Elementary Schools Presenting Workshops (Click on the school name to see a full workshop description)
- Brooklyn New School: Putting the Science into the Social Studies Inquiry
- Central Park East 1: Block Building Across the Grades
- Central Park East 1: The Chaos(ed) Order in Open Time
- Central Park East 2: Knowing Children as Mathematicians and Using that Knowledge to Deepen their Mathematical Thinking
- Ella Baker School: Knowing the Child Through Her Work
- Muscota New School: Guided Song Writing
- The Earth School: Other Ways of Seeing
- The Neighborhood School: Play in the Elementary School
Secondary Schools Presenting Workshops
- Brooklyn International High School: Service Learning: An Experiential Journey
- Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies (grades 6-12): Primary Source Research in American History
- Community School for Social Justice: Social Action in Action at CSSJ
- Early College High School at Middle College High School: Five Year Early College Program and the Secret of its Success
- East Side Community HS: Literacy: Start a Reading Revolution at Your School
- Essex Street Academy: Rethinking Inquiry: Asking the right questions & Creating an Environment for Independent Thinking
- El Puente High School: Theater, Youth Voices and Global Change
- Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School: Advisory, Advisory Curriculum and the Bronx Big Read
- Fannie Lou Hamer; Scaffolding for Success in the Content Areas
- International High: Panel Discussion on Collaborative Decision-Making Structures
- James Baldwin School: A Conversation with an Elder: Reading and Discussing Ted Sizer’s Horace’s Compromise (chapter tbd)
- Landmark High School: Science Workshop
- Lehman Alternative Community School: Pursuing Excellence in World of Accountability
- Lyons Community School: Field Experiences
- Manhattan International High School: Historiography
- Manhattan Village Academy: Structure of our PBA
- School of the Future: Worth 1000 Words: Improving Literacy Through Graphic Novels
- School Without Walls: Democratic Curriculum Development
- University Heights High School: Digital Portfolio: Embracing the Digital Classroom
- Urban Academy: Meaningful Outcomes
- Validus Preparatory Academy: Using Student Learning Conferences as Assessments For and Of Learning
- Vanguard High School: Equitable Approaches to Teaching & Assessment in Mathematics
- Facing History High School: Student Perspectives on Performance-Based Assessment
Elementary Schools Presenting Workshops - Workshop Descriptions
1. Brooklyn New School
PUTTING THE SCIENCE INTO THE SOCIAL STUDIES INQUIRY:
At the Brooklyn New School, great emphasis is placed on learning through social
studies inquiry. Of course, we expect students to explore more than social studies. How do we manage? Working in collaborative teams, we design curriculum that connects
science, literacy, and art to the overarching social studies themes.
In this workshop, we look at how teachers can develop curriculum through
backwards planning and team work. We will model our approach to
curriculum development and then give workshop participants the opportunity to
plan inquiry that integrates social studies and science.
Presenters: Anna Allanbrook-Principal, SteveWilson and Barbara Taragan - teachers
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2. Central Park East 1 Elementary School
*BLOCK BUILDING ACROSS THE GRADES
For many years, blocks were universally recognized as one of the most valuable learning tools of early childhood, and in some schools throughout the elementary school years.
Today, there are not many schools that are still dedicated to children’s learning through play/work with blocks. Central Park East 1 Elementary School in East Harlem, New York City is one of the schools that continues to provide children with the opportunity to explore, discover, invent, imagine, hypothesize and reach new understandings through block work on a daily basis from Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade.
Teachers from the school will provide block building experiences for participants. After building the group will have a conversation about the potential of working with blocks across the grades.
