JESSICA BALLI / PATRICK CALLAHAN Math PS Function Room VI

Making Middle School Mathematics Meaningful (Repeat) Our students are entering a more global and connected world than ever before in history. This is an incredibly exciting time in education and yet, middle school students continue to regard math as one of the least useful, unengaging and most pointless subjects in their school day. We will share and discuss concrete examples to help teachers and students embrace the value and beauty of mathematics in their world, making middle school mathematics a powerful, meaningful part of their life-long learning.

WAKA BROWN Social Studies/Humanities MS Meeting Room IV

Whisper to a Roar: Case Studies in Building a Democracy The documentary film A Whisper to a Roar, shot over three years and finalized in July 2012, tells the stories of democracy activists in five countries-Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe-who risk everything to bring freedom to their people. This workshop explores activities that supplement issues from the film.

JENNIFER CHANG-WATHALL S.T.E.M. MS Meeting Room I

How to Engage Students Through Instructional Practice This interactive workshop will cover eight instructional strategies to engage students and promote learning in any discipline area. Participants will be immersed in social constructivist environment and partake in highly engaging learning experiences.

DAN CHASSAGNE Science PS First Floor - Hibiscus Room

NGSS - Making the Practices Practical The science and engineering practices from NGSS highlight the essential skills that all scientists rely on. In this workshop, we will focus on two of these practices, engaging in argument from evidence, and planning and carrying out investigations. Participants will engage in lessons using multimedia and handson activities to make these practices accessible and engaging for students of all abilities.

KIM COFINO S.T.E.M. MS Meeting Room III

First Steps Towards Transforming Your Classroom Transforming student learning through technology is an exciting, but challenging, goal for many teachers. We want to try new things in our classrooms, but often struggle to know where to start. This session will explore three key frameworks for successful integration of technology in a creative and innovative way without chasing after the latest fads.

LYNNE COLEMAN General Education PS Ballroom I

Formative Assessment: Soup or Salad Most of life asks us to work formatively; most student experiences with assessment should be similar. Participants will identify learning to learn skills that need to be explicitly taught and mastered in order to succeed in light of common core standards or MYP objectives. To get from initial explicit teaching to mastery we find formative assessment practices that increase student access to success. Participants will build formative assessments based on learning to learn skills for standards from their subject area. (Source: Lance King, Common Core Standards and the IB Middle Years Program).

JENNY FRANCO MARSH Counseling PS Function Room IV

Proactive Counseling: An Intervention for Technology Usage for Schools and Families Access to technology may have unintended risks on the social, emotional, and cognitive development of our students. Many of these risks remain unsupported by school technology programs and need to be addressed. Such risks include unsafe and inappropriate internet exposure, cyberbullying, addiction, and family conflict. Concordia’s counselors and digital literacy instructional coaches have created a program to identify, address, and reduce the risks caused by students’ access to cyberspace. Many international schools have 1:1 laptop programs in order to meet 21st century & digital media literacy teaching skills. Come and learn how your school can also be prepared to respond to similar concerns!

JULIE HARRIS-STERN All Disciplines MS - First Floor - Rose Garden Room

Designing Units and Lessons for Real-World Transfer of Learning in Middle School How do we engage middle school students to think deeply about real-world issues? Gain practical tools for designing units and lessons that allow students to unlock complex situations. Consider age appropriate strategies that you can implement immediately in your school.

SANDRA HILL Counseling PS Function Room IX

VIA Character Strengths: Helping Students Discover their Best The VIA inventory of Strengths is a free psychological assessment designed to identify an individual’s profile of character. The psychometric has been thoroughly tested as valid and reliable. In this workshop, teachers will learn about the history of the Character Strengths and Virtues classification of positive human traits as well as how to implement a program in the middle years. They will be guided through a process of lessons and video to bring to the classroom . In addition, participants will be able to identify their own positive strengths and learn how to capitalize on them.

RON LANCASTER Math PS Function Room II

Mathematical Modeling in Abu Dhabi: Architecture, Design and Mathematics Mathematical modeling can be done with buildings anywhere in the world. The focus of this session will be on mathematical models and activities related to astonishing buildings in Abu Dhabi, including one that responds to sunlight and another in the shape of a circle. The mathematical content from this session will involve linear and quadratic functions; algebra, geometry, trigonometry and the golden ratio.

MARISOL MARANAN / ROSEANA RICHARDS Counseling

Learning to Learn Learning to Learn is a 60 minutes workshop to discover your student learning style. Remember, every kid learns differently. PS Function Room I

KENNY PEAVY Service Learning MS Meeting Room VI

Making Service Learning Happen- A Practical Approach Do you or your students engage in service projects or service learning? Learn how to jumpstart your projects and engage your students for maximum benefit and the greatest impact on student learning,. Using Rockin’ 4 the Environment, GREEN Riders, GREEN Paddlers and Buy A Book, Support A Village as examples this workshop will explore the process of how to make your service projects come alive with project design, sponsorship, media, promotions and ensuring a successful project.

WESLEY PRZYBYLSKI K-12 S.T.E.M. MS Meeting Room II

Re-Designing the Learning Experience Empathize, Define, Ideate, ProtoType, and Test. These are the steps we will go through with some Google slide magic for a total design thinking experience. In this design thinking activity we be learning about the entire design thinking process while working with partners to develop innovations and problem solve at your institution.

MARY RYAN Math PS Function Room VII

Developing Mathematical Proficiencies through Problem Solving Create a lively math classroom and develop resilient learners through challenging problem solving. See how the power of mathematical discourse develops concepts, reasoning, justification, and math vocabulary. Learn how to develop mathematical thinking with effective questions and experience hands-on activities that employ multiple strategies for problem solving.

STEVE SOSTAK / AARON MONIZ Global Issues/Global Citizenship PS Function Room VIII

Occupy Middle School: Embedding Global Citizenship Finding space for meaningful global issues integration in classroom curriculum can be difficult due to pre-existing units, the lack of resources, support, or flexibility. Participants will first be introduced to a myriad of resources in six ‘Global Citizenship Strands’ to help embed citizenship into pre-existing units without losing connections to disciplinary standards. Next, participants will engage in a self-selected, small-group inquiry into one of the strands, ending in a community share of authentic ideas to inspire greater citizenship in classrooms and schools.

JAMES TANTON Math PS Function Room X

Exploding Dots: K-12 Math United in One Astounding Fell Swoop! This topic is sweeping the globe and here it is for us to enjoy! See www.gdaymath.com for a sneak peek. Come with pencil and paper in hand, and possibly an extra pair of socks - this session will knock your first pair right off!