{"success":true,"data":[{"ID":739,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509382561,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"#OurWorldsConnect","Handle":"ourworldsconnect","ShortDescription":"What responsibility do schools have to grow truly empathetic people?  How do we help our students connect and build positive relationships with diverse populations in this increasingly divisive political\/social climate?  How do we help our young people \u201c listen to others deeply enough to be changed by what they learn?\u201d","Description":"Most of us live in a bubble of some sort, created by geography, socioeconomics, culture, society, family, ourselves, or something else.  What responsibility do we, as educators, have to help our students see beyond this bubble?  How can we help them break down barriers and understand that we all have shared human experiences despite our differences?  \r\n\r\nThis conversation starts with the assumption that, \u201cPeople brought together from differing educational, cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds can be prepared to deal more effectively with human problem-solving experiences than those who are not in an integrated setting.\u201d (Taken from World of Inquiry School founding document)  Take a look at how two schools, one rural and one urban, have partnered to begin a journey towards this shared understanding.  How can we scale this idea?  Where does it fit in the curriculum (for schools who may need this to sell the concept?)  What other types of opportunities are there for cross-school connections?  Please join me for a conversation about the practical role schools can play in countering the polarity and divisiveness we see in our country today.","Link":[],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"I\u2019ll begin with a brief overview of our rural\/urban partnership, then move into a short self reflection protocol, followed by interactive small and large group conversations.  Key points will be captured digitally and shared.","Presenter":["Anneke Radin-Snaith"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Naples CSD"],"PresenterEmail":["aradinsnaith@naplescsd.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":2,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":"If this proposal is accepted, it would be helpful if I could avoid being scheduled on Sunday afternoon, as we have a long drive home.  Thanks!","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":728,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1508953976,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Beyond Boxes, Borders, and Binaries: Thinking with More Complexity","Handle":"beyond_boxes-borders-and_binaries--thinking_with_more_complexity","ShortDescription":"It seems we\u2019re all trapped within our ideological \u201cbubbles,\u201d victims to believing and spreading \u201cfake\u201d and fast news. Let\u2019s start doing something about this lack of nuanced thinking in our classrooms by providing texts that do not reduce ideas down to soundbites. You\u2019ll leave this session thinking about how to help students articulate their ideas with depth and sophistication.","Description":"In both my public speaking and English classes, I\u2019m noticing a pattern in the arguments that students develop and attempt to defend in their writing and presentations: they\u2019re too simplistic, to begin with, and they usually reduce a topic down to a binary of us\/them, right\/wrong, or black\/white. The Common Core standards almost encourage this reductive thinking, boiling down argumentative writing to establishing a claim and addressing \u201cthe\u201d counterclaim, as if issues don\u2019t have multiple sides and many shades of gray.\r\n\t\r\nIn this session, I will share my initial successes and failures in attempting to develop a syllabus that includes texts from a multiplicity of perspectives, as well as the writing assignments and classroom activities I\u2019m developing to uncover and unpack the complicated and complex worldviews contained within them. I\u2019ll show participants examples of the student work that has come out of these readings and assignments, pointing to both areas of growth as well as places of persistently superficial thinking.","Link":["http:\/\/www.nycischool.org\/"],"Audience":["High School","Middle School","Elementary School","All School Levels"],"Practice":"We will adapt two NSRF protocols (Four \u201cA\u201ds Text and Last Word) so that teachers can grapple with and respond to two polarizing texts (excerpts from Ta-Nehisi Coates\u2019s Between the World and Me and J.D. Vance\u2019s Hillbilly Elegy).\r\n\t\r\nWith the Four \u201cA\u201ds Text protocol, teachers will read the Coates text in small groups and then take turns sharing their responses to each of the four following questions:\r\n\r\nWhat Assumptions does the author of the text hold?\r\nWhat do you Agree with in the text?\r\nWhat do you want to Argue with in the text?\r\nWhat parts of the text do you want to Aspire to?\r\n\r\nThen, all groups will come together to share some of their tables\u2019 reactions.\r\n\t\r\nNext, the Last Word protocol will be used after each participant reads the Vance text. When they\u2019re ready, participants at each table will take turns sharing one quote from the text and why the quote made a strong impression on them (in no more than 2 minutes). Then, each of the other participants will get up to 1 minute to respond to the quote and what the presenter said, the purpose of the response being\r\n\r\nTo expand on the presenter\u2019s thinking about the quote and the issues raised for him or her by the quote,\r\nTo provide a different look at the quote,\r\nTo clarify the presenter\u2019s thinking about the quote, and\/or\r\nTo question the presenter\u2019s assumptions about the quote and the issues raised (although at this time there is no response from the presenter).