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95 Search Results for "atlanta"

  • Alex_Lilley

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 29
    • Since: 2 months ago
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  • Callie_Holden

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 14
    • Since: 2 months ago
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  • K_Ann_Carrollton

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 68
    • Since: 3 months ago
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  • Black History Month: Celebrati Black History Month: Celebrating President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King

    • From: Harvey_Alvy
    • Description:

      The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

                                   (President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address, January 21, 2013)

       

       

      President Obama “Channels” Lincoln and King

      When teaching high school history classes I thought it was important to celebrate and approach Black History Month as a part of American History, not as a separate historical unit “reserved” for February.  Black History Month gives teachers an opportunity to reaffirm and synthesize historical issues and themes that should be explored all year.  These include: expanding democracy, weighing issues of race and immigration, growing the economy, coping with the effects of slavery and war, and reflecting on the struggles that individuals and families face in the “pursuit of happiness.”  This particular February teachers can use President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address as an historical document well suited to approach these issues.  It is rare to have an historical document that is literally “newly minted.”  We should seize this teachable moment!  Further, since this 21st century presidential address celebrated the spirit, ideas and words of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King teachers can use the inaugural to stress that principled ideals are eternal.  Words matter.

       

      Teachers can frame the inaugural address within the context of our nation’s historical journey and struggles by raising essential questions about our core principles.  The following essential questions represent two approaches (among many!) that teachers can take using the president’s speech as a primary document. 

       

      1) What core beliefs bind the people of the United States?  

       

      2) What core beliefs have the people of the United States struggled with, and pursued, to create a more perfect Union?  

       

      By examining the inaugural address along with pre-selected quotes from the works of Lincoln and King (or quotes found through student research), classes can draw individual or group conclusions about our nation’s values and principles.  Depending on the grade level or class, questions related to the gap between our principles (theories) and realities (practice) can certainly be explored to enrich the teaching and learning experience.

       

      Let’s examine two excerpts from President Obama’s speech to address our essential questions and the impact that Lincoln and King had on the president’s speech.  The first excerpt,

       

      Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned   that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.  We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

       

      These two sentences were certainly influenced by Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech given on June 16, 1858.  Lincoln used that speech, and the biblical reference to a “House Divided,” to accept the Republican nomination for the Illinois Senate seat.  Lincoln stated:

       

      A house divided against itself cannot stand.  I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.  I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided.  It will become all one thing, or all the other.

       

      President Obama’s speech was also influenced by the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.  Students can explore these speeches (or excerpts) and draw their own conclusions about core beliefs related to our national journey and the question of equality.

       

      Consider this second speech excerpt from President Obama’s Inaugural,

       

      We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone, to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

       

      Certainly this excerpt from President Obama’s speech was greatly influenced by Dr. King’s August 28, 1963 “I Have a Dream Speech.”  But, when examining this particular excerpt with students consider the ideas in relationship to the following words from King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963.  In that letter Dr. King responded to a group of white clergy who maintained that King was an “outsider” interfering in Alabama’s affairs.  King wrote,

       

      I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.  Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere….Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.  Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea.  Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

       

      Black History Month and Our National Identity

      President Obama also weaved into his speech solemn principles and phrases from the Declaration of Independence (e.g., “All men are created equal.”) and the Constitution (e.g., “We the people”).  By celebrating and examining all of these documents teachers and students will gain a greater understanding of how today’s 21st century challenges are tied to our nation’s founding principles and the crises faced by our 16th president, and our most prominent civil rights leader.  Considering these issues during Black History Month provides our nation’s classrooms with a unique opportunity—using a real time historical document from our first African American president to explore the roots of our nation’s values.  As a result, teachers and students can gain a greater understanding of yesterday, who we are today, and what we hope to be tomorrow.

       

       

       

    • Blog post
    • 3 months ago
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  • L2L News: December 2012 L2L News: December 2012

    • From: Meg_Simpson
    • Description:

      ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) News is a monthly e-mail newsletter for ASCD constituent group leaders that builds capacity to better serve members, provides opportunities to promote and advocate for ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, and engages groups through sharing and learning about best practices. To submit a news item for the L2L newsletter, send an e-mail to constituentservices@ascd.org.

      Action Items for ASCD Leaders

      • Submit your Ignite Session Proposal by January 9. Embodied in the tagline, “enlighten us, but make it quick,” Ignite presenters have 5 minutes to present on any topic of interest using 20 PowerPoint slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. (Learn more about Ignite.) The theme of this Ignite session is “Your Whole Child Story.” We have found in general that the best presentations are on topics that personally inspire or motivate the presenter. We’re looking for fun, creative, out-of-the-box ideas, so please keep that in mind when completing your presentation proposal. Please note that the Ignite session proposals are only open to L2L ASCD leaders.
      • Save the date for the 2013 Leader to Leader Conference. The 2013 L2L Conference will take place July 18–20, 2013 at the Hyatt Dulles in Herndon, Va. Stay tuned for more details and information in the spring.
      • Register now for the Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy (LILA). This institute is an outstanding opportunity to network with fellow educators, share your expertise with your federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and hear from national education leaders about the latest education policy developments.
      • Speak out on sequestration. An education crisis is looming with the potential to disrupt services to 7.5 million U.S. students and threaten 90,000 U.S. educator jobs. Read more and take action on www.ascd.org.
      •  Register now for ASCD’s Annual Conference. ASCD President Debra Hill invites you to the 2013 Annual Conference & Exhibit Show in her hometown of Chicago, Ill., March 16–18.

       

      Why You Should Attend the Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy

      ASCD’s Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy (LILA), one of the association’s most unique experiences for educators, provides participants with the opportunity to learn from some of the nation’s leading education thinkers and policymakers in a much more personal setting than the usual conference. Register for LILA now to take advantage of the conference’s hands-on format so that you can gain the skills and knowledge to make a difference.

       

      LILA takes place January 27–29, 2013, in Washington, D.C. Read on for some of the features that set this conference apart.

       

       

      • Up Close and Personal: Ample opportunity to hear from and ask influential speakers like Diane Ravitch and National Teacher of the Year RebeccaMieliwocki about their unfiltered insights on the latest education developments.
      • Inside Scoop: Information from Capitol Hill and U.S. Department of Education influencers, including their firsthand perspectives on current education policy debates and priorities and what those mean for the status of No Child Left Behind and other federal education legislation.
      • Sneak Peek: A first look at ASCD’s 2013 Legislative Agenda, which is developed by educators for educators and drives the organization’s policy priorities for the coming year.
      • Advocate Extraordinaire: Tailored advocacy training and customizable resources to help you advocate for better education policy at the federal, state, and local levels now and throughout the year.
      • Make a Difference: Personal meetings with members of Congress and their education aides where you can share your expertise and discuss the education issues that matter the most to you.

