Cynthia Arterbery/SDE National Conference

For the last several days I have had the opportunity to hear great speakers and visit with other educators throughout the country. Some of my favorite speakers have been Diane Heacox, Ed.D. , Making Differentiation a Habit, Bryan Harris, They Really Do Learn Differently: Gender Differences in the Classroom, Charles Beaman, Ed.D. ,10 Things Every Teacher Should Know About Differentiation Instruction and Sharon Faber, The Connection Between Learning & Self Esteem. Each speaker stressed the importance of student relationship and how to meet individual learning needs. I will be able to use information that I’ve learned this school year, mainly by sharing with the Valley Ranch staff and individual teams. Relationship building is a target area in our CIP and information that I have learned and handouts that support research will be shared with staff. Hopefully, this information will impact instruction and student success.

Some key statements from each speaker  includes the following…

Diane Heacox…She shared a Tier Task Planning Framework which encourages one to differentiate. The Tiers do not simplyhave more or less work….the Tiers are equally active and engaging….the Tiers should have different products..students should share their products.. the handouts explain in more detail. Great framework to use for differentiation

Bryan Harris .. I really enjoyed the information that he shared and he would be a great speaker to come to Coppell. He’s from Arizona and is a former principal.  A statement from Harris ….”How I teach and how I allow students to process might be different” ..His researched based information is what all educators should hear ,K-12. Great information. In addition he shared research on homework… research shows that it does not make a difference in student achievement.. I loved his session..

Charles Beaman …he is very direct , but says what we need to hear. He talk about what differentiation looks like and what it does not look like.. He also would be good to invite to Coppell.. Something to think about K-12……

Learning Pyramid – In the order of learning and retention

Lecture   – 5%

Reading 10%

Audio Visual  20%

Demonstration 30%

Discussion Group 50%

Practice by doing 75%

Teaching others / using learning 90%

This is just one of the areas that he talked about which made you think about what you see most of the time when you enter a classroom. This is a great way to assess a lesson taught as part of a self evaluation.

Sharon Faber, Ed.D. Very high energy and would be great to have in Coppell. Kids with low self esteem don’t look you in the eye, always provide a secure classroom, no significant learning occurs without significant relationships.. the last quote I loved! She shared so many other researched based information that all teachers would learn from are just remind them of what needs to happen everyday….K-12..  

This is just a brief overview of the conference. I hope some of these speakers can come to Coppell.

Thanks for reading and thank you CGA for allowing me to attend!……Cynthia Arterbery