sessionnotes

Click on the links to access notes for each of the following sessions.
//NOTE: If you would like to add your notes, please Join This Space (see left), create a new page for each session, add that session's title to this list, and hyperlink the title to the wiki page containing the notes. If you would prefer, you can e-mail me the notes and I will post them to the wiki. Thank you for your willingness to share your reflections and notes.//

You can access the presentation materials that accompanied the keynote and concurrent sessions by [|clicking here].


Opening Keynote – What Makes Successful Schools Work?

The International Center for Leadership in Education has studied and worked with many of the nation’s most successful schools during the past year. Based on that work and a review of the latest significant research in the education field, Dr. Daggett will make a series of recommendations for all schools to consider in their quest to provide every student with a rigorous and relevant education.

Opening Keynote – Essential Learnings from School Reinvention

This session will share some of the most essential learnings related to school reinvention. These are the findings and consequences that have been learned the hard way but provide the best return on investment. What to do when a school or district is just beginning this work? What makes the changes sustainable? What key strategies are important to improve literacy? Come prepared for some blinding flashes of the obvious and some “so that’s why it didn’t work” moments.

Learning in a Global Age: Knowledge and Skills for a Flat World – Session 18

The quickening pace of globalization over the past 20 years has produced a whole new world. Information, people, and ideas now traverse the globe with unprecedented speed and frequency. In the flat world, where everything is interconnected, higher level skills and the ability to adapt and to communicate effectively across cultures are essential to individual and national success. This session will address what schools in other parts of the world are doing to prepare their students for the flat world and highlight some of the best U.S. examples of ways in which schools can educate students for both global competence and global citizenship.

Co-Teaching at the Secondary Level: Partnering for Success – Session 79

This presentation will define co-teaching and identify the necessary ingredients for successful collaboration, both inside and outside the classroom. The presenters will highlight usable models of co-teaching for instruction. They will also discuss the history of co-teaching in their district and outline requirements for a successful co-teaching program at the district level.

Virtual Online Support for Retaining a New Generation of Teachers – Session 77 Johnston County Schools uses an innovative Internet approach to support 200+ beginning teachers and mentors. Instead of driving to meetings, novice teachers and their mentors participate in convenient monthly online collaboration. The real time Internet tool lists relevant essential questions with embedded Web resources for teachers to choose from based on their needs. Topics include rigorous and relevant lesson design, effective classroom management, importance of relationships for success, and becoming a reflective practitioner. Posted responses are used to provide immediate individualized support to help beginning teachers create success for all students.

Kennesaw Mountain High School – Session 64

This multimedia presentation will chronicle the 2006-07 school year as teachers accepted the challenge of creating Quadrant D lessons within departmental collaborative groups. The journey, which incorporated staff development activities and collegial discussions across disciplines, concluded with a real-world application in a contest titled KM Idol. In this competition, juried by district-level personnel, each department submitted its best lesson. This presentation is designed for teachers and administrators who want to see how a multi-year commitment to the Rigor/Relevance Framework culminated in an exciting celebration of great teaching and learning.

Workplace Skills for the Global Economy – Session 5

The academic skills needed for the workplace are higher than and different from those needed for college. Dr. Daggett will describe the skills that are required in our technologically based, globally driven society. He will then show how the nation’s most successful schools are helping all students to develop these skills.

New Teacher Induction Program – Professionals Helping Professionals – Session 86

Professionals Helping Professionals is a comprehensive three-year program designed to provide support for new teachers by easing the transition from preparation to practice and improving instructional skills to maximize student achievement. Program components include a seven-day preservice summer institute, assignment of a master “buddy teacher,” quarterly release days for planning, bi-annual needs assessment, classroom/peer visitations and reflection, monthly professional development workshops, team-teaching opportunities, social activities, program evaluations, as well as individual professional growth plans. Albion’s full-time program coordinator/district mentor is responsible for the professional growth and success of all teachers in the program.

Benefits of the Successful Practices Network and Collaborating Online for Rigor and Relevance (CORR) – Session 114

The Successful Practices Network is an alliance of more than 650 schools (K-12) that have made a true commitment to continuous school improvement. This session, designed for new and prospective Network members, will provide a comprehensive overview of Network benefits, services, expectations, and new activities for 2007-08. This session will also describe Collaborating Online for Rigor and Relevance (for Quad D Lessons and for Instructional Strategies), interactive, collaborative experiences for creating high quality lessons and using varied instructional strategies that reinforce the use of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. Any school can participate in CORR.

Literacy — The Key to Success – Session 4

In our dynamic and high-tech economy, where jobs for the unskilled are disappearing, all students must become lifelong learners. The single greatest competency they will need for future success is literacy in general and reading skills in particular. Dr. Daggett and Dr. Hasselbring will present the nation’s most successful practices for achieving this critically important goal for all students.

Personal Skill Development – Session 102

To help schools clarify their missions, prioritize problems, and review school performance critically, the International Center has developed the Learning Criteria to Support Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. The fourth criterion, Personal Skill Development, is an essential element in continuous school improvement. When students learn to communicate effectively, respect others, accept responsibility, resolve problems, and work on teams, their academic achievement improves. Business leaders validate the importance of these personal skills as critical for success in the workplace. This session will preview the forthcoming Personal Skill Development kit. Participants will learn ways to integrate personal skills into the overall school curriculum.

Hempstead High School – Session 61

Hempstead High School has a long history of performing well on measures of achievement. Yet, the school believes it must do better to keep its students competitive in the 21st century. Developing a process to help move from good to great has led Hempstead to put structures in place that promote thought and communication about where the school is and where it wants to go. A central component is the Instructional Coaches Team, which is currently assisting the entire staff in developing effective lesson in Quadrant D of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. This session will describe how Hempstead achieves sustained change over time

Leadership for Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships – Session 108

The growing enthusiasm for the new 3 Rs is a result of wide recognition that a commitment to rigor, relevance, and relationships is an effective approach to school improvement that challenges students to stretch their learning and develop personal skills as well as fostering improved engagement. The International Center is known for its Rigor/Relevance Framework, which is used in planning instruction and assessment. This session will describe the leadership tasks and approaches necessary to develop a school culture that embraces rigor and relevance and that builds relationships between students and adults and among the students themselves, all of which are essential to support learning at high levels. The session will also explain the resource kit, //Leadership for Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships//.

Closing Keynote – Why Aren’t We There Yet? What Will It Take?

We are constantly seeking to improve our schools and our results. Why then is change so difficult and so often met with resistance? What about the need to create a strong and stable environment for our students? Are change and stability in conflict? This presentation will offer some thoughts, strategies, and hopes on how we can help our students achieve their dreams.