AISA 2019 Invitational Conference
 
Educator Strands
Lynn Abercrombie

Deep Dive: The Differentiated Classroom: Reaching Every Student
Session Description
Differentiation in instruction facilitates learning for students with varied abilities, knowledge, and preferences. Tiered instruction is an essential component of effective differentiation. Tiering is the most sophisticated level of differentiation. Flexible instructional grouping is the management strategy for tiered assignments. We will participate in a tiered class activity and debrief afterwards. We will look at several strategies for differentiated instruction. Teachers will be able to design tiered assignments using several different formats.

Target Audience: Teachers
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
  • develop an understanding of why differentiated teaching methods are essential to student success outcome.
  • gain an understanding the language of differentiation: content, process, product.
  • gain an understanding of tiered tasks and flexible instructional grouping.
  • design a preliminary tiered task: selected from one of the given models for implementation in their classroom.

Andrew Bauman

Deep Dive: Introduction to open source 3-D modeling and 3-D printing
Session Description

This session will introduce participants to free open source 3-D computer aided design software and 3-d printing technologies. Areas covered include: SketchUp, platform requirements, different types of open source libraries, 3-D modeling basics and an introduction to 3-D printing.

Target Audience: All Divisions
Learning Objectives

  • Understand what open source CAD and CAM programs are, and what they are used for.
  • Understand basic 3-D modeling techniques and applications.
  • Understand basic 3-D printing processes and techniques.
  • Consider ways CAD programs can be used for cross-curricular projects.
  • Use drawing tools in SketchUp to develop a 3-D model

Mark Page

Deep Dive: Leading Professional Development Options to Better Fit Your School's Needs
Session Description
This workshop will entail the many different aspects and types of workshop options available to faculty interested in leading a professional development offering. We will explore the aspects related to running a workshop itself to the different options of types of workshops to fit the audience and busy schedules of teachers.

Target Audience: School faculty interested in leading a workshop
Learning Objectives

  • Choose the appropriate type of workshop
  • Understand the many aspects of running a successful workshop
  • Understanding that everyone has something to offer

John Heil

Deep Dive: Fundamentals of Inquiry: Examining Science Practices from Elementary Through High School
Session Description

This workshop is based on The Fundamentals of Inquiry Workshop designed by Institute for Inquiry associated with the Exploratorium of San Francisco. It is intended to help teachers understand the key components of science inquiry and then learn ways to modify current lessons to make them more inquiry based with simple adjustments.

Target Audience: Science Teachers, Grades 2-12
Learning Objectives

  • Practice inquiry as it relates to the three dimensions of science learning (disciplinary core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science practices)
  • Carry out a series of activities that identify the science practices needed to conduct an inquiry, such as asking questions, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, and arguing from evidence.
  • Plan and conduct a full investigation that illustrates how science concepts and the science practices can be learned through the inquiry process.

Geraldine Ziadeh & Donna Valentino

Deep Dive: Engaging Today's Learners
Session Description

Promoting engagement and curiosity in the classroom deepens understanding and helps
promote optimal learning. When students are engaged, they are driven to investigate and take
ownership of their learning. In this workshop, we will consider active learning strategies and
lesson design that teachers can implement in their own classroom to increase meaningful
student participation and engagement.

Target Audience: Middle School and High School Teachers
Learning Objectives

Participant will:
  • Understand the relationship between student engagement and learning outcomes.
  • Identify and describe engaging instructional strategies based on current research and best practices.
  • Identify essential components of an engaging lesson plan including; warm-up activities, transitions, movement, discussion, collaboration and reflection.
  • Redesign a current lesson plan utilizing workshop learning.

Ania Judson & Annemarie Hodge

Deep Dive: 'Outside of the Box' - infusing creativity and critical thinking into Literacy lessons
Session Description

The session is designed to be an interactive experience during which the participants will have an opportunity to practice the strategies and take away samples.

Target Audience: K-3 Teachers
Learning Objectives

  • Introduction to how Global Competences and 21 Century Skills can be tied into daily literacy activities.
  • Introducing the concept of metacognition to primary students.
  • Strategies and daily routines that support further development of creativity and critical thinking.
  • Introduction to Visible Thinking Routines.

