Day 1
01 Workshop Opener 02 Supporting Diversity 03 Break 04 Previously, on 05 Model Lesson 06 Model Lesson Reflection 07 Lunch 08 Diverser Learners 09 Curriculum Investigation 10 Break 11 Conclusions and Connections 12 Wrap Up 13 Debrief

Session 1: Workshop Opener

45 minutes

discussion-based

Purpose

This session is designed to bring participants together to kick off the workshop, reflect on how things are going in the classroom, and introduce the theme for the day. This is a place to check in on specific lessons that people have already taught, as well as pacing and teaching practices that were modeled or discussed in the previous workshop.

It is common to surface concerns during this session that can be revisited and addressed throughout the workshop.

Objectives

  • Participants collaborate with one another to share resources and ideas for their classrooms
  • Participants engage in the “think, pair, share” teaching and learning strategy

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup:

  • Posters up for people to add post-its to as they come in
  • “Where are we now” - On a piece of chart paper or on the board, create a histogram for teachers to note where they are in the curriculum. Remind teachers to take out their Curriculum Guides as a guide to unit progressions.
  • “Question Parking Lot” - For people to post questions they have.

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

Workshop Opening Logistics (3 minutes)

Warm Up and Check In (22 minutes)

Share Out (10 minutes)

Theme Introduction (10 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Workshop Opening Logistics (3 minutes)

Facilitator Tip

Ways to Prepare for this Session:

  • Reflect on teacher needs at the last workshop — what were the most common concerns? How can you check in on those concerns here?
  • Make a plan with your co-facilitator for how you plan to divide up roles during the session.

(0 minutes) As Teachers Walk In

Have a slide up at the front of the room to direct teachers to:

  • Add post-its to "Where are we now" poster
  • Kick off the “Question Parking Lot” chart by asking participants to add in anything they need to talk about

(2 minutes) Attendance

Have everyone complete the attendance for the day

(1 minute) Review Norms

Remind the group of the norms you set at Workshops 1 and 2.

Warm Up and Check In (22 minutes)

Discussion Goal

Jog memories and think concretely about the lessons they’ve done so far and what’s coming soon.

Facilitator Tip

While discussions are happening, one facilitator should circle the room while the other reads over the post-its that teachers posted as they came into the room.

(5 minutes) Personal Reflection

Have teachers reflect on the following questions individually, and be ready to share with someone else. They don't need to answer every question but participants can use these questions to jog their memory.

  • How is it going with the topics we discussed at our last workshop?
    • Projects: How are you doing with project management?
    • Empowering Active Learning: How have you empowered your students to take an active role in their learning?
  • How is it going with the class in general?
    • What adaptations have you made for your students’ needs?
  • What is on your mind?
    • What concerns or issues do you have about the topics that are coming up soon?
    • What questions do you have, and/or what do you want to talk about today?

(10 minutes) Speed Dating

Have participants “speed date” their responses to the three prompts above, looking for advice or ideas on questions or issues.

FACILITATOR NOTE: In this activity, speed dating means getting up and talking with someone new about your thoughts. We recommend doing 3 rounds of 3 minutes each, where participants check in with someone new for each round

Facilitator Tip

As teachers share in their groups, the facilitators are circulating to hear teachers' thoughts and are thinking about the topics to discuss in the whole group share out. Likely topics are assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer, learning material along with your students, etc.

Discussion Goal

Bubble up what needs to be addressed by the whole group. Jot down questions or topics on post-its and then hold up for facilitators to collect.

(7 minutes) Share Concerns at Table

Head back to tables and share your concerns and what you learned from others. As table members catch up and share, facilitators should review the post-it notes and decide what issues folks are having that others in the room can help solve. Other post-it notes that may be appropriate to answer later in the day can be added to the question parking lot.

Share Out (10 minutes)

Facilitator Tip

Consider having one facilitator run the discussion while the other takes notes in the notes doc. For workshops with only one facilitator, you might consider enlisting the help of a participant with note taking.

(10 minutes) Group Discussion

Facilitators prime the discussion with topics that have been brought up so far in the day, and put them to the group for everyone to answer. For example, a facilitator might say, “I heard a lot of people talking about ..., what does the group think about this?” The goal is to pull out widely-held questions and to check in with groups on the following:

  • How are things going? Are there any specific needs that need to be addressed before we move on to Unit 5: Data and Society?
  • How are your students doing working in groups?

Facilitator Note: If this session starts to run long, suggest that the remaining questions go on post-it notes to the question parking lot.

Theme Introduction (10 minutes)

(1 minute) Introductory Remarks

Remarks

In the past two workshops, we focused on the “Role of the Teacher” and “Role of the Student” themes. In today’s workshop, we will shift our focus to student learning as we reflect on “Learning in Context”. “Learning in Context” is the idea that learning should begin with the “why” before moving to the “how”. Problems should be purposeful. Students should understand “why” the problem is important before deciding “how” to solve the problem. Both the “why” and the “how” should be relevant to the student (motivation) and to the learning objectives (facilitates learning).

(8 minutes) Think, Pair, Share

Discussion Goal

There are many ways for participants to approach answering this question. The general idea here is that students learn best when their learning has a meaningful purpose. The “why” is the purpose. The “how” is the content or skill needed to solve the problem or answer the question. Students learn best when there is a clear connection between the two.

Prompt: What does it mean for learning to start with the “why” before moving on to the “how”?

  • (1 minute) Think: individual reflection
  • (2 minutes) Pair: discuss with a partner
  • (5 minutes) Share: share and discuss with the whole group

Facilitator Note: In the last session, you used a padlet to compile ideas related to the workshop theme. This session, you will add ideas to the group notes doc. As participants share to the whole group, project the group notes doc and take notes directly in the doc. This will model a new way to create a shared group resource.

(1 minute) Closing Remarks

Remarks

As we move through the day, we will continue to reflect on this idea of the “Learning in Context”. Our goal is to leave the day with a clear plan for how we will incorporate “Learning in Context” into our classrooms.