Classroom Roundtables
Thursday, October 22nd
5:15 - 6:30 p.m.
A diverse cross-section of teachers met to discuss innovative teaching strategies on specific subjects such as implementing new technologies in the classroom, building enrollment in STEM subjects, and using interdisciplinary approaches to create culture awareness and strengthen critical thinking skills.
AP Academy: Supporting AP Students
The College Board, along with other institutions, encourages minority and low-income students to take challenging AP courses. Some AP students are years behind in reading or math, and although the rigor helps prepare them for college, they sometimes fall short with grades or test scores. Last year, to support struggling students, the District of Columbia Public Schools started a Saturday AP Academy in which students reviewed material, participated in otherwise unavailable labs, and spent more time with teachers to prepare for the AP Exam. In this session, participants will evaluate the AP Academy as a model for supporting low-income students in AP classes and will develop strategies to support and foster their efforts.
Speaker(s): John Seelke, Mathematics Teacher, McKinley Technology High School, District of Columbia
Art Education: Creating a New Place in the World
The fine arts are fundamental to modern education reform. Participants will examine the work of popular authors, such as Daniel Pink and Betty Edwards, to identify the need for a shift in pedagogical approach, evaluate the aptitudes taught in schools to prepare students for success in the face of 21st-century challenges and develop strategies for strengthening those aptitudes through art education.
Speaker(s): David Roane, Artist, Educator, Noble and Greenough School, Massachusetts
Assessing Writing Skills for Latino Students
For students to find the writing process meaningful, they must strive for accurate, clear and effective expression based on an understanding of semantics, morphology and syntax. Participants in this session will develop best practices for assessing students’ writing skills (particularly Latino students’) and encouraging them to reflect on their own communication abilities, with an emphasis on higher cognition, mechanics and organization in the writing process.
Speaker(s): Luz MaritzaFernandez, Director, Test Development, The College Board, Puerto Rico and Latin America Office; Irma Nydia Vazquez-Asencio, Assistant Director,The College Board, Puerto Rico and Latin America Office
Brain Fitness for Success
While students would like relevant content, they often view the classic high school math curriculum (algebra, geometry, trigonometry) as the least applicable topics of their courses. However, quantitative reasoning can improve metacognition (thinking about thinking) and is an excellent way to boost knowledge and skills. Participants will discuss the concept of brain fitness, with special attention to how math can enhance critical thinking, problem solving and confidence. Participants will develop strategies and identify opportunities to implement the brain fitness perspective to foster student commitment and to improve their college access and success.
Speaker(s): Robin Schwartz, Adjunct Professor, College of Mount Saint Vincent; Founder, Math Confidence, New York
Bring Chinese Language to Your School: Lessons from the Chinese Bridge Delegation and Other Initiatives
School and district leaders who recently visited China as part of the Chinese Bridge Delegation will share their experiences and will highlight various models for starting Chinese programs in U.S. schools. Participants will hear about the challenges and successes of implementing a Chinese program. Discuss the benefits of introducing Chinese language and culture to a curriculum, and identify valuable resources including opportunities to join future delegations, host teachers from China and other initiatives.
Speaker(s): Selena Cantor, Director, Chinese Language and Culture, The College Board, New York; Mark Freeman, Superintendent, Shaker Heights City School District, Ohio; Karen De Fur, Supervisor of World Languages, New Haven Public Schools, Connecticut
Connecting Career and Technical Education College-Bound Students with Academic Studies
Students in career, technical or vocational training courses — including the collegebound — do not always extend themselves beyond their specific training areas to consider the relevance of academic subjects to their educations. Schools must adapt their college-preparatory curriculum to reflect students’ needs. This will help students gain the training they want without sacrificing the instruction they need. In this session, participants will develop strategies for collaboration and coteaching among disciplines in order to create an open forum for learning, improve performance on standardized tests and foster well-rounded students. Participants will focus specifically on methods for incorporating more academic skills (in English, science and math) into career and technical education classes for college bound high school students.
Speaker(s): Casey Reynolds, CTE English Integration Instructor, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pennsylvania
Continuous Partial Attention: Successful Teaching in a Technological World
Young people learn differently in a technocentric society. Together with technological sorting of information streams, students manage social networks, cell phones, text messages, e-mails, instructors’ expectations and other prompts. While multitasking assumes progress toward completion of a finite assignment, students exercising continuous partial attention (CPA) feel that being connected provides them with inifinite possibilities. In this session, participants will examine how this splintering of attention can affect learning in the traditional classroom and will develop strategies for educators as well as students to best identify CPA tendencies in their lives, recognize patterns, and continue to learn at an optimum level.
