First, I want to take a minute to than the staff members that went with me Angie, Kevin, Mark, Staci, Jayne and Justin. This was a great group and they took a leap of faith to leave during some terrible weather on Tuesday and made it to every break out session. We had a great time but the work came first and I can tell you they took a great deal of time and effort looking for sessions that might provide information that they could bring back. I will let them talk about each of the sessions they went to and although there was a little overlap, I think we covered a wide variety of subject areas.
My first session was called "Paper to Pixels Tips to Save You Time Computing" this was put on by a teacher from the Grundy Area Vocational Center. The short version of this was that he has created class user groups using Google apps. These groups allow him to distribute information, allow his students to collaborate with their teachers and others in an upfront fashion (rather than cheating), and make his materials for class available to himself via any web connection. I will be playing with these applications a little more and perhaps Jayne (who was there as well) can help me present some information for you soon.
My second session was put on by Dave Shepard and was call "Rules of Engagement: Winning the War Against Student Apathy". He was very engaging and presented several ideas for dealing with the student that refuses to be active in your classroom as well as ideas that engage students without taking away instructional time. I would like to look into bringing him in for next year.
The day went downhill after that when I went to to less impressive breakout sessions. One was on video conferencing and the other on Education to Careers. If you want information on either I can give it to you and the video conferencing was interesting from the aspect that these teachers were bringing in experts from all over the country to talk to their students in real time.
On Thursday, my first session was put on by a groups from Dyersburg TN. It was about freshmen transitioning. The good news is that they have a nice little program. The better news is that I think that our M & M groups is already ahead of them with the mentoring program that we are doing. It is possible that we could incorporate some of their ideas and I have an email address for the M & M group.
I them went to two sessions by Craig Zablocki. These both focused on trying to get us to let down our guard and interact with our peers and students more effectively.
My last two posts have been very long and I am sure that the rest of the folks that went have a great deal to add so I will close but if any of these topics were of interest to you make sure to stop by and talk to me so Ican give you some of the information. It's good to be back!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I don't know if it is my corrections background or just my Mrs. Kravitts' like tendencies, but I like to know what everyone else is up to. But just like eavesdropping, some info was pretty juicy, others not
worth the strain I put my ears under.
After attending the Freshman Focus Conference in Indianapolis last
month, my new passion is freshmen transition to high school, so I was pleased to find that several sessions covered this topic. What I came to realize very quickly was that the presenters either came from schools 5X the size of PHS or had 10X the budget. I did, however, come away with good ideas including some "what to do" and "what not to do" information on the subject matter.
I attended a wonderful session on Developmental Guidance presented a district including Tinley Park, as well as three other schools. The counselors in the district have collaborated to develop a guidance curriculum which they deliver four times per year using the English classes. As much as I love the idea about getting into the classroom, I understand that asking the English Department to give up a day of their lesson plans is unrealistic. This would also be difficult to do with only 2counselors. Topics they cover are very similar to the topics that we cover in mentoring, so I don't feel that our kids are being short changed, but as a first year counselor I would like the opportunity for more face to face time with students to let them know that I am here for them and I am available for more than just schedule changes.
I was really relieved to find ONE session that covered special education. The session was presented by an ISBE employee and according to the description was supposed to unlock the mystery of Indicator #13 (can I get an Amen, Sp.Ed. sisters?) Evidently the mystery is too deep for even the powers that be, because I left their even more befuddled than I entered. Indicator #13 covers students post graduation transition, which their case managers are to track for one year. It is truly a nightmare!! Every time we ask a question to clarify what is needed, we get a different interpretation of the forms. So this session provided yet another.
One common thread throughout the conference was the need to incorporate technology in the classroom. I have long said that kids are bored in the classroom because they are used to all of the stimuli that their video games and television watching provides. Angie shared with me that one presenter stated that the frame of film changes every 4 seconds in order to maintain the audiences attention. Do I think teachers need to completely dump lecturing and learn to animate their curriculum, no. But where is the happy median? Maybe that will be on next year's agenda. To be continued...
