Professionalism in Practice Conference

Program

Conference goals:

The Professionalism in Practice conference seeks to:

Increase professional dialogue about equitable practices that have an impact on all learners;
Empower educators to share exemplary practices, lessons learned, and evidence from schools and classrooms;
Provide time and space for conference participants to reflect on and make connections to their practice.

Strands:
Differentiating Instruction for All
Literacy Across the Curriculum
Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships
Leadership and Professionalism

Format — 3 types of sessions

1. Interactive Workshops: Presenters share exemplary practices with colleagues through modeling and leading a simulation where participants are actively involved.
2. Inquiry Round Tables: Presenters share professional learning and inquiry and lead participants in an engaging discussion of the implementation, data, and impact on students.
3. Facilitated Discussion: Presenters share professional learning through a panel-style discussion and question/answer session.

Note: All sessions include dedicated time for participant reflection on implications for classroom practice.

Conference Day Schedule:

8:30 Check in and breakfast
9:00 Welcome
9:15 Keynote “Start Seeing Professionals: A New Narrative for Public Educators”
10:15 Break
10:30 Session 1
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Session 2
1:45 Break
2:00 Session 3
3:00 Closing reflections, door prizes, CEUs

Breakout Sessions at a Glance
Title	Room	Strand(s)
Session 1 (10:30-12:00)
Inner Knowing: Yoga and Mindfulness in Education	310	Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships
Music is the Sound of Math	312	Literacy Across the Curriculum
Shifting the Dominant Narrative about Educators and Public Education	302	Leadership and Professionalism
Grading for Learning	300	Differentiating Instruction for All
Session 2 (12:45-1:45)
Shifting the Dominant Narrative about Educators and Public Education	302	Leadership and Professionalism
Promoting Reading Proficiency for Struggling Learners in the Early Grades	310	Differentiating Instruction for All
Presenting with Pizzazz	312	Differentiating Instruction for All; Leadership and Professionalism
Creating Empowered Learners Through Self-assessment	308	Differentiating Instruction for All
Session 3 (2:00-3:00)
Brain Velcro: Pre-Reading Strategies to Help Struggling Readers Connect to Content	310	Literacy Across the Curriculum
Inspiring Professional Development for Student Gains	308	Differentiating Instruction for All; Leadership and Professionalism
Managing Student Behavior	304	Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships
Cruise’n Through the Year with ISP: A Year Long Independent Study Project for All	312	Differentiating Instruction for All
Niwiidookadaadimin, Helping Each Other Learn	302	Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships

Conference Schedule

9:15-10:15 Auditorium

Keynote: “Start Seeing Professionals: A New Narrative for Public Educators”
David Mann
Associate Director, Grassroots Policy Project
If all one did was listen to the current public discourse about education and educators, you might not realize that educators are professionals. We know this perception is wrong and it wasn’t always like this. Why has this changed and how can we start shifting the public narrative about us?
10:15-10:30 Break

10:30-12:00 Session 1
All sessions have 10 minutes of built-in reflection time for participants to apply their learning.

Inner Knowing: Yoga and Mindfulness in Education Room 310
Kathy Flaminio
Strand: Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships
Interactive workshop
Audience: All K-12 educators, early childhood, special education, PE/Health, SST
The effect of mindfulness and yoga based principles on behavioral organization, social emotional growth and the development of a community of learners will be the focal point of our presentation. Activities that highlight the principles of Stillness, Listening, Grounding, Strength and Community along with ways to utilize these techniques throughout the school day will be taught through both lecture and experiential learning.

Shifting the Dominant Narrative about Educators and Public Education Room 302
Dave Mann & Nick Faber
Strand: Leadership and Professionalism
Facilitated Discussion
Audience: K-12 Educators, School Leaders
In the opening plenary we heard about the possibilities a new public education narrative might hold for the future of educators and students. But this potential will only be realized if we intentionally bring it to life. In this session we will practice some of the tools we can use in actively shifting narratives in our lives as educators.

Grading for Learning Room 300
Martha Spriggs & Bronwyn Collins
Strand: Differentiating Instruction for All
Interactive Workshop
Audience: K-12 educators
In your classroom today, what do grades measure? Participants in this session will understand how to create and use a grading system that aims at measuring and reporting student learning.

12:00-12:45 Cafeteria

Lunch

12:45-1:45 Session 2

All sessions have 10 minutes of built-in reflection time for participants to apply their learning.

Promoting Reading Proficiency for Struggling Learners in the Early Grades Room 310
Jennifer McComas & Ida Downwind
Strand: Literacy Across the Curriculum; Differentiating Instruction for All
Interactive workshop
Audience: Elementary
Brief experimental analysis (BEA) of academic performance is an effective way to identify individualized instructional strategies that will accelerate reading proficiency of struggling learners. Using the instructional strategy identified in the analysis, 30 min of 1:1 tutoring is conducted. Local data will be presented demonstrating remarkable gains.

Presenting with Pizzazz Room 312
Janet Kujat
Strand: Differentiating Instruction for All; Leadership and Professionalism
Interactive workshop
Audience: K-12 educators, School Leaders
Whether you are teaching students or adults, this workshop will help you create fun and memorable learning experiences. Learn easy and effective ways to use ordinary objects and simple training activities that will help your trainees learn better and remember more. You will get lots of practical ideas, some you’ll use now, some later. If you want to teach in a variety of ways that will increase learner involvement, interest and motivation, this workshop is for you!

