Thursday Morning Workshops

Thursday, November 8, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

CW111 ($35)
How Visionary Middle Schools Become Bully-free Learning Communities
Nicholas Carlisle
Student bullying is one of the biggest challenges faced by middle schools, causing untold suffering, marginalizing diverse youth, and consuming educator time in responding to incidents. This workshop will get you up to speed on the new anti-bullying laws and best practices nationwide for prevention and response. You will learn how to unite your school behind a vision of inclusion and leave with a template for leading a change of culture.

CW112 ($35)
The New IQ: Teaching Executive Function Skills in the Classroom
Frank Kros
The acquisition and use of executive function skills is the single greatest predictor of student academic success. Understanding what constitutes an executive skill, where and when those skills develop in the brain, and how to directly teach them—and strengthen them—is the focus of this workshop. You'll learn the 12 core executive function skills and 12 active, engaging ways to effectively teach them, including techniques to boost critical thinking, enhance problem solving, and expand creativity.

CW113 ($35)
Building a State-of-the Art Middle School Schedule in Nine Easy Steps
Elliot Y. Merenbloom
Using a hands-on approach, participants will experience nine steps to create a state-of-the–art middle school schedule. The nine steps are mission/vision review, structural options, bell/lunch schedule, program of studies, projected enrollment and teaming options, blueprint and grid of teachers’ assignments, and professional development. State–of-the art status includes flexibility, teaming, horizontal and vertical plan time, special populations, common core standards, and interventions.

CW114 ($35)
Teaching Children of Poverty: Eight Research-based Strategies for Bridging the Achievement Gap
Tammy Pawloski
The impact of poverty on the brain, development, and learning will be considered in this fast-paced session. PowerPoint slides, video clips, and music will be used to explore eight non-negotiable curriculum strategies and a model for the development of an intentional, research-based plan for under-resourced students will be provided. Participants will gain information that will enable them to better understand students and respond to their needs with new and focused strategies.

CW115 ($35)
Effective Behavior Management - The Leadership Team
Noah Salzman
Administrators will learn how to:

• Help teachers manage behavior in the classroom
• Deal with ineffective and hostile teacher response styles
• Avoid teacher/student conflict
• Implement classroom procedures
• Eliminate tardies and office referrals
• Motivate unmotivated students
• Increase instructional time
• Provide alternatives to suspension
• Increase parent involvement

Administrators will leave with a school-wide behavior management plan that will aim to reduce office referrals and suspensions by 85%.

CW116 ($35)
Talk, Move, and Mess: Tools for Active Teaching and Learning
David A. Shepard, Kelly Shepard Profitt
Is your classroom on life support? Need more "I can use this tomorrow strategies" to offset the sleepy nods you sometimes see? Exceptional educators realized years ago that today's youth must be actively engaged in their learning. This session will outline and demonstrate 20–25 strategies to differentiate classroom instruction in order to change passive "sponges" into lively learners. Participants will leave with many "I'll try this on Monday ideas." New and experienced teachers can benefit.

CW117 ($35)
Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8: How Do We Motivate Middle Level Learners?
Debbie Silver
Do you ask yourself, "Just how am I supposed to motivate these kids?" The real question, of course, is how do we get them to motivate themselves? Based on extensive research for her new book, Debbie Silver offers surprising new findings about fundamental ways we can change our teaching practices to help kids become self-motivated. Come prepared to have your thinking challenged and to receive a multitude of strategies that help learners develop internal motivation.