Mark Church
Deep Dive 1: Making thinking visible: Introduction to thinking routines
Focus Area: Visible Thinking
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
In Making Thinking Visible, thinking routines are used regularly to help make students’ thinking visible and as a tool for deepening students’ understanding. The power of thinking routines comes from using them to establish patterns of thinking in the classroom. In this interactive presentation, participants will learn how teachers work with thinking routines to transform the classrooms into cultures of thinking. This session is designed for beginners wishing to know more about thinking routines.
Learning Objectives
- Participants will consider what kind of thinking moves are worth making routine amongst learners of all ages.
- Participants will be introduced to the idea of thinking routines as tools and structures to establish patterns of thinking behavior in students.
- Participants will learn and experience a variety of useful thinking routines to implement in their own classroom settings
Deep Dive 2: Creating a culture of thinking in the classroom
Focus Area: Visible Thinking
Proficiency Level: Embed & Sustain
Proficiency Level: Embed & Sustain
Session Description
The goal of creating a culture of thinking is to make explicit what is actually going on in students’ sense-making through the use of routines, paying attention to language, creating opportunities for thinking, etc. In this interactive course, we'll consider: What kinds of thinking are my students making use of in order to deepen understanding? Where are there opportunities students to develop theories with one another? How do I invite students to uncover complexity?
Learning Objectives
- Participants will be introduced to the 8 Cultural Forces that define any classroom.
- Participants will look closely at designing opportunities for thinking in the classroom within their given grade levels/subject areas.
- Participants will think deeply about the interactions that they promote that helps thinking flourish in students.
- Participants will examine what classroom discourse looks like when putting thinking at the center of the classroom agenda.
Maria Hersey
Deep Dive 1: Understanding global-mindedness for an interconnected world
Focus Area: International Mindedness
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
How do we build school communities that develop the knowledge, attitudes and competencies for life in a complex, interconnected and rapidly changing world? This interactive institute will explore the theory and practice of identity and culture, international and global mindedness and the development of global competencies to enhance teaching and learning. Participants will engage in collaborative activities that expand understandings of global contexts and support the engagement of life in a global society.
Learning Objectives
To encourage and enable participants to:
- explore and reflect upon the concepts of identity, culture and global-mindedness
- investigate global competencies and how they are developed to ensure education for global-mindedness
- understand the role of global-mindedness in creating a positive, relevant and inclusive culture in our school communities
Deep Dive 2: Social and emotional well-being for living & learning
Focus Area: Social and Emotional
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
How do we enhance the well being of children and adults in a complex, interconnected and ever-changing world? This interactive session will explore the research and benefits of mindful awareness, positive psychology and social-emotional learning as a framework for creating positive, supportive and responsive learning environments. Participants will engage in hands-on activities that are applicable across all age levels and are designed to cultivate mindful awareness, resiliency and self-care both within the classroom and beyond.
Learning Objectives
To encourage and enable participants to:
- explore research and practice related to social-emotional learning and well-being
- experience practical strategies to cultivate greater self-awareness and management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making
- facilitate the development of positive, supportive and responsive learning environments
Tania Lattanzio
Deep Dive 1: The role of concepts in curriculum, learning and assessment
Focus Area: Conceptual Learning
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
This practical institute will examine the role of concepts in curriculum and how this differs from a fact driven curriculum. It will provide participants with the opportunity to develop a unit that is conceptually driven. It will explore how teachers can plan, teach and assess with a focus on concepts. In a world where facts can be found in the palm of our hand it is important that we teach for depth and understanding.