       

       

      Space is limited and the registration deadline is fast approaching! Register for this premier legislative conference today and check out the conference agenda as well as the registration and travel information. Questions? Contact ASCD’s policy team at policy@ascd.org.

       

      New ASCD Policy Points on Sequestration and Education Now Available

      Learn all you need to know about sequestration and its consequences for educators and schools in the latest issue of Policy Points, ASCD’s newest policy publication.

      Sequestration, the 8.2 percent deep, across-the-board cuts to nearly all federal spending, will happen in January 2013 unless Congress acts to stop it. For education programs, this means a loss of more than $4 billion in federal funding. Unless lawmakers act soon, the potential loss of educator jobs, programs, transportation, and key school services could have a devastating effect in every state.

      Policy Points explains how we got to this point, outlines what sequestration means for education, and shares action steps that educators like you can take to help stop sequestration. Take one of these steps today, and urge your federal lawmakers to stop sequestration before time runs out and our nation’s students are forced to pay the price for Congress’s inaction.

      Check out the new Whole Child Tenets document

      The Whole Child Programs Unit within Constituent Services has released a new copy of the whole child tenets document (PDF).  In addition to having an updated design, the new layout allows users to see connections between the indicators that describe a tenet, and their correlating components, which were also identified for the ASCD School Improvement Tool. We hope users will find the new format more user-friendly as you work with schools, districts and states to support a whole child approach to education. We believe it to be the most comprehensive way to help educators in the field understand the real scope of a whole child approach.

       

             

       

       

       

       

       

      Emerging Leaders Featured inASCD Inservice Blog Series

      In an effort to highlight more educator voices on the ASCD blog, we recently initiated a series of Q&A sessions featuring ASCD Emerging Leaders. Learn more about 2012 Emerging Leader Daina Lieberman and  2011 Emerging Leader Doug Paulson.

       

       

      Florida ASCD Leader Post Featured in ASCD Inserviceand Core Connection

      ASCD asked some of our affiliate leaders to tell us how the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been going in their home states. In the first post of the series,Florida ASCD President and Emerging Leader alum Alina Davis writes about the challenges and successes that Florida has had with CCSS implementation. This post was also featured in the December 5 issue of ASCD’s Common Core e-newsletter, Core Connection.


       

      Please Welcome Montclair State University to the ASCD Student Chapter Program

      ASCD is pleased to announce that Montclair State University has been accepted into our ASCD Student Chapter Program. The student leaders are enthusiastically planning recruitment events and other activities for the coming semester. To learn more about ASCD Student Chapters, go to www.ascd.org/chapters.

       

       

      Congratulations!

      Other News

       

       

       

      ASCD Leaders on ASCD EDge

      Check out these great posts from ASCD leaders on the ASCD EDgecommunity site. Please read, comment, and share!

       

      ASCD Can Help Support Your Common Core Efforts

      Are you interested in having a session presenter or keynote speaker on Common Core implementation at your next event? ASCD has resources and assistance available to state affiliates that will help to inform your members and educators  about implementing the Common Core standards. ASCD’s recent reportFulfilling the Promise of the Common Core State Standards: Moving from Adoption to Implementation to Sustainability illuminates activities educators at all levels can undertake to successfully implement the Common Core State Standards across the nation. The report and its implementation recommendations have already been successfully presented at events held by Utah ASCD, Ohio ASCD, and North Carolina ASCD. If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, e-mail  Efrain Mercado, lead strategist for the Common Core State Standards, at both efrain.mercado@ascd.org andConstituentServices@ascd.org.


      A Progress Report on Teacher Evaluation

      Teacher quality is the most important in-school factor influencing student learning and achievement. Research shows that students with high-performing teachers can progress three times as fast as students with low-performing teachers and each student deserves access to highly effective teachers in every subject. In turn, all teachers deserve a fair and accurate assessment of their skills, how they perform in the classroom, and how they can improve. Teacher effectiveness is dependent on accurate and fair evaluations, based on multiple measures, including—but not solely based around—their students’ performance in the subjects they teach.

      If the ultimate goal of teacher evaluation is to improve student performance, what should evaluators look for? Read more on the Whole Child Blog.

      In November, we looked at the current teacher evaluation landscape. Listen to the Whole Child Podcast with guests Mike Blakeslee, deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the National Association for Music Education, a whole child partner organization and member of ASCD's College, Career, and Citizenship Readiness Coalition; Bryan Goodwin, vice president of communications at McREL, based in Denver, Colo.; and Cindy Weber, superintendent of Durand Area Schools in Durand, Mich. Have you signed up to receive the Whole Child Newsletter? Read this month's newsletter and visit the archive for more strategies, resources, and tools you can use to help ensure that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

      ASCD’s Educational Leadership also focused on fair and effective teacher evaluation in its November issue, featuring articles by Robert J. Marzano, Charlotte Danielson, Tony Frontier, Thomas R. Hoerr, Carol Ann Tomlinson, and other experts and practitioners. Topics, research, and commentary include peer review, classroom observation, value-added measures, school district examples from across the United States, and lessons from South Korea.

       

      Something to Talk About

      ·         Most recent blog posts on ASCD EDge®

      ·         Most clicked stories from ASCD SmartBrief

       

      Association News

      ·         New Professional Development Resources from ASCD Support Problem-Based Learning, Differentiated Instruction, and Common Core Implementation—ASCD announces the release of a series of new PD In Focus® videos, as well as two PD Online® courses. These new resources focus on supporting educators in implementing problem-based learning, differentiated instruction, and the Common Core State Standards. Read the full press release.

      ·         Thomas Armstrong Presents Strength-Based Model for Teaching Learners with Special Needs in New Book—ASCD is pleased to announce the release ofNeurodiversity in the Classroom: Strength-Based Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs Succeed in School and Life by seasoned educator and best-selling author Thomas Armstrong. This new professional development book is available in paperback and e-book formats. Read the full press release.

      ·         ASCD Authors Headline 2013 Annual Conference Pre-Conference Institutes— ASCD announced the pre-conference session lineup for the 2013 ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show, being held at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. The three-, two-, and one-day Pre-Conference Institutes will be held March 13–15 and offer intensive learning experiences on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and more. Read the full press release.

