This February, The Oakridge School plans to host its 2nd
annual teaching and learning conference in partnership with the Lausanne Learning Institute. The 2018 LLI
Southwest Conference offers an opportunity for educators to experience
relevant, authentic PD that focuses on topics like design thinking and student
centered learning. This year's theme, Making Learning Visible,
highlights one of the most unique aspects of the LLI Southwest experience: the
opportunity to observe Fishbowl Sessions where teachers administer lessons with
real students from The Oakridge School.
This
year, I'll be leading the committee that selects and organizes the conference
program, a task that's caused me to reflect more deeply about the overall
purpose of professional development (especially for teachers). When it comes to
PD, instead of asking how I can become a better teacher, I keep returning to
the reason we have schools in the first place. Schools provide spaces for
learning to be celebrated and made visible for others to see both on our
campuses and beyond. Therefore, the real question, for me, is how do I
become a better promoter of learning both with my students and with my fellow
colleagues.
This
is why the fishbowls at LLI Southwest stand out against all other conference
experiences: Educators can see learning in action by working together with
students in classrooms. Making Learning Visible means, not
only talking about best strategies, but actually witnessing the practice
together. The feedback from last year's conference echoed these sentiments, and
it's why I encourage anyone to make the trek to Texas this winter (...well
that, and the warmer weather).
I also
want to encourage readers to consider being a presenter for the upcoming event.
Last year we had more than 100 presenters, representing 37 schools, from across
the nation. Prospective presenters can submit a proposal for leading a 1 hr
general session (without students in the room), or they can submit a lesson
idea for leading a fishbowl (which is a 45 min lesson followed by a 25 min
debrief without the students present). Go to the link to
submit your ideas; we'll be accepting proposals until November 17, 2017.
We're
excited to announce that Matt Scully and Ryan
Welsh, from Providence Day School, will
be giving the keynote on Friday, February 24th. Go here to visit the conference website and
learn more about this exciting opportunity. Hopefully we'll see you in
Arlington this February.
