Pre-Conference Institutes
Thursday, June 25
The 2009 Summer Conference Pre-Conference Institutes take place from 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, at the Hilton Americas-Houston. Learn more about travel and lodging or get the complete conference schedule.
Differentiation Grows Up: A Bird's Eye View of Purpose, Process, and Key Components
Deborah Burns, Cheshire Public Schools, Berlin, Conn.
Now that NCLB has made universal academic proficiency and differentiation a mandate, here's your opportunity to learn about the critical need for differentiation, its varied purposes, and contemporary practices. This Pre-Conference Institute explores how vital learner differences can align with grouping, assessment, and instruction. Learn effective and practical differentiation strategies for teachers in all subject areas and grade levels.
Registration fee: $249 (ASCD Members), $313 (Nonmembers)
PDI code: PD09GE051
Leading Differentiated Instruction
Marcia B. Imbeau, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Attend this one-day Pre-Conference Institute to gain a better understanding of leading differentiated instruction in your school or district. Bring colleagues from your district or school team to develop a vision of effective, heterogeneous school communities, and explore issues that leaders must consider in guiding teachers in their practice of differentiation. An experienced consultant shares strategies that other schools and districts have found helpful and helps you create an action plan for implementation.
Registration fee: $249 (ASCD Members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials fee: $22 for The Differentiated School: Making Revolutionary Changes in Teaching and Learning
PDI code: PD09GE052
Understanding by Design: Beginning the Journey
Allison Zmuda, Educational Consultant, Woodbury, Conn.
Do you understand understanding? Can you describe the elements of good unit design? Attend this Pre-Conference Institute to examine understanding and good design as a foundation for beginning the journey with Understanding by Design. Learn the backward design process as you work through all three design stages using a generic topic.
Registration fee: $249 (ASCD Members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials fee: $48 for Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition and Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook
PDI code: PD09GE053
Schooling by Design: Mission, Action, and Achievement
John L. Brown, Educational Consultant, Alexandria, Va.
Get an overview of ASCD's book Schooling by Design and how it helps you address these essential questions:
• What is the mission of schooling and how should a school's mission guide its work?
• How should principles of learning influence educational practice?
• In what ways can backward design enhance school improvement planning?
• What are the 10components of a robust curriculum and assessment system aimed
at student understanding and transfer?
Registration fee: $249 (ASCD Members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials fee: $24 for Schooling by Design: Mission, Action, and Achievement
PDI code: PD09GE054
Lesson Design to Get Results: Linking Effective Learning of New Knowledge with Deep Understanding
Jean Conyers, Educational Consultant, Seabrook Island, S.C.
When students don't reach their potential or may even fail, could it be because they didn't get the right critical input experiences? This Pre-Conference Institute explores this question and introduces you to research-based processes for lesson design that ensures student success for deep understanding of knowledge.
Registration fee: $249 (ASCD Members), $313 (Nonmembers)
PDI code: PD09GE055
Building Background Knowledge Through Vocabulary Development
Judi Herm, Educational Consultant, Denver, Colo.
Attend this Pre-Conference Institute to learn how one factor in particular—academic background knowledge—is one of the strongest indicators of how well students will learn subject-area content. Understand how you can build academic background knowledge by directly teaching certain vocabulary in a certain way. And discover how to use a research-based, six-step vocabulary instruction model to help students who struggle academically become more confident and successful learners.
Registration fee: $249 (ASCD Members), $313 (Nonmembers)
Materials fee: $20 for Building Academic Vocabulary Teacher's Manual
PDI code: PD09GE056
Register now for Pre-Conference Institutes.