Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works
Consultant: Elizabeth Ross Hubbell, Educational Technology Con
Credit: SDSU
Date: October 2-3 
School: American School in Japan
Coordinator: Patty Butz

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Teaching and Reaching English Language Learners
Consultant: Ginie Rojas
Credit: SUNY
Date: October 2-3 
School: International School of Kuala Lumpur ISKL
Coordinator: Sue Easton

I have seen Dr. Rojas, or Gini, present before. After a two hour conference

workshop on ELL students I remember thinking that she was a knowledgeable and experienced presenter on the topic of English Language Learning. After the October 2^nd and 3^rd EARCOS weekend workshop at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, I still felt that Gini was a knowledgeable and experienced presenter on the topic of English Language Learning. But her workshop was so much more….

Gini began the session saying that she hoped that participants would walk away with at least one new strategy to meet the needs of all English Language Learners in our classes, especially since she would be sharing four hundred and fifty six with us. This was not an exaggeration. It was also immediately clear that the English Language Learners that she was talking about in our classrooms included every single student in our classrooms. Gini reminded us that all students, even native speakers are continually learning and refining their language skills. They all need best practice instructional strategies to build communication skills.

 Gini shared Spencer Kagan’s cooperative structures, the IBO’s tools for English language learners, vocabulary development strategies, and differentiation strategies with the group. She modeled many of these strategies throughout the two day session, providing participants with materials based on their subject or role to ensure interest and transference of skill. As we walked around the room doing “Mix Group Freeze” each of us reflected on how we could use this strategy with children or other adults, and most importantly, we reflected on why we should use the strategy to build understanding and confidence. Every activity was purposeful, dynamic and meaningful.

We learned about the seven possible models for collaboration between an ELL teacher and the classroom teacher and the benefits and drawbacks of each. The changing role of the ELL teacher as coach and collaborator was described in detail with protocols and procedures to develop an effective model.

All fifty attendees walked out on Sunday, exhausted after a weekend of deep thought and reflection, but inspired and energized by two days filled with practical strategies, approaches and models to better meet the needs of our students.  Gini’s initial hopes were definitely fulfilled. Fifteen teachers wrote to me the day after the session to share a strategy that they had already implemented. Administrators and ELL teachers have already met to reflect on possible changes to our current model. This EARCOS workshop has already made a difference.

 Sue Easton

Director of Curriculum and Professional Development
International School of Kuala Lumpur

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Teaching and Learning in the next Generation
Consultant: Paul Ginnis
Date: October 2-3 
School: Nishimachi International School
Coordinator: Terry Christian

Paul Ginnis’ dynamic workshop included practical ideas for the differing learning style of our students.

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Assessment & Grading in a Differentiated Classroom
Consultant: Bill & Ochan Powell
Credit: SUNY
Date: October 2-3 
School: Saigon South International School
Coordinator: Theresa Flaspohler

Assessment and grading practices is often heated with passionate and conflicting opinions and perspectives from teachers, parents, administrators, and even students.  What is a fair and equal assessment when students come from varying backgrounds, readiness levels, abilities, and interests?  When grades come into play, it becomes an “emotional minefield.” (Rick Wormeli, Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, 2006)

In the two-day interactive workshop, Bill and Ochan Powell addressed the subject of how we evaluate student learning consistently, equitably and positively in the differentiated classroom. This was accomplished by reviewing what aspects of the curriculum can and cannot be differentiated; and what students need to know about formative and summative assessments.  Workshop participants reviewed the principles of high-quality assessments and also addressed the conflicting issues that many teachers, like themselves, feel about grading and reporting in a differentiated classroom.  Theory of knowledge, Cognitive Coaching, Understanding by Design, Differentiated Instruction, and many more best practices were referenced and integrated into this two-day workshop.  The Powells advocate that grading should be based on established criteria, and not arbitrary norms or work habits.  They strongly discourage grading on a curve and grading based upon averages.

The distinction between assessment and grading is worth being defined here:

1.     Assessment is used during the learning process to analyze student progress and determine the status of the learning; to serve an essential component of learning process; to promote and enhance further learning by providing descriptive feedback to each learner.

2.     Grading is at the end of the learning process to report on student achievement and learning to important audiences (parents and students).  Grading and reports should be based on clearly specified learning goals and performance standards.  The evidence used for grading should be valid.

The Powell’s dynamic duo approach complimented both of their different styles of presentation and helped to keep the pace moving.

 ~Theresa Flaspohler~SSIS Curriculum Director

Read what the participants have to say about the workshop:

I would like the Powells to come back one more time and focus more on the differentiating assessment part (specifically how can assessments be better differentiated for different subjects) or provide a resource link to see collections of differentiated assessments

Discovering the importance of descriptive feedback, and the role it plays in student understanding, was a light bulb moment for me. I became more aware of what type of feedback I have been giving students and how it can or cannot be useful. It has made me be more reflective of student work and how I can best give them direction.

Two areas in which I gained deeper understanding were in the value of cognitive coaching and the “growth mindset.”

