I love everything about attending professional development conferences except getting ready for the guest teacher. These are my notes and takeaways from this year’s EL Education National Conference. They will also be including in an upcoming edition of the TGIF Teacher Newsletter.

Setting Yourself Up For Success: Celebrations of Learning - Lisa Chin (Odyssey) of Denver

• Taking time to celebrate student work has numerous benefits.
  • They build community
  • They provide an authentic audience for student work
  • Students learn and practice professional skills
• Exhibition Nights (Celebrations of Learning) - Parents like to support their children and the other children in the learning community
• Culminating event where students present high quality work to a significant/authentic audience
• It also includes student reflection on learning
• Students can also describe the learning/project progression
• Parent Perspective (What would we want parents to say after attending a celebration of learning?) - “My child was well prepared and learned a lot. I am proud of the quality of their work”
• I like the idea of a school wide event to celebrate learning - possibly an entire celebration day.
• Many useful resources were shared in a shared Google Drive folder
• I appreciated the time that was set aside to work and collaborate with other educators

Establishing Effective and Successful Student-Led Feedback

Student Led-Session - Walking the Labyrinth

Integrating the Arts and Sciences - Nikki Zernone and Amanda Black