Creating Empowered Learners Through Self-assessment Room 308
Sharon Cormany Ornelas and Holly Kragthorpe-Shirley
Strand: Differentiating Instruction for All
Inquiry Roundtable
Audience: K-12 educators, ELL, Reading and Language Arts
How do we go beyond grades and scores get to know our students as individuals and help them to know themselves as learners? Student self-assessment is powerful way to motivate students. How can we scaffold these experiences to develop student metacognition and independence? Join us as we share our action research from secondary literacy classrooms and discuss approaches and dilemmas.

1:45-2:00

Break

2:00-3:00 Session 3

All sessions have 10 minutes of built-in reflection time for participants to apply their learning.

Brain Velcro: Pre-Reading Strategies to Help Struggling Readers Connect to Content Room 310
Sandra Ness
Strand: Literacy Across the Curriculum
Interactive workshop
Audience: K-12 educators
Participants will learn pre-reading strategies that will help students make connections, predictions, and explore vocabulary before reading a text to build both interest and “brain Velcro,” so students have a place to “stick” their thinking to while they read. The strategies are user friendly and easy to implement. They are designed to be used with any text and can be applied immediately.

Inspiring Professional Development for Student Gains Room 308
Christina Maynor, Gaelle Berg, Mary Schirber, Erica Perry
Strand: Differentiating Instruction for All; Leadership and Professionalism
Facilitated Discussion
Audience: K-12 educators, School Leaders
Feeling the pinch between high stakes and tight budgets? How do you recharge and do your best for students? In this facilitated discussion, we will uncover the keys to fruitful professional development. World Language teachers share PD stories and examples of resulting student work. Participants will get a chance to reflect and share, and will leave with ideas for choosing PD that yields the best student results.

Managing Student Behavior Room 304
Pam Booth and Julie Dargis
Strand: Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships
Interactive workshop
Audience: Elementary, SST
Minimize the time you spend on behavior issues throughout the school year by starting your year out with specific plans in place. This class is designed to show you classroom management strategies in all areas from room design; what a behavior is; building relationships and giving positive rewards.

Cruise’n Through the Year with ISP: A Year Long Independent Study Project for All Room 312
Rita S. Britton
Strand: Differentiating Instruction for All
Interactive workshop
Audience: Elementary
We will be discussing the ‘how to’s’ of designing a differentiated Independent Study Project. There are five parts to planning a ISP some of the activities we will experience such as role playing, choral reading and using inquiry. We will see first hand the rewards our students will experience while designing their own comprehensive study, working with others in a productive manner and problem solving any bumps in the road. The student written rubric along with the presentation to families is a culminating event that all of the students look forward to and reflect on what they have learned.

Niwiidookadaadimin, Helping Each Other Learn Room 302
Ida Downwind & Jennifer McComas
Strand: Promoting Positive Behavior and Relationships
Interactive workshop
Audience: Elementary
The Minneapolis Public Schools Indian Education Office in partnership with the University of Minnesota Advancement for Teaching and Learning has examined potential relationships between teacher cultural and academic instructional practices and student cultural and academic outcomes. We will share the local data collection from AY 2009-2010 reconnecting and weaving American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) concepts, and changing the nature of the curriculum blended with academic rigor is directly related to student engagement.

3:00-3:30 Auditorium

Closing Reflections, Door Prize Drawing
The Third Professionalism in Practice Conference is a Project of
the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers

Special thanks to our local business sponsors for their contributions to this conference!

The following individuals made this conference possible:

Sharon Cormany Ornelas, Professionalism in Practice Chair
Angela Osuji, Program Coordinator
Seth Leavitt, Technology Coordinator
Carla Korb, PR and Marketing Coordinator
Susan Alfson, Volunteer Coordinator
Carol Buzzelli, Site Coordinator
Janet Kujat, Event Coordinator

Professionalism in Practice Planning Committee and Proposal Reviewers:
Anna Beal, Frank Suppa, Carol Freeman, Sara Van Der Werf, Brionna Harder, Lynn Nordgren, Holly Kragthorpe-Shirley, Christina Maynor

Graphic design for Professionalism in Practice by Phillip Koenig

Professionalism in Practice
A few years ago, a small group of Minneapolis teachers created Professionalism in Practice, a teacher-driven professional journal centering discussions of theory, research, and practice around the people who bring all three together in the classroom every day. Our first issue was published in spring of 2005, and the second issue followed a year later.

The first Professionalism in Practice conference: “Practice Made Public” grew out of our efforts to encourage wider collaboration among Minneapolis teachers. The conference was a joint project of the Patrick Henry Professional Practice School, the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development, the Minneapolis Public Schools, and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. More than 120 educators attended. A second conference followed in 2008, along with the third issue of the journal, featuring teacher research presented at the conference.

In 2010, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers has taken the lead to convene the Professionalism in Practice conference. With this year's conference, we are expanding the dialogue about the most effective ways to support student learning by showcasing Minneapolis educators’ work that is grounded in research and supported by evidence from their own schools.

We invite you to be inspired and energized by this ground-breaking, teacher-driven event, and encourage you to continue the conversations about student and teacher learning by reading and contributing to the Professionalism in Practice journal. Please visit www.professionalisminpractice.org