\r\n\r\nFinally, the presenter has one more minute to have the \u201cfinal word.\u201d Now what are they thinking? What is their reaction to what they heard?\r\n\r\nAfter the initial presentation and the two protocols, the group will come together as a whole and share their final thoughts about what role, if any, these protocols could play in their handling of texts from across the political and ideological spectrum.","Presenter":["Thomas Jones"],"PresenterAffiliation":["NYC iSchool (H.S. 376)"],"PresenterEmail":["tjones@nycischool.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":7,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":"Thank you so much for your consideration! I would prefer to present during one of the earliest sessions on Saturday.","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":774,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509567405,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Book Chat! The New Education by Cathy Davidson","Handle":"book_chat-the_new_education_by_cathy_davidson","ShortDescription":"Cathy Davidson https:\/\/www.cathydavidson.com\/ writes in her new book, The New Education, about the origins of our current educational system, and compellingly that this system no longer serves its students or society well.  The focused solutions she recommends are aimed at higher education institutions.","Description":"The purpose of this conversation is to understand more deeply the historical and cultural roadblocks to change.  Then with that understanding construct, define, identify strategies to pursue solutions of greatest importance to participants.  \r\nCathy draws a line in 1993, when MOSAIC 1.0 was released.  MOSAIC was the 1st commercially viable web browser with a color interface that began the internet as we know it today.  Throughout the book she goes back and forth from the late 1800\u2019s when Charles Eliot set about changing education by creating what we now know as the modern research university, to today.\r\nThe system of ranking, sorting, and credentialing was created at a time of great change.  Centuries of long standing traditions had to change for the modern research university and K-12 public education systems to emerge.  \r\nRecognizing that the focus of colleges in the 19th century, turning out ministers and clergy, no longer served an emerging industrial society, Davidson and many progressive educators recognize that the focus of today\u2019s colleges, turning out credentialed professionals, no longer serves our algorithm driven, big data, postindustrial society.\r\nUsing Cathy\u2019s writing and examples as jumping off points, we\u2019ll look to contextualize how strategies of change buck up against cultural norms, and then look for tactics to ease barriers.","Link":["http:\/\/cae.org"],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"Even though this is a book talk, the Focus\/Framing protocol will be used in a modified fashion.  Each participant and group will frame their questions based on the context of the big ideas in the book.  \r\n\r\nOnce questions have been created, small and whole group discussion will work towards tactics to follow.  Ideally, pre and post EduCon conversations will take place among participants and co-moderators.There is an outside chance we may be able to have the author herself join the conversation via webcast.","Presenter":["Lee Finkelstein"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Regional Program Manager for CAE (Council for Aid to Education)"],"PresenterEmail":["lfinkelstein@cae.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":4,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":"I've communicated with the author and she knows I'm interested in facilitating this conversation.  I'm also openly recruiting others who have been similarly moved by the book to co-moderate with me.","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":765,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509564312,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Citizenship & Radical Hope In Today's World","Handle":"citizenship-radical_hope_in_today-s_world","ShortDescription":"A conversation about citizenship and teaching in the current climate","Description":"Featuring students and our English project with seniors.\r\n\r\nGuiding questions:\r\nWhat new narratives can we construct?\r\nWhat does it mean to be a young person in Philadelphia at this point in time?\r\nHow can we respond to the current moment?\r\nHow can we use the combination of art and text to enrich our ideas?","Link":["https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1x2UVxym4How1qIMdOUvolnbjelueUi2U5ib95fWsc20\/edit?usp=sharing"],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"- Teaching in the current climate\r\n- Genesis of this unit\/project\r\n- Student voices\r\n- Everyone make a field note!","Presenter":["Josh Block & Amal Giknis"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Science Leadership Academy"],"PresenterEmail":["amal.giknis@gmail.com","jblock@scienceleadership.