Presenters: Yvonne Smith-PreK/K, Erin Hyde-K/1, Maggie Wright-2/3, and Catlin Preston1/2
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3.Central Park East 1 Elementary School
*THE CHAOS(ED) ORDER IN OPEN TIME Teaching, Learning and Assessment as an Integrated Practice
Chaos is not a lack of order but it is rather a complex, albeit not easily recognized relationship among several factors. This is Open Time in the 4/5 grade classes at Central Park East 1. It is a working, thinking and learning space of time in which children and adults engage with materials and ideas and each other to pursue textured personal and whole class studies. They explore their ideas and questions, make discoveries, and shape knowledge and understandings through a variety of expressive forms and curriculum. The starting points, the paths and the destinations of these pursuits are not always visible or predictable to the “naked eye” and may seem chaotic. In this workshop the three 4/5 grade teachers will share stories, student and teacher work, videos, and other forms of documentation to show how they work with the children and each other to shape and nurture a learning environment which leads everyone to deeper understandings of bodies of knowledge and of themselves as teachers and learners in an ongoing process of teacher and student inquiry and assessment. As they chart the terrain, the chaos takes shape and they “make the road(s) by walking” together. The work the fifth grade children produce is part of the graduation presentations.
Corinthia Mirasol, Eunice Senat, and Jose Sandino--4/5 Grade Teachers
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4. Central Park East 2 Elementary School
KNOWING CHILDREN AS MATHEMATICIANS AND USING THAT KNOWLEDGE TO DEEPEN THEIR MATHEMATICAL THINKING
For many progressive teachers mathematics has stood outside progressive education as either a necessary evil (teaching children procedures they need) or as an adjunct to rich investigations in social studies or science. Recent research has shown that all children create a schema to make sense of the number system. How can we get alongside a child's thinking and use mathematical tasks which build on, strengthen and if necessary adjust that schema to realize the mathematical power and potential of each child as their civil right to be numerate in today's world.
The workshop will analyze children's work and video from student interviews and look at 5 big ideas underlying much elementary mathematics to construct models and tasks which meet the child's thinking and integrate it with the structure of these big ideas. This workshop can accommodate 25 people.
Presenters: Kate Abell-Lead Math Support Person; Vanessa MillerK/1 Teacher; RajihahCoaxum-4/5 grade Teacher
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5. The Earth School
OTHER WAYS OF SEEING
In the effort to reduce the number of children being referred for special education services and to use what we know about the “whole child” we have developed a structure that utilizes descriptive language and “outside the box” creative thinking to support children who are struggling. We will begin with a description of our purposes and process and then share a few specific children who have benefitted from this work
Presenters: Alison Hazut-Principal, and 2 teachers
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6. Ella Baker School
KNOW ING THE CHILD THROUGH THE CHILD’S WORK
A teacher will present the work of a student through the lens of the Prospect Descriptive Review of Children’s Work. In the review circle the participants will describe a piece of the child’s work and then see it within the larger context of the longitudinal collection. The review will be chaired by Mary Hebron, professor at the Sarah Lawrence Art of Teaching Program.
Mary Hebron-Professor at Sarah Lawrence College Art of Teaching Program and Calley Bittel-third/fourth grade Teacher
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7. Muscota New School
GUIDED SONG WRITING
Singing is a fundamental and natural form of expression for all people and it begins to appear as expression very early in a child’s life. Two teachers will share how they draw on the “song within us” to develop this natural ability for children to compose their own songs using material from their core social studies curriculum as the subject of the musical compositions. Then the participants will divide into smaller groups and compose their own music to share with the larger group.
Eric Nolan-ELL Teacher and Christopher Wilson-Kindergarten Teacher
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8. The Neighborhood School
PLAY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM
We will share a Descriptive Review of the development of play in the physical education program from Pre-K through fifth grade. We hope that the review will open up a conversation among the participants about the all the ways that play enters and enriches the elementary school experience for children and teachers.
Teddy Fernandez-Physical Education Teacher
- Show quoted text -
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Secondary Schools Presenting Workshops
1. Brooklyn International High School
SERVICE LEARNING: AN EXPERIMENTAL JOURNEY
Current research shows that there is a growing trend in the use of service-learning in the classroom as an effective tool for civic participation. At The Brooklyn International High School, service-learning is integrated into the academic curriculum in order to empower students to take action in their communities. This validates the academic skills they learn in school as being applicable to life. In this workshop, participants will explore benefits and challenges to service-learning as well as hear students speak about their experiences designing and implementing service-learning projects within their communities.