Speaker(s): Thomas Lisack, Writing Instructor, Waukesha County Technical College, Wisconsin
Is This a Geek That I See Before Me?: Teaching Liberal Arts in the 21st Century
In this session, participants will debate the advantages and disadvantages of teaching the liberal arts versus so-called twenty-first century skills in the classroom. Participants will hear from a Latin and art history teacher who runs a paperless high school classroom, who will argue that both are equally important and inextricably linked to the future of education. Participants will develop strategies for incorporating both viewpoints into their pedagogy and for application in their own classrooms.
Speaker(s): Shelly Blake-Plock, Teacher/Blogger for www.teachpaperless.com, John Carroll School, Maryland
Pandemics: How History and Science Can Prepare Us
From the Spanish flu to avian flu to the recent “swine flu,” what are the relationships between history, science, and disaster preparedness? Using a case study and related materials, this workshop will explore scientific and historical implications of the influenza pandemic of 1918, called the Spanish flu, its relationship to other pandemics; and the forecasted reemergence of H1N1. Engage in Q&A with science and history educators about the legacy of the disease and learn how the lessons can be used in classrooms today.
Speaker(s): Maghan Keita, Professor of History, Villanova University, Pennsylvania; Peggy O'Neill Skinner, Science Department Head, The Bush School, Washington
Synthesis for Seniors: Designing the Ultimate Capstone Course
Participants will identify the curricular priorities that should shape a course so that it fosters a lifelong love of learning for its own sake. In this session, participants will examine the instructional design and pedagogical principles that shaped an innovative history course for high school seniors. History of Art, Music and Science–known affectionately as HAMS–was created to allow students to explore three topics that receive limited attention in high school courses. With insights drawn from e-learning, adolescent development and cognitive science, this course is multimedia rich and heavily discussion based in order to foster the level of writing, analysis and discussion needed for success in college course work. From this model, participants will develop strategies to prepare high school seniors for college and to leverage technology in the classroom.
Speaker(s): Patricia Monticello Kievlan, Director of College Counseling, Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School, Texas
The Benefits of an AP Literature Class
How can AP literature teachers ensure that their students receive the practical benefits from the course? At this roundtable, participants will discuss best practices for instilling in students an appreciation of literary works as well as critical thinking and writing skills, with an emphasis on reaction papers, analytical essays and the four modes of language acquisition (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Participants will develop strategies for strengthening students’ analytical skills and improving their language mastery.
Speaker(s): Marta Loyola, Associate Professor of Spanish, Eastern Mennonite University, Virginia
The Ins and Outs of Preparing Students for the PSAT/NMSQT® or SAT®: Why a Classroom-Based Model Is Necessary but not Sufficient to Ensure Success for All Students
English teachers have a variety of classroom tools to prepare students for the PSAT/NMSQT® or SAT®, ranging from the College Board's Question of the Day to writing exercises based on classroom texts. Recognizing that instructional time is limited, Walnut Hills High School in Ohio uses guidance faculty to augment test preparation in the classroom. At this roundtable, participants will examine Walnut's successful dual-track approach to preparing students for college entrance exams. Participants will discuss best practices for integrating test-preparation work in the classroom and will identify possible funding sources, including federal stimulus monies, for test-readiness materials and personnel.
Speaker(s): Brian Sweeney, English Department Chair, Walnut Hills High School, Ohio; Martha Geller, Director, College Information Center, Walnut Hills High School, Ohio
Virtual Education: Equity, Access, and Differentiated Instruction
In this session, participants will develop strategies for implementing virtual learning programs in AP English, math and social studies. Using data and student testimonials, participants will identify resources for instructional scaffolding and for eliminating barriers to college access tools that give all students access to a 21st-century education now and that prepare them to meet the challenges of college and a career in the future. Using a favorite tech resource, Elluminate, to interact directly with students, participants will discuss how virtual learning can connect otherwise disconnected students to the AP classroom.
Speaker(s): Sonia Arteche, AP Instructor, Florida Virtual School; Dianna Miller, AP Macroeconmics Instructor, Florida Virtual School; Sharon Johnston, Senior Associate AP Programs/AP English Instructor, Florida Virtual School; Irene Payne, AP Calculus Instructor, Florida Virtual School;
Web 2.0 Tools: All Students Can Learn
How will Web 2.0 tools impact learning in the 21st century? Participants will identify the benefits of these tools, and they will learn methods and techniques to use online tools to enhance the academic culture of a community and make knowledge accessible to students.
Speaker(s): Andrew Byrne, Dean of Faculty, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Connecticut; Joel Padilla, Math Teacher, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Connecticut; Jason Ramsden, Chief Technology Officer, Ravenscroft School, North Carolina; Linda Vasu, English Teacher, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Connecticut