Thank you, Staci, for thinking of Special Ed! I just wonder who will finally come to us bringing the torch of enlightenment about Indicator 13? (Sounds like a Science Fiction movie....The Curse of Indicator 13).
I have always thought the Connections Conferences were awesome! If anyone has anything to share with me, I'd really appreciate it. - Seaton
Had I not been out for my surgery, this is a conference I would have gone to again. I brought away many good ideas that I have implemented in my classroom. Please let me know next year if you would like to go to this wonderful conference. It is well worth the two days being gone.
I too was inspired by Dave Shepard's session on "Rules of Engagement - Winning the War Against Student Apathy." I came away feeling as if I now have permission to "lighten up" in the classroom and wondering if all of my years teaching in TLC and BAC classes, where structure was a necessity, left me forgetting it was okay to make learning fun by getting students up moving, singing, and talking. I came away with a desire to change my teaching style immediately. I would love to go to more inservices by this gentleman.
Friends in special edd, I was in Sue Walter's session along with Staci and felt the same lack of clarification on Indicator 13. I did however, come away feeling more optimisitic about writing "measureable post-school goals" to help us with the transition part of the IEP. Sue promised to e-mail lots of assessments we will be able to copy and use. I will share once I receive them.
I found a student-run entrepreneurial venture called "Brewhaha" at Rolling Meadows High School to be a creative way to teach work ethics and business skills. This on-site
coffee business was a unique way to bridge the gap between school and the real world. I'm wondering what kind of similar experience we could offer our students. Do we have any Starbucks' lovers out there?
This was my second trip to "Connections" and as usual I could have easily picked about 3 sessions I really wanted to go to during each time frame. It was well worth the trip up icy, I-57.
Angie said:
I felt very challenged by the presentations I heard at the Connections Conference in St. Charles. Some ideas would be great to implement here at PHS, some could be changed to fit our situation or setting, and some simply aren't needed or relevant for PHS.
One session I went to was about establishing Small Learning Communities within the school. We already do this through our mentoring program!! It was refreshing to hear the guest speaker commend our efforts and praise our school for the attempt at building relationships with our students. Thanks to the M & M committee for their hard work to get this rolling!
I went to several workshops about integrated learning and cooperation between departments. I do believe that we need to communicate more about what we are currently covering so that we, as teachers, can support each other and make the student's education more unified. An example was from Schaumberg High School where Chemistry and Foods were taught together. All experiments concluded with edible results!
CTE teachers, I left with an excellent idea of promoting our programs to make sure future students are aware of our offerings. I'll share at our next department meeting.
The session I gained the most "insight" from was a session on Anhedonia. I was unaware of this before, but it really answers some questions about our student's attitudes and behaviors. It also gave me a better understanding of where I often find myself. It is sad, but true. As I took the beginning quiz, I was startled to realize how many questions I answered with "yes"! I left with a better understanding of anhedonia and how we can help our students (and ourselves) move through these feelings. I'd love to share more - I really believe this helped me. See me if you want more info.
Connections Conferences 2008 Review
I really enjoyed all of my break-out sessions at the Connections Conference. Two really stood out upon reflection, one which dealt with Rocket physics and how the instructor progressed from simple rocket projects involving water and Alka-Seltzer to rockets with fuel cells. A second break-out session I enjoyed was one in which English, Math, and Science instructors from Schaumburg High School used a mix of integrated learning projects with traditional course content to engage students in a fun hands-on environment. Some of the projects included water quality testing at a nearby pond and boat races similar to Mrs. Block's project. The difference was that each course worked together at different aspects of the projects. For example during the water quality project the English department wrote poems related to the activity. The Geometry class plotted testing locations on a topographic map and went out to the pond and marked the testing sites. The science class obtained water samples to be testing and collected/recorded all data.
Mark Cox
Post a Comment