Olatokunbo Fashoyin & Darlene Heilman

Deep Dive: Child Protection in Our Schools
Session Description

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child outlines the importance of upholding the rights of all children in the world. This institute equips those who work with children with the skills and knowledge that are necessary to deal with child protection issues. By the end of this institute participants will evaluate their school’s current child protection practices and develop an action plan for creating a child protection policy and effective child safeguarding procedures.

Target Audience: Teachers, Advisors, Counselors, Administrators
Learning Objectives

Participants will:
  • Improve their understanding of child protection.
  • Evaluate their school’s current child protection policies and practices.
  • Increase their capacity to prevent abuse.
  • Strengthen skills to recognize diverse child protection issues.
  • Increase awareness on how to create a protective environment.
  • Strengthen their ability to effectively support students and community members.

Rayna Rokicki

Deep Dive: Essential Advisory Ingredients
Session Description

In this 2.5 hour session, attendees will understand what exactly is an advisory and why it is different from a homeroom or study club. Advisees will come to understand the 5 purposes of advisory and their relationship to student success. Lastly, attendees will get a chance to learn about some different strategies and tools used in advisory and see how they might fit into their school.

Target Audience: Advisory Leaders, Teachers with some to no advisory experience
Learning Objectives

Participants will:
  • Be able to define what is an advisory
  • Be able to explain the purpose of advisory
  • Explore the various elements that could make up an advisory
  • Select some tools that would be helpful to build a new advisory or add onto an existing advisory.

Azahara Canizares & Yetunde Ayoh

Deep Dive: Best Practices In Teaching World Languages: Early Childhood Focus
Session Description

This workshop will give participants a solid handle on effectively teaching a foreign language to students with diverse mother tongues, preparing them for effective and authentic real-life communication. We will explore ways of achieving this using techniques such as Project Based Learning, collegiality, curriculum alignment and Visible Thinking routines, with some components of ICT/technology integration. At the end of the workshop, participants will redesign a unit or lesson for use in their classroom.

Target Audience: Early Childhood/Early Elementary Teachers
Learning Objectives

Participants will:
  • Understand the process of teaching a World Language in the target language.
  • Learn the pros and cons of teaching a World Language in the target language.
  • Learn strategies for effectively dealing with challenges in the language classroom such as; Visible Thinking routines, Project-based Learning, curricular alignment and the role of collegiality.
  • Redesign a unit or lesson using workshop strategies for immediate implementation in their classroom.

Leadership Strands
George Hobson

Deep Dive: CIS International Accreditation 101
Session Description
How can you focus your school on improvement and international education? This session will present international accreditation topics and using a workshop approach, develop our understanding of these topics.
Set your school on its way to being internationally accredited and obtain the benefits that over 700 international schools receive from CIS.

Target Audience: Leaders and teachers wishing to know about CIS International Accreditation.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
  • Understand what CIS is and the benefits of membership (school support and accreditation, university links, career and recruitment, rich sources of international schools data).
  • Understand CIS International Accreditation and its essential elements and purpose (school's purpose and direction, student learning, student well-being, global citizenship, school improvement, international standards, benefits of accreditation).

Teresa Fry


Deep DiveEffective Assessment Change to Improve Student Learning and Teaching
Session Description

The session will include a presentation of research and include participant discussion based on new research and practices in assessment change. Topics include fixes to the most common broken assessment practices, standards based assessment, using rubric and formative feedback practices. Participants will be asked to reflect on their current practices and their effectiveness as indicators of learning. Resources and practical strategies will be shared with participants.

Target Audience: Teachers, School Leaders
Learning Objectives
  • To consider new research and practices in assessment change
  • To reflect on our current practices and their effectiveness
  • To share resources and ways to make changes that are achievable

Joy Isa & Martha Da Costa-Sherwood

Deep Dive: School Improvement Through Accreditation
Session Description
Providing schools with a greater understanding of international accreditation, as well as the opportunity to evaluate their practice against a benchmark of high standards. From this schools will be supported with the creation of a personalised school improvement plan which will identify the specific steps required to meet international accreditation standards and to become leaders in the field.

Target Audience: School Owners, Heads of School
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
  • Understand the benefits of international accreditation
  • Be able to identify international accreditation standards
  • Develop practical solutions to challenges west African(WA) schools face in meeting international accreditation standards
  • Complete a self-evaluation against international accreditation standards
  • Develop an action plan to meet international accreditation standards