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2. Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies
PRIMARY SOURCE RESEARCH IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Alyce Barr, Molly Foresta and BCS students will present a workshop on primary source research in American History. How do students move into the world of scholarly reading and writing? Hear the power of young academic voices. Alyce, Molly and students will share the work they have done reading Fredrick Douglass' writings.
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3. Community School for Social Justice
SOCIAL ACTION IN ACTION AT CSSJ
Staff will present the Social Action PBAT, a senior level project in which students research, write and present their work about issues of social justice important to them, topics ranging from female genital mutilation to the inequalities of public education in urban versus suburban areas, among many other issues. The Social Action Project is the culminating PBAT for every student at CSSJ, blending the development of his or her literacy and research skills through in-depth study. In our workshop we will discuss the evolution of our project over the last five years, the various stages of work each student must complete, and how English and Social Studies Departments collaborate to focus student energies and synthesize learning experiences around social justice in the final semester of our studentsGÇÖ high school careers. We encourage participants to share their own work related to social justice in the classroom.
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4. Early College High School at Middle College High School
FIVE YEAR EARLY COLLETE PROGRAM AND THE SECRET OF ITS SUCCESS
Presented by Chant Blissett (former teacher at CPRES) and Emmanuel Alty. This workshop will briefly describe the Early College Program at Middle College High School @LaGuardia Community College. Included will be a brief review of data demonstrating passing rates in the college courses. The emphasis will be a hands-on presentation of the Early College Seminar run by High School teachers and the curriculum which is offered to support the success of the high school students.
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5. East Side Community HS: Literacy
START A READING REVOLUTION AT YOUR SCHOOL
East Side Community High School, a 6-12th grade Consortium school in the Lower East Side of NYC, has become nationally famous for creating a community of voracious readers and book lovers. Students, teachers and the principal will engage you with their practices, structures and testaments. Learn how choice, time and smart instruction have addressed teen issues and made reading radical, personal, and ongoing for everyone. You will leave inspired and full of practical ideas, book lists, and other helpful hand-outs.
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6. Essex Street Academy
RETHINKING INQUIRY: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS & CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR INDEPENDENT THINKING
This workshop is focused on inquiry based science. The presenter will use two new curricula created for Essex Street science classes and demonstrate how thinking about the questions being asked and creating a structured, student-centered learning environment can lead to increased rigor and independent thinking. The workshop will also focus on differentiated instruction, incorporation of skills including research and student designed PBATS. As a final piece to the workshop the workshop attendees will brainstorm various essential questions and frameworks for curricula.
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7. El Puente High School
THEATER, YOUTH VOICES AND GLOBAL CHANGE
EL Puente Workshop: Theater, Youth Voices and Global Change
This workshop explores the complexities, legacy and challenges that young people are faced with when thinking about the Earth and Environmental Issues. Using theater exercises and interactive activities a group of students from El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice will co-facilitate an experience through which audience members/participants can begin to formulate their own declarations and commitments to improving the world around us.
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8. Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School
:ADVISORY, ADVISORY CURRICULUM AND THE BRONX BIG READ
Advisory is a lynchpin of the school since its opening in 1994. The workshop will present an overview of advisory and its place in the school and a timeline of advisory curriculum for Division One (9th and 10th grade) and for
Division Two (11th and 12th grade) reflecting the differing demands of the grades. In addition, each semester there is a school-wide Advisory Curriculum. In the past the school has studied the national elections and health and nutrition. This semester all advisories are participating in the Bronx Big Read: /Sun Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories/. Discover how these things are integrated into the school day.
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9. Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School
SCAFFOLDING FOR SUCCESS IN THE CONTENT AREAS
Teachers Eileen Pushee (Science), Abbey Wilson (Math), Sylvia Robb-Malone (Social Studies) will present content area projects that have been successful with their struggling middle school learners. Each project shared is a scaffolded curriculum unit based on Bloom's Taxonomy that led to a conceptual project. The strategies employed are differentiated and employ techniques that appeal to a variety of learning styles. After seeing some of the techniques, participants will be invited to brainstorm similar strategies to use in their own classroom.
