More than Just the Basic Facts: Model, Monitor, and Master/Workshop Full – Waitlist available
Christian Courtemanche, Instructor
(MMUU Math and Science Instructional Coach and longtime CVEDC presenter)
Dates: February 7 and March 18, 2020 Time: 9:00 – 3:00 pm Coaches Corner 3-4 pm
Cost: CVEDC Members: $400 Non-members: $450 *cost includes game materials (dice, cards, etc.) and meals for both days
Target Audience: Grades K-4 educators, special educators, coaches and school/district-based teams
Mastery of addition facts is a key component for further work with larger numbers, fluency with subtraction, and application to multiplication, division, and fractions. So many students fall into traps of anxiety around mastering their basic facts. Others quickly memorize and then forget, leaving little strategy other than counting on fingers to fall back on when problems get more complex. How can we guide students toward fluency without fear or temporary shortcuts?
Over the two days, participants will focus on three areas for developing strong addition fact fluency that will last for years:
Modeling
– Structure a routine for using 5-minute Number Talks that allow students to “discover” mental strategies for mastering facts
– Develop your own bank of Number Talks specifically tailored to addition basic fact mastery
– Connect various models for addition that both illustrate conceptual properties and help students visualize their mental strategies
Monitoring
– Incorporate a system for using quick formative assessment that provides individualized student feedback and targets specific instructional goals
Mastering
– Compile a bank of powerful targeted games and instructional tools that support fact mastery
– Learn to match formative instruction with specific games
– Become familiar with math menu as a model for differentiating instruction
COACHES CORNER: The last hour of each session will be reserved for coaches and administrators interested in bringing the approach to a more systematic implementation: incorporating these structures into data team PLC systems, creating a vision and timeline for school- /district-wide implementation, and supporting teachers who are just getting started.
Christian Courtemanche (M.Ed) is the District K-4 Math and K-8 Science Instructional Coach in Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District. He has been in elementary and middle school education for over 10 years as both a classroom teacher and a curriculum specialist. As a elementary school teacher, Christian was recognized for his integration of music into curriculum and instruction. He was honored with the Praxis II Recognition of Excellence for being in the top 15% of all-time participants in the Elementary Ed: Content Knowledge exam. He teaches a graduate-level course through CVEDC on models for differentiation in mathematics as well as facilitates math and science committees, workshops, and professional development opportunities in rolling out and unpacking of CCSS-M and NGSS for districts and teams.
CVEDC supports Vermont ASCD and their mission. If you register for this CVEDC event, CVEDC will contribute $15 towards your VT ASCD member fee of $40 so that you will only be billed $25 for the year.
After submitting your CVEDC event registration, just go to the VT ASCD site and become a VTASCD member and indicate that you are using CVEDC15OFF as a code for $15 off. Go to www.vtascd.org for more information.
LEADERSHIP FOR RACIAL EQUITY (LEADS) Seminar Descriptions and Learning Outcome/Only 7 spots left!
Dates and Location :
March 13, 2020 Session 1 only, will be held at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Burlington Vermont 870 Williston Road, South Burlington, VT 05403.
April 9, May 8, September 29, October 28 and December 11, 2020 All 5 sessions will be at The Hampton
Times: 9 am – 4 pm
Prerequisite: Register for one of the two-day institutes Beyond Diversity (Sept or Nov) if you have not yet attended a Courageous Conversation session.
Note: For district teams of 6 or more, Superintendent registration is included. (not transferrable).
Book included.
LEADS Seminar #1 Introduction to the Theory of Transformation and Racial Equity Framework
Facilitator: Christine Saxman
Seminar 1 re-introduces PEG’s Systemic Equity Framework and Theory of Transformation (“Framework”). District and school leaders will utilize the language and tools of mindfulness to deepen understanding of the Courageous ConversationTM protocol and apply it in their personal and professional lives. In preparation for Seminar #1, participants should read chapters 1 – 3 of Courageous Conversations about Race (CCAR), 2nd ed., by Glenn Singleton. Learning Outcomes:
● Leaders will recognize and understand Courageous ConversationTM and Developmental Scale as essential tools and the foundation of systemic equity transformation.
