web viewlearning to think (part 1 of 2) aren’t you ... two instructors from different schools...

TAIS Biennial Conference 2016November 6th & 7th

McCallie School, Chattanooga

Sessions in Block A (Sunday 2:45 – 3:40)

14 Legal Duties Owed by Athletics PersonnelThis session will go over the 14 Legal duties that Athletic personnel and schools owe their student athletes and the corresponding court cases that relate to each duty. This will be an abbreviated version, giving the Standard of Care Illustrated by each case and the duty it represents.Audience: Athletic Directors, Headmasters, Coaches, Chief Financial OfficerScott Dorsett & Jena Jones - Webb School

Active Shooter Self-Defense Seminar (Part 1 of 2)The three things employees and staff are instructed to do in the event of an active shooter are: run, hide, or fight. Unfortunately the options to run or hide may not be available. This session will demonstrate how one can defend oneself and others in a gun-threat situation using Krav Maga, the Israeli self-defense fighting system. It will address scenarios of both student and adult/intruder shooters, and will begin by discussing how an actual "gun-threat" is defined, the mental state of the attacker, and why defense from a gun threat is possible. Then the majority of our time will be spent giving participants hands-on instruction in gun- threat defenses based on the.principles of Krav Maga. They will work in teams--and of course no firearms will be used.Audience: everyoneRalph G. Norwood & Melissa Norwood - Rossville Christian Academy

AP Histories: New Design, New PracticesThis session will highlight multiple innovative, technology-driven methods for instruction and assessment in the redesigned AP Histories (US, European, and World). The strategies include full Google Classroom integration, student collaboration techniques, creative student-driven review approaches, and updated and engaging favorites such as the Urban Game. Time permitting, the session will end with roundtable discussion in which participants offer other innovative strategies for approaching the redesigned Curriculum Frameworks and Concept Outlines.Audience: AP History TeachersKyle Christmas - Clarksville Academy

Building Effective Partnerships With Public Elementary Schools For five years now, McCallie students have been working with nearby elementary schools to run creative writing workshops, but making those initial connections with our partner schools in a productive way was a challenge. This session will detail what worked, what didn't, and how the program has evolved to work within the parameters of a public school system. Both Middle School and Upper School teachers and administrators will learn about the methods and potential points of contact needed to turn their idea into a working partnership. Audience: Teachers and administrators who are interested in building sustained community service-oriented partnerships with public schoolsErin Tocknell - McCallie School


Comprehension in the Integrated Language Arts BlockOver the last two years, Katie Batson and Lucinda Burris have focused on questioning in their fifth grade Language Arts block with great success. During the session, teachers will model asking a variety of types of questions and implementing comprehension strategies, including textual analysis, Socratic Circles, debate techniques, and more using fiction and nonfiction texts with the desired outcomes of students formulating their own critical questions, taking ownership of their learning, and increased rigor.Audience: Middle School Content Area TeachersLucinda Burris & Katie Batson - Lipscomb Academy

Core Knowledge Language Arts - A New Curriculum and MindsetThis session has been canceled.

Designing a Championship Curriculum to Coincide with School CalendarThis practical workshop will teach you how to design curriculum plans that coincide with your school calendar while maintaining rigid flexibility! You will learn to organize and develop daily lesson plans that address vertical curriculum goals, standardized testing practice, and enrichment while creatively building relationships with your students. This will all be accomplished to mesh perfectly with your school calendar. You will leave with the tools and templates to complete, organize and script an entire school year. A great plan gives you the freedom to respond to the demands, the ebb and flow, of each day!Audience: teaching faculty - any gradeJennifer Potter - McCallie School

Developing a Critical Facility Information PlanWhen the fire alarm goes off; when there is an inch of water on the floor; when the room smells like gas: knowing the basics of how such systems operate and where the shut-offs are located can have enormous impact on reduction of accidents, injuries and property damage. In this session, gain valuable insight into creating a Critical Facility Information plan that is: * Accessible to all building users, * Easy to understand for all skill levels, * Quick and easy to navigate in an emergency, * Comprehensive of all major facility components.Audience: AdministratorsChris Corby – SFM

Exploring Monoprinting in the Elementary Art RoomFor this session, we will explore how monoprinting can be utilized in elementary art classes.Audience: Elementary Visual Art TeachersThankful Davis - Bright School

From the Ground Up: Running a Development Office in a Small SchoolIn this session we will examine strategic practices small schools employ when building development departments from the ground up. We will explore ways to connect your donors to your mission, while formulating your case for support. We will also focus on how Development Directors manage data, conduct research, record gifts, work with volunteers, manage donors and host events while striving to cultivate a culture of giving within the school community. Participants will be encouraged to share best practices and challenges with the group. Audience: Development Directors: Small SchoolsEllen Baggenstoss - Brainerd Baptist School


Give Your Kindergarten Students With Autism a "Jumpstart" by Training Your TeachersThis session will focus on building a classroom for young children with Autism that integrates the principles of behavior analysis to foster a sustainable learning environment, specifically one that emphasizes the individual growth of each child within a group learning context. Specific objectives of the session will include the following:1. We will explore several ways in which specific data-based strategies, based on the principles of applied behavior analysis, may be used throughout the school day to foster the development of critical student skills, including speech and language, school-readiness, and play.2. We will identify the key components of a classroom environment that supports socialization for children with Autism.3. We will recommend a model that fosters the development of teaching strategies that can help bridge the gaps between intensive ABA and other therapies and the home environment.Audience: Heads of Schools, Kindergarten teachers, Special EducatorsRebeckah Dopp, Andre Anderson, Allison Wolhaputer & Dr. Peter Beddow - The Edison School

The Importance of the Student Voice in Project‐Based LearningLearn about the importance of student voice and choice in Project Based Learning. We explore the progressive journey of a seventh‐grade class as they study the systems of the human body while at the same time designing and building a prosthetic hand capable of playing their favorite sport.Audience: K-12, however, the topic will discuss Project Based Learning in a middle school classroomJonathan Reveal - Ensworth School

Improving Vocabulary and Critical Thinking with WordMastersThe WordMasters Challenge is a national competition designed to improve students’ vocabulary and critical thinking skills. Over the course of a school year, students learn 75 challenging words and compete in three meets to correctly use those words in analogies. I began an after-school WordMasters Club for 5th and 6th graders in 2014, and the club has grown to include 35 students in grades 5 through 8. This session will include discussion of the effectiveness of WordMasters as an academic extracurricular activity, analysis of analogies as tools for teaching critical thinking skills, and hands-on participation in activities designed to be both fun and effective in improving vocabulary and analogy skills.Audience: LS/MS English/Language Arts teachers and librariansAudree Keele - Lipscomb Academy

Integrating Film into the Religion and Philosophy ClassroomI will demonstrate and give examples of how I use "Hollywood" and Non-"Hollywood" films in the classroom in order to engender a deeper understanding and awareness of how religion and philosophy influence and a part of modern society. Audience: Religion, Social Studies, and Philosophy TeachersSteven Sorrell - Davidson Academy

Interactive Notebooks in Classrooms - This session has been canceled.

Leadership Team Development and The Birkman Method (Part 1 of 2)The Birkman Method is an effective tool for a leadership team to use to understand and adapt to the uniqueness of each member. It opens the door to understanding communication style, response to incentives, relationship with authority, dealing with change, and triggers for stress present in each person on the team. Through a unique model, The Birkman Method illustrates the multi-dimensional aspects of people and can be a guide in developing an effective leadership team.Audience: AdministratorsCatherine Chubb, Lori Guy & Laurie Stanton - Hutchison School


Let's Make That! 3D Printing & TinkerCad The future demands creators, not just users... So, let's be teachers of innovation, creation and design! This interactive workshop time will introduce 3D Printing and how you can integrate it into your school. We will discuss using TinkerCad, the easy-to-use 3D CAD design tool that quickly turns your idea into a CAD model for a 3D printer. Anyone and everyone can do this! Don't miss out! *Bring your laptop and a TinkerCad login account (free) to benefit from the workshop time! Audience: Technology Coach, Technology Integration Specialists, STEAM Teachers, MS/US TeachersLibby Barker - Lipscomb Academy

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates, but Faculty Evaluation is Like a Chocolate Chip CookieI don't know any school with a perfect evaluation system, but starting with a chocolate chip cookie, you can build one with your faculty that makes sense.Audience: Heads of School & Division HeadsDamian Kavanagh - SAIS

Making Writing Workshop Meaningful and Fun!Learn how to set up a writing environment where children feel valued and accepted for who they are and what they know. Discover what good writers look like and how to set up a writer's notebook. A focus will be on developing mini lessons with directed instructional time. You will come away with lessons you can use immediately in your classroom and a list of rich, wonderful book ideas to use as mentor text. Audience: preK thru 4th grade classroom teachersWanda Lynn, Regina Lankford, Wendy Rampy & Leslie Robinson - Lipscomb Academy

