What is a Teaching and Learning CoLab?

Teaching and Learning CoLabs are locally hosted, multi-disciplinary events following a model developed and supported by the Colorado Department of Education. As the name suggests, these events are focused on teaching and learning and are designed for collaboration. Each one brings together stakeholders in K-12, higher education, Colorado's professional teaching organizations, and the Colorado Department of Education.

Who should attend?

Schools are encouraged to form teams that attend a CoLab, with teachers spanning across grades and content areas, along with instructional coaches, curriculum specialists, and building-level administrators. Our target attendance is 200 to 250 attendees per CoLab, with approximately 40% elementary teachers, 40% secondary teachers, and 20% administrators and C&I support staff.

How will attending a CoLab benefit me? How will it benefit my team?

CoLabs are being co-designed by multiple partner organizations to help shape the event into something meaningful and sustainable for teachers and educators across the state. The schedule allows both elementary and secondary teachers to dig into these content areas in 2022:

• English Language Arts (Reading, Writing, and Communicating)
• Health and Physical Education
• Mathematics
• Science and Computer Science

In addition, leaders and instructional coaches can attend these sessions or a program strand designed for school leaders. At the end of the day, school teams will come together for a facilitated hour of planning where they can make sense of the ideas from the day and consider how to carry them forward into the 2022-2023 school year.

What is the cost to attend? How do I register?

CoLabs are free to attend, although you will be responsible for your travel and any lodging you may need. Each CoLab site page will have registration and suggested travel information.

2022 CoLab Dates and Locations

Here are some tips as you prepare to register: 

·       Register as a Team: Ideally, we want you to register as a school-based team representing multiple grades and content areas, and we would like a school leader (such as your principal) to attend with you. You can either have each person register themselves as individual ticket holders in Eventbrite, or select multiple tickets and enter the information for each attendee. (If you enter someone else’s information, make sure it’s 100% correct and uses the email address they will be checking in June!) 

·       The Event is Free, But Capacity is Limited: As each CoLab is limited to 200 participants, we want to ensure that everyone who registers attends the event. We encourage registration from participants who can commit to attending the full day. We understand that some changes may arise and we will work with you to adjust your registration if event capacity becomes an issue. 

·       Use Sched to Select Your Sessions: You'll register via Eventbrite but then be prompted to log in to Sched and to select the sessions you wish to attend. Selecting your sessions now helps us make the best use of the venue and helps presenters know how many attendees to expect. 

For general questions and answers about Teaching and Learning CoLabs, contact Joanna Bruno (bruno_j@cde.state.co.us), director of CDE's Office of Standards and Instructional Support. For site-specific questions, contact information will be listed under each CoLab site page.