Expeditionary Learning National Conference 2013

Expeditionary Learning National Conference 2013
This years EL National Conference had a focused topic of how we can “prepare all students to lead.” I am continually blown away by the high quality work and teaching that is highlighted in Expeditionary Schools. This years conference presented me with further opportunities to enhance my own learning, as well as, the students that I work with each day. I attended five master classes, presented one master class, and attended a site visit at an EL K-12 Charter School in Washington, DC. Below you will find my take aways from this years conference. If you would be interested in hearing anymore about a particular class or would like to see resources please feel free to comment.

School Site Visit: Capital City Public Charter (K-12; Washington DC)
-All classrooms had consistent procedures and rules for example-volume of voice and using the bathroom.
-Math lessons were taught in a workshop format.
-Curriculum was embedded with wellness, fitness, and art.
-Teachers teach-No one stopped instruction to handle behaviors.
-All students were educated in the classroom. Supports push in.
-There were at least two adults teaching in each class, often times three.
-There was a culture of feedback and critique.
-Every classroom contained self portraits and family pictures of all the classroom’s students.
-Morning work is called- “Morning Must.”
-Anchor charts and student work “decorated” the room. It was the kids space.

Keynote-Paul Tough
-Received copies of recent book by Paul Tough-How Children Succeed Based on science this book presents a new way of thinking about how we look at kids, parenting, and schools.
-7 Most Important Character Traits-What matters the most?-Optimism, Zest, Curiosity, Social Intelligence, Self Control, Gratitude, and Grit.

Taking the Student Led Conference to the Next Level
-Use of todaysmeet.com (a virtual parking lot where students can ask questions and communicate, free and easy to use.) Great usable tool for classrooms with technology.
-Students love to talk about themselves, their work, and their learning.
-Use Voice Thread (voicethread.com) as a way for students to create voice threads about their own work.
-Free app for ipods and iphones.
-Student scripts, directions, and information available.
-Could be used for goal setting, reading to self, reading to someone, building fluency, sharing work more frequently with family near and far through a virtual system.

Preparing Leaders through the Habits of Mathematicians
This class focused on teaching and designing lessons that focused students on developing the Habits of Mathematicians. (See Below)
Common Core State Standards

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Students focus first on understanding what is being asked of them and planning their approach to the problem before diving in and solving it. They continually ask themselves, “Does this make sense?” Students use lots of different strategies to understand and solve problems, and don’t give up easily.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Students can use numbers and symbols and connect them effectively to the real world, and can work with real world objects and situations and express them effectively as numbers and symbols. They create a coherent picture of the problem at hand; considering the units involved; attending to the meaning of quantities, not just how to compute them; and knowing and flexibly using different properties of operations and objects.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Students can use evidence to explain their thinking and communicate their ideas clearly, and can evaluate the ideas of others. Students ask useful questions to clarify or improve their mathematical thinking and that of their peers.

4. Model with mathematics
Students can use math to understand and solve problems in the real world. They can analyze relationships mathematically to draw conclusions.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically
Students can effectively solve problems using tools such as pencils, paper, rulers, calculators, and computers whenever necessary. They understand the benefits and limitations of tools and choose tools appropriately to explore and deepen their understanding of concepts.

6. Attend to precision
Students are careful in all the details of their math work, both in what they do and how they explain it. They know the meaning of the symbols they choose, are careful about specifying units of measure, and label axes to clarify the correspondence with quantities in a problem. Students calculate accurately and efficiently and express numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for the problem context.

7. Look for and make use of structure
Students look for patterns in numbers and shapes and use those patterns to understand and solve problems. They use this reasoning to check the appropriateness of their mathematical thinking.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
Students find and use shortcuts when they solve problems, and use their reasoning from one problem to solve others. They make a variety of connections as they strive to understand each problem- connecting math concepts to prior knowledge and experience, connecting math concepts to other academic disciplines or real-word situations, and connecting math concepts within or between strands of mathematics.

-Learning targets were clearly stated.
– What you know! What you want to know! Special Conditions? (Chart to be completed before learning task or problem solving)
-Time to reflect on learning (Synthesize)
-Grapple (students need time to work on problems and construct meaning)

Self Designed Teacher Professional Development
-This class focused on developing a Fund For Teachers Fellowship. In fellowships teachers are given financial support to explore and learn about a topic that will enhance their own teaching, students learning, and benefit the community.
Tips-Read rubric carefully, use EL principles, be detailed about travel and research, proofread, get feedback, know when to let go.

Preparing Student Leaders-Facilitator
-Presented a Master Class on how schools can integrate their code of character and school wide positive behavior supports.

How the Youngest Students Can Think Big, Work Hard, and Have Fun
-Organize student work in drafts
-Teach them how to see what you want them to see
-Clear product rubrics and exemplars
-Create a climate of critique
-Celebrate the process
-Make copies of work for back ups when drafting.
-Revise, revise, revise