Pre-Conference Institutes
Making a Difference: Revolutionizing the Way We Plan and Evaluate Professional Development
October 25, 2012 | Atlanta, Ga.
Accountability in professional development means that educators must show their professional learning experiences lead to better instructional practice and improved student learning. But how can leaders make sure that new forms of job-embedded, school-based professional learning make a difference in teachers' practices and students' performance? Through a variety of learning activities, participants will explore factors that contribute to the effectiveness of professional development. They will learn how to identify reliable indicators of success as part of professional development planning, apply research findings to professional development design and implementation, gather quantitative and qualitative evidence on effects, and present that evidence in meaningful and convincing ways. They will take away new ideas and strategies for improving professional development processes and evaluating the results of those experiences. Participants will
- Develop specific skills in planning effective professional learning experiences that lead to enhanced instructional practices and improved student learning outcomes.
- Develop guidelines for implementing the five crucial levels of professional development evaluation, plan procedures for gathering meaningful and appropriate information at each level, and explore techniques for communicating that information to different stakeholders.
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Presenter: Tom Guskey, University of Kentucky, Lexington
Registration Fee: $249 (ASCD members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials Fee: $26 for Evaluating Professional Development
Registration Code: PD13GA001
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Transforming Urban Schools Through Fearless Leadership
October 25, 2012 | Atlanta, Ga.
This session is for educators who choose to be fearless in creating oases of success in America's schools. It is for teachers and administrators who want to rekindle the passion that brought them to education and who want to join forces to transform their schools by developing their competence and confidence to nurture high intellectual performances in all students. Participants will learn about the unique complexities of urban schooling; how to redefine leadership; and how to use a strengths-based approach to harness the power of leadership teams, thus enabling all students to meet and exceed the college- and career-readiness goals of the Common Core State Standards. They will experience what fearless leading is, why it is needed, and what fearless leaders are able to do. This highly interactive and engaging workshop will focus on the work of the National Urban Alliance in school districts around the country in improving the instructional landscape for all students and the educators who work with them. Participants will
- Understand the unique complexities of urban schooling in the 21st century to meet and exceed the Common Core State Standards.
- Acquire skills and strategies in creating Meditative Learning Communities™ that lead to oases of success in the otherwise bleak landscape of education today.
- Connect current practices to possibilities that nurture high intellectual performance for all students.
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Presenter: Yvette Jackson and Veronica McDermott, Education Consultants, Syosset, N.Y.
Registration Fee: $249 (ASCD members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials Fee: $19 for Aim High, Achieve More: How to Transform Urban Schools Through Fearless Leadership
Registration Code: PD13GA002
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Getting to "Got It"!: Ideas and Strategies to Support Struggling Students
October 25, 2012 | Atlanta, Ga.
When students are having difficulty with academics like reading or math; difficulty remembering and following directions; or difficulty with behaviors like lack of motivation, paying attention, or participation, they need to be equipped with the basic cognitive structures to process information for meaning. Participants will learn how to help students use reflective awareness and visualization to develop their cognitive processes. Included in this institute are suggestions for using this approach in daily classroom practice, advice on lesson planning for cognitive engagement, and guidelines for conducting reflective research so students can become their own teachers when dealing with unfamiliar information.
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Presenter: Betty Garner, Education Consultant, Gig Harbor, Wash.
Registration Fee: $249 (ASCD members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials Fee: $19 for Getting to Got It: Helping Struggling Students Learn How to Learn
Registration Code: PD13GA003
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Instructional Rounds: What Are They and Do They Work?
October 25, 2012 | Atlanta, Ga.
What are walk-throughs and instructional rounds? Who does them, how are they done, and what difference do they make? This session answers these questions and provides examplars of practice related to Robert Marzano's framework for Supervision of the Art and Science of Teaching.
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Presenter: Deborah Childs-Bowen, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala.
Registration Fee: $249 (ASCD members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Registration Code: PD13GA004
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