Mindset, Virtue, and Classroom PracticesMany educators are talking about growth mindset and the literature is ripe with examples of how it impacts student learning. I intend, instead, to talk about the type of pedagogical practices that typically flow from a teacher that has a growth mindset. My assertion is that growth mindset is not something you teach; instead, it is something you model and something that should inform your classroom practices. A parallel stream of virtue education will also be presented argued with the same line of reasoning; you are what you do, not what you know. The presentation will be interactive and will feature an activity that I have used in my classroom many times. Both topics are based on projects that I have been a part of at Vanderbilt University and through Calvin College. Audience: Science teachers, or any teachers interested in mindset, pedagogy, and virtue formationBrian Polk - Webb School

Much Ado About ShakespeareParticipants will experience Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing come alive by guiding students through a series of activities that result in a super interesting 45-60 minute mini-production of the play. Suitable for Literature and Drama/Theatre courses, the unit can be adapted to any of Shakespeare's plays. The session will be hands-on with lots of handouts.Audience: 6-12 Language Arts/English/Drama TeachersCynthia Beatty - Webb School of Knoxville

Nurturing Authentic Student LeadershipWe will explore case studies that participants will use to share ideas about the ways that student leaders can be more meaningfully and authentically involved in both their formal organizational roles and the larger school life. Are student leaders today really allowed to fail, or even succeed? Is the "safety net" too large?Audience: US faculty involved with leadershipRobert Bires & Chet LeSourd - Mccallie School


The One-Stop Search for Library ResourcesTips and tricks for adding and using a one-stop search experience to help students find what they need: EBSCO Discovery Service. We'll share our implementation experiences using different systems and resources.Audience: Librarians, Teachers, AdministratorsBonnie Barnes - Memphis University School

An Open Discussion on Reading Comprehension at the High School LevelReading comprehension is a basic skill for success in life, yet the formal instruction of reading comprehension ends in the primary grades. Very little research is conducted on the issue of reading comprehension at the high school level. We know that many students struggle to read and comprehend at a mastery level in high school. This open discussion session will seek to stimulate conversation about how classrooms and schools can incorporate reading comprehension into an already full curriculum.Audience: Upper school teachers, learning specialistsCarmel Cordero - Webb School

Picture Me in History - Engaging Social StudiesThis session will be packed full of creative ideas to make Social Studies the class that your students look forward to every day. Come and learn many strategies to help them picture themselves as a part of any era in history. There will be demonstrations of how to incorporate writing, technology, and fun, practical projects into many of your daily activities. Audience: Grades 3-7Jane Thomas - Lipscomb Academy

Professional Growth and Development: A Journey to Support and Improve Teachers Without "Evaluation"This session will explore the success, challenges, and ongoing work of developing a new approach toward teacher professional growth. Rather than settling with the common practices of infrequent observations, congenial conversations, and the anxieties of being evaluated, we will explore a process to build professional growth at your school, one that will provide new approaches to mentoring, collaboration, guidance, constructive feedback, and continuous professional support to enhance teacher and student learning. Audience: EveryoneBobby Mirzaie - Ensworth School

Revitalizing Creativity in Experiential LearningAs educators, how can we evoke motivation and enjoyment for creativity? In this session, we will look at the creative process and building confidence by taking risks and thinking outside of what is known. We will engage in a dialogue of what art is today, how it changes to attract its audience, and its value on society. We will explore art as a useful tool in academic areas and methods of authentically assessing projects created by students. Audience: K-12 EducatorsJoshua Coleman - McCallie School


School Violence, Sexting, and Cyber Bullying – How Do We Stop the Madness?The earlier a problem is detected, the less impact it will have on your school. While there is no guarantee that every threat will be captured, intelligence monitoring must be part of your school violence prevention program. There are threats and risks you can identify, before they become crises, if you listen and look. Addressing the dangers of sexting and cyber bullying in schools must start with a vulnerability and threat assessment process. Understanding the nature of these risks allows a school to take appropriate steps in its strategies to mitigate and respond should a sexting incident, cyber bullying situation or public crisis occur. A comprehensive risk assessment ensures threats that emerge as a result of students, employees, administrative processes, technology, or external environmental changes are identified.Audience: EveryoneJim Satterfield - Firestorm

Scientific Argumentation in the Middle School ClassroomUsing scientific argumentation in the middle school classroom helps students understand the nature of science and promotes learning of scientific concepts. We will explain what scientific argumentation is and how it supports learning and next generation science standards. We will review resources for teachers interested in adding scientific argumentation to their curriculum. Finally, we will discuss examples for turning scientific claims into statements for students to evaluate in the classroom, e.g. justification, reasoning, supporting evidence, accuracy, reliability and validity of evidence. Audience: MS Science TeachersLeone Broadhead & Jeff Bonner - Webb School

Service Learning and Student Motivation: Creating a Culture of Self-Discipline and Self-DeterminationService learning increases student motivation, and helps schools create cultures of self-discipline and self-determination. Institutions in higher education are implementing service learning components as a way of integrating students into the fabric of an institution and increase retention rates. This session will explore service learning, and other retention practices utilized in higher education, and ways in which secondary schools can apply these ideas to build better cultures, integrate students and increase retention rates.Audience: Administrators Douglas Williams - Lipscomb Academy

Shhh! Don't Tell Them They Are Learning!Three pre-k teachers share their favorite fun learning activities. Demonstrations and Make & Take.Audience: Pre-K Teachers Joann Hellmann, Lori Roden & Rebecca Stubblefield - Brainerd Baptist School

Social Media: Strategic Content & AnalyticsLearn how to promote your school or program using various social media channels. Native analytical tools for measuring content effectiveness will be presented, as well as tools for managing multiple accounts. Other topics presented will be advantages of scheduling content, how to monitor for keywords on social media, guidelines for user-generated content, and other helpful tools to get the most impact out of your social media strategy.Audience: anyone, but particularly those in marketing & communicationsDeanna Luna – McCallie School


Summer Program Directors Roundtable DiscussionThis session is for directors or those in charge of your school's summer camps. It will be an open discussion of what has worked for your school in regards to promoting your summer camps, providing high-quality options for your customers, reaching participants outside of your school, forming relationships with outside vendors, and various online platforms for processing registrations. This session is for those with strong summer programs as well as those looking to get ideas to start offering more camps at their school during the summer months. Be prepared to share your school's summer website and summer brochure if available. Audience: Summer Camp and Program DirectorsFranklin Bennett - Lipscomb Academy

That's Not Fair! - Empowering All Students to Embrace Learning Challenges with Perseverance, Determination, and GritCome and share the story of one school's journey to create a safe and empowering support system for struggling learners. From philosophy to practice, you will hear how students are afforded scaffolding and success within their learning community.Audience: TeachersLori K. Bowen, Julie Mathis & Sandy Rogers - Boyd-Buchanan School

TPRS and the Feature FilmFrom organization to implementation, incorporating a full-length feature film into the curriculum is an exciting, effective and challenging undertaking. What better way to help your students understand the concept of culture, develop new and authentic vocabularies, and increase grammatical control, all within the context of the TPRS method of language instruction. And after all, who doesn’t like a good movie?Audience: Spanish TeachersFrank Watkins - McCallie School

Transforming Learning with AppleJoin us to see how educators are creating new, innovative ways to engage students and inspire creativity. Discover how the latest solutions from Apple make learning more accessible, more relevant, and more personal. Explore exciting learning experiences that include apps, Multi-Touch books, and free iTunes U resources from renowned institutions worldwide. Experience powerful content-creation tools that let students share their learning in compelling new ways. Audience: TeachersApple Inc.