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10. International High School at LaGuardia Community College
PANEL DISCUSSION ON COLLABORATIVE DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURES
Panel discussion about our collaborative decision-making structures, which are rooted in the core principle of "Democracy and Equity." Our school has highly developed practices of including faculty, staff and students in creating and setting school policies. At this panel, we will have administrators, an elected teacher leader, teacher committee chairs and student leaders discuss their experiences regarding collaborative decision-making.
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11. James Baldwin School
A CONVERSATION WITH AN ELDER: READING AND DISCUSSING TED SIZER'S HORACE'S COMPROMISE (CHAPTER TBD)
Ted Sizer would often host discussions among friends at Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) convocations across the country. Whether you had a chance to know this elder of the modern progressive education movement, or not; whether you have read Horace's Compromise, or not -- come and (re)read a portion of this book that seeded the CES 10 Common Principles, and reflect on the practical implications of Sizer's wisdom for our work in NYC public schools today.
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12. Landmark High School
SCIENCE WORKSHOP
Presenter Chris Mott. This workshop will focus on the process of working with students to develop inquiry projects in the science classroom based upon their interest. Students set out to solve a problem or answer a question through active research and scientific investigation. The classroom and the curriculum are designed for students to work together toward a common goal, with effective peer review and support. Formative assessments are made on an individual basis, guided by rubrics that reflect rigorous criteria that are directly taught. As a culminating event students present and defend their projects before a committee, within a science fair format, as part of the PBAT in science. All materials, rubrics and plans will be shared with participants.
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13. Lehman Alternative Community School
PURSUING EXCELLENCE IN THE WORLD OF ACCOUNTABILITY
(an exercise for teachers and students, or anyone who has ever been or aspires to be one) Facilitated by Joe Greenberg colleagues from Lehman Alternative Community School, Ithaca, NY . Who do you think of when picturing
excellence? What qualities does that person possess that demonstrate excellence? Together, we will celebrate those influences and honor those attributes by sharing examples of how we have been inspired to commit ourselves to excellence over accountability, creativity over compliance, and purpose over pressure. We will then discuss what gets in the way and strategize how to overcome those obstacles. The end goal is to become energized by the possibilities that exist when we individually and collaboratively take a stand to passionately swim against the current of conformity towards something deeper and more dynamic.
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14. Lyons Community School
FIELD EXPERIENCES
All students at Lyons Community School, grades 6-11, participate in a Field Studies course each semester. These experiential learning units are designed to support and deepen the work of the core classes through, and particularly in the middle school, attempt to be fully integrated in all curricular areas. The field studies involve an afternoon a week of travel outside the school to a site related to the study. Staff and students from Lyons will present work from one of their Field Studies units and share their thoughts and struggles of these inquiry based units, how it shapes, impacts, and influences the school culture, and what might be some next steps as we try to further develop this work.
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15. Manhattan International High School
HISTORIOGRAPHY
Teaching Historical Debate, How do we get students to see history as a conversation between historians rather than a collection of facts. This social studies workshop will examine how to use conflicting secondary historical sources with students. We will review a historiography unit that centers around the opposing arguments of historians regarding post Civil War American Reconstruction. We will then discuss how to create our own historiography units and help students build research papers that focus on historical debate and change.