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":3,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":789,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509584538,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Curiosity and the Stories We Tell","Handle":"curiosity_and_the_stories_we_tell","ShortDescription":"What is the story of what happens in our classrooms? If curiosity is the foundation of engagement, what steps can we take to foster it in our students? In ourselves? In our professional communities and contexts? In this conversation, we\u2019ll make plans to inspire curiosity and then discuss how we\u2019ll share those stories of curiosity with others.","Description":"When we get students engaged in our classrooms, they take ownership of their learning and of their stories of their learning and, perhaps, their lives. The same may be true for us individually and in our professional contexts and communities. What can we do next week to begin this process? What could our goals be for our students using their curiosity to begin crafting the story of their learning? How can we go further and find concrete ways to kindle the curiosity in ourselves for our work? And then, how can we engage in that work with others in our professional context? Curiosity helps rejuvenate our energy and look at old challenges with new eyes.\r\n\tBut finding ways to stoke curiosity is only part of the important work we do. We also must reclaim our voices and expertise as professionals in education. One of the ways we can do that is by sharing our students\u2019 stories of their learning and then sharing our own stories of our practice and profession. We\u2019ll conclude our session with ways we can make the results of our intentional curiosity work more public. What tools can we use? Who do we want to reach and what message do we want to share about education as educators? What are the best ways we can advocate for our students and our profession?","Link":[],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"The conversations will be structured using a democratic conversation style similar to World Caf\u00e9, with different tables hosting the different conversations about curiosity, with a share out of ideas, and return to conversations briefly to synthesize anything heard. The second round will focus on the second set of questions, with different tables hosting the different conversations about how we can take back the narrative of education in public and share the platform with students. Chart paper for doodling or capturing ideas will be in place and participants will be encouraged to move around as they wish to be part of different conversations within the space. At the end of each of the two rounds, we\u2019ll harvest the best ideas with individuals writing their plans on stickies that we can post in the room. Images of those final harvest posters, as well as those captured on the chart paper on tables, can be posted online. Participants will also be invited to engage with online participants in a Google Doc if there are online participants who would like to join us.","Presenter":["Jennifer Ansbach"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Manchester Township High School"],"PresenterEmail":["jansbach@yahoo.com"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":5,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":802,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509815303,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Discover the Why for Learning","Handle":"discover_the_why_for_learning","ShortDescription":"We talk about the importance of voice and choice but how do we encourage learners of all ages to discover their purpose for learning so they own and drive it. Learners need learning to be relevant and authentic. We will take real-world activities and use design thinking to redesign them together.","Description":"What is the Why of learning? The main idea of this conversation is to discuss how we can move from a sense of compliance to a feeling of ownership about what we learn. The idea of school isn't working for most kids. How do we shake up the system so kids address what they need to know and what they want to learn? What does that mean for \"school\" now? The focus of the conversation will be on redesigning existing curriculum to create a learner-centered strategy so they drive the learning. The UN has developed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and created lessons around each of the SDGs. One Goal we will focus on is sustainability. The lessons provided by the UN tend to be teacher-centered. \r\n\r\nWe will review the design thinking process as it relates to lesson design. The presenter will walk the participants through the process using one of the lessons. Participants will be working in groups and will have one lesson to redesign as the presenter explains each of the elements of the design thinking process. The participants will take the role of learners as co-designers of the curriculum. With the first element: Empathy, each group will brainstorm ideas of what that means for a particular audience. They will then brainstorm and choose a problem identified by this audience and create an essential question, a solution and a prototype. The groups will share out their prototypes and have a final group discussion on the process.","Link":["https:\/\/barbarabray.net"],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"Each group will have flip chart paper and pens to write how they will use the design thinking process to redesign a lesson.\r\n\r\nFor Empathy, the groups will use the protocol \"Open Space\" to  self-organize\r\ntheir conversation based on the audience they choose to discuss and how they will learn more about that audience.