      ·         Atlanta Public Schools Select Digital Solutions from ASCD to Support Professional Development Goals—Atlanta Public Schools (APS), serving more than 51,000 students in the greater Atlanta, Ga., metro area, has become the latest school system to select digital solutions from ASCD to meet theirdistrictwide professional development goals. Read the full press release.

       

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    • 5 months ago
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  • L2L News: November 2012 L2L News: November 2012

    • From: Meg_Simpson
    • Description:

      ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) News is a monthly e-mail newsletter for ASCD constituent group leaders that builds capacity to better serve members, provides opportunities to promote and advocate for ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, and engages groups through sharing and learning about best practices. To submit a news item for the L2L newsletter, send an e-mail to constituentservices@ascd.org.

      Leader to Leader (L2L) News: November 2012

      Join the L2L Conversation on Twitter

       

      Your To-Do List: Action Items for ASCD Leaders

      Congratulations to the Newly Elected ASCD Leadership

      Following voting in the 2012 General Membership election this fall, ASCD members elected the following individuals to ASCD’s leadership:

      President-Elect:   Nancy Gibson, Illinois

      Board of Directors (two-year term):  Judy Zimmerman, Ohio

      Board of Directors (three-year terms):  Matt McClure, Arkansas and Pam Vogel, Iowa

      These individuals will begin their leadership terms at the 2013 ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Please join us in congratulating them on their new ASCD leadership positions!

       

      Diane Ravitch to Speak at ASCD’s Legislative Conference

      Diane Ravitch, the renowned education historian, author, and professor, will be the keynote speaker for ASCD’s Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy (LILA) in Washington, D.C., January 27–29, 2013. Register for LILA to hear Ravitch’s provocative and unfiltered opinion about the current state of education reform.

      Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush and onetime supporter of the No Child Left Behind Act, has undergone a dramatic rethinking of school improvement strategies as she’s witnessed school choice and standardized test–based accountability in action. She’ll share her insights about the policy and communications challenges facing educators today and how those obstacles can be overcome to prepare students to be college-, career-, and citizenship-ready. She will also advise conference attendees on how they can build public support for their profession and achieve their education policy goals.

      LILA will provide you with the most up-to-date information on federal education policy; share what November’s election results could mean for educators; and help attendees become effective advocates for their students, peers, and schools. Register for this premier legislative conference today and access the conference agenda, as well as lodging and travel information.  

       

      ASCD Leaders in Action: News from the ASCD Leader Community

       

      Congratulations to Bahamas ASCD, Our Newest ASCD Affiliate!

      Bahamas ASCD began as a Connected Community in 2008, and was recently approved by ASCD’s Board of Directors to become an affiliate. Please read Dr. Carter’s ASCD Inservice blog post “Join Me in Welcoming Bahamas ASCD.”

       

      2011 Emerging Leader Hannah Gbenro Featured in New ASCD Inservice Blog Series

      In an effort to highlight more educator voices on the ASCD blog, we recently initiated a series of Q&A sessions featuring ASCD Emerging Leaders. Check out the first post featuring 2011 Emerging Leader Hannah Gbenro.

       

      Please Welcome Huntingdon College to the ASCD Student Chapter Program

      ASCD is pleased to announce that Huntingdon College has been accepted into our ASCD Student Chapter Program. The student leaders are enthusiastically planning recruitment events and other activities for the coming semester. To learn more about ASCD Student Chapters, go to www.ascd.org/chapters.

       

      Brad Kuntz Writes Last “In the Classroom” Column for Education Update

      Please join us in thanking 2011 Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) Winner Brad Kuntz for writing the monthly “In the Classroom” column for Education Update. If you haven’t had a chance to read them yet, check them out:

       

      Emerging Leader Leads First #ASCDL2L Chat

      Earlier this week, 2012 Emerging Leader Eric Bernstein (@BernsteinUSC) led the first #ASCDL2L Twitter chat with several other ASCD Emerging Leaders. The topic of the chat was on the effect of the recent U.S. presidential election on education policies in the United States. Emerging Leaders will be leading future #ASCDL2L chats; the next one will take place this Tuesday, November 13, from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. EDT.

      Follow the #ASCDL2L hashtag or join the Leader to Leader group on ASCD EDge to learn about the future Twitter chats; the archive of this week’s Twitter chat is in the documents section of the Leader to Leader group.

       

      ASCD Leaders on ASCD EDge

      Check out these great posts from ASCD leaders on the ASCD EDge community site. Please read, comment, and share!

       

      Emerging Leader Featured in ASCD Express

      2012 ASCD Emerging Leader Jessica Bohn is a school principal in a state that has fully implemented the Common Core State Standards. Her ASCD Express article, “Setting a Common Course,” shares tips to help others be instructional leaders in common core standards implementation. Please read and share her article!

      Other News:

       

      Putting the Whole Child Approach Into Action

      This month, we added 100 new schools and communities to the ASCD Whole Child Example Map. Identified by an ASCD leader or Whole Child Partner organization, these school and community examples reflect a commitment to a whole child approach put into practice. Each example highlights whole child achievements and links to information about the school or community. Use our interactive map tool to find current examples of schools and communities putting the whole child approach into action in your hometown and around the world. A whole child approach to education ensures that each child, in each school, and in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

      We continue to seek examples from across the world of exemplary schools, districts, and communities that are using a whole child approach. Please review the criteria for inclusion in our Whole Child Examples Map on our online form, and submit an example for review.

       

      New ASCD Publication Policy Points to Highlight Timely Education Topics

      ASCD’s newest policy resource, ASCD Policy Points, will be published every other month and will provide ASCD members, Educator Advocates, and the public with important information, data, and insights on timely education policy topics in an easy to use, easy to understand format (e.g. myths and facts, FAQs, and infographics). The inaugural issue of ASCD Policy Points, published in October, spotlighted the U.S. presidential candidates’ positions on education policy.

       

      Something to Talk About

      Most recent blog posts on ASCD EDge®

      Mostclicked stories from ASCD SmartBrief

       

      Association News

      ASCD Urges All Educators to Stay Informed and Involved—With the election decided, it is crucial for educators to become involved to ensure education remains a top priority for the Obama administration and the 113th Congress. ASCD has a few great ways for educators to stay informed and help shape future education policy. Read the full press release.