I found many of the reflective strategies useful to my teaching area and am looking forward to trying them in the classroom. I will be using the Segmentation strategy in my literature classes to determine the qualities of a successful collaborative group, as well as to determine what a piece of writing looks like that is strong in ideas and organization.

I also think that the coaching strategy was very useful. I will be using this technique with my teaching partner and team, while I am planning and evaluating my assessments. 

I really did enjoy the discussions that were generated during the workshop, as well as gaining a new perspective on feedback. I think if there was more time to see specific, subject-based, examples of how teachers are using differentiation in their classrooms and with assessments, workshop participants would then feel like they had a base to build off from for differentiation.

The entire workshop, from presenters to organizers, was exceptional. Presenters knew their material well, and delivered the material in varied and engaging ways. 

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Create the Future: Becoming a 21st Century Learner
Consultant: Julie Lindsay and Kim Cofino
Credit: SUNY
Date: October 2-3 
School: Yokohama International School
Coordinator: Leanne Erickson

Create the Future: Think, Learn, Create! Yokohama International School, Japan hosted the EARCOS Weekend Workshop Create the Future: Think, Learn, Create! led by Kim Cofino and Julie Lindsay on the 2nd and 3rd of October 2010. Kim Cofino and Julie Lindsay are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and innovative teachers of technology. Kim Cofino is the Technology Learning Coach for Yokohama International School and Julie Lindsay the Educational Technology Specialist and E-Learning Coordinator for Beijing International School. Both leaders have the valuable ability of explaining today’s technology to every learner. The excitement, usefulness and power of web 2.0 tools was communicated through the workshop to each participant at their level. The workshop explored exciting web 2.0 tools (like blogs, wikis, podcasts, Twitter, digital storytelling, and social bookmarking) through project-based experiences. A handson approach was emphasized with opportunities for learners at all levels to explore, discuss and model 21st Century pedagogy using digital tools. The focus of the workshop was for participants to design an engaging, technology-rich, collaborative project to implement in their classroom. Participants worked in teams on ideas and objectives including Web 2.0 skill building, global collaboration and project management, designed to flatten the learning experience. Break out sessions were included building a personal learning network and digital portfolio development, digital citizenship best practice, and enhancing their web 2.0 toolbox. This workshop opened doors to new modes of teaching and learning and focused on the learner (teacher and student) as a communicator, collaborator and creator.

Please feel free to view the resources and projects developed by participants on the workshop wiki: http://createthefuture.wikispaces.com

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Literacy Conference: Focus on Writing (including digital literacy) K-12
Consultant: Maggie Moon, Matt Glover, Kathleen Ferenz
Credit: SUNY
Date: October 9-10 
School: Hong Kong International School
Coordinator: Karen ROHRS

Literacy Coaches Asia: October 7-8, 2010

This past October, twenty-nine Literacy Leaders, representing 12 schools from around the region, gathered at HKIS to learn how best to help schools implement a rigorous Balanced Literacy Program, as well as how to coach teachers with the Professional Development model of lab sites and study groups. For most participants, it was the third session the cohort met to reflect, refine skills and broaden their knowledge and skills for effective Literacy Coaching, facilitated by Maggie Moon. Participants included current Literacy Coaches, as well as administrators, Curriculum Coordinators and Mentor Teachers, across all elementary grades.  Participants had the opportunity to visit, observe and model literacy instruction in a variety of the HKIS Lower and Upper Primary classrooms, during regular Literacy instruction times as part of the lab site approach. As they learned new ideas, they also ran their own lab sites, which provided the opportunity to see Literacy instruction in action and practice on their own. Participants also explored ways to deepen adult learning in their schools – they discussed various approaches to staff development, as well as practiced teaching and filming each other in order to assess and self-reflect as practitioners in action. Matt Glover, a prominent Literacy consultant, joined for one day to co-lead lab sites and discussions.

Writing and Reading Asia Institute: October 9-10, 2010

This two-day institute was the inaugural literacy conference at HKIS.  The school partnered with EARCOS to provide a unique opportunity for teachers and administrators. Approximately 200 participants, representing 39 schools within HK and the EARCOS region came together to learn about writing and reading practices, research and its application to the classroom from a variety of presenters.  Whilst over half the group came from elementary years teachers, about 50 secondary teachers and 20 administrators participated in the weekend. Keynote speakers included US based Matt Glover and Katherine Bomer-Literacy consultants extraordinaire. All of the presenters shared their insights about literacy instruction through differentiated sessions.

One of the key messages from both Matt Glover and Katherine Bomer was the importance of mentor texts– “stacks” of text examples that can be shared with students as they read and author their own writing pieces. They emphasized the importance of students learning to identify an audience, read and analyze published texts and then explore ways to replicate that learning in their own writing.  Regardless of the age of students, having writing models is important, and equally important is reading and writing with purpose. Presenter sessions included identifying strengths and areas for exploration through conferring, strategies to strengthen student literacy skills, Interactive Read Aloud, Poetry, Reading Digital Text, Increasing energy and motivation in writers, composition through a variety of genres and graphic interpretation.

