Participants will experience one of the newest trends with gamification and personalized learning. Instead of breaking out, participants will break into learning using literature to connect to science or historical content. Participants will experience the gamified break in using a familiar board game that is digitalized and a variety of applications and platforms working in small groups to successfully complete each mini challenge and show the teacher mastery of standards and deep understanding of the content along the way.
Schools must be intentional about creating cultures of C.A.R.E.: cultures that are Culturally-relevant, Affirming, Responsive, and Empowering. In this presentation, participants will learn how these pillars promote the success of often marginalized student groups.
Learn about how to utilize the Cycles of Inquiry Model for School Processes to transform school improvement processes to be embedded in a culture of instructional inquiry. Presenters will share information about their engagement in a research study and their experiences in this change process.
Are you just tired of the same old discussion techniques? Students dragging their feet participating? Not getting the results you want? We have some suggestions for you! This session will be experiential in that you will actually do the strategies as students. Come experience Table Top Twitter Chats, 4 Corners, Tug of War, What's the Question and a few more. Be ready to talk!
Educators often converse about the bold ideas influencing education during this time. The conversations are filled with innovative concepts and how teachers hope to establish these ideas in class. It is a challenge for educators to balance traditional methods with cutting edge approaches to teaching. What if teachers had preferable tools for measuring what students knew or could accomplish? What if an educator's classroom was designed in a way that their students drove their own learning? In this session, teachers will learn what it takes to release the power and connect with their students. The audience will be challenged to shift their thinking from students and teacher learning styles to preferred learning. Students can find success through failure, grit, and lessons with purpose. It is my hope that teachers visiting this session will discover the benefits of flexible seating, success criteria and rubrics as tools for assessment, and student-led learning. Teachers can release the power of long established educational patterns and connect by allowing preferred seating, means for evaluation, and student led discovery. In this session, I will share humorous video clips, pictures of my students and classroom, and students' opinions on a flexible seating environment. Furthermore, I will explain the writing rubrics used at the intermediate level, in our district. This will show the teachers how students use preferred tools to measure their level of success. I will give teachers other real world examples of when educators can utilize rubrics to engage students in learning. The teachers will see videos of students using rubrics for self-evaluation. The writing rubrics combine the Common Core Standards and the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing To close this session, I will address the importance of teachers building relationships with students to empower their success. Connecting is the foundation for learning. It is my goal to inspire teachers to think differently, be responsive to preferred learning, and to leave a legacy by building relationships.
HyperDocs create an interactive learning experience for students, allowing them to explore content, create, and curate digital artifacts that demonstrate their learning. In this session we will explore how to use the HyperDoc process to transform the learning experience using the full Google Suite: including Slides, Drawings, and MyMaps.
Picture books have a magic about them. They have a way of drawing in both young and old readers. Bring this magic into your classroom! This session will provide participants with a list of over 200 mentor texts. I will be sharing ideas of how to pair fiction and nonfiction texts and how to use current and classic children's books to teach the standards. Participants will take away fun, engaging ways to use picture books as mentor texts in their own classrooms.
Speaking and listening standards are across the curriculum at every level, and sometimes are overlooked or underdeveloped. Podcasts can help you rev up your standards while also infusing others. Come learn about how to use podcasts in the classroom, how to create your own podcasts for student learning, and how to get students podcasting. Bring your listening skills, creativity, and gift for gab.
Too often Chromebooks are only thought of as tools for word processing and presentations. The reality is that you can unlock so much more with the Chrome apps, extensions, and add-ons that can transform the learning in your classroom.
As educators many of us have seen an increase in student behaviors and social emotional needs of students. This session will provide you with an understanding of the reason behind student behaviors. You will learn how to determine the function of a student's behavior. By determining the function of the behavior, you are able to understand the reason behind the behavior and develop appropriate strategies for addressing the behavior. Participants will learn methods for clearly determining the function of a behavior, as well as strategies they can use to address the different types of functions. This will aid educators in reducing the amount of behavioral issues present in the classroom. Additionally, the components of a functional behavior assessment will be discussed and participants will leave have a thorough understanding of functional behavior assessments.
Looking for a few tricks to use technology more effectively every day? This fast paced session will cover many tips & tricks that will make your life easier! After a few years of being 1:1 in our district, we’ve learned and shared many ideas to increase productivity and decrease headaches with technology in the classroom. We’ll be showing tricks for Google sharing, formatting, graphics, extensions, apps, and add-ons Come join the fun, but make sure you bring your laptop so you can play along and leave with the information ready to use on Monday morning! We will even share a few shortcuts that will be a game changer. We will focus on teacher productivity but many of the tricks can be used by students too. If you are looking for ways to make your Google experience more productive, this is the session for you!