      ASCD Releases Report on Common Core State Standards Implementation—ASCD has released a new report titled Fulfilling the Promise of the Common Core State Standards: Moving from Adoption to Implementation to Sustainability illuminating activities educators and policymakers at all levels can undertake to successfully implement the Common Core State Standards across the nation. This free report can be found on the EduCore™ site, ASCD’s free repository of evidence-based strategies, videos, and supporting documents that help educators transition to the Common Core standards. Read the full press release.

      New, Free ASCD App for iPad Brings Valuable Professional Development Content to Educators Anywhere—ASCD has launched a new , free app for iPad that lets educators who purchase ASCD e-books easily access that content on their iPad. ASCD members can also use the app to access their members-only content such as Educational Leadership, Education Update and Policy Priorities. For ASCD premium online or select online members, the app will automatically sync their ASCD e-books. Read the full press release.

      ASCD Appoints Mary Catherine “MC” Desrosiers as New Chief of Program Development—ASCD has appointed Mary Catherine “MC” Desrosiers as the association’s new Chief Program Development Officer. In her new role, Desrosiers will lead and direct the association’s publishing, content acquisition and development, creative services, professional development, and conferences and institutes units. Read the full press release.

      GlobalScholar Renews Support for ASCD’s 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibit Show—GlobalScholar, a provider of innovative education solutions, returns this year as a lead partner for ASCD's 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibit Show. From March 16 to 18, in Chicago, Ill., the association’s Annual Conference and Exhibit Show, “Learning: Our Story. Our Time. Our Future.,” will explore what committed educators are doing to support the success of each learner. Read the full press release.

       

       

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    • 6 months ago
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  • Fall Conference, Atlanta 2012, Fall Conference, Atlanta 2012, Day 2 #ASCDL2L

    • From: Matthew_Cotton
    • Description:

      On Saturday, I was able to see two sessions. The first was Greg Cameron's change initiative planning in the morning and then an awesome presentation with Roberto Pamas on Inspiring Action and Sustaining Leadership through Capacity Building.  There were big take aways I recieved from both of these presentations

      In Cameron's presentation, were the graphic organizers that helped guide leaders in beginning change in their own schools. Participants were asked to share contact information to keep focused and accountable on the change initiative that each chose. In Pamas presentation, there was a great opportunity to listen and learn from Pamas and our peers. The need to delgate so that improvement policies continued even when the leaders leave and for teacher buy-in and voice were discussed. Also, ideas in how to build that capacity were shared so that everyone had ideas on how to build teacher leadership at their own sites.

      I ended my night by taking my colleagues to the World of Coca-Cola and to Mary Mac's Tea Room (you aremissing out if you have not been). Oh, and to top it all off My UGA Bulldogs won its second straight versus Florida.

    • Blog post
    • 7 months ago
    • Views: 383

  • Fall Conference, Atlanta 2012, Fall Conference, Atlanta 2012, Day 1 #ASCDL2L

    • From: Matthew_Cotton
    • Description:

      Hello All :)

      Today I was able to see the general session, Deborah Burns' Comon Core Standards and High Level Thinking Workshop, and Maya Sadder's The Principal as Formative Coach.

      I loved the opening address and the ideas Jeff Howard presented on proficiency (Adults must reach proficiency before we can expect children to). I loved the idea of changing mindsets and getting faculty buy in (even if there will be resistance).

      Also, I loved the intelegence model he presented:

      Confidence -> Effective Effort -> Development (Circular also regressive)

      This really is a great reinforcement to enstilling strong relationships with our students and get to know them so they can be built up. I plan to use this in my own research about Amotivation!

      In Deborah Burns' workshop we learned how higher order thinking (HOT) was planned and is imbedded into common core. We were able to see how each standard necessitates the use of HOT and how Blooms and Webb's DOK will need to be understood. I loved the share time she had embedded into the workshop and I walked away with a lot to share with my fellow faculty back at my school.

      In Maya Sadder's presentation, she informed us about using formative data (not just summative) to help direct teaching. There must be a formal structure (she uses the Danielson model http://www.danielsongroup.org/article.aspx?page=frameworkforteaching) to guide the conversation. We use a similar practice at my home school which is called the college ready promise (http://www.thecollegereadypromise.org), but I loved the the idea of collecting school wide formative assessments to probe instruction and direct vertical planning. As a future administrator, I liked the ideas and want to take them with me!

      Check back tomorrow and Ill post about then too!

      If you are in Atlanta,

      Check out the Varsity (great fast food joint), Dante's Down the Hatch (Unreal good), and Mary Mac's Tea Room :)

      Until tomorrow!

       

      Matt :)

       

    • Blog post
    • 7 months ago
    • Views: 421

  • Fall Conference, Atlanta 2012 Fall Conference, Atlanta 2012 #ASCDL2L

    • From: Matthew_Cotton
    • Description:

      Just got to Atlanta and saw some sights. Good to be at home again... The conference looks good, wish there were more chances to see sessions. Too much to pick from!!

      Going to see... 

      Common Core State Standards and Higher Level Thinking: A Two-For-One Opportunity in Friday, Session 1

      and

      The Principal as Formative Coach, Session 2

      Both look fantastic! Hope to see everyone there!

    • Blog post
    • 7 months ago
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  • Ellis_Bliss

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 84
    • Since: 7 months ago
    • Not yet rated

  • Crystal_Eaddy

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 59
    • Since: 7 months ago
    • Not yet rated

  • Looking out from SKYPE Looking out from SKYPE

    • From: Tom_Whitby
    • Description:

      SKYPE is an application that allows your image to be broadcast to another computer anywhere in the world. It is great for Skyping authors, experts, or even NASA scientists into a classroom. An entire class can “Skype” with another class anywhere a computer has a feed. The potential for lecture, collaboration and learning is unlimited. I thought it might be interesting to share the Skype experience from the point of view of the presenter.

       

      I was fortunate and honored to be asked by the organizers of Edcamp Atlanta to Skype into their Edcamp for a Q & A session. I know many people have been in a room when someone skypes in, but I thought I could share the experience from the other side of the camera. Skyping in as a speaker is not the same experience as a Skype call with a friend.

      The first consideration on the call is the Time Zone. Proximity plays a big part in the need to Skype in the first place. Obviously, if you could be in a place in person, there would be no need to Skype. Time differences can be a big part of the planning for the call. I prefer Skyping west as opposed to Skyping east. California calls are always easier than those early hour Skypes to England.