Welcome to the Renaissance: Preparing and Presenting a Madrigal DinnerIn this session, a small demonstration ensemble will present some of the typical repertoire used in a Madrigal Dinner. We will discuss the process to presenting a madrigal dinner from selecting a venue, gathering costumes, planning the meal, choosing the literature, standard script elements, and all the details of a Madrigal program based on over 20 years experience. We will include sample scripts, list of music, and information to finding reference materials. Audience: Choral or Theatre teachersLeAnne Johnson & Jean Helbig - Webb School of Knoxville


What I've Learned as a DeanI hope to provide some very practical strategies on how to work with students and parents with respect to academic and disciplinary advising on a whole host of issues, large and small. This will not be a theoretical session but one based on real life scenarios. Participants should hope to walk away from this session with some new ideas on how to plan for difficult situations and how to handle difficult students and parents. Hopefully, participants can add some new approaches to their repertoire in working with students, parents, and faculty. Audience: Advisory Leaders, Deans Shaw Wilson - Baylor School

Who's Driving This Car? Creating a Student-Centered College Counseling ProcessIn this day of helicopter, stealth and snowplow parents, it is often difficult for students to take the lead in the college search process. In this session, we’ll talk about creating a school culture and a college counseling philosophy that encourages students to lead their search with the appropriate support of counselors and parents. Best practices will be shared by the presenters and solicited from the audience for the benefit of all in attendance. Audience: College counselors, school counselors who also do college guidance, administrators who oversee college counselingJeff Kurtzman & Brian Beckley - McCallie School

Writing About Your LifeFrom teaching freshmen to seniors, this session will discuss how encouraging students to write about their own lives will increase both their interest and productivity. Our freshmen write 25 papers of 600+ words before Christmas and our seniors write a personal memoir of 10,000 words in one semester. Ideas include the intuitive nature of writing, topics, daily writing exercises, workshopping, and the art of rewriting.Audience: English teachers, Writing Instructors, Administrators Kenneth Henry - McCallie School

Sessions in Block B (Sunday 3:55 – 4:50)

2 Year Old Kindergarten RoundtableKindergarten for 2 year olds? Yes - it is a trend that is growing and expanding. In this roundtable, we plan to share, discuss, and brainstorm how to make this new grade level age-appropriate and engaging, while using best practices. From centers to schedules to routines to circle time - we will talk about it all!Audience: 2 Year Old Kindergarten Teachers, Administrators, and StaffChristine Groves & Meredith Moore - Christ Methodist Day School

The 5 Best School Growth Strategies for 2016-2017This session has been moved to Block F.


Active Shooter Self-Defense Seminar (Part 2 of 2)The three things employees and staff are instructed to do in the event of an active shooter are: run, hide, or fight. Unfortunately the options to run or hide may not be available. This session will demonstrate how one can defend oneself and others in a gun-threat situation using Krav Maga, the Israeli self-defense fighting system. It will address scenarios of both student and adult/intruder shooters, and will begin by discussing how an actual "gun-threat" is defined, the mental state of the attacker, and why defense from a gun threat is possible. Then the majority of our time will be spent giving participants hands-on instruction in gun- threat defenses based on the.principles of Krav Maga. They will work in teams--and of course no firearms will be used. Audience: everyoneRalph G. Norwood & Melissa Norwood - Rossville Christian Academy

Adding Skills to Your History CurriculumTeaching skills does not have to be boring and take away from teaching history. By adding skill-building time to each class, students will improve their ability to read and write and engage in more sophisticated ways with historical content. This session will look at ways to incorporate skills like summarizing, finding evidence, making arguments and analyzing political cartoons into your lessons. Through this session, participants will be discussing how to integrate skill-building into their existing lessons, share the skills that need to be sharpened, and develop scaffolded skill-building lessons to use in the classroom. Audience: MS & US History TeachersAnne Smith - Brentwood Academy

Appropriateness and Authenticity: Popular Culture in the ClassroomMillennial students are arch media consumers; that such must be harnessed for instruction is beyond doubt. Much has been written on integrating specific types of popular art, music, et al. into the classroom; however, despite the superabundance of specific exempla in the scholarship of teaching and learning, no meaningful guide to best practices for popular culture materials’ classroom integration has yet emerged. Based on three years of research into the active practice of both university-level and secondary faculty, this session will discuss some (about to be published…) best practices guidelines and then explore how they might be adapted for participants’ particular disciplines. Audience: Upper School FacultyRalph Covino - Girls Preparatory School

Asian Literature for the American ClassroomThis presentation showcases canonical works of pre-modern East Asian literature and offers strategies for their successful integration into the American classroom. Activities and close readings will demonstrate how to manage the technical difficulties of introducing these texts and offer ways to familiarize students with cultural, historical, and philosophical contexts through which Asian novels and poems should be appreciated. Works discussed include Journey to the West, Tale of Genji, Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, Tang poetry, and Haiku. Audience: High-school English teachers of world literature or classes which include literature in translation. High school history teachers who cover Asian historyEric G. Dalle - Memphis University School


Authentic Resources and Stories to Engage Your Spanish StudentsWe teachers are always looking for stories that will engage and excite our students. I will share the fiction and non-fiction stories that have consistently been winners in my classroom. Many of these stories can be used in various levels of Spanish, from sixth grade to AP. These are the stories that have made my students want to learn more. Audience: middle and high school Spanish teachersElizabeth Renfro - Boyd-Buchanan School

Beyond the Rubrics: Opening the Door to Students' Authentic VoicesWe spent decades developing wonderful tests and rubrics. Now our students tell us that tests and rubrics are annihilating their interest in reading and writing. How can literature study and writing in response to that literature engage students in meaningful reflection and contemplation? The session will examine strategies that make room for students' authentic voices to emerge in discourse and in original writing. Audience: high school English teachersCleve Latham - McCallie School

Brains Have the Consistency of ToothpasteThe human brain is quite fascinating – and what we know about it now is quite remarkable. When you apply what we know about brains to things like teaching and learning, there is a bit of a disconnect. Audience: everyoneDamian Kavanagh - SAIS

Can Fifth Graders Write a Research Paper?Over the last several years, Katie Batson and Lucinda Burris have developed a research project for fifth graders that allows them to teach the basics of research, including selecting sources, creating a bibliography, avoiding plagiarism, and summarizing research. By carefully scaffolding the assignment, they hope to prepare students for the projects they will do throughout their school career and give them security that they can do research successfully. Audience: 4-6 Grade TeachersLucinda Burris & Katie Batson - Lipscomb Academy

Civic Engagement: Helping Students Understand the Needs of Our CommunitiesMany of our schools have great service programs, but we rarely stop to address the reasons behind why the service is needed in the first place. What exactly are the needs of our communities? How can we help students learn and then effectively work to meet those needs? This session will explore how to best expose students in authentic ways to the larger world in which they live.Audience: Any 9-12th and Community Service organizersSumner McCallie & Erin Tocknell - McCallie School

Content Reading Using ImprovisationUsing a series of frozen pictures (tableaux) and applying interviewing and close listening skills, participants will learn how to help students 'get' what they are reading in your English, history, or science class. Founded on improvisation and experiential therapy, the session is designed to give you direct experience of this kinesthetic, three dimensional reading comprehension technique so you can immediately use it in your classroom.Audience: Middle and high school English, history, and science teachersScott Field - Currey Ingram Academy


Crisis Management: How Do You Stop A Crisis?

The worst crisis you will ever see is the one that strikes your school. Today, everything is foreseeable, and tomorrow anyone can be held accountable. Every day, multiple schools face crisis. A crisis is not business as usual. A crisis is business as unusual. The initial information received is incomplete and wrong. Conflicting advice will rain down. Leadership lacks the metrics and structure to make effective decisions. Your choices are bogged down by bad alternatives. You face conflicting opinions and advice from multiple parties. The crisis may pass quickly, but the consequences will have a life of their own. What must schools have documented for a crisis management plan to guide decisions in a crisis?Audience: AdministratorsJim Satterfield - Firestorm

Defining the Line: Finding the Balance When Monitoring & Guiding Student Use of Devices in a 1:1 EnvironmentOne of the greatest challenges in administering a 1:1 environment is finding balance in granting students freedom to use the devices for research, while also preventing them from accessing inappropriate material or spending their time on trivial materials such as games and social media. This session will examine multiple approaches to promoting and enforcing proper use of devices in both a school owned and BYOD environment.Audience: IT Directors, Administrators, Technology Integration SpecialistsJeremy Womack - Boyd-Buchanan School

Don’t Blink: You’ll Miss the Constantly Changing Landscape of College AdmissionsThe past year brought an avalanche of changes to the world of college admissions including, but not limited to: the formation of The Coalition for Access and Affordability, complete overhaul of the PSAT and SAT, PPY (Prior-Prior-Year Income Data for the FAFSA), the Turning the Tide Report, and the ever-increasing media focus on the selectivity of high profile schools. Learn how these changes impact students, families, and our schools.Audience: teachers, counselors, dean of student, administratorsClaudia Goldbach & Susan McCarter - Girls Preparatory SchoolVicki Englehart-Thompson – St. Mary’s Episcopal SchoolBrian K. Smith – Memphis University School

Education & LawThe presenter will discuss the following topics: 1) legal issues and considerations schools need to be aware of concerning gender identity and /or gender neutrality, 2) legal issues regarding the use of social media by the school, parents, teachers/employees and students; 3) what kinds of issues/incidents are schools in Tennessee required to report to the appropriate authorities--and the importance of reporting incidents; and 4) a new law requiring CPR training for school employees. There will be ample time for Q&A after the presentation.Audience: AdministratorsChuck Cagle - Lewis Thomason

