This hands-on interactive workshop will result in participant action plans that include strategies for creating contemporary learning environments.

On the first day, we will discuss in depth the four program structures - space (both physical and virtual); time frames as currency, student communities, and faculty ecosystems. We'll compare 'old school' structures to classic and contemporary models, and begin drafting programs that make modern learning possibilities a reality.

Small group work and 1-on-1 coaching on the second day allow participants the time and guidance needed to develop a strategy for research, analysis of current conditions and implementation of new program structures. Each participant and school group will have a personalized consulting and access to resources needed to construct bold new learning environments for modern learners.

This workshop will examine expanding the options for each of the four structures that make modern learning possible: schedules, learning spaces, student grouping and personnel configurations. We will look at the relationship between these structures and programs tailored to the student population.

Areas of Focus For Your School Program | Action Plans Developed Onsite

• Learning Spaces - architectural plans and re-purposing existing spaces
• Furniture Design - options based on student interaction & concentration
• Physical Location - making use of property and resident community
• Virtual Learning Spaces - options and criteria for quality selection
• Budgets - the realities of financial constraints and decision-making
• Scheduling - valuing time as currency
• Grouping Patterns for Learners – student grouping by interests
• Personnel Configurations – examining roles beyond departments

Learn from the best, most sought-after experts in education at the 5th Annual Summit for Transformative Learning in St. Louis, Missouri.  Created and hosted by Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School (MICDS), the “STLinSTL” conference is distinct because it offers participants opportunities to interact with keynote speakers and presenters in small group settings.  The 2018 conference drew nearly 400 educators from across the country, providing invaluable networking opportunities for all attendees.  This year's keynote speakers are Tom Schimmer, an education author, speaker, and consultant, and Dr. Marie Alcock, international education consultant and president of Learning Systems Associates.

STLinSTL is highly affordable and all-inclusive. The conference ticket includes pre-conference workshops, breakout sessions, deep dive workshops, most meals, and a social hour.  All sessions take place on the beautiful campus of MICDS in McDonnell Hall and Brauer Hall, the premier STEM facility in the Midwest.

During this workshop we will briefly review your schools curriculum mapping mission and strategy, and focus on implementation, integrating assessment data and upgrading unit maps for contemporary learners.

Two Day Boot Camp | Patchogue, NY - May 20-21, 2019

During this workshop we will guide each participant through:

•     an overview of curriculum mapping
•     aligning curriculum and assessment to standards
•     integrating digital, media, and global into teaching and learning
•     developing an action plan for moving the work forward at your school
•     drafting a quality unit map' as a professional development mode

When thinking about education policy around assessments, Bold Moves for Schools proposes 5 tenets to transform accountability, leadership and performance in schools.

1. Authentic Student Work -- Authentic student product or performance should be the goal
2. Realistic Audience Feedback -- Feedback connected to the purpose of the product or performance can be gathered from an audience outside of the classroom
3. Long-Term Projects -- Long term projects where deeper learner can occur should be favored over short-term memorization of processes and ideas
4. Collaborative Assessment Design -- Teachers and students can work collaboratively to identify indicators of innovation for assessment purposes
5. Self-Navigating Learners -- Students as self-navigating professional learners can monitor, reflect upon and feel connected to their personal learning path and progress

In a previous blog post we stated, "Standardized testing has its place in education, however, it is insufficient and has the potential for far-reaching unintended consequences." Here we'll discuss 4 detrimental outcomes of standardized testing.

Misuse of Data

Standardized tests used to rank learners, faculty and schools assess a few limited proficiencies but falls short of measuring what we value as learning – that which is educationally significant. This singular method does not factor in varying student conditions and environmental factors that impact scoring. In addition, grading practices are inconsistent state to state and scorers are often encouraged to favor quantity over quality reviews.

Educators and policymakers have a unique relationship – they share responsibility for shaping learning systems and preparing students for an interconnected and ever-changing world. We often think of teachers and administrators on one side and legislators on the other in a virtual tug-of-war, each side firmly planted in ideologies that inform programs and regulations. On the contrary, diversity of thought exists among teachers, administrators, superintendents, unions, governors, legislators, taxpayers, parents and students. And in fact, we’re all in this together.

Accountability and assessment methods emerge as the single most contentious policy topic. While policymakers have the extraordinary task of making decisions that impact all aspects of education, faculty struggle with administering programs that are meaningful, effective and result in satisfactory test results.

Contributed by: Craig Gastauer

This post was originally shared on Just Start for Kids & Schools and the author has given his permission to post it here.

Natural learning experiences are generated by observation and questioning.  As individuals share their different perspectives, each of us begin to make meaning of these experiences and deepen our understanding of the world.

Hiking on the cliffs above the the Pacific Ocean with my nine year old son creates for us a safe space to explore the world.  Questions abound as we come across animals, plants, rock strata, and even the wonderful variety of people we encounter. 

Contributed by Marie Alcock, PhD.

The truth is that teaching is changing in America.  As a profession we have been in a state of flux for more than 20 years.  In the big picture that is not much time and we can all agree that one day we will look back and note this period and the changes that resulted from it.  Here are our top ten things about teaching that have changed.

We made this movie as a way to note the key characteristics of this change. Teaching is Changing.

Contributed by: Marie Alcock, PhD

When is a video game useful?  When is it a tool for education?  Or even a tool for social change?

I enjoyed a TED talk featuring Jane McGonigal and her ideas about using video games as training grounds for saving the world.  Check it out here.

Jane raised some good points about the addictive rush from being on the “verge of an epic win” and the motivation from “epic quest” that is trusted to us as players.  What would we need to upgrade about our curriculums to get this kind of “epic quest” feel for the learner?  How do we make each skill progression for reading or writing feel like the addictive leveling of the “imminent win”?