      The next consideration is what to wear. A big plus with Skype is that the only concern needed is for what shirt to wear. Theoretically, a Skype call could be done trouserless, because the camera only gets the upper part of your body. That narrows the decision to shirt and hair. The shirt decision is easy, but to wear a tie or not to wear a tie is always a question. My answer is consistently to not wear a tie. Hair is another story altogether. You don’t want to resemble Clint Eastwood as he addressed an empty chair in his now infamous YouTube video from the RNC. Come to think of it, he might have been better off Skyping that presentation.

      Once you are settled with the final decisions, it is time to place your fate in the hands of others. They will make the call to connect, and then the fun begins. If you are Skyping to a room of people, the sound and picture coming from the simple computer alone will not be enough for them to see and hear. A large screen and a sound amplifying system will need to be brought in. Along with that comes the IT guy who must hook it all up. Of course you need to be connected for all of this to happen, so the setup is taking place on the screen before your eyes as well as the audience. Sound Check! Sound Check! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5……

      Once the picture and sound are up and running and the audience has a perfect view of you the IT guy goes back to his office. What IT guys usually fail to do however is position the computer that you are feeding into, so that you can see the audience that you are addressing. With luck you might have a partial view of the group, but invariably it is always askew. If you are really not lucky, it may be facing the wrong direction altogether.

      Now it is time to address the audience. Again with luck on your side, there might be a few people visible, but they are at a distance. Many of the cues that you would get from an in-person presentation are not visible on a Skype call. The worst part however is the Question and Answer portion. People do not interact with the TV version of a presenter as they do with a live presenter. Again, the cues from a live back-and-forth interaction are just not there. The sound system can also be a killer. If the moderator is using a microphone that echoes in the venue, then you have less of a chance of clearly hearing the questions being posed. There is a great possibility that you are answering a question that was never asked.

      The very worst thing though is when you use a line in your Skype presentation that always elicits a certain response in a live presentation, but here, in the world of Skype, nothing happens. Of course it can’t be the fault of the line that you used, because it always worked live, so the only answer is that the audience can’t hear you.

      The question: Can you hear me?

      The answer: Yeah, we can hear you fine!

      So much for my career in standup comedy.

      I am most thankful however that in my Skype presentation to the Atlanta Edcamp, as I sat in my neatly ironed Hawaiian shirt and pajama pants, shoeless, and sockless, none of these things happened. It was a flawless presentation on connectedness for educators followed by an active exchange of questions and answers.

      I am most grateful and honored to have been asked by the good folks of Atlanta Edcamp to participate with them in this wonderful professional development endeavor. I truly hope I didn’t disappoint.

       

    • Blog post
    • 8 months ago
    • Views: 616

  • Pamela_Seda

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 66
    • Since: 9 months ago
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  • Sara_Cummings

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
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    • Since: 9 months ago
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  • L2L News: July 2012 L2L News: July 2012

    • From: Meg_Simpson
    • Description:

      ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) News is a monthly e-mail newsletter for ASCD constituent group leaders that builds capacity to better serve members, provides opportunities to promote and advocate for ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, and engages groups through sharing and learning about best practices. To submit a news item for the L2L newsletter, send an e-mail to constituentservices@ascd.org.

      Your To-Do List: Action Items for ASCD Leaders

      • Nominate or apply for the Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) by August 1. ASCD is awarding $10,000 to educators under the age of 40 who demonstrate excellence in educating the whole child. Learn more and nominate at www.ascd.org/oyea. Nominations for the 2013 award are open until 11:59 p.m. eastern time on August 1.
         
      • Speak out on sequestration. An education crisis is looming with the potential to disrupt services to 7.5 million students and threaten 90,000 educator jobs. Read more and take action on ascd.org.

      • Write for Educational Leadership. Would you like to submit a manuscript to Educational Leadership? ASCD is looking for high-quality, original submissions that shed light on our monthly themes. We will also consider nontheme-related articles for Special Topics. View the complete list of our upcoming 2012–13 themes and deadlines.

       

      ASCD Governance Updates: Constitutional Changes and Candidates for Office

      ASCD Members Approve Proposed Constitutional Changes

      ASCD members voted to approve a set of proposed changes to the ASCD Constitution; the results were certified by the independent audit firm of CliftonLarsonAllenLLP. The approved changes will result in

      ·         A smaller Board of Directors over the next four years.

      ·         An increase in a Board member’s term from three years to four years, effective with the 2013 elections.

      ·         Election of a President by Board members, rather than the general membership, beginning in 2015.

      ·         The creation of an ASCD Forum, effective by the end of 2012.

      ·         Dissolution of the Leadership Council, effective immediately.

      Please contact Becky DeRigge if you have any questions about the vote.

       

      Slate of Candidates for the 2012 ASCD General Membership Election

      President-Elect (one-year term):

      Marc Cohen, Md.

      Nancy Gibson, Ill.

      Board of Directors (one position available, two-year term):

      D. William Dodds, Ill.

      Judith Zimmerman, Ohio

      Board of Directors (two positions available, three-year terms):

      Jennifer Lewis, Australia

      Matt McClure, Ark.

      Pam Vogel, Iowa

       

      Meet the 2012 ASCD President-Elect Candidates

      In 2012, ASCD members will elect the President-Elect, who will serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors as an officer of the association: one year as President-Elect, one year as President, and one year as Immediate Past-President. This year, ASCD held the 2012 Meet the President-Elect Candidates Forum at its Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa. The event allowed interested members to pose questions to each candidate and to get better acquainted with their credentials to make a more informed election decision.

      Members will vote on candidates from September 1 through October 15, 2012. To help inform your vote, view the video of the session, which begins with opening statements from both candidates and is followed by their responses to each question. A PDF transcript of the forum is also available. In addition, be sure to keep an eye out for the September issue of Education Update, which will include biographical information on the candidates in the General Membership election as well as instructions on how to vote.