The Evolving Landscape of Adolescent Substance AbusePurpose: The primary purpose is to present the current trends in adolescent and young adult substance abuse. A continuum of treatment options will also be presented. Identify the Drugs of Choice for teens. Explore the stages of Addiction. The impact of substance abuse on adolescent development. Warning signs of substance abuse. Explore a plan of action once substance abuse is discovered.Audience: All educators and counseling staff interested in the disease of addictionDean Porterfield, LPC-MHSP, & Jeff Jensen - Cumberland Heights


Having Fun with Spanish Stuff

In this day and age where most things are computerized, why not use smart phones, computers, and tablets to enhance your Spanish classroom experience? In this session we will explore ideas for creatively engaging students via these technologies, including using Duolingo as a homework tool; filming students to develop their vocabulary and communication skills; creating teaching videos for YouTube; and classroom projects to make learning Spanish fun.Audience: Elementary to High School TeachersJuan M. Garcia

How Do You Fund an Independent School? A Panel Discussion on How School Heads Can Forge Successful Partnerships with the A&D OfficeIndependent Schools depend more and more on philanthropy. What are some of the ways in which school leaders are partnering with their development colleagues? What do school leaders need to do to become successful fundraisers? How can leaders create institutional cultures that encourage philanthropy, externally and internally? Come for a lively panel discussion that looks at these topics in detail, from the perspectives of both academic and fundraising professionals. Audience: Heads of School; Anyone interested in becoming a Head of School; Anyone interested in learning more about alumni and development activitiesMatt Wilson & Ray Broadhead - Webb School

Leadership Team Development and The Birkman Method (Part 2 of 2)The Birkman Method is an effective tool for a leadership team to use to understand and adapt to the uniqueness of each member. It opens the door to understanding communication style, response to incentives, relationship with authority, dealing with change, and triggers for stress present in each person on the team. Through a unique model, The Birkman Method illustrates the multi-dimensional aspects of people and can be a guide in developing an effective leadership team.Audience: AdministratorsCatherine Chubb, Lori Guy, Annette Smith & Laurie Stanton - Hutchison School

Natural Disasters - A High School Science ElectiveNatural disasters impact millions around the globe annually and provide an excellent medium for high school students to review and apply science, and improve reading skills. Hear about my experiences teaching a science of natural disasters elective to high school seniors using factual novels and a framework of investigation, prevention, mitigation, and response. Create a class or incorporate a natural hazard into your current curriculum. Middle school earth science teachers will also find the talk useful.Audience: US Science, 12th Grade Science Elective, MS Earth ScienceScott Shoup - McCallie School

Professional Development Opportunities for Athletic Directors and CoachesWe will discuss "best practices" and focus on professional growth opportunities available for athletic administrators from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. We encourage both coaches and athletic administrators to attend, and look forward to sharing ideas.Audience: Professional Development Opportunities For Athletic Directors and CoachesMike Ellson - Christ Presbyterian Academy


Project Based Learning in Action

In this session we will explore project based learning, from the stages of planning, implementation, and assessment. Project based learning encourages students to construct their own knowledge of the world around them. With hands-on projects, students define and optimize solutions for real world authentic problems. They build confidence and competency through communication and collaboration in an interactive environment. Audience: K-12 EducatorsJoshua Coleman - McCallie School

Project BoredomSocial media, iPhones, iMessage and other communication tools have made us miserable. We never disconnect. We are always consuming information for the sake of "getting it done" or learning. In 2016, what we are missing most is time to be bored. Learn about how I took control of my life in how I related to media and technology to give myself time to be bored.Audience: IT, Headmasters, Business ManagersBradley Chambers - Brainerd Baptist School

Relationships: The Foundation of LearningWhat do you remember about your educational experience, what relationships helped cultivate your life, and how did teachers influence you? Recently a 75 year study came out of Harvard tying relationships to health, long life, and happiness. Successful schools with accomplished students talk about these connections as being the key to unlocking students’ potential. To help students succeed they need adult relationships that foster learning, encourage growth, and provide a greater sense of purpose. Audience: Teachers interested in connecting better with studentsJoshua Deitrick - McCallie School

Smoothing the Transition to a New School: Constructing Pillars that Support Future SuccessMoving from Elementary or Middle School to the next level can be a challenging time for students and parents. In addition, there mayce a wide variety of students entering at these critical points bringing with them different levels of development and skills. To ease these stressful transitions for all their constituents, schools can create thoughtful and systematic programs that help develop essential skills, unify the student body, and prepare all students for future success. This session is designed to discuss key components of transition programs, share established ideas that schools can adapt for their own communities, and foster an open dialogue among attendees. Audience: MS/US Teachers/Counselors/Administrators (especially those who deal with students at critical entry points, such as 6th or 9th grade)Heather Eastwood & Noel Redmon - Webb School of Knoxville

Social Media Ethics: Teaching and Talking About Life OnlineHigh school students today have a digital footprint that will follow them for the rest of their lives. Knowing this, their teachers must educate them about the history of the internet, challenge them about the ethics of social media posts and use, and make them aware of how their data is being bought and sold for the benefit of companies and advertising. Without being digital natives, or being familiar with social media, how can teachers tackle these tough subjects? Learn how to have effective and informed conversations—that don't require extended knowledge of social media—with high school students looking for guidance about how to behave, what really is private, and how to manage their lives online.Audience: US teachersCassidy Britt - Webb School of Knoxville


Summers of ServiceThis session has been canceled.

Supporting Conceptual Understanding in Science by Linking Assessment, Instruction, and LearningBased on Richard Konicek-Moran and Page Keeley’s book Teaching for Conceptual Understanding in Science, this session will focus on the research that has been done as science teachers try to uncover students' misconceptions about the natural world around them. A number of NSTA published books that help expose student misconceptions like Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science will also be discussed. Come learn what research has shown in this area, share your experience with these instructional materials, or learn quick and fun ways to see what your students understand about the concepts you are studying in your science class.Audience: MS Science TeachersLinda Dizer & Becky Oakley - Boyd-Buchanan School

Tangible History: Exploring Primary Sources at the Tennessee State Library and ArchivesThis session will introduce teachers of Tennessee and American history to the wealth of primary sources available to them at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Come explore the Library & Archives’ brand new website dedicated to bringing Tennessee’s primary source materials directly to the classroom. Audience: Teachers of Tennessee and American historyKelly Wilkerson - Tennessee State Library and Archives

Teaching International StudentsInternational students offer a wonderful opportunity to expand the perspectives on the various material we teach. But frequently there are inherent challenges when trying to teach across cultures and languages. This session will examine some fundamental differences in how students from other countries (especially China and Korea) tend to view education, school, and teachers, and how we might best respond to where they are coming from so that we might most effectively teach these students.Audience: Everyone Marcus Murphy & Ross Shumate - McCallie School

The Technology Transition: Equipping Classroom Teachers to be Technology AdvocatesTeaching technology inside our schools is a great task! No longer does it mean students come to computer class, technology needs to live in every classroom! Join us in a discussion of effective strategies implemented in a Middle School learning environment, strategies of how to equip teachers with technology confidence and the lasting benefits on your students when your faculty is working as a team. Audience: EveryoneLibby Barker - Lipscomb Academy

The Top 11 Responsibilities of the School’s Board of TrusteesAn independent school’s Board of Trustees has a vital role to play in ensuring the school’s success and sustainability. However, sometimes there is confusion or misunderstanding as to what the board’s roles and responsibilities include. This session will explore the most important responsibilities a best practices board would utilize. Heads of School, board members, and anyone seeking a better understanding of how the board should work will benefit from this session.Audience: Heads of School, TrusteesBill Mott - Providence Christian Academy


Towards Building Multicultural Competence in our Tennessee Independent Schools

During this session, we will explore the idea of "Multicultural Competence" from the work of author Michael Byram. We will discuss in a group forum format the differences between possessing "knowledge, skills and attributes" of another culture and having "Multicultural Competence." Participants will leave with an understanding of what Multicultural Competence is as well as some tools and ideas that will help our Tennessee Independent Schools to deepen their understanding of this concept and weave it into the cultures of our schools. This session will be helpful for those who seek to actively engage the students and the faculty of their school in the challenges and benefits of multicultural competency and for those who seek discussion with colleagues from other schools regarding their efforts in working towards this goal. Audience: EveryoneChip Arnold - McCallie School

Using the Surface Pro for Video LecturesThis presentation will deliver instruction on how to develop video lectures for your classroom using the Surface Pro 3 or 4. It will show how to use the stylus, along with screen capturing software to create your own library of video lectures. It will also discuss options on programs used to develop the lectures as well as creating your own youtube channel to store all your videos. We will also discuss how we use the videos for our classrooms. (This is not meant for the flipped-classroom.)Audience: Those that are interested in using surface pro for video lecturesRob Lyons & Cary Hubbard - McCallie School

