Events for 2011-2012
Welcome to the Independent Curriculum Group’s Conferences and Roundtables for 2011-12. We hope that you will find one or more to be of interest. Please check here again as we add additional events for 2012.
ICG is a catalyst of important change coming to education in America. Schools are re-designing the learning process and re-thinking the roles of teacher and learner. Students are memorizing less and creating more. They’re managing projects, designing experiments, making connections across disciplines, and engaging the world outside school. Schools are devoting more of their advanced courses to in-depth inquiry, and fewer of them to preparation for standardized tests.
ICG events are divided into two broad categories. Our conferences typically host between 50 and 300 teachers, administrators, and other stake-holders. Innovation Roundtables are limited to approximately 15 participants and intended for academic administrators and department heads. All are designed to help schools move forward with the exciting work of institutional change.
I hope to see you at an ICG event in 2011-12.
Sincerely,
Bruce G. Hammond
Executive Director
New Directions in Assessment
The Independent Curriculum Group and The Hewitt School in New York City cordially invite you to New Directions in Assessment on Saturday, April 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. New Directions in Assessment will bring together representatives from schools participating in ICG’s National Assessment Project to discuss assessments of “21st Century” skills which they have designed and implemented. Assessment is one of the most challenging aspects of school change, but also one of the most crucial. We hope you will join us for a day of thought-provoking discussion.
| Date: | April 21, 2012 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
| Location: | The Hewitt School New York, NY |
| Details: | Plenary Sessions Re-Defining Rigor: Making the Case for “21st Century Skills” As schools seek to transform teaching and learning, they must overcome preconceptions about rigor that reinforce traditional practices. How do we know when academic work is challenging? How can we measure outstanding achievement in areas that are difficult to quantify? How can we educate our various constituencies about a broader definition of rigor? The panel will discuss these and related questions with reference to the work of the NAIS Commission on Accreditation. Bruce Hammond, Executive Director, Independent Curriculum Group (Moderator) Peter Gow, Dir. of College Counseling and Special Programs, Beaver Country Day School (MA) Roger Richard, Director of Academic Support, Morristown-Beard School (NJ) Anne Weeks, Head of Upper School, The Agnes Irwin School (PA) What is Critical Inquiry? This session will examine techniques for promoting critical inquiry at various grade levels. Are there common approaches that foster critical inquiry? Ways of structuring conversations? Benchmarks of progress? Teachers and administrators from ICG’s New York City will share conclusions, hypotheses, and questions from a year-long examination of critical inquiry. Elizabeth Stevens, Academic Dean, The Hewitt School (NY) (Moderator) Faculty from The Berkeley Carroll School (NY), The Hewitt School (NY), The Masters School (NY), and Riverdale Country School (NY) Concurrent Sessions Designing Thematic, Inquiry-Based Curriculum and Assessment in High School Science This session will examine the transition from a traditional “coverage” biology course to an inquiry-based course guided by thematic questions that allow students to discover and construct knowledge. The presenter will give special attention to the role of teacher feedback, the importance of student reflection, and the use of formative and summative assessments to create a holistic grading system which encourages students to take risks and dig deeper. Tim Goodwin, Science Department Chair, Shattuck-St. Mary’s School (MN) Challenges in Assessment: Case Studies Teachers from Winsor School (MA) will present a series of assessment challenges: in a non-Western humanities course, transition from a traditional research paper to a more learner-centered project; in 6th grade English/history, assessment of a Greek symposium simulation and development of a rubric for writing historical fiction; and in middle-school Spanish, implementation of student-centered assessment techniques. Presenters will elicit feedback and share tentative conclusions. Jennifer Ciccarelli, Assistant Director, The Winsor School (MA) (Moderator) Indu Chugani, English Teacher, The Winsor School (MA) Josh Constant, History Teacher, The Winsor School (MA) Jim Jer-Don, World Languages Teacher, The Winsor School (MA) Summative Assessment: Senior Project/Capstone This session will explore various ways that schools can design, structure, assess, and support a student’s capstone project in grade 12. The presenter will describe the model of Innovation Charter Academy in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, with video clips of a final presentation, rubrics, and other documents that illustrate the skills, outcomes, and assessment methods of the program. Attendees will be encouraged to share experiences and identify patterns and best practices in capstone programs. David Smith, History Teacher, Innovation Academy Charter School (MA) The conference will be held at The Hewitt School, 45 East 75th Street, New York, NY, 10021. Registration Fees $125.00, Non-Member Institution $50.00, Member Institution $150.00, On-Site REGISTER NOW |
Serious About Change
Serious About Change will bring together a small group of heads and other academic administrators who are serious about aligning program with modern-day understanding of the learning process. How are schools promoting emphasis on “21st Century” skills? How are they using local resources to create real-world experiences? How are schools meshing students’ academic, extracurricular, and non-academic lives? Roundtable discussion will be the mode of the day. James Dalziel of United World College - South East Asia and James MacDonald of Yokohama International School will discuss Mapping an Innovative Programme by meshing the IB Diploma with homegrown elements to create a comprehensive academic, extracurricular, and sevice programme. Moderator Bruce G. Hammond will discuss how schools in the U.S. are implementing new directions in curriculum and assessment. Come to Serious About Change to share successes and challenges with like-minded colleagues.
| Date: | Wednesday, March 14, 2012 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
| Location: | United World College - South East Asia Singapore |
| Details: | 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. -- Who We Want Our Graduates To Be 9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. -- Our New Directions 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. -- Lunch 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. -- “Mapping an Innovative Programme” James Dalziel, United World College of South East Asia James MacDonald, Yokohama International School 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. -- Continuing the Conversation All one-day conferences will begin with an informal welcoming reception at approximately 8:30 a.m. The program will be offered from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Registration Fee - $120.00 REGISTER NOW |