       

       

      Please Welcome New Affiliate Executive Directors

      Please join ASCD in welcoming the following individuals as they begin their new roles as ASCD affiliate executive directors:

      Kevin Kjellerup, Florida ASCD

      Rex Anderson, Nebraska ASCD

      Patricia Miller, New Mexico ASCD

      Valerie Kelsey, New York State ASCD

      Daniel Craig, Oklahoma ASCD

      Richard Nilsen, Pennsylvania ASCD

      Lynne Baty, Utah ASCD

      Please note the following interim contact until the affiliate has a new executive director:

      Massachusetts ASCD: Cynthia Crimmin, affiliate president

       

      2012 Emerging Leaders Featured in the News

      Check out these news pieces featuring 2012 ASCD Emerging Leaders:

      ·         Michael DeCaprio

      ·         Jason Ellingson

      ·         Rob Zywicki

      ·         Krista Rundell

       

      Farewell and Thank You to Outgoing Affiliate Executive Directors

      It is a time of transition for many affiliates, as new affiliate presidents-elect and presidents began their terms on July 1. At the same time, several affiliate executive directors have recently transitioned out of their leadership roles as well. ASCD would like to take a moment to thank these leaders for their years of work and dedication in the affiliate executive director role, striving to ensure that each child in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. You will be missed!

      Kim Pearson, Florida ASCD

      Mary Forte Hayes, Massachusetts ASCD

      Sue Anderson, Nebraska ASCD

      Judith Tanner, New Mexico ASCD

      Tony Mello, New York State ASCD

      Wayne Beam, Oklahoma ASCD

      Jim Warnock, Pennsylvania ASCD

      Amanda Calton, Utah ASCD

       

      Past OYEA Cadre Members Share Their Thoughts on ASCD Inservice

       

       

      Congratulations!

      • 2010 ASCD Emerging Leader and California ASCD Board Member John Forbes is the new principal of Fresno High School.
         
      • California ASCD Board Member Devin Vodicka is the new Superintendent of Vista Unified School District.

       

      Other News

      • California ASCD welcomes two new board members: Laurel Ashlock and Dennis Deets. CASCD also extends a warm welcome to the 2012 Emerging Leaders from California: Matthew Cotton and Annie Brown.
         
      • Virginia ASCD would like to thank Betsy Poulsen for her two years of dedication and hard work as president. Under her leadership, VASCD improved communication with members, defined the role and responsibilities of Board members in detail, revised the constitution and bylaws, and recognized the need to influence and inform the state’s general assembly regarding education issues. In this time when so much is going on in education, it is important to recognize someone who is so committed to providing the tools and support to make all children successful. The VASCD board and members applaud you, Betsy!
         
      • Last month, we featured the @MentorTeachers and @WorldofLanguages as Twitter success stories. Check out the story from Richard Lange’s perspective on ASCD EDge in his post, Tweeting With Friends.
         
      • Check out the ASCD Inservice post Defining Your Own Best Practices, which highlights former OYEA Winner Pete Hall’s ASCD Virtual Conference session.

      Check Out the Whole Child Summer Professional Devleopment Blog Series

      Through the end of August, the Whole Child Blog will be running a summer professional development (PD) blog series. This free series provides whole child resources that educators can use to gain further insight on implementing a whole child approach. The first post, "Your Summer PD: Successful School," provides readers with an understanding of what successful school sites are doing adn the steps that they can take to build and sustain a whole child culture.

       

      Thirteen Huffington Post Education, Parenting, and Health Bloggers Joint Post In Support of the Whole Child

      ASCD Whole Child Programs Director Sean Slade joined Martin J. Blank, Sam Chaltain, Peter DeWitt, John M. Eger, Larry Ferlazzo, Jenifer Fox, Shaun Johnson, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Jennifer Peck, Kate Quarfordt, Jim Taylor, and Jill Vialet to write the blog post entitled “In Support of the Whole Child:”

      "We are at a crossroads in this nation regarding the direction that public education will take in the coming decades. Do we ffocus on a curriculum that concentrates on a few core subjects or do we gain an appreciation for how public education can develop all aspects of the child to teh benefit of each of them as well as society in general? Do we place test preparation ahead of actually educating our children and test scores ahead of broader and more holistic approaches to evaluating students' competencies? These questions lay at the heart of the current debate about the future of public education in America." Read the full post.

       

      Something to Talk About

       

      Association News

      Teaching and Leading Conference Hosted by ASCD Coming to Atlanta in October—ASCD is bringing its Fall Conference on Revolutionizing the Way We Lead and Learn to Atlanta, Ga., October 26–28, 2012. Read the full press release.

      Free Resources from ASCD Offer Professional Development Opportunities All Summer—This summer ASCD has again made available to educators of all levels a wide variety of free professional development resources. Read the full press release.

      New Coalition Promotes College, Career, and Citizenship Readiness—A broad new coalition, led by ASCD and joined by more than two dozen national education organizations, has been formed to better advocate for school programs beyond reading, math, and science. Representing a wide array of subject areas, the members of the College, Career, and Citizenship Readiness Coalition are working to advance the concept that a comprehensive education in all core academic subjects, including physical education and health education, is necessary to prepare graduates for college and careers. Read the full press release.

      AETN, ADE Renew Partnership with ASCD Providing Effective Professional Development to Educators Across Arkansas—The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) and Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) have renewed their partnership with ASCD to provide effective, digital professional development opportunities for Arkansas educators statewide. Delivered through the ArkansasIDEAS (Internet Delivered Education for Arkansas Schools) professional development website, ASCD’s professional development courses cover topics such as Common Core State Standards implementation, differentiated instruction, integrating technology into classroom instruction, and other critical subjects and competencies. Read the full press release.

      New DVDs from ASCD Explore Unpacking Common Core State Standards and Effective Supervision—ASCD has created two new professional development DVDs. These new releases feature the groundbreaking work of leading education experts and empower viewers to implement Common Core State Standards using the Understanding by Design® framework and apply the art and science of teaching to effective supervision. Read the full press release.

      ASCD Announces Free 2012 Summer Boot Camp Webinar Series—ASCD announces the 2012 Summer Boot Camp webinar series. Assisting educators at all levels around the globe prepare for the 2012–13 school year, ASCD’s free summer boot camp comprises nine informative webinars on a variety of topics that shape classrooms worldwide. Read the full press release.

       

       

       

       

       

       

    • Blog post
    • 10 months ago
    • Views: 741
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  • Philip_Smith

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 14
    • Since: 11 months ago
    • Not yet rated

  • Let’s all assume best intentio Let’s all assume best intentions.