Using the Thinking Routines in the Context of Literacy to Impact Process and ComprehensionHow do we ensure that all students are reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening all day every day? A team at Lipscomb Academy Elementary School explored how to efficiently incorporate all aspects of literacy into short periods of time, packaging all aspects of it into Read-Think-Write routines that were easily applicable to presenting any kind of content. Attendees will learn several different thinking routines, apply them to lessons across content areas, and generate their own ideas for using the Read-Think-Write format that they can implement in their own classrooms.Audience: Lower School, ELAJonathan Sheahen, Marlene Butler & Suzanne Howell - Lipscomb Academy

We Like To Move ItGet ready to learn how yoga can be incorporated in your teaching and counseling. We will teach you how yoga can strengthen the academic, emotional and behavioral components of educating the well-rounded student. We will share our journey as educators of how we incorporate yoga in our daily instruction and why we love to 'move it' during the day. You will have plenty of take home ideas that are easy to learn. Are you ready to have some fun-and move?Audience: Early Childhood and Elementary Teachers, Elementary CounselorsNicole Smith & Denise Cooper - Bright School

Wide Awakeness: Aesthetic Education in the Age of Information OverloadSimultaneously pulled in multiple directions, and distracted by each, what can Art teach us about mindfulness and weathering the Information Age? Aesthetic Education provides sound practice for a systematic approach to encountering works of art, and more importantly serves as an example for approaching problems of meaning making in all parts of one’s life. This session defines Aesthetic Education, offers an example of how it can be implemented in the classroom, and argues for its vitality as part of a 21st Century curriculum.Audience: Arts EducatorsTodd Johnson - Webb School of Knoxville


"The World is Flat!" and Other Discoveries from Over Three Decades of Choral Rehearsals

The session will focus on the practical and philosophic lessons learned through teaching choruses from kindergarten through college. From why choirs flat, to understanding the root of behavioral issues and suggested solutions, the session topics are all "Aha!" moments of things not taught (or maybe heard) in the college classes preparing to teach music.Audience: Music teachers and Administrators who support the work of music teachersRobert King - Lipscomb Academy

Sessions in Block C (Monday 10:30 – 11:25)

2016 State of the Independent School Admission IndustryIt’s been three years since SSATB administered its first State of the Independent School Admission Industry report which signaled the need for admission leaders to claim their leadership position on campus. This presentation will compare how far (or not so far) the industry has advanced in three years touching on leadership advancements, admission office staffing/salaries, budgeting responsibilities, and new data on which schools are meeting their enrollment and net tuition revenue goals, marketing strategies, international recruitment, retention, and more.Audience: Heads of School, CFO's, Enrollment managersDave Taibl – The Enrollment Management Association

A Practical Approach to Evaluating and Implementing Educational Technologies in K-12 ClassroomsEducational administrators and classroom teachers are bombarded with new technologies that each promise to radically improve teaching and learning. Very few ever live up to their hype. Every now and then, however, some do show benefits so we use them and keep looking for more. This case-based session will provide a simple toolset that administrators and teachers can use to quickly evaluate new technologies and to develop and implement a plan for the classroom to evaluate a technology before making a significant investment. Two cases of familiar technologies will be presented as worked examples and two cutting-edge technologies will be demonstrated and used for guided practice.Audience: EveryoneAndy Van Schaack - Vanderbilt University

An Introduction to Threat Assessments in the Private K-12 Environment (Part 1 of 2)Introduction to the concept of threat assessments; identify the differences between risk, vulnerability and threat; discuss the history of threat assessments; discuss and identify current threats; identify risk mitigation concepts; discuss response options; identify the principles of threat assessment and management. Audience: Administrators, facilities personnel, and any staff member who may be involved in security-related activities/tasksMichael Mann - Brentwood Academy


The Blended Classroom - Combining the Best of Various Learning Situations

Blended classes prepare for the future, but they are not always easy to teach. How do I start a blended program at my school? Do I need a 1:1 program for blended to work? What should I use to organize my class? What do students do on days they are not in my room? What do they do when we meet face to face? Where can I find resources to help me plan and teach a blended course? Teachers with 5 years of experience teaching blended and online courses will answer these and many other questions. Audience: MS/US Teachers and AdministratorsKristi Reynolds & Donna Brasher - Teacher and Integration Specialist - Lipscomb Academy

Boys and Girls Learn DifferentlyBoys and girls learn differently! Focusing on the interests of both boys and girls can help both genders succeed in the classroom academically and socially. Strategies based on Michael Gurian's research of learning differences between boys and girls will be shared for achievement in the early elementary classroom. Audience: K-2 teachersRegina Ateca - Brainerd Baptist School

Bringing Cultural Art into the Classroom: Ukrainian Eggs/PysankyIn this 'hands-on' session we will explore the ancient Eastern European art of egg decorating known as Pysanky (Ukrainian Eggs) and the classroom applications for middle and high school art classes. It will provide you with a basic foundation, practical experience, lesson plans and handout materials through which to explore cultural art forms like Pysanky in your art program. You will be introduced to the history, symbols and tools used in creating a Pysanky egg, and will have the opportunity to design and create your own egg, so you may 'learn by doing' this beautiful traditional art form. By exposing your students to a variety of cultural art forms, they can learn new techniques, processes and mediums to help them develop their craft and appreciate the world around them.Audience: Visual art teachers, MS & US History & World Geography TeachersJanet Laws - Brentwood Academy

Capstone Projects & the Independent SchoolWriting papers and making presentations will be a regular activity for our students once they enter college. As a college-preparatory school, we have an obligation to prepare students for academic writing and presentation. The Webb School in Bell Buckle has a 145-year history of public performance curriculum with declamations and chapel talks. This curriculum was enhanced in 2012 to include the public presentation of the senior capstone paper. Come for an interactive workshop about the logistics and critical purpose of the Senior [capstone] project as a tool for college transition and college preparation in the independent school. Expanding the traditional "senior thesis" to include both background and primary research, we will offer tips about what works for our student population. Audience: Senior advisers, Librarians, Senior EnglishHannah Byrd Little - Webb School

Comprehension Strategies That Promote Critical Thinking - And You Can Use Them In Your Class Tomorrow! Teachers continue to explore multiple ways to promote students to think critically across content areas. With high expectations and packed schedules, teachers need to implement new techniques to challenge their students with comprehension strategies that can be used immediately without extra hours of preparation! Come experience the strategies yourself in this hands-on/speed dating format and be ready to use them in your classes tomorrow! Audience: Grades 4-10Lisa Bruce, Katie Batson, Lucinda Burris, Christine McNutt, Jane Thomas & Emily Reed - Lipscomb Academy and Dr. Jeanne Fain – Lipscomb University


Creating a Culture of Readers

Collaborating to Engage Readers: Learn how librarian and teacher partnerships can increase reading for pleasure by incorporating Book Clubs, Book Week Activities, Summer Reading Choices, and Author Visits/Author Skypes in your school. Natalie Lloyd, author of A Snicker of Magic and The Key to Extraordinary (Scholastic), from Chattanooga, TN will join our discussion.Audience: Librarians, Middle Grade Teachers 3-8Jennifer Winstead, Kim Finch, Lucie Calvin & Beth Landers - St. George's Independent SchoolNatalie Lloyd - Scholastic

Creating a Culture of Thinking Across the Curriculum (Part 1 of 2)Experts frequently cite the importance of engagement and critical thinking in student achievement, but what does it truly mean for students to be engaged? How do you develop your students as confident deep thinkers and problem solvers? This interactive session will focus on using Harvard Project Zero’s Thinking Routines to build a culture of thinking across the curriculum, while highlighting their benefits in literacy and mathematics. Participants will leave this session equipped with a variety of practical strategies, thinking routines, and lessons that are proven to increase critical thinking skills and student engagement in any subject area.Audience: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Coaches, AdministratorsJillian Hinesley & Kara Jones - New Hope Christian Academy

Creating a Mindful School Culture (Part 1 of 2)This workshop mixes presentation, discussion, and hands-on activities to prepare participants to guide schools toward a mindful school culture. Participants will break down the stereotypes of what it means to be a leader, and redefine leadership to include self-awareness, compassion and mindfulness. Attendees will participate in hands-on activities to aid in self-awareness and learn the importance of the pause between stimulus and reaction using mindfulness to facilitate mindful responses rather than knee-jerk reactions. Discussion will include a toolkit of activities from our leadership curriculum and strategic school process to take beyond the workshop and some of the steps necessary to infuse mindfulness into the school culture.Audience: Administrators, teachers, counselorsKaty Nair & Kathryn Jasper - Hutchison School