\r\n\r\nFor Brainstorm, the groups will discuss and write ideas for a problem they identified for that audience. They will then agree on the main problem and write that on the chart paper as an essential question.\r\n\r\nFor Ideate, the groups will use the protocol \"Whip-Around\" to have each member write down a solution to the problem and essential question, and then share thoughts with the group.\r\n\r\nFor Prototype, this is where the group takes one of the solutions and designs how they will solve the problem. The prototype can be text, a drawing, or an idea. \r\n\r\nFor Test, the groups will share out their prototype and provide feedback for each other and on the process.","Presenter":["Barbara Bray"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Rethinking Learning"],"PresenterEmail":["barbara.bray@gmail.com"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":13,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":"I just found out today that I am available that weekend. I hope it is not too late.","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":813,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1512979941,"CreatorID":22678,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Engaging in Youth Participatory Action Research","Handle":"engaging_in_youth_participatory_action_research","ShortDescription":"This conversation prepares participants for a hands-on exploration of youth participatory action research (YPAR). Sharing approaches from more than a decade of intergenerational, community-based research, we will develop action plans for research and advocacy.","Description":"Digital media platforms allow more voices than ever before to dialogue about issues of public concern. These platforms offer particularly exciting opportunities for young people to wrestle with the most pressing issues of our time while developing identities as citizens and scholars. As teachers, students, and community members, how can we design experiences \u201cwith\u201d rather than \u201cfor\u201d young people \u2013 experiences that treat youth as knowledge producers oriented toward social action and justice as they navigate digital and analog environments?\r\nThis conversation offers youth participatory action research (YPAR) as a framework for inquiry that pushes back on traditional models of the key actors (youth), processes (participatory), and purposes (action) of learning and research in classroom, community, and digital spaces. We will review the theory and practice of YPAR and jump into the collective work of designing experiences that encourage young people to conduct their own research.\r\nParticipants in this conversation will learn not only from the facilitators, but also from resources developed by educators and students in Los Angeles who utilize YPAR in formal and informal learning contexts. All participants will have opportunities to share their current work with young people and learn from those in different contexts. By the end of the conversation, all participants will develop personalized action plans for engaging in YPAR projects and join an online network of educators that will reach beyond the conference and continuously share resources, research, strategies, and outcomes.","Link":["https:\/\/gse.rutgers.edu\/nicole_mirra","http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com"],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"Though we'll share some strategies for teaching, research and collaboration, this conversation will be specific to the goals and levels of previous experience of individuals participating in this conversation. By the time this session ends, participants should have an outline for direct community\/school-wide engagement around an issue relevant to their local community.","Presenter":["Nicole Mirra","Antero Garcia"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Rutgers University","Stanford University"],"PresenterEmail":["nicole.mirra@gmail.com","antero.garcia@stanford.edu"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":10,"SubmitterID":22678,"AdditionalComments":"*Antero has  a 5 pm flight on Saturday to head home, in order to participate in this session it would need to take place Saturday AM\/early afternoon.","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":790,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509584596,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Finding the Others: Building a Culture of Modern Learning","Handle":"finding_the_others--building_a_culture_of_modern_learning","ShortDescription":"Making the shift from a culture of teaching to a culture of modern learning can only happen when a school community shares powerful beliefs about learning. This session will discuss practical strategies to help educators to \u201cfind the others\u201d or expand pockets of innovation and inspiration that embody modern learning.","Description":"How do we move away from a teacher-driven culture in favor of a culture of modern learning? What steps can educators and schools take to create learning experiences that inspire? In each school, there are educators who provide powerful answers to these questions that validate the impact of modern learning. \u201cFinding the Others\u201d will share practical ways that schools can activate student agency, tap into educators\u2019 professional curiosity, and access the power of professional and community partnerships to expand the pockets of inspiration and innovation in our schools. \r\n\r\nWhile changing the culture of a school may seem daunting, there are practical steps that schools can take to