ASCD 2014 WRAP-UP

This year’s ASCD conference was a warm respite from cold weather and daily routines. The conference brought together over 10,000 educators from around the world. The conversations and presentations focused on current issues, common understandings, and shared concerns about the future of schools. Here are some of the take-aways I found most meaningful.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST……but he was so good, it’s going first

●Tony Wagner talked about the ideas in his book Creating Innovators where he explains that the real real Global Achievement Gap is the result of not teaching and testing the skills students really need. In his talk he identified 7 survival skills: 1-critical thinking/problem solving; 2-collaboration across time and place; 3-adaptabiity; 4- initiative; 5- complex thinking that leads to complex communication; 6- skills to evaluate the profusion of information; 7-curiosity and imagination.

Upshot: We need to prioritize the changes we make: Schools that start 10 innovations never finish any.  www.tonywagner.com       @tonywagner       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3f7dP_l9xY

●Joe DiMartino: “Indicators of educational success extend beyond cognitive skills. Rich and

complex tasks require more support, scaffolds, and timely feedback. The assessment of these outcomes takes place along a progression of improvement rather than a final test score.”

●Carol Tomlinson offered ideas for culture friendly classrooms where strong socio-cultural

awareness supports diversity and global understanding. This requires that teaching and learning are based on a growth mindset for all learners. www.caroltomlinson.com

Watch a video at: http://www.differentiationcentral.com/videos.html

●From my own session on Formative Assessment and the Common Core @ljstollar tweeted:

“There shouldn’t be any surprises on summative assessments” and “it is essential to match clear learning targets with assessment strategies.”

●Heidi Hayes Jacobs: You can’t prepare students for the 21^st century until teachers are prepared to be 21^st century educators. Check out her CLEARINGHOUSE at  http://www.curriculum21.com/

ü  Dan Pink: Stop talking about standardized testing and refocus on the true purpose of education.

ü  Sir Ken Robinson: “Educational beliefs are hampering the growth of our children.”

ü  Russell Quaglia: “Move forward by listening to student’s voices.”

And a few shared perspectives- at least from the sessions I attended with my intentional biasJ

●The value of balanced assessment is that with a clear vision of student’s progress, teachers can adjust instruction and provide interventions designed to improve individual achievement. And, deeper assessments are needed in order to know if children are truly thinking, analyzing, and reasoning.