Creating Online Professional Development using iTunes UThis online Technology Professional Development course created in iTunes U is designed for teachers to enhance their skills and usage in the classroom using the Apple tools: MacBook Computer, iPad and Apple TV. The assignments can be useful and applied in their content area. Each lesson completed, teacher will receive an incentive award and Professional Development hours will be accumulated per assignment. Audience: Division Heads, Curriculum Leaders, Technology Directors/LeadersPiper Bell - Clarksville Academy

Dean of Students Roundtable (Part 1 of 2)This session will be a time when Dean of Students from K-12 schools can come together and discuss various topics from their day to day world. Possible topics include, Dress Code, Honor Code, Detention, Curriculum Plans, Social Media, Phones in Class, and so on.Audience: Dean of Students Rod Jones - Franklin Road Academy


Doing it Daily: A "Laboratory Method" for the Active Practice of the Humanities

Hutchison History and Social Studies department will briefly propose a "laboratory method" for engaging students in the actual practice of the discipline they are studying during classtime. We will present the basic principles and format of the method and its ramifications for curriculum planning, classroom activity, and formal and informal assessment; then provide case studies from different history and social studies classes. We'll then workshop the method by asking session attendees to model the activities and assessment methods we've proposed. Finally, we will allow time for feedback, suggestions, and brainstorming on versatile ways to apply the method broadly to a wide variety of classrooms.Audience: History, Geography, Social Studies, Humanities teacher,; IT curriculum specialists, Curriculum directorsRonnie Robinson - Hutchison School

Drug Testing in Schools and Colleges--Accountability Works! Drug and alcohol abuse is the #1 health problem in America. Statistics show that the 1st use of alcohol is at age 13 and marijuana is at 14. Thirty-one percent of 4th – 6th graders say they have received pressure to try marijuana.

Our students are falling victim to this destructive and often deadly behavior in frightening and unacceptable numbers. What is our responsibility? Can we leave it to others to protect our students? Is there anyone out there better equipped to influence our students? Are we winning the fight? Are we even in the fight? If we knew that a student was in trouble with substance abuse or addiction, would we not get him help? Of course we would! We now have a way to know! Who better to protect them than their parents and their school?Dr. Jeff Blancett - Christian Brothers High School, Mr. Hank Hopping, McCallie School, Dr. George B. Elder, Psychemedics Corporation

Engage, Practice, Assess Online - An Overview of MathXL and MyMathLab from a Teacher’s PerspectiveLooking for a way to avoid piles of ungraded mathematics homework, quickly create objective-based assignments and assess student performance? High school mathematics teachers who have been using Pearson’s web based MathXL® for school and MyMathLab® will demonstrate the many features of the product and share personal testimony of the ways this product has improved student performance in their classes.Audience: 9-12 grade Math/Science teachers Ann-Marie Sterling & Annette Hardcastle - Briarcrest Christian School

Facing History and Ourselves: Literacy Strategies that Foster Reading, Writing, Critical Thinking and Student Engagement (Part 1 of 2)This multi-media session introduces educators to Facing History content, resources and pedagogy. Facilitators model innovative tools that support reading for evidence, using film as informational text, critical analysis of primary sources, and fostering discussions that increase student engagement while enhancing formal writing assignments. Participants will experience four specific literacy strategies created by Facing History in partnership with Literacy Design Collaborative and leave with access to LDC modules and Facing History lessons, videos, and teaching strategies. Audience: MS/US TeachersLauren Boccia & Sarah Stuart - St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School


Flipping Out Over This!

“I am tired of running out of instruction time.” Maybe you have lost a day of instruction due to school programming? “Another snow day! How am I going to get back on track?” We ask ourselves these questions from time to time. The flipped lesson is a powerful tool that can help you answer these concerns. Simply adding a video tool to your already created lesson, you can regain class time, supply a review tool accessed anytime- anywhere, and provide absent students the pertinent information. We will introduce the main concepts and help you get started with web based, apps and software tools that any teacher can use. Please bring your internet ready computer, or iPad. After this session you will be flipping out over flipped lessons!Audience: All TeachersJon Day & Mr. Jere Margene - Christian Academy of Knoxville

From Illustration to CollageThis presentation will illustrate the different stages, procedures, and outcomes of an AP Studio Art 2D Design project centered on Fashion Design. The Power Point presentation will focus on the design progression of figure photographs and gesture sketches moving through embellishments, alterations, media changes, and ending with collage. I will also highlight the work of significant fashion illustrators to inspire stylistic ideas for the ink illustration stage of the project. The session will present new ideas for teaching the proportion and figure segments of a curriculum while exploring inventive techniques in non-conventional media. Those attending will be able to make a sample collage with dress pattern pieces and receive a lesson plan that can potentially produce up to 4 portfolio pieces.Audience: High School Visual Art InstructorsDebbie Dunn - Brentwood Academy

Full STEAM Ahead: Hosting a School Maker FaireThe Maker Movement is sweeping the country, and offers a perfect opportunity for fun and STEAM-related learning within a carnival atmosphere. School Maker Faires can readily take on the personality of the school, and bring your families and community together, but good organization and planning are crucial to no-sweat success.Audience: K-12 Educators or AdministratorsTara Rust - Davidson Academy

Hands-On Math Have you ever heard students ask, "Why do I need to learn math? How am I going to use this in real life?" This session is intended to demonstrate the connections between math concepts and their real-world use. We will discuss how to show the relationship between mathematical concepts and their real-world implementations through a variety of hands-on, interactive experiences. Some examples will include "Math Trails," Lego math activities, fraction stations in the classroom, and other engaging activities and centers.Audience: SK-3rd Grade TeachersChristi Morris - Christ Methodist Day School

Helping Students Re-enter the Classroom After a ConcussionConcussions are serious events. Transitioning back to the classroom is not always a quick process, nor should it be. What are the current methods for helping students and teachers understand the healing process physically and intellectually?Audience: teachers/coaches/administrators/support staffF. "Jersey" DeMarco - McCallie School


How To Get Some of Your Tax Dollars Back (or, Federally Funded PD Opportunities)

This session has been canceled.

Innovations - Making the "Genius Hour" a RealityLearn how FRA created an Innovations Class in their upper school. Only in its first year, Innovations combines media technology skills with the meaningful exploration of community and global issues and entrepreneurialism. With design thinking at its core, students take the lead in this predominantly project-based, passion-driven, experiential learning course. Learn why Innovations is critical for our students, how we started, our vision for the future, and lessons we’ve learned along the way.Audience: US and MS Teachers -particularly Integration & Media SpecialistsKelly Huddleston - Franklin Road Academy

Integrating Wilson Fundations Concepts into K/1 Reading Curriculum Utilizing Song and DancePrimary grade teachers will be exposed to multisensory methods of delivering Orton-Gillingham instruction. Integrating both Wilson Fundations and Ginny Dowd's Phonics Dance helps make sound/letter correspondence and phonics rules come to life.Audience: Kindergarten and first grade teachersBrian Meehan & Lauren Voss - Overbrook School

It's A Win!This session will focus on how to get kids to activate their long-term memory and fully engage in lessons. The session will illustrate the importance of frequent brain breaks, the use of mnemonic devices, and high level student engagement through positive classroom management techniques.Audience: MS teachersAmanda Hill & Desiree' Allen - St. George's Independent School

NeuroNet: Learning Through Movement The NeuroNet Classroom Enrichment programs provide daily practice in problem-solving, fluency and sustained effort, with an academic focus on reading decoding, math facts and handwriting. The attendees will participate in fun and interactive exercises to show the importance of fluency in the learning process. Fluency turns skills into tools for further learning. Fluency can be developed and measured in ways that support and enhance learning. Audience: Administrators and Teachers involved with PreK - ElementaryNancy Rowe & Meredith Ruffner - St. Peter's Episcopal School

Our "Shrinking" World - The Role of the Educator in Promoting Global CitizenshipThis session has been canceled.