In addition to the key presenter sessions, ten teachers led breakout sessions differentiated by level, focusing on specific practical strategies that could be implemented the following week.  The session options were broad and included areas such as Music and language learning, Small Group Instruction, strategies for conferring, scaffolding ESL learners and looking at student work to guide next steps.  Each session provided participants information and ideas that could be adjusted or implemented in their individual classrooms.

Highlights of the weekend were the presentations by Janice Lee and Anna Esaki-Smith.  Janice Lee, author of The Piano Teacher shared her story about reading, writing and becoming a writer. Anna Esaki-Smith, author and writer for Newsweek and Reuters facilitated sessions on writing compelling personal essays and fiction writing for MS/HS classrooms. Their passion for writing and love of reading inspired participants and generated much conversation about the importance of voice and developing further that love in each of our students.

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Assessment Consultant: Bambi Betts
Date: October 15-16 
School: Morrison Academy
Coordinator: Mathew Strange

On October 15 and 16, Morrison Academy, Taiwan hosted a weekend workshop on Assessment for Improving Learning. Bambi Betts, the Director of the Principal’s Training Center for International School Leadership and CEO of the Academy for International School Heads, shared her assessment expertise to a group of forty educators from all over Taiwan.

The major premise of the two day workshop was the convincing research supporting the ideas of teacher classroom assessment practices having a profound impact on student learning. During the workshop teachers were made aware of the conclusions of experts and researchers about assessments in the school. Through engaging activities and discussions, most educators were compelled to analyze their own beliefs about classroom assessment.

The workshop started and ended the same, by teachers examining at their own thinking on assessment. In between, teachers discussed and worked through how assessment fit into curriculum; analyzed and created a model of how the written, taught, and assessed curriculum are related; and explored the purpose and definition of assessment. The focus moved through four major categories of assessment, understanding the learning process, and knowing what students should be learning in order to design an assessment that effectively measures learning. The workshop concluded with teachers writing an assessment, looking at sample assessment tools, and considering the importance of effective feedback. Before leaving, Bambi asked, “What about assessment are you going to stop, start, or continue?”

The workshop was in fact a workshop within a workshop. Not only did teachers learn about what the experts are saying about assessment, but Bambi also modeled, through her activities, assessment strategies and tools. A teacher was heard leaving at the end the workshop sharing, “Bambi has transformed my beliefs and ideas of assessment this weekend.”

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Using Facing History Themes of Identity,Membership, Judgment and Participation in Humanities, English, and Pastoral Care Curriculae
Consultant: Jimmie Jones
Credit: Endicott College
Date: October 23-24 
School: Western Academy of Beijing
Coordinator: Rena P. Mirkin

Adolescence is a time of major developmental changes. Facing History and Ourselves engages educators to think of how they connect the issues and themes of adolescence—independence, trust, identity, freedom, responsibility—with some of the more cogent events of history.  This two-day introductory workshop will help teachers in humanities-related courses consider how to weave history, literature, and ethics within courses that confront difficult choices during complex times.

Participants will be introduced to the Facing History and Ourselves scope-and-sequence themes, content, and pedagogy. Using case study materials of the events leading to the Holocaust and literature and history from the American Civil Rights Movement, we will explore how to foster critical thinking among students about choices, roles we play as citizens in a community, and the consequences of our actions and beliefs.

All participants will receive information about future workshops and seminars in addition to how to access the Facing History and Ourselves website for resources and teaching strategies.  Counselors and teachers involved with the pastoral care program will find thematic entry points and connections embedded within these sessions.

Jimmie Jones

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Teaching English Language Learners in All Classrooms
Consultant: Jon Nordmeyer
Credit: SUNY
Date: October 23-24 
School: Shanghai Community International School
Coordinator: Tammy Rodabaugh

Evan Weinberg and Maranda Brunner, Hangzhao Community International School

Before noon on Saturday, forty teachers from EARCOS schools had already observed a Turkish lesson, laughed through cocktail questions and reconstructed a matrix comparing stages of second language acquisition. Participants in EARCOS Weekend Workshop “Teaching English Language Learners in All Classes” were kept active by consultant Jon Nordmeyer from Shanghai American School, who modeled effective instruction for ELLs while guiding teachers to a better understanding of how to build both language skills and content knowledge in a supported environment.  This diverse group of teachers, from elementary EAL specialists to high school IB teachers, represented the ultimate heterogenous class, but Nordmeyer differentiated his presentation to scaffold language learning theories and explain unfamiliar acronyms such as SIOP, WIDA and RTI. Informative, fun and engaging, the hands-on workshop provided all with practical strategies and techniques to help English language learners “in your classroom next week” as Nordmeyer explained. Both reflection and practical application resonated throughout the workshop.  Jon’s careful planning and good-natured approach to facilitating teachers’ professional learning made accessible the complex world of language acquisition and sheltered instruction.

SCIS would like to thank Jon for a job well-done and the EARCOS organization for sponsoring this weekend workshop.

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