    • From: Chris_Sousa
    • Description:

      Recently I spoke with a journalist from Reader's Digest, who is writing an article on "What your Principal won't tell you", due out in September ‘12.  It is a lighthearted look at what a principal would like parents to know.  Not long after that conversation I received an email from a colleague with a link to an article written by Ron Clark (an educator who started his own academy in Atlanta and has been touted by celebrities).  His article is entitled, “What teachers really want to tell parents” and can be found at http://bit.ly/Jj98bI.  While his article raises some very good points, I found it to be a bit harsh.  As a parent (and an educator) I take issue with some of what he points out, and much of the manner in which he does it in, and while that may be the topic of another post, I thought that since these two occurrences happened so close to one another, it must have been fate telling me to write down some of my thoughts on what I would like parents to know.
      Overall, I have to say that as an educator, I have had great experiences with parents.  Some of whom I have become friends with and most of whom I respect greatly.  It is no easy job being a parent, and I was always fond of telling those parents who apologized for calling me to “complain/discuss” their child, that they should not apologize for being their child’s advocate, even if they are doing it in an emotional manner.  Frankly, I am more concerned with the parents who don’t advocate for their kids, or who are not emotional about their child’s education and well-being.  While we do agree on a few things, I am not sure Mr. Clark gets that.

      Some things I would like parents to understand are:

      The child we see is not the same child they see.  Kids act differently at home than they do in “their” environment at school.  It is not necessarily better or worse, but different.  In this way, teachers and parents get to see a different side of our kids, and with proper and positive communication, can share these perspectives and gain powerful insights into who our students and children are.

      All kids make mistakes.  As both a teacher and a principal, I have had countless experiences with students who I have caught lying to me, their parents, teachers, and peers.  In the end, most times, the truth comes out and the fact is; kids make mistakes.   Please don’t call and say, “that my child would never lie to me”, and that “I know they are not an angel, but this time….”  Kids are kids, and sometimes they make mistakes, and yes even lie or mislead their parents, teachers, principals, etc.  We want to work with you, not against you, but please be realistic.  We are not here to make stuff up about your kids, we love your kids.

      Communication works best when it goes both ways.  As teachers, we often take for granted that our students are talking to their parents about school, and while we provide constant feedback to our students, the major methods of communication home are the progress reports and report cards that go out every few weeks.  Please consider those reports as a strong part of our overall communication.  If there is something that is not understood or concerning, email or call.  With so many children to keep track of, most times we don’t call or email home when a student fails a test or drops a letter grade.  If the signs are there on the progress report, and you never called in to check on it, then please don’t call after the report card goes home asking why we didn’t notify you they were in trouble.  Rather, call to talk about how we can work from that point on to ensure learning.

      Education does not function well with the top-down business model that many parents work in.  Principal’s just don’t “tell” their teachers what to do, even if they think their suggestions are valid.  Our goal is to influence teachers, to bring them to an understanding, and assist them in broadening their thinking in order to stretch their boundaries.  Most times this results in teachers, parents, and principals being on the same page, but it takes time, communication, and understanding that we all have each other's best interests at heart.  Let’s assume best intentions.

      Please know that some of my time as a Principal was spent defending poor choices made by good teachers.  Everyone makes mistakes and while parents and students can comment, often in-depth, about how you feel about the situation, I cannot.  My hands are usually somewhat tied by contract agreements, state laws, and respect for all parties.  My overarching goal is to listen to your concerns and hopefully reassure you that I understand, and will do something about it.  However, I need to do it on my own terms in a way that brings about meaningful results that we can all learn from and puts the student’s success first.

      As a Principal, I cannot count how many times I have fielded calls from parents and families about concerns over specific lessons or teachers.  While I was always pleased that they felt comfortable calling me, the outcome was usually the same; I can do nothing without talking to the teacher first.  As a matter of fact, my first question was always, “have you spoken with the teacher?”  The answer was almost always, no.  I can speculate on the reasons that parents call the Principal first, but in the end, if you really want to help your child, call the teacher first.  Ninety-nine percent of the time, it will solve the problem, clear up the issue, and help the child, parent, and teacher.

      Overall, schools work best if we all assume best intentions and increase communication.  If I had one thing to offer to parents (and teachers) it is that positive communication, early and often, is key creating a strong partnership between home and school.  Take time to think about all the positives we experience with regards to our children’s education, and then highlight some of them with a note or phone call.  I assure you, you’ll make someone’s day, and you’ll be glad you did.

      

    • Blog post
    • 1 year ago
    • Views: 259

  • Syreeta_Pratt

    • ASCD EDge Member
    • Points:250
    • Views: 110
    • Since: 1 year ago
    • Not yet rated

  • Day 2, Sunday at ASCD Day 2, Sunday at ASCD

    • From: Robert_Ryshke
    • Description:

      Well, I thought I would start my morning out thinking about whether I could do a strand throughout the day on project-based learning.  Through my work at the Center for Teaching, we are bringing the Buck Institute to Drew Charter School from May 30-June 1 to participate in their 3-day training session on PBL.  Drew, a K-8 charter school, is going to make a commitment to implementation of project-based learning.  As their new high school, Drew Senior Academy, will be founded under a PBL model, we want to be sure students have a good grounding in the process during their middle school years.

       

      My first session began with Andrew Miller (Edutopia blog and Miller on Twitter), an educational consultant based out of Seattle, WA.  Andrew works with the Buck Institute and Edutopia, writing, blogging, and leading workshops on PBL.  His session, Project-Based Learning Online: Aligning the Essential Outcomes, was well delivered and very informative.  Andrew took us through the PBL framework (The Cycle of Inquiry in PBL).  He focused a fair amount of attention on how he implements PBL online.  In the context of his presentation, he pointed out that a great deal of online learning is really just another way of delivering content in a tedious way, but just with technology.  His feeling is that if online learning is going to transform how we teach, he needs to be more rigorous in offering the learner a new way to interact with ideas.  He clearly believes that PBL can deliver an online learning experience that is more interesting and able to engage the learner.  Andrew connected well with his audience and left us with many PBL resouces and ideas for consideration.

