Celebration of Teaching and Learning: Day One Recap
Posted by ericcipra
March 20, 2012, 9:57 pm
Day one of the 7th Annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning was a whirlwind of activity as all 10,000+ attendees came together to attend the first of many workshops, panels, and speakers. As a team, LinkEducation representatives were lucky enough to be a part of six (6) excellent sessions. You can find each session listed below with a brief recap of the major take-aways.
Making the Most of Teacher Evaluation (Charlotte Danielson)
Charlotte Danielson, respected educator and creator of the Danielson Framework for Teaching, provided a thought-provoking discussion about the current state of teacher evaluation. Choice quote: “If we were designing a high-stakes system for anything else [but teaching], we wouldn’t be doing it in a haphazard manner.”
Educating Young Men: Help Them Reach Their Full Potential (Panel)
Peg Tyre and Betty Molina Morgan spoke on the gender gap in education. Betty Morgan spoke of the challenges facing latino boys who have the lowest graduation rates of any ethnic group in the nation. Peg Tyre spoke more generally about the gender gap and how boys not only start off at a disadvantage by knowing fewer words when entering pre-kindergarten, but that the problems grow from there culminating in a much higher drop out rate than their female peers.
Quality Classroom Materials: Created by Teachers for Teachers (Panel)
A panel of partners including the American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten and TES, the UK-based global network of teachers, unveil plans to create a nation-wide free social-sharing platform comprised of resources for teachers by teachers. This network will allow teachers to share resources they create with others around the country and the world.
Closing the Gap: Education of Black & Latino Males (Panel)
This panel brought together CSA president Ernest Logan, Baltimore Chancellor Andres Alonso, DOE Deputy Chief Academic Officer Josh Thomases, NYU Professor Pedro Noguera, and Managing Editor of Education Week Teacher Anthony Rebora. They spoke about the specific challenges facing black and latino males including the fact that minority youth are more likely to be suspended, stereotyped, and marginalized. They then discussed the need for new systems, more alternative education programs, and more resources at high risk schools to help close this ethnic and gender gap.
Results of MetLife Survey of the American Teacher (Panel)
Each year, MetLife and Harris Interactive conducted a survey of American teachers to attempt to understand the landscape. In 2012, the survey showed decreases in teacher job satisfaction, widespread effects from the economic downturn, and increased parent and community engagement. After discussion of the results, panelists -- including Ariel Sacks (teacher), Isaac Smith (PTA president), and Arthur Levine (Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) -- provided their reactions and commentary.
Primary Sources Panel (Panel moderated by Chelsea Clinton)
Scholastic, in cooperation with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, surveyed thousands of American teachers to determine -- on a grand scale -- teacher mindsets on four topics: impacting student achievement, measuring learning and teaching, tackling challenges students face, and retaining great teachers. Following the presentation, a panel of teachers and leaders moderated by Chelsea Clinton provided their own personal experiences. Choice quote by Cate Dossetti, a San Francisco teacher: “There’s no teacher that sits in a classroom and says ‘today i want to fail’.”
The LinkEducation team was also able to visit the exhibition hall to interact with many fantastic organizations. We will have an overview of these organizations in a forthcoming post as well as our recap of Day Two -- stay tuned!