● Leaders will be able to identify the Framework and recognize the interrelationship of its components, the training delivery model, their personal equity purpose, and their professional and organizational role and accountability as leaders for racial equity.
● Leaders will begin the process of creating the culture and conditions for achieving equity in their personal spheres of influence and understand it as a prerequisite to their professional and organizational development. Intersession Assignments (in preparation for Seminar #2): ● Read CCAR, chapters 4 – 7.
● Review and practice conditions 1, 2, and 3 and the Courageous Conversation Compass (refer to CCAR, chapters 4-7, as needed).
● Use Courageous ConversationTM (the Four Agreements, Six Conditions, an Compass) to explore a controversial topic.
● Read additional current topical articles to be assigned
LEADS Seminar #2 Using Critical Race Theory to Transform Leadership and District
Facilitator: Leidene King
Seminar #2 re-connects district leaders to Courageous ConversationTM as a requisite skill, and demonstrates its integral relationship to the “The Framework.” The seminar further examines the impact of race in schooling and introduces Critical Race Theory (CRT) – its importance, relevance, and application as an analytical tool for understanding race and the educational disparities resulting from systemic racism. CRT is established as a theoretical and requisite knowledge base in “Framework” for systemic equity transformation. Learning Outcomes:
● Leaders will deepen their understanding of Courageous Conversation as a skill and integral component of “The Framework.”
● Leaders will begin to understand CRT as an analytical tool for understanding social and educational inequity.
● Leaders will begin to understand CRT as a language and set of organizing tenets for examining personal and societal beliefs and behaviors connected to race. Intersession Assignments (in preparation for Seminar #3):
● Complete CRT Graphic Organizer
● Read CCAR Chapters 8, 9, and 10
● Read additional current topical articles to be assigned
● Revisit local racial disparity data
LEADS Seminar #3: Systems Thinking, Adaptive Leadership, and School Culture and Climate
Facilitator: Ismalis Nunez
Seminar 3 will review leaders’ understanding of critical race theory and begin a process of applying it as a tool for analyzing personal, professional, and organizational manifestations of systemic racism in their lives. Leaders will begin a process of internalizing adaptive leadership as a method to lead staff in identifying current organizational strengths and weaknesses for systemic racial equity transformation. This process will enable them to challenge existing systems and uncover underlying beliefs and assumptions that interfere with achieving racial equity. Leaders will be introduced to systems thinking and organizational learning, and will become acquainted with Peter Senge’s Ladder of Inference and Iceberg as tools for leading staff through individual and organizational introspection and uncovering racial inequities.
Learning Outcomes:
● Leaders will personalize adaptive leadership at a beginning level for purposes of understanding, engaging, and leading organizational learning for racial equity.
● Leaders will understand and be able to make personal, professional, and organizational connections to Critical Race Theory and its applications for interrupting inequitable systems.
● Leaders will understand and be able to apply systems thinking tools to surface beliefs and analyze the current racial equity challenges in their spheres of influence.
● Leaders will be able to assess the climate and culture of their district and schools with respect to racial equity strengths and challenges. Intersession Assignments (in preparation for Seminar #4):
▪ Read CCAR, chapters 11 – 13
▪ Read additional current topical articles to be assigned
LEADS Seminar #4: Creating Culturally Relevant Schools and Classrooms
Facilitator: Leidene King
Seminar 4 engages leaders in dialogue about the intersection of Race and Pedagogy. Conversations are facilitated to support and challenge participants’ thinking about the role of leadership in creating culturally relevant environments using “The Protocol.” Critical Race Theory, systems thinking, adaptive leadership, and organizational learning are revisited and connected to race and pedagogy. In seminar, participants will experience and deconstruct a professional learning environment in which teachers and administrators have balanced opportunities for reflection and productive disequilibrium. Leaders are introduced to Collaborative Action Research for Equity (CARE) as a method for transforming learning and teaching, and improving the participation and performance of all students, especially underserved students of color.
Learning Outcomes:
● Leaders will understand the Learning and Teaching domain of the PEG “Framework.”