build a community of educators who are capable of closing the gap between beliefs and practice. In this conversation, representatives from Nipmuc High School will outline a series of easily scalable practices for creating modern learning experiences including: \r\n-actionable ways to quickly and clearly articulate beliefs about learning;\r\n-Lead Learner meetings which bring students and teachers together to reimagine the student experience; \r\n-21st Century Learning Conferences, bi-annual events where students, teachers and community members engage in interest-driven sessions during the school day; \r\n-Food for Thought lunches, open forums that ignite conversation between students and teachers;\r\n-the open-source Inspired Learning Project which includes a blog, resources and monthly digital discussions. \r\n\r\nParticipants will walk away from the conversation with new ideas, adaptable protocols, and accessible resources to help them \u201cfind the others\u201d and build a powerful network of educators who are committed to reimagining school.","Link":["https:\/\/modernlearning2018.weebly.com\/"],"Audience":["High School","Middle School"],"Practice":"Participants will work in small groups in a variety of conversational protocols that promote idea-sharing, making thinking visible, and maximizing digital tools to promote voices over volume. \r\n\r\nIn addition, the conversation will be shared and organized on a website that will include a variety of embedded tools to encourage backchanneling and digital conversation during and beyond EduCon.","Presenter":["John Clements","Maureen Cohen","Mary Anne Moran","Dave Quinn"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Principal (Nipmuc Regional High School)","Assistant Superintendent (Mendon-Upton Regional Schools)","Associate Principal (Nipmuc Regional High School)","Director of Technology Integration (Mendon-Upton Regional Schools)"],"PresenterEmail":["jclements@mursd.org","mcohen@mursd.org","mamoran@mursd.org","dquinn@mursd.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":8,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":"Please be aware that we would not be able to have our entire team available to host the conversation on Sunday, 1\/28\/18. If we have the opportunity to be part of the event, we would need to be included on Saturday's program. Thank you for the consideration. We're looking forward to the event!","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":758,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509556410,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Meditation for Teachers and Classrooms","Handle":"meditation_for_teachers_and_classrooms","ShortDescription":"Explore the opportunities and challenges of meditation for educators and the classroom.","Description":"Mindfulness is a new buzzword in education. Recent research shows with proper guidance meditation practices decreases stress, attention issues, depression, anxiety, and hostility, while also benefiting health, well-being, social relations, and academic performance. \r\n\r\nBeyond helping students and teachers to be more calm and happy, we explore the motivation of our meditation practice and work together toward understand our interdependence.\r\n \r\nWith this conversation you will: \r\n-Consider and refine your motivation\r\n-Develop and refine your own practice of meditation and wellness\r\n-Enhance your capacity for applying meditation in your personal and professional life\r\n-Understand the historical context in which meditation practice has its roots in secular society\r\ne\r\n-Work with meditation master Khenpo Karma Tenkyong, who has over 40 years of meditation training and teaching experience internationally.\r\n \r\nKhenpo Tenkyong is the president of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Buddhist monastery and well as a primary teacher there. Khenpo Tenkyong will be joined by Grace O'Keeffe, NYCDOE Educator, meditation practitioner, and Breathe for Change Wellness trainee. Together, they will help you develop a practice for you and your classroom.\r\n \r\nKhenpo Karma Tenkyong was sent to KTD in July 2014 by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa where he currently serves as a resident teacher and President. A native of Nepal, Khenpo Tenkyong became a monk at a young age and later undertook an eleven-year course of Buddhist studies at Karma Shri Nalanda Institute at Rumtek Monastery, earning a Shastri (B.A.), Acharya (M.A.) and Master\u2019s Degree in Buddha\u2019s Teaching in the Sutra Tradition. Khenpo Tenkyong has extensive experience teaching religious history, Buddhist philosophy, and logic. He was awarded the title of Khenpo by the 17th Karmapa, who also gave him the name Tenkyong. He worked for more than eleven years at the Karmapa\u2019s Office of Administration in Dharamsala, India.\r\n \r\nGrace O'Keeffe is the Senior Seminar educator at Hudson HSLT, Breathe for Change Yoga and Wellness Champion, and future business student. Grace has been studying meditation for over 20 years and has had a 3-year daily practice.","Link":["http:\/\/www.kagyu.org","http:\/\/www.hudsonhslt.com"],"Audience":["High School","Middle School","Elementary School","All School Levels"],"Practice":"Participants will engage in meditation practices, reflect on their mindfulness practices, and develop their own tool set for their practice and life.","Presenter":["Khenpo Karma Tenkyong","Grace O'Keeffe"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery","NYCDOE"],"PresenterEmail":["gokeeffe@hudsonhs.com"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":12,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":745,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509467608,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Outdoor Inquiry - How do we provide meaningful outdoor experiences for student learning?","Handle":"outdoor_inquiry_-_how_do_we_provide_meaningful_outdoor_experiences_for_student_learning","ShortDescription":"Research supports that outdoor experiences benefit our minds and bodies.  