culture, collaboration, engagement and creativity while earning your Kagan Cooperative Learning certification for Days 1-5. “Team Up & Tune In” is not just about professional development; it’s a chance to recharge, reflect, and reignite your passion for teaching! |
| EdTech Essentials: A Teacher's Guide to Technology Integration | Dr. Josie Smith | Camp EdTech Essentials is a hands-on experience designed to empower you with the skills to integrate technology into your classroom. Over five days, you'll explore digital tools, engage in collaborative activities, and develop a personalized 'Back-to-School Digital Toolkit.' Perfect for both new and experienced teachers who want to bring purposeful technology into their classrooms! |
| Camp AI | Dr. Pat McGuire | CampAI is a 2.5-day camp that will immerse you in the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning. You'll engage in hands-on activities with cutting-edge tools like ChatGPT, Canva AI, and Gradescope while exploring ethical considerations and innovative classroom applications. You'll leave with practical strategies and ready-to-implement activities that can take teaching and learning to the next level! |
Session C: July 14-18, 2025
Campsite | Camp Director | Description |
New Teacher Summer Camp- Elementary | Virginia Stewart | New Teacher Summer Camp (NTSC) - Elementary offers long-term substitute teachers, alternative licensure candidates, and other new educators a 'boot camp' experience. Covering the fundamentals of positive classroom management, lesson design and implementation, differentiation, and professional expectations, NTSC is your 'survival guide' to the start of your career! |
New Teacher Summer Camp- Secondary | Dr. Dan DeCelles | New Teacher Summer Camp (NTSC) - Secondary offers long-term substitute teachers, alternative licensure candidates, and other new educators a 'boot camp' experience. Covering the fundamentals of positive classroom management, lesson design and implementation, differentiation, and professional expectations, NTSC is your 'survival guide' to the start of your career! |
Camp AI | Dr. Pat McGuire | Camp AI is a 2.5-day camp that will immerse you in the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning. You'll engage in hands-on activities with cutting-edge tools like ChatGPT, Canva AI, and Gradescope while exploring ethical considerations and innovative classroom applications. You'll leave with practical strategies and ready-to-implement activities that can take teaching and learning to the next level! |
Questions?
For more information please contact:
Dr. Daniel G. DeCelles, Director of Teacher Education
ddecelle@uccs.edu | 719-255-5122