ASCD Annual Conference
by Bryn Williams
As a new participant at the ASCD annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, I prepared myself by carefully going over the entire schedule of sessions and mapping out all the options that I thought I would be most interested in attending. I studiously copied out the presenters I wanted to see, the rooms they were presenting in and the times for their sessions. I began the three day conference with equal mixtures of excitement, anticipation and confidence that I had set myself on a great plan to gain the most benefit from attending such a large conference.
My first session: Carol Ann Tomlinson and her talk on Demographics, Research and Ethics of Differentiation. I copied out almost all of her power points, scribbled down recommended books, and listened carefully as she powerfully defended the ethical reasons of why we should create a differentiated classroom. I felt exhilarated and empowered to continue to create a stronger differentiated classroom when I returned to my students. This was my new purpose in teaching.
My second session: Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa and the new Mind, Brain and Education Science. Again, I scribbled down several power points, copied out a few books references and wrote down three or four of the great neuro-myths out of the seventy-six she introduced to the audience. I left with a new vigour to create a Mind/Brain/Education classroom where all my students could develop at the right pace and practice the social aspects of learning. Differentiation be damned!
My third session: Marian Small and her Easy, Proven strategies for differentiated Instruction in Mathematics. More notes, more books, more ideas to create the differentiated classroom Ms Tomlinson effortlessly convinced me to create. I was back to building confidence in mathematics education and asking appropriate, open-ended questions. There would be lots of hard work on my part, but I was definitely up to the task.
My fourth session: Robyn Jackson and Never Work Harder than Your Students. This was a bit of rest and allowed me to re-examine my classroom practice. The main thought here was not to create too many tasks for the teacher and allow the students to take ownership of their own learning in a classroom she described as Customised Learning (in place of Differentiated Instruction). I had a new purpose, a new pathway to increase my students’ understanding.
It was around this second day, when all my thoughts were jumbled together and floating crazily in a stream of just slightly murky understanding, that I attended Don Tapscott’s general session on his Net Generation. Somehow, through all my inconsistent thoughts and ideas, Mr Tapscott’s presentation brought a more clear focus to the entire conference. The Net Generation, our students and now our newer co-workers, have grown up with digital and social media connecting their lives and experiences. Although there is debate about the usefulness of labelling an entire generation with this generality, there is a need to create differentiated classrooms where the learning is customised and inclusive for all learners. By utilising the latest research on Mind/Brain/Education science, using differentiated instruction techniques, infusing technology into the classroom, all students will learn.
I attended several other sessions for the remainder of the conference, taking some breaks to walk along the Riverwalk and attend some evening events like the tweet-ups for those of us who were using twitter throughout the conference. The inter-weaving of technology, new learning, Mind/Brain/Education Science and differentiation were all brought into a clearer focus and I came away refreshed and eager to get back into my classroom. Although it was a little overwhelming with all the seemingly conflicting ideas on pedagogy, I left the San Antonio with one overriding goal: to attend next year’s conference in San Fransisco, California with a little less preparation and an greater openness to all the conversations in the sessions, the hallways and the exhibitor’s hall.
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