Overcoming Robophobia (Part 1 of 2)

Interested in starting a Vex robotics program in your school but don't know where to start? In this session we will explore the advantages of using robotics both inside and outside the classroom to engage students in STEM fields. Participants will get hands on experience with the Vex Clawbot and basic programming.Audience: Teachers interested in doing robotics in the classroom or as a clubWendy Stallings & Chris Allen - Brentwood Academy

Personal Finance and Life Skills 101I will share my experience teaching personal finance and life skills. Topics will include getting the (marginally) perfect job, earning money, saving money, borrowing money, interest rates, financial pitfalls. Audience: teachers of US students, personal finance, economics, life skills instructorsSarah Makepeace (Skeeter) - McCallie School

Physics Through InquiryAre you sick of the typical method of teaching physics were you work problems on the board and students furiously note-take? In this session, we will discuss the teaching and learning of physics through inquiry while using relatively simple classroom technology. Students will have a greater appreciation for the interactions that occur in the world surrounding them, as well as causing more involvement and enjoyment for both the student and the teacher. Teachers let go of the wheel and let students take charge of their learning.Audience: Any teacher who has physics in their curriculumAdam Feldbruegge - Webb School

The Power of Picture Books!There is nothing quite like a picture book to capture a student's interest! These books touch on every possible subject, theme, and skill taught in a classroom. Teachers use picture books in the arts, sciences, social studies, and language arts. Counselors may also use them for instruction in problem solving, social skills, and manners. In this session, we will explore current and classic picture books that will inspire a roomful of learning and fun!Audience: K-5th Librarians, K-5th teachers, Enrichment teachers (Art, Music, Guidance, technology)Stacey Glover - Oak Hill School, Leslea Gaines – Ensworth School, & Sara Williams – Battle Ground Academy

Preparation of Advanced Placement: Learning to Think (Part 1 of 2)Aren’t you tired of being told you need to teach critical thinking? You already know you need to, but they never tell you HOW. In this session Jenna Fergus will aid teachers to 1) consider ways they make students think, 2) discuss student thinking through their subject area, 3) develop a present lesson plan into a CRIT plan encouraging students to use research and technology to spur more effective thinking. Everything begins with THINKING.Audience: Advanced Placement teachers or those who prepare students for AP. Also, visual arts teachersJenna Fergus - Briarcrest Christian School


See, Love, Serve: A Spiritual Formation Framework for Elementary School

In an effort to be intentional about shaping students' Christian faith, Lipscomb Academy Elementary School developed nine values to serve as a framework for how we think about the practice of forming students spiritually, and provide guidance as we teach, coach, and mentor students through this process. In this session we will guide you through this framework, give you practical examples of how we help young children walk out their faith using their eyes, hearts and hands, and share the overall impact this has had on our faculty. Audience: Elementary school teachers, administratorsJonathan Sheahen & Sarah Williamson - Lipscomb Academy

Student Research in the Classroom with JelliesThe case for classroom aquariums – students of all ages are intent to get their hands wet and take care of living animals. For the past 3 years, my students have cultured stinging, gelatinous, pulsing cnidarians and these simple early animals have generated curiosity in students and enticed them to get involved in science research. Culturing jellyfish in-house has served as a platform for enhanced student learning of diverse biological content and as well as other disciplines. Cnidarians, or any model organism, provide an opportunity spawn interest and to infuse student-driven research suitable for science fair projects in the classroom. Audience: Biology/Science TeachersKarah Nazor - McCallie School

Teach Any Subject Using Interactive NotebooksInteractive notebooks are a nondigital (although you could do an electronic one) way to organize information. Students create these notebooks as they progress through your course. Notebooks hit all the highlights of learning - color, processing, writing, DI, organization. Learn to make foldables and manipulatives; see some interactive notebook student examples. You will leave with some "make and takes" ready to use in your class Monday morning! Audience: EveryoneNancy Manikas - Webb School of Knoxville

Teaching Foreign Language in the Blended Learning EnvironmentExplanation of various aspects of creating and sharing content, and teaching in the blended learning environment. We will be discussing how to plan and organize content and activities, how to create, share and archive screencasts, and how both teachers and students can record and share audio files used in listening comprehension and speaking assessments.Audience: MS/US Foreign Language TeachersGrady Harbor & Richard Branyan - Christian Brothers High School

Teaching the Personal Narrative Essay for Competitions and College ApplicationsWe will work through the process of writing a powerfully worded personal narrative essay--the kind often required by essay contests and college or scholarship applications. I will begin by showing how examples of personal essays can help students see what makes a piece of writing engaging and powerful. I will then show how a series of tiered short writing assignments can allow students to develop one element of a successful essay at a time. In conjunction with this, we will examine a number of writing prompts required by college applications to see how to develop these tiered short assignments. I will then show how a series of revision exercises, including peer review, can encourage students to do more than running spell-check when they are asked to revise.Audience: MS/US Teachers, College CounselorsSara Baker - Christian Academy of Knoxville


Teaching Without the Book: Project Based Learing

Various project based learning assignments will be shared that force the student to think outside of the box and create new and exciting ways to learn challenging concepts and material. Audience: US Teachers 9-12Keith Wood & Jennifer McConnell - Christian Brothers High School

Technology and Project-Based Learning in the Language ClassroomsTechnology and project-based learning have changed the way we teach languages. There are many new ways to teach all four language skills - reading, writing, listening, and speaking - by using apps and websites like, Quick Time Player, Socrative, Audacity, Storyboard, Yabla, Veinte Mundos, News in Slow Spanish, Voice Thead, and Garage band; also by creating videos in class, doing debates, Mock Trials, Chat Rooms, Discussion groups, and other technology-based projects for truly engaging lessons. Audience: MS/US language teachersDr. Maria Carlone & Mrs. Elizabeth Resnick - Girls Preparatory School

"These are but Wild & Whirling Words." - How to Engage Students with Shakespeare's Language (Part 1 of 2)This session will equip teachers with some tools to engage students in the reading of Shakespeare. Teachers will be placed in the learning role as I model lessons for them that can be used in their classrooms. Teachers will also learn how performance enhances meaning and comprehension, and how it can function as close reading lessons. Activities will include choral readings of Shakespeare's famous lines from Hamlet with an emphasis on tone, performance of 2-line scenes, close reading lessons through the creation of prompt books, engaging in Shakespearean compliments as a warm-up activity, connections with the original printings of Shakespeare's plays, and how to implement performance in the classroom in an effective way. Audience: High School EnglishChasidy Burton - Lipscomb Academy

Tinkering & Exploring: Creating a Preschool STEM LabThis workshop will give you ideas for starting a tinkering lab for preschoolers. Why start a tinkering lab? Even our youngest students will benefit from this hands on, minds on experience and will help to address STEAM in the preschool. This workshop will also provide you with ideas to engage your parents in the process, how to set up mobile lab supplies and tons of resources to begin your journey!Audience: Early Childhood educators- teachers , administrators anyone involved in ECE curriculum developmentCynthia Burnett - Grace St. Luke's Episcopal School

Using DEATH'S ACRE to Teach the Skeletal System (Part 1 of 2)Did you know that you can figure out a person’s height, gender, age and race from their femur? If you want to learn how we can use the femur and many other bones from the human skeleton to determine the BIG FOUR join us in our analysis of articulated and disarticulated bones using DEATH'S ACRE by Dr. Bill Bass and other sources by Dr. Bass and others. There will be a drawing for a copy of DEATH’S ACRE at the end of the class!Audience: Anatomy and Physiology, Forensic Science and Biology teachers, Laura Kile - Webb School of Knoxville

Using Grade Level Curriculum to Create Musical PerformancesBy integrating classroom units of study with the music standards, teachers can create performances that highlight students' musical ability and reinforce learning that has taken place in the grade level classroom.Audience: K-5 Music Teachers (and possibly, K - 5 Classroom Teachers)Liz Britt - Webb School of Knoxville


Using Interactive Student Notebooks in the Language Arts Classroom

This session has been canceled.

Using Pear Deck to Assess ProgressPear Deck is an engaging, real-time assessment technology tool that energizes students to show what they know and participate in class discussions. Participants will learn how to use Pear Deck and see examples of how it is used in the classroom. It's quick. It's easy. It's worth your time to learn about it. Audience: EveryoneCatherine Greenslade - St. George's Independent School

Using Physical Education to Cross the Curriculum ThresholdCome see how to incorporate classroom's curriculum into Physical Education. You will learn how these techniques help to reinforce learning through physical exercise, while not sacrificing the P.E. agenda. Also, you will be presented material to substantiate the positive learning and behavior effects for physical activity in the classroom. We will demonstrate several “Brain Breaks” for any size classroom. Be ready to move and engage with the coaches. This class will keep you out of your seats!Audience: Classroom teachers/Special area teachers/Administrators who are looking for alternatives to channel kids energy in a productive manner for the classroomJeff McDaniel & Jan Connell - Bright School

VR - Simple and ExpensiveWould you like to delve into VR (Virtual Reality) with your students? Would they like to visit space, the ocean, roam with the dinosaurs, etc. Come try out an inexpensive way to have your students experience this resource. You can also try your hand at recording your own VR scenes.Audience: K-12Jo Ann Guidry - Webb School of Knoxville

Why Are All the Black Administrators Sitting Together in the Admin Team Meeting? (Part 1 of 2)Are your administrators of color experiencing “racial fatigue?” Does “stereotype threat” hinder your admin of color from speaking their truth or hinder you from hearing it? In this interactive workshop, we will explore the concepts of racial fatigue, stereotype threat, and leadership EQ in order to develop new tools and a framework for heads to more intentionally and mindfully govern their institutions.Audience: AdministratorsMichael Eatman & Angela Brown - The Pike School (Andover, Massachusetts)

Writing Through the Curriculum: How Small Practices Can Make Impactful ConnectionsIn the current education system, it is imperative that all educators see themselves as writing teachers. It is our charge to show students how all writing is impactful, whether in five pages or five sentences. Writing across disciplines is crucial, particularly in subjects in which writing is difficult to integrate, such as social studies, music, and science. Different modalities will be presented as we explore that writing does not need to be long to be powerful.Audience: LS/MS teachersKatelyn Seliskar & Emily Hopkins - St. Bernard Academy


Your Librarians Do What Exactly?