As school leaders, we set the tone for what happens in our classrooms and our buildings. We know how important it is to help our teachers become the best they can be, but we struggle because our job descriptions are seemingly endless. With a to-do list far longer than hours in a day, our best intentions often go unfulfilled. Sadly, our instructional leadership plans get pushed to the side in order to put out the countless fires that come up during our day. So how do we become the instructional leaders we long to be and still keep the day-to-day-demands of our school in order? The answer is we can’t do it. Alone. In this session we will discuss teacher leadership, what it means, and how to identify and to share leadership in our buildings so teachers feel empowered and appreciated, student instruction improves, and you have time to focus on the things that matter most.
Problem Centered Instruction is a great way to engage students, integrate content, and inspire learning. However, true problem centered instruction requires a major shift in both teaching and learning, requiring the one thing teachers don't have: time. In today's session, we will look at some simple strategies that teachers can put to immediate use within the classroom to help start the shift towards a student-led, problem centered learning environment.
The key to student achievement lies in relevant instruction that elicits and empowers student thinking. This presentation will demonstrate the process of designing thematic units and instruction that focuses on students’ understanding. Current trends in education involve increasing equitable outcomes for all students through relevant instruction that encourages student voice. This type of relevant instruction can involve thematic teaching, backwards design, and a commitment to student understanding. The presentation will focus on creating engaging, challenging learning experiences that encourage and invite students to share and develop their thinking. Participants in the session will apply the research-based practices of backwards design to their instructional units and develop lessons around a big idea or theme. Backwards design and thematic teaching offers opportunities for students to engage with and make meaningful connections with the content. Participants will be able to apply principles of backwards design in their own instruction, connect concepts to an overall theme, and incorporate thinking strategies into curriculum planning and instruction. Through thematic teaching that empowers student thinking, students will achieve true understanding and become lifelong learners.
Hear our journey implementing Claim-Evidence-Reasoning into the ELA classroom. Students went from groaning to ASKING to do CERs after we tried some fun strategies to increase engagement and buy-in.
The Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Principals Association have partnered together to bring educators free access to Ed360 and Ed Leaders Network. These two online platforms provide the tools necessary to review data and make personalized professional development decisions that will drive student achievement.
Teacher improvement doesn’t need to come just from evaluations. Come learn how mentors and instructional coaches build an environment of trust and collaboration with teachers to increase engagement and student achievement. #ClassroomVisits, #Lunch&Learns #VideoReflection #Coteaching
Creating a personalized learning environment for students can have a strong impact on their academic achievement and behavior. Allowing students voice and choice in their learning helps students stay motivated and achieve their goals. This session will include a description of how we transformed our classrooms at the elementary level to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners through personalized learning. You will meet two teacher leaders and the principal of Lincoln Elementary School that has been on this journey to personalize learning for each student.
Project-based learning (PBL) is a methodology that encourages students to learn and apply knowledge as well as skills while engaging in meaningful experiences. This dynamic classroom approach allows teachers to incorporate real-world problems and challenges while aligning with district curriculum. Learn how to enhance your current lessons and/or projects to allow for more student investigation and inquiry.Shift the mindset in your classroom through Project Based Learning. See student engagement, understanding and ownership increase through PBL. Other benefits of PBL include increased opportunities for cooperative learning skills, problem solving and communication. In this session, we will explore and analyze the benefits and challenges of incorporating PBL in today’s classroom. We will look at frameworks and project organization to help get you started as well as various tech tools to help moderate progress and accountability. You will receive examples of project ideas, digital tools to support and manage student engagement, and strategies for managing PBL in the classroom.
This highly interactive session will focus on relationship building and tools you can use TOMORROW; come ready to have fun and engage. Though many of these strategies/activities were designed for students with Autism, I have seen them work well with ALL students, especially struggling learners.
ADHD will be presented from a neuropsychological conceptualization as a disorder of self-regulation, focusing on brain-behavior relationships, associated functional difficulties across domains, and objective assessment and intervention strategies.
Do you know what accessibility features are available on your digital devices? Is your online learning environment accessible to all visitors? In this session, learn about add-ons and features available from Google, Apple, and Microsoft as well as other tools to make your web presence accessible to all visitors.
Our students are self-conscious when it comes to expressing their ideas and needs. Technology is a great vehicle for students to share their voice in a safe space. Learn tech tools to create a climate of engagement and respect in your classroom.