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16. Manhattan Village Academy
STRUCTURE OF OUR PBA
We continue building and developing the Habits of Mind by introducing a Critical Thinking system. We reorganize our Performance-Based Assessment portfolios based on the 3 strands of Critical Thinking; namely, The Intellectual Standards, The Fundamental Elements of Thought and The Intellectual Traits. This system helps our students discipline their thinking so that they become sophisticated thinkers. For instance, Clarity is an Intellectual Standards, Inferences and Implications are two examples of the Elements of Thought and Intellectual Humility and Trust in Reason are two of the Intellectual Traits. Manhattan Village Academy will present the structure of their new PBA and
request feedback
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17. School of the Future: Worth 1000 Words
IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH GRAPHIC NOVELS
Graphic novels are rising in popularity, but just because they’re hot does not mean they are devoid of educational value. In fact, graphic novels can provide amazing opportunities to engage reluctant readers and teach deep analytical thinking. By using these captivating texts, teachers can serve more as coaches and students as workers, particularly in areas of literary criticism and visual analysis. Graphic novels hook students into learning without them realizing, and teachers can then push students to become deeper critical thinkers and storytellers, even those who typically struggle with reading, writing or analysis. By using various graphic tools, students can facilitate their own learning and create complicated analysis through a much more accessible medium than typical texts. Participants will leave this workshop with materials, practical ideas and resources to utilize graphic novels as a tool for deeper thinking, reading and writing in the classroom.
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18. School Without Walls
DEMOCRATIC CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Many educators, students & parents believe that it's next to impossible to meaningfully involve students in the development of an exciting, compelling curriculum. This curriculum development process, based upon Professor Lee Howe's model, described in Personalizing Education and from years of application at the Consortium's School Without Walls, in Rochester, will involve participants in an interactive process that they can use on Monday morning, when they return to their schools. The process facilitates democratic processes, student ownership, intrinsic motivation, higher level thinking and student responsibility for learning. The 10 Common Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools, as well as the 10 Design Principles of Expeditionary Learning are modeled in this creative process.
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19. University Heights High School
DIGITAL PORTFOLIO: EMBRACING THE DIGITAL CLASSROOM
This workshop will focus on how the current technology of the digital age can be used as a teaching tool to foster critical thinking, engage students, provide additional assessment and feedback to students, allow students to showcase their best work, and strengthen school action goals around teaching and learning. Participants will be able to see students use and discuss their digital portfolios and teachers share the struggles and successes of getting educators to go digital.
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20. Urban Academy
MEANINGFUL OUTCOMES
Urban Academy graduates speak out What happens to our graduates? What did they take away from their high school experience? How well prepared did they feel when they arrived at college? What advice would they give to their teachers? their school? the Department of Education? This workshop will feature the voices of those our schools claim to be for.
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21. Validus Preparatory Academy
USING STUDENT LEARNING CONFERENCES AS ASSESMENTS FOR AND OF LEARNING
Student led conferences, an alternative to parent teacher conferences in which students present work samples to a group of their family members, teachers, and other community members, allow students to showcase their best work as well as reflect upon their character growth, service, and attendance. However, student led conferences themselves may be used as an excellent tool for conducting formative and summative assessment as well as practicing for performance based assessments. Scaffolded rubrics which under go ongoing revision and careful school wide reflection support the use of student led conferences as assessments. This workshop is intended to share VPA's best practices around the use of student led conferences as assessments for and of learning as well as offer participants a chance to create student friendly presentation that may help guide their own practices.
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22. Vanguard High School
EQUITABLE APPROACHES TO TEACHING & ASSESSMENT IN MATHEMATICS
This interactive workshop will explore the use of Complex nstruction, a specific type of group work in the math class and how it can promote equity. We will discuss Jo Boaler's research, Creating Mathematical Futures through an Equitable Teaching Approach: The Case of Railside School, and view video of Complex Instruction in math classes at Vanguard High school. We will also discuss the different kinds Performance Based Assessment (PBA) Vanguard High School uses and how PBAs give students authentic opportunities to demonstrate understanding. Presenters: Rebecca Daczka and the Math Team.
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23. Facing History High School
STUDENT PERSPECTIVES ON PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT
Description: This panel will offer a students perspective as well a general overview of the performance-based assessment system at the Facing History School. Students will discuss both opportunities and challenges that they have encountered in the performance-based assessment process. Drawing on student perspectives, participants will have an opportunity to workshop and develop performance-based assessments at their own schools that reflect the needs and interests of their students.
Teacher Presenters: Emily Haines, Rachel Seher
Student Presenters: Martin Collado, Wilmar Castillo, Shernice Johnson, Lawrence Tejeda
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