We will discuss limitations and brainstorm solutions to moving our student-driven inquiry lessons outside.  Appropriate for all disciplines and age levels, together we will model hands-on strategies and will develop a tool kit to put into practice.","Description":"Outdoor education helps students connect with lessons differently in several important ways.  First, being outside gives students a richer sensory experience than a classroom can.  Physical and emotional feelings associated with movement, sounds, weather and smells can imprint a story with class content.  This first-person storytelling can be a powerful tool for learning.  For example, I took college students to a river in winter.  While in waders, they plunged their arms into frigid waters to collect snails.  The safe discomfort etched the experience into student memories and helped them better understand environmental factors that affect aquatic organisms. \r\n\r\nAnother way outdoor education serves student learning is by getting students out of their classroom routine.  A change in physical location, especially going outside, can help students problem-solve from different perspectives.  Serendipity, too, plays a key role in generating opportunities to discuss content.  Recently, two of my biology students found a stingless wasp.  Their excitement and interest in looking at the small insect led to their learning about microscopes and ecological interactions that were not a part of the original lesson plan (but that are science standards they need to know).  Sharing how instructional flexibility can build content knowledge is an important focus to this conversation as well. \r\n\r\nIn summary, I will center on the myriad of benefits of getting students outside and on using student-led inquiry to drive outdoor learning.  I will facilitate group dynamics by providing a quick overview and a hands-on experience that will be the launchpad for generating ideas.","Link":["https:\/\/sites.google.com\/collegiate-va.org\/educon2018-outdoor-inquiry"],"Audience":["All School Levels"],"Practice":"I have been using outdoor education to enrich my practices as a science teacher for over 10 years.  Gained through extensive experience, I will share how I integrate outdoor opportunities into preK-12 curricula; and I will offer tips to address safety and tips to manage students outside.  \r\n\r\nDuring a brief introductory presentation, I will describe outdoor inquiry and share research about the benefits of getting students outside both for their personal well-being and for their learning about content.  \r\n\r\nParticipants will then explore a 10-15 minutes hands-on lesson using living Bess Beetles to engage their senses and curiosity.  Using the experience as a launch pad, we will break-up into small groups to discuss:\r\nhow we felt watching or holding a beetle,\r\nwhat we wonder about beetles, and\r\nwhat questions we might ask about beetles (from science, mathematical, literary, historical contexts).\r\n\r\nIn new groups, participants will be asked to brainstorm:\r\nlogistical limitations to taking students outside (class size, safety, experience),\r\nspecific ways they see themselves working outside with students (inquiry lessons, projects), and\r\nbest practices for outdoor education.\r\n\r\nGroups will document their initial experience with post-it notes and their brainstorm conversations in a shared online resource (wiki or Google slide) that participants will be able to access during and after the session.","Presenter":["Sandra Marr"],"PresenterAffiliation":["The Collegiate School","Richmond","VA"],"PresenterEmail":["sandra_marr@collegiate-va.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":16,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":"I attended EduCon 2 years ago, and so I have experienced how the conference conversations work.  In addition I have presented outdoor education strategies at Collegiate and at the Virginia Association of Science Teachers conference.","LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":791,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509586711,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Two Truths and a Lie: Parsing Current Events with Students","Handle":"two_truths_and_a_lie--parsing_current_events_with_students","ShortDescription":"In this session we\u2019ll discuss how to help students navigate the confusing waters of current political and social events. How do we help students initially approach the positions of others with curiosity, rather than judgement? How can curiosity help us avoid information silos and evaluate sources?","Description":"In this session we\u2019ll discuss how to help students navigate the confusing waters of current political and social events. How do we help students initially approach the positions of others with curiosity, rather than judgement? How can curiosity help us avoid information silos and evaluate sources?","Link":["http:\/\/laufenberg.wordpress.com","http:\/\/meredithstewart.com"],"Audience":["High School","Middle School"],"Practice":"We will use best practices as the conversational practice