Teaching and Learning Sessions
Day 1 - Aug. 2

Strategic Teaching: What Matters Most for 21st Century Learning
Harvey Silver, National Presenter
8 - 9:45 a.m.
Many experts have pointed to instruction based on “21 century” skills as the best way to prepare students for the competitive global world of work that awaits them beyond school.  And while this movement towards cutting-edge, technology-enhanced teaching and learning has helped schools keep pace with the business world, it can be all too easy to forget that good thinking is a timeless concept.  In this workshop, we explore the question of how to ensure our students know how to use their minds well so they can succeed in school, meet high standards, and confront the challenges of their generation.  At the heart of our work will be four overarching standards that govern students’ ability to think and learn: the ability to read challenging and meaningful texts (rigor); the ability to solve complex problems (thought); the ability to understand oneself and others (diversity); and the ability to apply school learning to real-world settings (authenticity).  Participants will learn what each of the four standards looks like in various school settings and be introduced to specific research-based instructional strategies for teaching to the four standards.

Strategic Teaching for Rigor & Thought
Harvey Silver, National Presenter
10 - 11:15 a.m.
In the first follow-up session, we will focus on our first two standards: rigor and thought. To increase students’ capacity to manage rigorous texts, we will introduce teachers to a set of note-making strategies that help students identify important details, summarize big ideas, raise questions, note personal reactions, and make connections to their prior knowledge. To build students’ capacity for deep and critical forms of thinking, we will focus on inference strategies—strategies that teach students how to analyze information, generate hypotheses, and draw conclusions.

The New Jargon, 21st Century Skills:  What are they really?
Toby Fischer & Andrea Lusk, Upper Arlington
12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
Adapted from a Partnership for 21st Century Skills presentation from Ken Kay, gain a true understanding of just what are 21st century skills. What are the biggest changes in society over the last 25 years and based upon these changes, what skills do our students need to develop in order to be successful in this new world?

Strategic Teaching for Diversity and Authenticity
Harvey Silver, National Presenter
12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
In our second follow-up session, we will look at strategies for addressing our third and fourth standards: authenticity and diversity.  To make learning more authentic, we will examine six types of tasks found in the world beyond the classroom that teachers can use to engage students in real-world problem solving. To address the standard of diversity, we will highlight the strategy know as Task Rotation.  Task Rotation helps teachers develop differentiated instruction and assessment designs that engage and speak to the learning styles of all students.

Digital Kids
Rich Boettner, Hilliard City Schools
2 - 3:15 p.m.
Today’s students are immersed in a digital world that is changing them more than we know. What do schools need to do to reach these students?  Learn how the world is changing student interests, expectations, and thinking and what we can do to prepare them for the future.

Conference Reflections
Required for Ashland Credit Option
3:15 - 4 p.m.