After a school improvement meeting back in 2010 that revealed poor reading scores for their students on the ACT, three teachers changed their approach to teaching social studies to address this problem. They call their curriculum "Top Secret," as they have embedded reading comprehension skills, formative and summative assessments, and proven ACT and SAT reading test strategies into the content of their classes. “Top Secret” has been developed over years of research, collaborative work sessions, and experimentation in their own classrooms. Their curriculum is used by teachers throughout their district, and their summative assessments serve as part of the final exam for their district’s US History course. The data speaks for itself. “Top Secret” has resulted in remarkable student growth on the reading portions of the ACT and SAT Tests for their students and school district. Now you have the chance to learn the "Secret" to their success!
Unlock the creative potential of the Chromebook and move beyond using the device for word processing, productivity and organization. The session will explore the creative potential of the Chromebook to give your students the ability to craft amazing multimedia masterpieces!
Instructional coaching can be a great way to support students, teachers, and a school...but how do you know it's having an impact? In this session, we will describe a data-driven, student-centered coaching process which includes formative and summative teacher feedback, pre and post student data, and other ways to measure success. Attendees will see actual elementary examples and will receive templates for their own use.
Do you have a lesson that is not very engaging? Is there a lesson that you do not like to teach? Come see how one school district uses Peer Collaboration to create meaningful, engaging lessons while building vertical articulation at the same time.
Remember the pencil holder you made back in elementary school or the bird house you made in middle school? Those moments are special because they are examples of our ability to transform an idea in our minds into a reality. Unfortunately, the teaching methods have been shifting the way we learn leaving behind opportunities for students to explore their creativity such as shop class. The main purpose of the “Innovation Makers Laboratory” program is to provide the ability for any school to transform an old fashion shop class into an exploration of creativity and life skill laboratory for any student from middle school all the way to adulthood to assist in knowledge and real word elements in creating meaningful learning for students. The program will provide the list of equipment needed for the Innovation Makers Laboratory as well as the safety training and the first aid training. Most important, it will provide professional development for the teachers involved in this program such as how to incorporate the Innovation Makers Laboratory into all the other curriculums. For example, building a musical instrument exploring sound waves or creating tools used for farmers during medieval time or building a better ketchup dispenser for cooking class. The Innovation Makers Laboratory is a low-cost option for a great curriculum that will promote exploration, innovation, cross curriculum opportunities, and life skills that will always be part of our memories like that pencil holder or the bird house.
Google Slides is often used in the classroom as a way for students to share their learning. However, the features and tools within Google Slides allows for it to be used in many other ways.
Participants will learn how to reset their thinking and begin creating interactive activities and/or lessons for their students to implement the 4Cs. Throughout the session, participants will use their device and Google account to practice the skills and tools being showcased. The session will start by breaking down the necessary steps in planning and setup of creating a Slides activity using the Backwards Design model. This includes page setup, themes, forced copy and other pertinent skills. We will also focus on the importance of the Master Slide aspect and how it can be used in various ways. Discussion of different features that can be inserted into Slides (animations, images, videos, etc.) as well as different formats will be included.
Activities created using Slides will support collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity in the classroom. Changing how you use Slides can change the way your students learn.
Learn some simple Whole Brain Teaching techniques that can increase student engagement in any classroom, any content area, any grade level. Whole Brain Teaching techniques are used by tens of thousands of teachers all over the country. These simple strategies can bring fun and excitement back into your lessons, and are easy enough to learn that you can implement them tomorrow!
This is a hashtag that is taking over the nation! Classrooms everywhere are making the commitment to #ClassroomBookADay with a goal of getting students to engage in picture books and build a love reading. Come learn the benefits of a shared reading experience with your students and discover purposeful mini lessons to support your students all year long in any classroom. In this session you will hear book ideas for a variety of themes, strategies, and standards, you will also learn management tips, and most of all how to develop empathy through picture books.
Are you looking for strategies to improve student focus, supplement class instruction, and boost test scores? This session offers instructional tips for incorporating physical activity into the classroom. Learn how to integrate brain breaks and energize your classroom.
It’s often believed that there’s something exceptional about children who are resilient, particularly those who've experienced trauma, that separates them from those who don’t demonstrate resiliency. However, resilience research has shown that resiliency is not extraordinary and is actually an ordinary part of normal human development. Mindfulness is a way to tap into and restore the natural resilience inherent in each of us. Join me for an interactive session that will provide information and activities you can use with students to rediscover and nurture this inner resilience.