● Leaders will recognize and understand Courageous ConversationTM as an essential tool for developing a culturally relevant environment.
● Leaders will understand CARE and be able to identify systems necessary to support the transformation of learning and teaching. Intersession Assignments (in preparation for Seminar #5):
▪ Read additional current topical articles to be assigned
LEADS Seminar #5: Empowering Families and Engaging Communities of Color
Facilitator: Cortlandt Butts
Seminar 5 engages Leaders in dialogue about the intersection of race and family/community empowerment. The seminar examines the often tightly held beliefs, mythologies, and pathologies that serve to marginalize and disenfranchise students, families, and communities of color. Using The Protocol, and informed by their emerging understanding of adaptive leadership, Critical Race Theory, systems thinking and organizational learning, participants will be challenged and supported to disavow these beliefs and engage with people of color in more authentic ways. Leaders are introduced to PASS (Partnerships for Academically Successful Students) as a process for developing effective relationships and partnerships with families and communities of color.
Learning Outcomes:
● Participants will be able to apply The Framework as a way to understand how to advance from parent involvement, through family engagement, to empowerment of communities of color.
● Leaders will be able to analyze and uncover systemic racism in schools, and engage in reflection and dialogue about its impact on family participation and student success.
● Leaders will understand PASS and be able to identify processes necessary to support a transformation in the relationship that school and district personnel share with families and communities of color. Intersession Assignments (in preparation for Seminar #6):
▪ Using the list from the seminar activity, explicitly plan and execute one of the suggested items. ▪ Using the terms of Critical Race Theory, discuss what systems in your school may be contributing to the marginalization of families of color, creating barriers to their authentic participation in the education of their children?
▪ Examine the ways in which your school currently is, or could be, utilizing the efforts of PASS to support culturally relevant pedagogy.
▪ Identify interventions and programs (past and present) specifically designed to address racial achievement disparities and parent empowerment. Include indicators of success and specific evidence documenting what has changed (or not) and the degree of success or impact on eliminating racial disparities.
▪ Review all previous LEADS seminars, then reflect on and articulate ways in which schools marginalize underserved families and communities of color through your understanding of CRT, CCAR, systems thinking, and adaptive leadership.
LEADS Seminar #6: Theory to Action: Creating a Framework for Accelerating and Sustaining District-wide Racial Equity Transformation
Facilitator: Dawan Julien
Seminar 6 prepares Leaders to move from racial equity theory into intentional practice. A major thrust of this seminar is focused around leaders assessing their understanding of and engagement with The Framework at a personal, professional, and organizational level. Participants will create a personal equity leadership plan and develop a distributive leadership structure for racial equity in their school or district department, and will begin the process of selecting Equity Teams to guide equity-focused professional learning. Leaders will also be introduced to an emerging district plan for equity transformation and will discuss how to anchor their own school or department improvement plans to the district’s overall equity transformation plan.
Learning Outcomes:
● Leaders will demonstrate mastery in understanding and applying The Framework.
● Leaders will demonstrate ownership for racial equity leadership and will have a plan to accomplish their work at the personal, professional, and organizational level over the next year.
● Leaders will be able to differentiate between delegated responsibility and distributive leadership and articulate their own personal and professional, as well as the organizational, will, skill, knowledge, and capacity to lead for racial equity.
● Leaders will understand the role of school-based Equity Teams, and the process and criteria for selecting E-Team members.
COURAGEOUS CONVERSATION FRAMEWORK
CVEDC supports Vermont ASCD and their mission. If you register for this CVEDC event, CVEDC will contribute $15 towards your VT ASCD member fee of $40 so that you will only be billed $25 for the year.
After submitting your CVEDC event registration, just go to the VT ASCD site and become a VTASCD member and indicate that you are using CVEDC15OFF as a code for $15 off. Go to www.vtascd.org for more information.
