9:00am–10:30am
SESSION A: Leadership and Student-Centered Education
SESSION B: Project-Based/Mastery-Based Curriculum in Student-Centered Education
SESSION C: Social and Emotional Development in Student-Centered Education
SESSION D: Context and Student-Centered Education
SESSION E: Brain-Based Curriculum and Student-Centered Education
SESSION A: Leadership and Student-Centered Education
Methods for developing leadership in schools that benefit all students.
9:00am–10:30am
Successful School Transformation Only Happens with a New Lens on Leadership
Bill Bryan, CoFounder and Vice President for Leadership and Organization Development, Center for Secondary School Redesign
Most education gurus say that leadership contributes 10%-25% to student outcomes, when in reality it is more like 75%-100%. The reason is that leadership is the primary enabler of the core elements that contribute to positive student outcomes, to include standards, policy, student-centered learning/personalization, student voice and choice, parent engagement, community engagement, and management. The extremely high failure rate of education initiatives can be laid on the doorstep of insufficient leadership. Without new mental models of leadership, it is unlikely desired student outcomes will ever be attained on a large scale.
In this session, educators will:
● recognize the leader mental models that lead to thinking and acting in a very influential manner, and success
● clarify methods to manage effectively (an educator strength) versus lead effectively (an educator limitation)
● examine the difference between leadership training and management training
● acquire a new and cogent picture of what is required of a strong and effective leader in the pursuit of positive, significant, and sustainable student outcomes
SESSION B: Project/Mastery-Based Curriculum and Student-Centered Education
Methods for rethinking the way students are being reached – moving away from ‘one-size fits all’ or ‘traditional’ models.
9:00am–9:30am
Project-Based Curriculum: Increasing K-12 STEAM Content Mastery
Roberto Gonzalez, Executive Director and Founder, STEAM Box
How do educators engage students and introduce valuable content? How do educators then create the opportunity for students to achieve content mastery? These questions, along with an exploration of three new modern interdisciplinary techniques that need to be integrated into curriculum and teaching, will be explored in an effort to help educators increase the engagement of K-12 learners.
In this session, educators will:
● explore how to create quality, youth driven programming
● evaluate the importance of partnerships
● analyze the importance of experiential learning
9:30am–10:00am
Engaging Challenging Students with Hands-On Learning
Alex Tsonas, Director, Seaport Academy
Perri Wexler, M.Ed., Education Coordinator, Seaport Academy
You’ve know them: the students who melt into the back of the room, who put their heads down, who are forever getting up to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, sharpen a pencil, the disruptive, the disinterested or both. How do you reach THESE students? In this session, we’ll share strategies to engage your most challenging students with high interest hands-on activities.
In this session, educators will:
● identify at least three factors that affect student engagement
● plan engaging lessons for all students
● modify traditional PBL approaches for special populations
10:00am–10:30am
Meeting Students Where They Are: A Mastery Based Approach
Rose Mary Grant, Principal, Highlander School
Patricia Houlik, 4th Grade Teacher, Highlander School
Current educational practices are centered on seat time and grade levels. All too often students are moved from grade to grade without having “mastered” the standards required. Whether a teacher runs out of time and doesn’t complete the curriculum or a student is unable to fully grasp what has been taught, the result is the same: learning gaps that impact future attainment of skills and concepts. Using a mastery-based approach eliminates these gaps and creates opportunities for real mastery of learning goals.
In this session, educators will:
● assess the rationale behind mastery-based/competency based instructional practices
● explore the foundation for creating a mastery-based program
● identify first steps in creating a mastery-based program
● identify resources for supporting mastery-based teaching and learning
SESSION C: Social and Emotional Development in Student-Centered Education
Best-practices for supporting a students social and emotional development.
9:00am–9:45am
The Boy Education Crisis
Anthony Rao, Psychologist and Author of The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys, Behavioral Solutions
American boys continue to struggle. Boys are diagnosed in record numbers with behavior and learning problems. Educationally, they are falling behind, or worse. What approaches help them succeed? When we know how boys think, develop, and learn, school can be a place that bolsters rather than hinders self confidence. Gender matters in education. Understanding social and emotional development of young boys is crucial in the classroom.
9:45am–10:30am
Supporting Girls’ Social and Emotional Development in the Classroom
Rachel J. Kramer, Ph.D., Pediatric Psychologist, Concord, Massachusetts
How can we encourage girls to develop self-advocacy skills in the classroom? What role do teachers have in supporting the development of self-efficacy and resilience in girls? This session will assist educators who are responsible for supporting the social and emotional development of girls.
Participants will:
● explore specific strategies for teaching girls effective coping skills
● assess tools that increase resilience and help girls develop a positive outlook
● identify strategies for supporting the development of self-advocacy skills
SESSION D: Context and Student-Centered Education
Methods for growing one’s understanding of context – history, culture, community, economic opportunity, access, learning style, aspirations, vision, choice and advocacy – to better support the needs of each and every student.
9:00am–10:30am
Improving Our Teaching by Looking at Ourselves
Penny Cuninggim, Co-Founder, NEARI
Working effectively with students is important to all educators. Yet, many do not take the time to learn ways to improve their teaching and counseling skills by focusing on what they know about themselves and their learning and teaching styles. It is important that educators: know about the research that has been done over the past decades around educator role assessments, understand their own preferred ways of working with students, and become more aware of how useful this information about themselves can be for creating high-quality instructional practices.
In this session, educators will:
● explore, and assess themselves on, the Dunn and Dunn and Kolb tools
● compare results to their current approaches to teaching and counseling
● rethink their ways of teaching and counseling based on assessment results
SESSION E: Brain-Based Learning and Student-Centered Education
Methods for using brain-based research actively in the classroom to more effectively reach each student.
9:00am–10:30am
Mindfulness in the Elementary Classroom
Kathryn Clark, Principal, Ivan G Smith Elementary School, Danvers, MA
Bailey Malone, 4th Grade Teacher, Ivan G Smith Elementary School, Danvers, MA
Michele Gross, School Social Worker, Ivan G Smith Elementary School, Danvers, MA
Research shows that providing students with mindfulness and brain-based instruction can help them regulate their emotions and maintain motivation. How can this be done? Students must be given the opportunity to learn about brain structures that impact learning – such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex – and learn about the techniques they can use to activate or soothe different parts of their brain in order to optimize learning and create engagement.
In this session, educators will:
● analyze the latest research on the effectiveness of teaching mindfulness practices in the classroom
● dissect teacher and student experiences as mindfulness practices were integrated
● explore techniques that reduce stress and enhance productivity and motivation in children