for this session.","Presenter":["Meredith Stewart","Diana Laufenberg","Dan Agins"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Cary Academy","Inquiry Schools","Pawcatuck Middle School"],"PresenterEmail":["meredithLstewart@gmail.com","dlaufenberg@gmail.com","agins.dan@gmail.com"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":9,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":810,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1512067816,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"Using Technology to Help Students Explore Mathematical Concepts","Handle":"using_desmos_to_help_students_explore_mathematical_concepts","ShortDescription":"This conversation will focus on using technology (specifically Desmos and Geogebra) to help students explore mathematical concepts through interactive and engaging online activities. Participants in the conversation will explore several Desmos\/Geogebra activities (and hear from current students who have used those activities in math classes), and then will work in small groups to re-design a current unit plan to include technology-based activities that create a more student-centered, inquiry-driven math experience.","Description":"This conversation will focus on using technology (specifically Desmos and Geogebra) to help students explore mathematical concepts through interactive and engaging online activities. Participants in the conversation will explore several Desmos\/Geogebra activities (and hear from current students who have used those activities in math classes), and then will work in small groups to re-design a current unit plan to include technology-based activities that create a more student-centered, inquiry-driven math experience.","Link":[],"Audience":["High School"],"Practice":"We will explore and discuss multiple Desmos\/Geogebra activities as a whole group, and then participants will work in small groups to re-design an existing unit plan to include technology-based activities. Small and whole group conversations will focus on strategies for effectively identifying and implementing student-driven technology-based activities, and will highlight student feedback based on technology-based activities used during class.","Presenter":["Brad Latimer","Nicole Gasser"],"PresenterAffiliation":["Science Leadership Academy"],"PresenterEmail":["blatimer@scienceleadership.org","ngasser@scienceleadership.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":11,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7},{"ID":776,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1509568488,"CreatorID":4735,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"What does it mean to be a graduate?","Handle":"what_does_it_mean_to_be_a_graduate","ShortDescription":"What should it mean to graduate from high school? In this conversation, I am going to convince you that 1) high school graduation requirements are the Most Interesting Topic in the World, and 2) they are a really good place to begin radically reshaping schools.","Description":"What should it mean to graduate from high school? What type of work should it require? How will we know when students have gotten over the bar? To whom should it matter?\r\n\r\nIn this conversation, I am going to convince you that high school graduation requirements are the Most Interesting Topic in the World. \r\n\r\nThe conversation will be both philosophical and practical. To imagine a graduate is to define what we want from schools themselves. But it's also to get into questions of what can be taught and learned, what work should look like, and how performance and progress should be measured. \r\n\r\nThis is not a hypothetical conversation. In Philadelphia and elsewhere, the opportunity to fundamentally rethink graduation requirements (and thus the high school experience itself) has never been greater. Changing the yardstick we use to define and measure graduates (and thus schools) can open the door to whole new ways of designing secondary education experiences. \r\n\r\nWe'll begin with the big ideas, but quickly transition to ideas and examples of what they look like in practice. Think a high school graduate should be an informed citizen? Awesome! How do you think they should demonstrate that? (Hint: THE ANSWER IS NOT A CIVICS EXAM.)\r\n\r\nBy the end of our conversation, I hope you'll have had the chance to step back and think big, but also developed a sense of the possibilities for real, tangible change in the schools or systems in which you work.","Link":["http:\/\/www.workshopschool.org"],"Audience":["High School"],"Practice":"This conversation will be part soul searching, part freewheeling discussion (with active participation for the brilliant introverts among us), part brain dump, and part design workshop. I hope you'll bring your ideas, insights, tools and tricks, wisdom and experience to our collective work. \r\n\r\nOnce we get clear about the important or essential qualities we're looking for in our high school graduates, we'll get a head start on framing out how we'd operationalize those things in our reimagined requirements. We'll use existing tools and practices where we can, and dream up new ones where we need to.","Presenter":["Matthew Riggan"],"PresenterAffiliation":["The Workshop School"],"PresenterEmail":["matthew.riggan@workshopschool.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":93,"ScheduleLocationID":14,"SubmitterID":4735,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":7}],"conditions":{"Status":"Accepted","ConferenceID":7,"ScheduleSlotID":93},"total":13,"limit":false,"offset":false}