Northeast ASCD Affiliate Conference

Friday, November 30, 2007 - 12:45 pm - 2:00 pm

All Sessions are SOLD OUT

This optional activity includes a special luncheon and a copy of one of the author's books. Enjoy this unique opportunity to meet the author and discuss their work - Limited seating per session - Register Early.

A1: Chris Dede - "Online Professional Development for Teachers: Emerging Models and Methods"

This session is SOLD OUT

About the Book:

How can professional development for teachers be more efficient and effective?

This essential question lies at the heart of this timely and useful book. In an era marked by a heightened emphasis on school reform, the education and professional development of teachers is widely regarded as the keystone to educational improvement. Recently a bewildering array of online professional development programs has arisen. But how effective are these programs and how do they compare with one another?

About the Author:

Chris Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Learning Technologies at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. He is also Chair of the Learning & Teaching Area in the School. His work with schools includes service on the National Technology Advisory Boards for the Milwaukee and Cleveland districts. He was the Editor of the 1998 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Yearbook, Learning with Technology. Chris recently served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Foundations of Educational and Psychological Assessment and a member of the U.S. Department of Education's Expert Panel on Technology. He is on the International Steering Committee for the Second International Technology in Education Study spanning approximately thirty countries. He serves on the Advisory Boards of ThinkLink, FreshPond, bigchalk, Celt, and World Book, as well as several U.S. Department of Education Regional Educational Labs and Regional Technology Centers.

Limited to 12 participants

This session is SOLD OUT

A2: Rick and Becky DuFour - "Learning By Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work"

This session is SOLD OUT

About the Book:

Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work helps educators close the knowing-doing gap as they transform their schools into professional learning communities (PLCs). This handbook is a guide for action that will:

• Help educators develop a common vocabulary and consistent understanding of key PLC concepts.
• Present a compelling argument that the implementation of PLC concepts will benefit students and educators alike.
• Help educators assess the current reality in their own schools and districts.
• Convince educators to take purposeful steps to develop their capacity to function as PLCs.

About the Authors:

Rick DuFour was a public school educator for 34 years and is currently one of the nation's foremost authorities on applying the principles of professional learning communities in the real world of schools. During his tenure as the principal of Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois from 1983 to 1991 and as superintendent of the district from 1991 to 2002, Stevenson became "the most recognized and celebrated school in America" (United States Department of Education). Rick DuFour is the author of seven books, three video resources, and over forty professional articles. He has received many state and national awards for distinguished educational service and scholarship.

Rebecca DuFour has served as a teacher, school administrator, and central office coordinator. She is the lead consultant and featured principal for the Video Journal series, "Elementary Principals as Leaders of Learning" (2003) and is co-author of Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities (2002), Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn (2004) and On Common Ground The Power of Professional Learning Communities (2005). A graduate of National Staff Development Council's Academy X, Becky has written for numberous professional journals, serves as a book reviewer for the Journal of Staff Development, and writes a quarterly column for Leadership Compass.

Limited to 75 participants

This session is SOLD OUT

A3: Nancy Love - "A Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry"

This session is SOLD OUT

About the Book:

The Data Coach's Guide provides school leaders with detailed and technical guidance in how to lead a process of collaborative inquiry with school based-data teams and to influence the culture of schools to be one in which data are used continuously, collaboratively, and effectively to improve teaching and learning. Readers will learn how to move schools away from unproductive data practices and toward high-capacity uses of data that are built on a strong foundation of data literacy, collaborative inquiry knowledge and skills, and a moral commitment to serve each child. The book is organized around a five-phase "Using Data Process" and includes:

1. Background information and resources for data coaches
2. Detailed step-by-step "Data Coach Notes" for conducting each phase with a school-based data team
3. A CD-ROM with handouts, PowerPoint Slides, and resources
4. Case studies and examples of data teams and coaches in action

This book will be published in December 2007

About the Author:

Nancy Love is Director of Program Development at Research for Better Teaching, where she leads this professional development organization’s research and development. She also directs the Using Data Project at TERC, where she works with schools nationally to improve teaching and learning through effective and collaborative use of multiple sources of school data. She is the developer of the Using Data Process, a comprehensive professional development program and supporting materials to prepare data coaches to lead collaborative inquiry with school- and district-based data teams. This program has produced significant gains in student achievement as well as increased collaboration and data use in schools across the country.

Nancy Love also authored several books and articles on data use, including A Data Coach’s Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry (with Stiles, Mundry, and DiRanna) with Corwin Press (2007) and Using Data/Getting Results: A Practical Guide to School Improvement in Mathematics and Science (2002, Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc. She is currently writing a book about the successes and lessons of the Using Data project, to be published by the National Science Foundation in 2007.

Love is also well known for her work in professional development as a seasoned a highly engaging presenter and author of articles and books, including Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (Second Edition) with Susan Loucks-Horsley, Kathy Stiles, Susan Mundry, and Peter Hewson (2003, Corwin Press).

In 2006, she (with Susan Mundry) was awarded the prestigious Susan Loucks-Horsley Award from the National Staff Development Council in recognition of her significant national contribution to the field of staff development and to the efficacy of others.

