WORKSHOPS and CONSULTING SESSIONS

FROM HERE TO THERE – INCORPORATE AN IDEA OR MAKE MAJOR CURRICULUM CHANGE
Every year you and your colleagues participate in professional development sessions, invite presenters, attend conferences, read a book, take courses or explore ideas and practices that could make your school better. The challenge, though, is taking an idea from its presentation to fruition in your school. This could be an idea for a single grade level, a subject area, a division or the whole school. It could involve weaving a new strand into the curriculum or significant curriculum development and innovation. Simple planning strategies and curriculum mapping are used. There's an option to build in an assessment piece to provide information about the success of the endeavor.

CONCEPT-BASED CURRICULUM DESIGN – FROM THE ORDINARY TO THE EXTRAORDINARY
It may sound simple, but it's true. Using concepts to design and build curriculum is the single most powerful strategy for taking an ordinary curriculum and making it extraordinary. So many times the design of the curriculum segments information or disconnects learning experiences from each other. A concept-based design uses one or two broad concepts – for example, tradition and ingenuity – as an umbrella under which one or more subjects, readings, research, and assessments fall. Identifying essential understandings and skills provides the necessary focus for the curriculum overview. This workshop uses readings and discussion to lay the foundation for each participant who will then be guided in designing a concept-based, experiential and engaging curriculum for his or her own classroom. Additionally, the curriculum design can integrate standards, school goals and teachers' own objectives.

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
Too often, assessments are disconnected from how teachers teach and from the kinds of learning they envision. Frequently it occurs as an isolated event and does not advance students' understanding of what they do and don't know. On the other hand, authentic assessment involves students in tasks that are worthwhile, significant and meaningful. They involve higher order thinking skills and the coordination of a broad range of knowledge. Authentic assessment use explicit standards by which student work is judged. It serves as a learning tool for students and guides instructional planning and teaching.

This workshop guides participants in incorporating the features of authentic assessment as they design one or more assessment tools to use in the classes they teach.

THEME-BASED CURRICULUM DESIGN
Theme-based teaching has become popular again. Themes integrate content areas and invite students to engage with knowledge in deeper, more meaningful ways than any other curriculum model. Themes appeal to the range of diversity among students, allowing all kinds of learners to have an entrée point to the curriculum. However, true theme teaching is complicated and requires teachers to be curriculum designers, as well as instructors, and facilitators and coaches, as well as providers of information.

These sessions are based on the Bank Street model for theme-based teaching as well as 15 years experience teaching teachers how to design and teach in a theme-based curriculum. True theme-based teaching distinguishes itself from the unit approach in three major ways: (1) theme-based teaching is designed around broad concepts which are universal and timeless; (2) the theme involves the study of a culture, allowing for integration of subjects; and (3) the theme curriculum takes the students on an educational journey – through the chosen topic – where deep understandings and essential skills are learned in real-life, authentic ways.

These sessions can help a school refine its theme-based curriculum, or can guide a school in making a shift from a more traditional curriculum to a theme-based one.

REINVENTING CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
There is no silver bullet for classroom management. Even with all we know about development and differentiation, managing a group of students in classrooms and schools continues to pose a challenge for administrators and teachers alike. We try to force obedience using praise, rewards, fear and punishment even though research shows that fear-based punishment is the least effective means of changing behavior. We tend to over-reward students. Many of us use a one-size-fits-all approach in our response to misbehavior. Or we confuse students by giving mixed messages where mission statements, policies and individual practices are often contradictory.

What we really want is a place where all – students and adults – hold a clear and sound understanding of what is expected. Instead of forcing obedience, we want our students to comply with our expectations because they understand, endorse, create and help enforce conditions that promote the desired behavior. We want students who are kind and respectful; who make informed, positive, thoughtful choices; and who learn from their mistakes.

This workshop begins with understanding the sociological dynamics of the classroom/school where interaction is at the core of achieving compliance. It involves clarifying a school-wide philosophy adopted by administrators and staff – as well as teachers – and then incorporates consistent strategies that teach and coach students in how to behave responsibly. Building on the principles of interaction, we integrate the approach of the nurturing heart (coaching students in their behavior) and principles of judicious discipline (helping them take responsibility for their actions) to provide a common sense approach for establishing classroom norms, important boundaries and meaningful consequences for behavior.

This workshop can be adapted for parents.

WHEN STANDARDS CALL
Are standards for your school mandated by the state or accrediting organization? Would you like to align your curriculum with national content area standards? Whatever the motivation, incorporating standards can be a daunting task. These sessions help designated persons – teachers, administrators, curriculum leaders – make sure standards are built into the curriculum, along with appropriate assessments.

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