       

      I then made my way through the long and never-ending corridor to the general session withl Dr. Atul Gawande who would speak to us about how to move our work from being good to great.  Dr. Atul is a surgeon, writer, educator, and coach to many.  He has recently written a NY Times Bestseller, The Checklist Manifesto, an exploration for how to innovate practices in medicine and hospital to improve surgical procedures and patient safety.  Dr. Gawande did an amazing job of hooking his audience into a series of stories that portrayed his vision for how professionals, like doctors and educators, could move their practice from being good to being great.  He sees many similarities between doctors and educators, our challenges and opportunities to impact the lives of people through our practice.  Through a story about a cystic fibrosis patient and his doctor, he talked about how the personal connection between doctor and patient was the way this doctor helped his patient take control of his disease.  Looking at great athletes, artists and musicians, he noticed that many of them have coaches throughout their careers, even the very best.  When you're immersed in your work, it is hard to see yourself and evaluate your performance.  A coach can help them see their mistakes and give them suggestions for how to improve next time.  Sean Foley is helping Tiger Woods, one of the best golfers of all time, redefine his golf game.  Dr. Gawande has taken on a coach to help him see how to improve his surgical techniques and practice.  His point is that all doctors and educators could benefit from having a coach, investing in someone who could help move our work from good to great.  Finally, he promoted three values that he believes people who want to improve their performance must have: humility, discipline, and the ability to work collaboratively with others.  He inspired us all and received a standing ovation.  See my Storify summary of Twitter feeds during the talk.

       

      In my third session, I wanted to hear from Carol Ann Tomlinson on the differences between learning styles and learning profile.  With all the chatter about how educators are misusing the concept of learning styles in their work with students, I wanted to understand this more.  There seems to be no better person to tell is how it is than Carol Ann Tomlinson.  Dr. Tomlinson is an excellent presenter.  She approaches a talk in a highly organized, interesting, and thought-provoking manner.  This was no exception.  We learned that there is a difference between learning styles and learning profile.  Learning style is just 1/4 of the learning profile umbrella.  The other three components within the learning profile umbrella are gender, culture, and intelligence preference.  She demonstrated how the research was very clear that a child's learning profile is something real and worthy of understanding.  There is little debate about the impact of gender, culture, and intelligence preference on a child's way of knowing.  The research is a little more fuzzy on the impact of learning style.  Much of the criticism comes from psychologists, neuroscientists, and sociologists who believe that educators have misused many of the tools that are linked to the learning style movement.  Dr. Tomlnson presented a very clear and balanced view of the criticism, its flaws and merits.  She left us with a good understanding that we (educators) need to do a better job of using the learning styles tools more carefully when trying to understand our learners.  In conclusion, she showed a slide of the SHOULD DOs and SHOULDN'T DOs and explained it from a personal perspective. It worked as a technique.  See my Storify summary of her talk.

       

      Finally, I went to a session with Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey called, The Purposeful Classroom.  They have co-authored a book with the same title that was published by ASCD.  It was a very engaging presentation on why we have to build lessons that are purposeful, that engage the learner, and that help the learner understand the goals we hope to accomplish.  They showed some interesting videos of students who were asked by their principal what they were learning today.  There were a group of students who could not articulate what they were learning or why they were learning it.  While another group of students were capable of sharing their ideas.  The authors believe that when students are engaged in purposeful activities that have meaning, and activites and assignments are clearly linked to the purpose, then educators can reliably check for understanding and determine whether their learning goals were understood.  Otherwise, we cannot be sure that students are learning or that they care about their learning.  I found their ideas to be worthy of implementation.  Probably a good book for educators to read and reflect on.

       

      It was a very productive day at ASCD 2012. 

       

    • Blog post
    • 1 year ago
    • Views: 889

  • Saturday at ASCD Saturday at ASCD

    • From: Robert_Ryshke
    • Description:

      Day 1 at ASCD's Annual Conference was definitely productive.  While it is impossible to get a full flavor of what's happening, following Twitter feeds was definitely one way to stay connected.  Kudos to ASCD for making an excellent WiFi signal available throughout the conference.  i was able to connect to many other workshops by following the Twitter feeds.

       

      The workshops I attended were generally of very high quality.  I started out in the first workshop slot with Allizon Zmuda who talked about Developing K-12 Longitudinal Rubrics to Measure 21st Century Skills.  She did an excellent job of sharing her work with school districts on incorporating 21st Century skills into the design of K-12 curriculum, assessment and instruction.  The majority of her time with us was sharing rubrics that schools have designed for measuring how well these skills are being taught and incorporated.  A variety of school districts are working with her to implement these strategies.

       

      The second experience that day was trying to keep pace with Reed Timmer's energy as he took us on a wild ride through Tornado Alley.  Reed, one of the meteorologists involved in Discovery Channel's program Storm Chasers, did a fabulous job of showing us the science, technology, and engineering involved in tracking tornados.  Reed doesn't just track them, he gets inside them to collect invaluable data about a tornado's character.  It seems personal for him.  He is one a mission to understand tornados at their very core.  I also thought he did a great job of connecting his work to STEM education in schools.  He was one of those science, math nerds who loved project-oriented learning in thes disciplines.  He was an active member of his school's Science Olympiad club.  It was certainly captivating to get inside these tornados and hear their roar. 

       

      The next workshop experience I had was Upgrading Your Professional Development: Using Digital 2.0 Tools to Enhance your Training.  The workshop was delivered by Ann Johnson from Curriculum Designers.  While this session referenced a number of tools that were not familiar to me, Mentimeter and Bubbl, I was not as impressed with the outcomes from this workshop.  it was very rushed.  We didn't delve into any depth using any one tool, nor did we discuss the implications of using these tools with students or how to actually integrate them into the classroom (classroom examples).

       

      The 3:00 pm workshop session was with Agnes Matheson (Twitter) from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, GA.  Agnes worked with the group on how to maximize learning time in the classroom using brain-based strategies and knowledge of primacy-recency.  She is a Spanish teacher at The Westminster Schools who works closely with faculty on implicating teaching strategies into their language classrooms, especially the use of a language lab as a learning tool.  Using the primacy-recency model, Agnes conducted action research with her classrooms, as part of her involvement in the Faculty Cohort Program through the Center for Teaching.  Her research resulted in reconfiguration of how she structured the use of classroom time.  She finds that she makes much better use of time.  In addition, she shared many of the strategies she uses during "down time" to engage the learner. 

       

      In the 5:00 pm slot, I attended a workshop by James Stronge and Leslie Grant on the similarities and differences between "high-quality teachers" in China and the United States.  There workshop was entitled, What Makes Great Teachers Great: Lessons from National Award Winning Teachers.  While there were many parts of their presentation that I found interesting, I found they were stretching their conclusions which were based on a small set of data.  There were only about 12 teachers from China and 12 from the United States in their pool.  I did find some of the comparisons they made between the culture of education in China and United States fascinating.  They are writing a book on the research they are doing so maybe they will be able to fill out their data set by then.

      All-in-all a good day at ASCD 2012.

       

    • Blog post
    • 1 year ago
    • Views: 493
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