CASIE's Learning Lab quarterly workshop series is designed to address both the practical needs and the classroom dreams of educators.
Teachers wrestle with many different aspects of pedagogy and practice on a daily basis. At CASIE, we believe that thinking and learning collaboratively is one of the best ways to build a strong individual practice in the classroom. We developed our Learning Lab series as an opportunity for K-12 educators to meaningfully and deeply engage with new ideas while refining their own teaching. Each Learning Lab will feature focused content, active learning, collaborative work, expert support, and guided reflection over the span of two days of interactive learning with small groups and content experts.
Join us in Atlanta for a unique opportunity to experience an intimate interactive setting with some of the practitioners and researchers at the forefront of education today.
What to Expect: These two-day labs will be held in CASIE's comfortable classroom. Your registration fee includes daily breakfast, lunch, snacks, and unlimited beverages. We recommend business-casual layers; these will be active workshops where you will be participating in group activities and movement. Bring your preferred device for digital engagement.
"... I was able to immediately put what I learned into practice in the classroom!! Awesome facilitator, great stories and activities!!"
-Anne Prouty, French American International School, Portland, Oregon
"Excellent Learning Lab. From the facility to the food everything was fabulous...I came away with a bank of conceptual knowledge, more than I ever knew I would!"
-Kimberly Schorr, Clubview Elementary, Columbus, Georgia
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Use #CASIELearningLab and tag us on social media, @casieonline
2020-2021 Learning Labs
Maker-Centered Learning: Promises, practices, and pedagogies explored
OCTOBER 1-2, 2020
Jessica Ross
Educator & Researcher
Design is all around us—from the objects we use every day to the systems we rely on for access to and participation in a democratic society.
This 2-day interactive workshop, designed for both maker-centered educators and those interested in learning more about design and maker-centered practice, will provide an introduction to the Agency by Design framework. The framework has several interrelated areas of focus: (1) explore why it’s critical for young people to develop an awareness of the designed dimensions of their worlds; (2) consider what it means to cultivate a sensitivity to the design of systems; (3) foster three capacities in young people to support their critical engagement with the designed world: Looking Closely, Exploring Complexity, and Finding Opportunity; and (4) understand the relationship between having a sensitivity to design and activating one’s agency—i.e., the capacity and inclination to effect real change in the world.
Guiding questions: How might we design ways for students to look closely, explore complexity, and find opportunity in and across the disciplines? How might fostering these capacities lead to maker empowerment and student agency? How do the components of the Agency by Design framework connect to your context?
Jessica Ross was a Project Manager on the original Agency by Design research initiative at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education and is currently an independent consultant with various universities, museums, and organizations.
IB Programme Evaluation: How to Navigate The Process and Inspire Excellence
JANUARY 28-29, 2021
Elissa Banas
Educator & Veteran IB Coordinator
"Programme evaluation." Those two words evoke a range of responses when heard by IB school leaders. What is meant to provide insight and a road map for continuous improvement can end up being both one of the greatest headaches and missed opportunities that IB school leaders face. The recent redesign of the International Baccalaureate programme standards and practices is intended to help schools shift their focus from a compliance mindset and instead unlock the full potential of IB programmes by fostering a culture of continuous school growth.
This 2-day interactive workshop is designed for administrators, coordinators, and others who are integrally engaged in school growth and planning in current and candidate IB World Schools where the goal is having learners flourish during the evaluation period and beyond. An orchestrated deep dive into the new standards and practices and practical implementation strategies will provide you with thorough knowledge and inspiration to create exciting pathways for the next phase of your school’s IB journey.
Elissa (Elise) Banas is in her 14th year as the IB DP Coordinator at City Honors School, the honors magnet for the public school system in Buffalo, NY. A member of IBEN since 2010, she is an experienced face-to-face and online workshop leader, as well as a site visitor, consultant, and IB lead educator.
Reducing Learning Barriers in a Language Diverse Classroom
MARCH 4-5, 2021
Linda Johnson
Educator & Curriculum Specialist
From language delays in articulation and phonemic awareness to struggles associated with English Language development, today’s classrooms are filled with diverse learners. The traditional one-size-fits-all model of education no longer meets the language learning needs of the students we find our classrooms. Oral, written, and spoken language affects learning in every classroom because all teachers are teachers of language.
This 2-day interactive workshop is designed for the educator interested in helping their students succeed by reducing learning barriers associated with the range of language needs. Participants will explore linguistic diversity and the implications it has on teaching and learning. They’ll determine scaffolds and adaptations that can be made to help all learners flourish within the four language demands of academic language including function, discourse, syntax, and vocabulary. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) practices associated with the why, the what, and the how of learning will be examined. Application of these strategies in a classroom will be considered to determine how they may help to reduce learning barriers.
Linda Johnson has served in the field of education for 27 years in both private and public schools as a teacher, curriculum coordinator, school administrator, librarian, and educational consultant. Passionate about supporting language and literacy development in students, she has taught both language arts and English Language Learners at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.