Synthesizing the best available research on how we learn, educators can design units and lesson plans that prepare our students to meet the challenges of an uncertain future. Join Julie Stern for this cutting-edge session that will demonstrate a systematic way to empower students to apply their learning to new situations.

Participants will learn to

• Understand the essential features of learning transfer and how we can promote it

• Reflect on key shifts required to harness the power of learning transfer

• Use standards and learning outcomes to promote disciplinary literacy

• Harness a three-step approach to empower students to apply their learning to new situations

The Core values of successful leadership are common across continents and in both state and private education. Keeping things simple and applying common sense, leaders in education need to have cultural awareness of the people they are in contact with and places they work. Leaders also need to achieve a balance between the ever-changing needs and motivations of all stakeholders in the school community. And not taking themselves too seriously is pretty useful.

During this workshop

Participants will:

•School leaders will either nod in agreement at confirmation of their own beliefs or rage against such heresies being spoken in public 

•Teachers will gain a valuable insight into the mind of a typical Head Teacher, possible confirming their worst fears 

•Walk away with a few valuable nuggets of information/ideas which they can apply to their current, and future, situations.  

•Get a chance to reflect on their own practice and experiences, either as a leader or a teacher.

What might we need to destroy in order to make space for innovation? How might questions help us create this space? What might we learn by turning our questions inside out? Instead of asking 'what works,' what might happen if we ask 'what doesn't work'? Instead of asking 'what's wrong?,' what if we ask 'which wrong is more right?'

During this thought-provoking workshop, participants will be invited to engage in the following inquiry-based routines and think about how they can be implemented in their own context:

• Liberating Structures (TRIZ)

• Claim, Counterclaim, Questions

• Mistake Analysis

• QFT w/ Key Questions and Perspective-Taking

The world of school leadership is changing quickly. This workshop will explore the intersection of leadership and culture. Through examining layers of culture including school, local, IB, and national culture we will unpack a number of theories and approaches to support the development of positive school leadership.

During this workshop, participants will:

•Develop an understanding of school and national culture 

•Reflect on cultural leadership practices 

•Explore aspect of literature connected to IB school leadership 

•Identify next steps in the practice of school leadership

In today’s educational landscape, disruption and change have become the new normal. In these circumstances, leaders who are adaptive and flexible increase their potential to serve as transformational influencers within their communities. By developing skills and implementing structures that empower those around them, school leaders can elevate the collective capacity of their colleagues and create cultures that promote meaningful learning experiences for all students.

During this workshop, participants will:

• Develop their understanding of the purpose and function of adaptive leadership 

• Reflect on their own capabilities as adaptive leaders 

• Explore strategies and tools that can be used to establish dynamic learning cultures  

• Identify next steps for application within their own contexts

In this three-hour session we will build a common understanding of what it means to have a culture of abundance in a classroom setting. Participants will be given strategies, lesson plans, and material lists to develop this culture of abundance in their own settings.  This workshop is presented through the lens of sustainability to ensure abundance in the classroom does not come with a high price for our environment.  Traditional early years practices such as loose parts play, play-based learning, and open ended inquiry will be discussed.

During this workshop, participants will:

•Develop a conceptual understanding of a culture of abundance within a classroom. 

•Understand the foundational need for sustainability in education. 

•Evaluate the needs of your community, and your role in developing material abundance concurrently with sustainability. 

•Share and discuss issues of sustainability and resourcing as a professional learning community.

Societal changes are unstoppable. Technological advancements influence the access and delivery of growing knowledge. The demands on the workforce continue to vary while global economic interdependence increase. These changes require a response from the education sector that protects the learners' interests and ensures that they are ready to face the challenges of today and tomorrow. How might we view curriculum standards that are reflective of the current times? How do we nurture thinking classrooms?

During this workshop, participants will:

•Understand the components of a concept-focussed curriculum 

•Use standards to develop conceptual understandings in unit plans 

•Plan units with an emphasis on critical concepts, knowledge, and skills 

•Develop assessments that show depth of understanding and transfer of knowledge

The most common misconception about inquiry learning is that children should learn to answer their own questions through a research process. Inquiry is actually a learning process based on the constructivist theory of learning. In constructivism, teachers guide thinking and develop learners abilities to make sense of their learning, and increasingly, take ownership of their learning. It is easy to say what inquiry should look like. But what strategies can teachers use to engage learners in inquiry and constructing learning?

During this workshop

Participants will:

•Develop a practical understanding of inquiry processes 

•Develop an awareness of strategies that support guided inquiry 

•Explore and create provocations for engaging learning 

•Reflect on and strengthen their own classroom practices

Assessment, if not done designed and implemented with our students’ identities in mind, will privilege certain evidence of student learning while marginalizing others. Regardless of whether assessments are deemed culturally responsive or not, every assessment should relate to the lived experiences, points of view, and cultural contexts of our students. This means assessments should invite diverse and multiple means of demonstrating knowledge, skills, and understanding. 

During this workshop, participants will:

• Reflect on key components of assessment 

• Explore theories of assessments and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 

• Identify how we might employ diverse types of assessments

• Discuss the connection of assessment to your professional and cultural contexts

Teaching and learning in middle school is a challenging and rewarding experience. Successful middle school educators plan units that provide rich experiences that engage students. Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, developed by Lynn Erickson and Lois Lanning, is the level-up that teachers need to take their unit planning into territory that can genuinely transform the middle school classroom.

During this workshop, participants will:

•Learn the power of teaching inductively 

 •Reflect on how content and process lead to understanding 

 •Develop generalizations that ensure conceptual understanding 

 •Put together a framework for unit planning and transfer of knowledge