Learning Objectives
- Understand what a concept is
- Explore the difference between a conceptual and factual curriculum
- Understand why we would teach conceptually
- Examine what makes a good conceptual unit
- Use the IGE tool for develop conceptual understandings to develop a unit that is conceptually focused
- Use the IGE levels of understanding to develop rubrics of understanding
- Examine what makes a good summative assessment task
- Investigate how we can connect and provoke students to understand the concepts
- Understand how we can formatively assess conceptual understanding
- Understand the difference between a learning engagement and an activity
- Explore learning engagements that focus on conceptual understanding
Deep Dive 2: The role of inquiry in teaching and learning
Focus Area: Inquiry
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
Inquiry promotes discovery, curiosity, questioning and learner agency. It puts the student at the centre of the learning and the role of the teacher is that of a facilitator. Teaching and learning involves students co-constructing their learning with the teacher. This institute will examine what inquiry is and how to implement inquiry into the classroom. The workshop will model inquiry practices and provide teachers with practical ideas they can use in their classrooms.
Learning Objectives
- Understand what inquiry is
- Examine the role of constructivism and what this means for us as teachers
- Explore the different types of inquiry (structured, guided, open, coupled)
- Examine what students are doing in an inquiry classroom
- Understand the importance of provocations in inquiry
- Explore the role of student questioning in inquiry
- Examine the role of student voice and choice and how we can provide more opportunities for students to do to have these
- Understand the importance of an inquiry stance and how our beliefs impact our teaching and learning
- Explore the role of an inquiry teacher
- Examine different teaching strategies that promote inquiry
Catlin Tucker
Deep Dive 1: Blending Learning in Action: Station rotation & flipped classroom
Focus Area: Integrating Technology into Teaching and Learning
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
Explore how Station Rotation and Flipped Classroom Models create more opportunities for individualized scaffolding and support, differentiated instruction, and self-paced learning. During this hands-on workshop, participants will experience a Station Rotation lesson then design their own. They will learn how to design a flipped lesson, create video content, and engage students around that content.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- learn how to design lessons for the Station Rotation Model and Flipped Classroom Model,
- understand how to use these blended learning models to differentiate and begin to personalize learning,
- work collaboratively with peers to design their own lessons they can use with students, and explore technology tools.
Deep Dive 2: Maximize student engagement with blended learning
Focus Area: Integrating Technology into Teaching and Learning
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
Explore how dynamic online discussions, choice boards, self-paced digital lessons, and creative online tools can be harnessed to foster collaboration, give students more control over their learning, and develop technology fluency in a blended classroom. Participants will explore strategies and the technology tools needed to design engaging blended lessons
Learning Objectives
Learn how to use technology and lesson design to engage students
Earn a Micro-Credential to demonstrate your professional learning
Earn a Micro-Credential to demonstrate your professional learning
Ian Warwick
Deep Dive 1: Easy is boring - impossible is depressing; differentiation/meeting individual needs of all learners
Focus Area: Differentiation
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Proficiency Level: Discover & Explore
Session Description
The workshop will offer a very practical experience investigating how teachers can use specific differentiation techniques to ensure the engagement and stretch of all students across all subject areas. It will use clips from a number of films to illustrate the reasons for using these differentiation strategies and explore in detail the techniques that need to be employed. Teachers will try out each of the strategies for themselves in small groups.
Learning Objectives
- To fully understand the ten key differentiation strategies
- To be able to implement them in their lessons in their subject area
- To be confident enough to train their colleagues on how to use them
Deep Dive 2: Gifted and Talented/More Able Agenda - Desirable difficulties; creating and sustaining a culture of excellence and innovation in your classroom
Focus Area: Highly Capable Learners
Proficiency Level: Embed & Sustain
Proficiency Level: Embed & Sustain
Session Description
These sessions will cover how teachers can create a culture of excellence both in classrooms and across schools in a creative and productive way, to develop genuine high level student engagement. Participants will be guided how to adapt and adopt the principles and strategies offered to develop their own context specific toolbox of techniques. It is based on international research across world class schools conducted by the facilitator over the last five years.
Learning Objectives
- Understanding and recognising the most important conceptual areas of our subjects
- Creating conditions which induce hard thinking and cognitive challenge
- Exploring approaches that enable students to commit to excellence