Limited to 12 participants

This session is SOLD OUT

A4: Susan Mundry - "Leading Every Day" 2nd Ed

This session is SOLD OUT

About the Book:

As our society faces more complex challenges, the demand for effective leadership grows. Leaders, especially education leaders, often need to solve complicated problems quickly with limited resources. Understanding their own leadership styles, roles, and practices enhances the impact that leaders have every day. In this follow-up to their best-selling 2003 NSDC Book of the Year, the authors provide four full months of contemplations centered on the major areas in which leaders work.

Leading Every Day offers direction on providing high-quality leadership amid turbulent times. Modeling the philosophy that leadership exists in all of us, the authors inspire educators to lead in big and small ways. This second edition offers:

• Inspirational stories illustrating effective leadership
• Cogent quotations for educators to carry with them each day
• Actionable advice that can be implemented today
• Invitations for larger discourse that can change the lives of leaders and the lives of those they lead
• The latest research on best practices in leadership, change, professional development, and group leadership

Exploring leadership and leadership potential is an important step for everyone. This book highlights a path of exploration for veteran and aspiring leaders alike.

About the Author

Susan Mundry is the Associate Director of Mathematics, Science & Technology Programs at WestEd. Since 2000 she has directed the National Academy for Science and Mathematics Education Leadership, a project designed to build the capacity of education leaders to increase achievement in science and mathematics education. She is co-author of the best selling book, Designing Effective Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics, as well as the toolkit, Teachers as Learners, a videotape collection of 18 professional development programs that illustrate diverse strategies for teacher learning in science and mathematics. She co-authored the best selling book, Leading Every Day: 124 Actions for Effective Leadership, named a National Staff Development Council 2003 Book of the Year. Susan also co-developed the facilitator’s guide for the Using Data Process, A Data Coach’s Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry, a comprehensive professional development program and supporting materials to prepare data coaches to lead collaborative inquiry with school- and district-based data teams.

Prior to joining WestEd, Mundry served in many roles from staff developer to Associate Director at The NETWORK, Inc., a research and development organization focused on organizational change and dissemination of promising education practice. There, she managed the work of the National Center for Improving Science Education and the Center for Effective Communication, provided technical assistance to schools, oversaw national dissemination of educational programs, and co-developed two widely acclaimed simulation board games, Making Change for School Improvement and Systems Thinking/Systems Changing.

Limited to 12 participants

This session is SOLD OUT

A5: Pam Robbins - The New Principal's Fieldbook: Strategies for Success

This session is SOLD OUT

About the Book:

Any principal starting at a new school or taking a leadership position for the first time needs this book to help focus on the issues that are most critical to success.

Drawing from research data and advice from experienced principals, the authors reveal secrets that can make or break a new school leader's career:

• Three stages of becoming socialized to a new school environment
• First steps to "reading" a school culture and shaping its learning environment
• Guidelines for determining whether students are engaged in quality work
• Ideas for getting teachers more involved in meaningful professional development
• Strategies for setting priorities, streamlining tasks, cutting through red tape, and protecting classroom time
• Tips on balancing personal and professional lives

Checklists and assessment tools help new and aspiring leaders analyze their strengths and weaknesses, prepare for the unexpected, and see how strategies from the book can work in specific situations.

This luncheon program will focus on highlights from The New Principal's Fieldbook, with an emphasis on the role of storytelling as a leadership tool. Participants will hear stories, analyze stories and share stories as they learn about the power of stories to teach and transform.

About the Author:

Pam Robbins consults internationally in the areas of Emotional Intelligence, Brain-compatible Training, Instructional Strategies for Block Scheduling, Peer Collaboration, Coaching, Mentoring, Leadership Skills, Site-based Decision Making, School Improvement, Team Building, Change, Personality Styles, the Brain Research, Supervision, Dimensions of Learning, and Presentation Skills.

Her educational and corporate clients include: The Alaska School Leadership Academy, University of Alaska-Southeast, Ministry of Education - Singapore, The American Petroleum Institute, The Principal's Institute of Vanderbilt University, the National Center for School Effectiveness, Ford Motor Company, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Leadership Academy, Iowa State University, Virginia Department of Education, Maine State Department of Education, Department of Defense Schools, the Manitoba Teachers' Society, Rohm and Haas Corporation, Mazda Motor Corporation, and Wisconsin Electric. She has also worked with local school systems and staff members throughout the United States, Canada, the Far East, Great Britain, South America, and the with the TI-IN Network, an organization producing educational television programs. She was formerly Director of Training for the California School Leadership Academy, where she participated in the conceptualization, development, and delivery of selected leadership training models.

Limited to 12 participants

This session is SOLD OUT

A6: Caroline Tripp - "The Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions that Undermine Learning"

This session is SOLD OUT

About the Book:

Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions That Undermine Learning is a practical, strategy-filled handbook to help district, school and classroom leaders who are trying to pull adults together to accomplish large-scale improvements in student learning. Case profiles, models, legal notes and tips all focus on recognizing cultures and practices that become obstacles to change and taking them on as a professional community or as a supervisor and evaluator.

About the Author:

Caroline Tripp is a consultant with Research for Better Teaching (RBT) in Acton, Massachusetts and a co-author The Skillful Leader: Confronting Mediocre Teaching. She specializes in leadership training and development and draws on 35+ years of experience at all levels of public schooling in presenting and consulting on teacher and administrator supervision and evaluation systems and practices, supporting and sustaining teacher quality, nurturing aspiring leaders, and creating high functioning professional communities.

Limited to 12 participants

This session is SOLD OUT