Instructor/Facilitator: Ellen Dorsey, Washington Central SU Instructional Coach
Date: April 1, 2020 Time: 8:30 Registration 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Includes: Breakfast and Coffee Treats Lunch · Links to Resources
Target Audience: Instructional coaches, administrators who support coaching(Ideally teams of coaches and administrators)
Instructional coaching has the potential to improve instructional practices and student outcomes. However, in practice, coaching outcomes often fall short of our hopes. Coaches need to be skilled in facilitating adult learning, but also their systems of support need to provide them with the vision, space, and time necessary to make their partnerships impactful. In this workshop, coaches and/or their administrators will understand issues within a system that undermine coaching (such as: consistency, role clarity, time, and support) and develop strategies to mitigate them.
In this one-day workshop, participants will:
· Explore and understand six key issues that undermine instructional coaching partnerships.
· Assess their own coaching system in relation to the key issues.
· Learn strategies to mitigate the key issues.
· Develop an action plan to improve support for coaching in their own context.
Note: It would be beneficial (but not mandatory) for coaches and administrators to attend together as there will be time to think about coaching in their setting.
Facilitated by Sarah Birgé
Date: April 16, 2020 Time: 8:30 Registration 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Cost Includes breakfast and lunch
What to Bring: Please also bring your laptop and any necessary planning materials (lesson book, etc.) to the workshop.
Target Audience: Educators 3rd-12th, instructional coaches, and curriculum directors.
Understanding where your students are in key ELA and math skills can get complex, especially when it comes to differentiating and personalizing instruction. However, educators already have access to free tools provided by the state of Vermont.
This one-day workshop will teach you how to leverage two resources for educators: the Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs), as well as the newly-released Lexile & Quantile Hub. The session will feature engaging small and whole group activities, and have immediate application to your own classes and school system. We’ll emphasize looking at data, connecting needs to resources, and having collaborative discussions about highly-specific instructional next steps.
Takeaways:
⦁ How to administer the Interim Assessment Blocks, use them in instruction, interpret data, and access resources for instruction
⦁ How to use the Lexile & Quantile Hub, and identify applications to your own work
⦁ Experience processes and protocols you can also apply in your context
Pre-workshop Preparation: Educators should make sure that 1) they are able to access the SBAC system in the state’s assessment portal 2) they are able to access the Lexile & Quantile Hub and 3) they have ideally given an Interim Assessment Block to their students (although this is not necessary). Your district test administrator or school coordinator should be able to help if you cannot access SBAC.
About our Presenter: Sarah Birgé is the District Instructional Coach for Montpelier-Roxbury Public Schools. Prior to that, she was the ELA specialist at the Vermont Agency of Education as well as a member of the state assessment team. Originally from the Northeast Kingdom, Sarah spent a decade teaching ELA, French, and ESL in the Bronx, South Korea, and Vermont public schools. She is also executive director of the Nanubhai Education Foundation, a non-profit that sends young women from rural areas of India to college.
Facilitated by Emily Rinkema and Stan Williams
Date: May 11, 2020 Hours: 8:30 Registration 9:00 – 3:30 pm Breakfast and lunch included 
Target Audience: Teachers, Administrators, Coaches/Coordinators (Ideally teams)
The transition to a proficiency-based classroom and school is complex, not just for educators, but for families, students, and community members as well. Taking the time to clearly develop and articulate the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of our systems–whether they are unique to our classrooms or common across a district–can help ensure a smoother transition and a more controlled message. The work we are doing to transform teaching and learning is incredibly important. By creating some simple, clearly articulated documents that help drive our work and communicate with our stakeholders, we can work together to ensure success throughout this complex process.
Participants will…
· Develop a succinct WHY statement that drives the work of your classroom, school, or district.
· Draft a visual articulation of the WHAT of your proficiency-based system.
· Draft a HOW document, which articulates steps for implementation.
About our Presenters:
Emily Rinkema is a Proficiency-Based Learning Coordinator in the Champlain Valley School District in Vermont, spending half of her time supporting standards-based instruction and learning at the high school, and half supporting the middle schools in their transition to standards-based learning. She is the co-author of The Standards-Based Classroom: Make Learning the Goal, published by Corwin Press in 2018.
Stan Williams has taught and worked in the Champlain Valley School District for over twenty years. Currently, he is a Proficiency-Based Learning Coordinator for the district and spends his time supporting standards-based learning and instruction at the high school and the four district middle schools. He is the co-author of The Standards-Based Classroom: Make Learning the Goal, published by Corwin Press in 2018.
Instructor: Christian Courtemanche
Dates: June 22 – 25, 2019; 8:00 am – 4:00 pm plus 2 follow up classes 10/6 and 11/5; 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
This 3 credit graduate course explores a menu model for differentiation, reframing Tier I math instruction in order to meet the ongoing range of instructional needs. Learn how to manage a ‘centers’ approach to your teaching and restructuring your math block to allow for small group and individualized lessons. Embedded in the coursework will be examining lessons through the lens of the Common Core Math Standards of Practice, as well as how to utilize technology as a direct tool for math instruction.
Explorations include:
- How can I keep up with my curriculum map AND make accommodations in time for students struggling with math concepts?
- What do I do with students who consistently finish their math assignments early?
- How do I maintain a pace that matches different students’ needs?
- How can I maximize integrating technology with limited resources?
- When do I use a Tier II intervention and when do I support students in the classroom?
- How can I find time to incorporate the great games and resources that are part of my math program?
Texts:
- Jorgensen, J. and M. Murray. (2007). The Differentiated Math Classroom: a guide for teachers, K-8
- Hoffer, Wendy Ward (2012). Minds on Mathematics: Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8
Vermont Core Teaching Standards Addressed:
Standard 1: Learner Development: The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Standard 2: Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards
Standard 3: Learning Environments: The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self motivation.
Standard 7: Planning for Instruction: The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Standard 8: Instructional Strategies: The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community) and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
CVEDC supports Vermont ASCD and their mission. If you register for this CVEDC event, CVEDC will contribute $15 towards your VT ASCD member fee of $40 so that you will only be billed $25 for the year.
After submitting your CVEDC event registration, just go to the VT ASCD site and become a VTASCD member and indicate that you are using CVEDC15OFF as a code for $15 off. Go to www.vtascd.org for more information.
Facilitator: Karen Lehning, FWSU Math Teacher Leader
Dates: June 23, 24, 25, 2020 Time: 9:00 am – *3:00 pm *4:30 if taking for credit *syllabus contains additional 2 credit course requirements, including 3 online asynchronous hours.
(includes light breakfast & lunch)
Target Audience: K-6 Math Instructors including special educators
This 3-day workshop will explore the impact of both teacher and student mindset on the math classroom. We will explore current research on growth mindset and how mindset impacts students’ beliefs about mathematics.
We will dive into rich mathematical tasks and explore activities that will engage students in meaningful learning opportunities. Participants will leave this workshop with resources they can use to create a math classroom that supports a growth mindset.
Participants will:
- Review research that support the implementation of practices that encourage a growth mindset in the math classroom.
- Evaluate and assess their own mindset to uncover beliefs and assumptions about mathematics.
- Design a series of activities that will move students toward a growth mindset.
All participants should read Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching by Jo Boaler prior to the first meeting. It will be sent to you at your school shortly after registration. This book will provide the background for our work and participants will be digging into and discussing Boaler’s research throughout the workshop.
Participants taking it for 2 graduate credit: In addition to attending the 3-day series & additional hours, you will be expected to create a growth mindset resource guide that can be used in your math classroom. The final resource guide will include a series of growth mindset activities and math problems what will be designed to shift students’ mindset. Course participants will write a short reflection on their own shift in mindset as a result of the readings and course discussions. See syllabus online.
Text: Boaler, J., & Dweck, C.s. (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing students’ potential through creative math, inspiring messages and innovative teaching.
Karen Lehning is currently a math specialist at the Georgia Elementary and Middle School. She has been an educator for 16 years, both as an elementary classroom teacher and math leader. read more…
CVEDC supports Vermont ASCD and their mission. If you register for this CVEDC event, CVEDC will contribute $15 towards your VT ASCD member fee of $40 so that you will only be billed $25 for the year.
After submitting your CVEDC event registration, just go to the VT ASCD site and become a VTASCD member and indicate that you are using CVEDC15OFF as a code for $15 off. Go to www.vtascd.org for more information.