Do you REALLY know what to expect from YOUR library program? While every library program is unique to its school's mission, a thriving, vibrant library program will undoubtedly combine the best that academia, retail management, and business has to offer. Hear what this looks like, from collaborative design of authentic research projects to utilizing every personal interaction with patrons to creatively promote and market resources to incorporating business practices through marketing and communication strategies. You will come away with a greater understanding of how our school librarians impact the daily lives and needs of every constituent within our schools.Audience: Divison Heads, Heads of School, Faculty, LibrariansMary Buxton - University School of Nashville & Melissa Mallon -Vanderbilt University

Sessions in Block D (Monday 11:40 – 12:35)

The ABC's of Creating a Global Education PlanIn this session, we’ll explore low-cost, high-leverage ways for independent schools to create a global education program. We will explore areas such as curriculum (capstone and diplomas), teacher training, online collaboration, global community engagement, and local intercultural learning. We will look at two case studies of schools who have built integrated global education programs in a period of five years or less. Questions we will attempt to answer include: How can I create an integrated global education program with limited budget and staff resources? Of all the options, what are the one or two key initiatives my school should focus on to drive global learning? Audience: EveryoneRoss Wehner - World Leadership School

Activity/Super Workshop: Batik Painting on Silk, the Art of Textiles in South East AsiaThis workshop will develop the Principles and Elements of Art through batik. Batik is one of the "resist" processes for making designs on fabric, like Tie Dyeing technique but using wax on fabric to prevent dye from penetrating the cloth. Wax is applied to fabric, followed by dye. Students will design a silk scarf using wax and fabric dyes. The lesson will study the production of hand dyed fabric in South East Asia. One silk scarf is created using bee's wax and liquid dyes for fabric. This is a great workshop that has been well received by a wide variety of audiences. Students from grade school to college will be excited to work with this traditional media. This lesson plan has won numerous awards at Scholastic Arts Competitions, TAEA Middle Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibit, and locally sponsored art exhibitions. Audience: Museum Directors, Art Teachers Grades 6-12Barbara Airhart Gronefeld - St. Cecilia Academy


All Aboard the Cross Curricular Train

Have you ever wished that you could choreograph a dance that would draw on information from a novel in English? Do you attempt to immerse art into geography? Can students actually generate abstract products without constant guidance?If these are questions you ponder, join us on a journey to a destination where cross curricular, technology, and inquiry based learning from all disciplines intersect and convene for a common goal of best practice ideas for middle school students.Audience: Middle school classroom teachersSuzy McKenna, Beverly Blackwell, Meg Brock, Trish King, Kipton Tugman & Laurel Zahrobsky - Girls Preparatory School

American Dreaming: A Project Based AssessmentIn an effort to update a typical essay for my AP English Language and Composition class, I created a project-based video assessment that still incorporated readings -- nonfiction and fiction -- research, writing skills, argument, and synthesis of materials. I will walk you through what works we studied, how we approached the project, and show you some of the final videos. I'll also share reflections about what we all learned in the process. Audience: Humanities teachers (History and English), Upper School teachersDenise Croker - Harpeth Hall School

Augmented RealityWhat does it really mean to “augment” your reality? Schools are using mobile devices to interact with “targets” that superimpose computer-generated information into the real world, all of which enhance one’s perception of what is real. Classroom implications range from something as simple as helping kids identify letters to helping older students “manipulate” chemicals. Cutting edge stuff that will WOW you! Come take a peek at this cool, innovative tool.Audience: everyoneJohn Simi - Memphis University School

Beyond the Diorama: Project-Based Learning in the English ClassroomDo you struggle with integrating projects in the classroom that are worth your time and the time of your students? Do the projects you peruse on Pinterest seem only to skim the surface of the texts you read? Let’s get together and share projects that further student engagement and deepen learning. We encourage sharing if you have a project you already love!Audience: Upper School English TeachersHeidi Rubín de la Borbolla & Margaret Robertson - St. George's Independent School

Boost Learning & Engagement with Games in the Classroom“Level up” your classroom by incorporating games into your curriculum. Research indicates that game-based learning and gamification can have a significant impact on student achievement. Learn about the latest research in classroom gaming and take away tips from this interactive session.Audience: all teachers, librarians, administratorsMelissa Powers, Ginann Franklin & Danielle Powell - Currey Ingram Academy

Bridging the Gap Between Administrators and the School Counseling CenterWe will explore ways Administrators can work closely with School Counselors in their efforts to support the students’ needs and development. We will discuss ways to cultivate communication while maintaining the proper confidentiality among all parties. We believe it is this respectful collaboration that affords us the best opportunity to Audience: School Administrators, School Counselors, School Social WorkersJoel Coffman, Tim Chakwin & Will Honeycutt - McCallie School


BUILDing Number Sense Daily in the Classroom

We will explore what number sense is and how students can gain number sense through a program designed to encourage daily play with numbers. This program called BUILD entails: B-buddy games, U – using manipulatives, I- independent work, L-learning about numbers, D – do math with my teacher. I will show you how I challenge my students to critically think about their numbers by composing and decomposing them daily, representing and recognizing them in multiple ways, all while establishing many strong problem solving strategies.Audience: pk-4th grade, math coaches, data coachesAngelica Marsh & Rick West - Franklin Road Academy

Client-Centered & Solution-Focused: Creative Counseling Strategies that Promote Student Connection, Engagement, and Positive Outcomes This session will focus on a variety of strategies and techniques designed to foster a positive and transparent relationship between the school counselor and student. We will discuss how this relationship can be used to help students overcome a variety of challenges in a strategic and intentional way. Topics include: optimizing the office environment, "getting to know you" activities, and the use of manipulatives. Several resources will be provided to address goal planning, decision making, and other topics relevant to high school counseling. Audience: School CounselorsPamela Benton - Christian Academy of Knoxville

College Counseling RoundtableThis session is an opportunity for counselors who work with students in the college admissions process to discuss current issues in the profession. Topics will be solicited from those intending to participate. Audience: Professionals who counsel students in the college processAbbie Roberts - McCallie School

Creating a Culture of Thinking Across the Curriculum (Part 2 of 2)Experts frequently cite the importance of engagement and critical thinking in student achievement, but what does it truly mean for students to be engaged? How do you develop your students as confident deep thinkers and problem solvers? This interactive session will focus on using Harvard Project Zero’s Thinking Routines to build a culture of thinking across the curriculum, while highlighting their benefits in literacy and mathematics. Participants will leave this session equipped with a variety of practical strategies, thinking routines, and lessons that are proven to increase critical thinking skills and student engagement in any subject area.Audience: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Coaches, AdministratorsJillian Hinesley & Kara Jones - New Hope Christian Academy

Creating a Mindful School Culture (Part 2 of 2)This workshop mixes presentation, discussion, and hands-on activities to prepare participants to guide schools toward a mindful school culture. Participants will break down the stereotypes of what it means to be a leader, and redefine leadership to include self-awareness, compassion and mindfulness. Attendees will participate in hands-on activities to aid in self-awareness and learn the importance of the pause between stimulus and reaction using mindfulness to facilitate mindful responses rather than knee-jerk reactions. Discussion will include a toolkit of activities from our leadership curriculum and strategic school process to take beyond the workshop and some of the steps necessary to infuse mindfulness into the school culture. Audience: Administrators, teachers, counselorsKaty Nair & Kathryn Jasper - Hutchison School


Cross-Curricular Project Collaboration

Participants will receive ideas and strategies of how to collaboratively create cross-curricular projects. The organizational structure, successes and pitfalls, and various rubrics and assessments will be shared and discussed. Participants will brainstorm collaboration ideas that might work within their classroom or discipline.Audience: K - 8th grade classroom teachers or special area teachersLiz Britt, Kristie Atwood & JoAnn Guidry - Webb School of Knoxville

Dean of Students Roundtable (Part 2 of 2)This session will be a time when Dean of Students from K-12 schools can come together and discuss various topics from their day to day world. Possible topics include, Dress Code, Honor Code, Detention, Curriculum Plans, Social Media, Phones in Class, and so on.Audience: Dean of StudentsRod Jones - Franklin Road Academy

Design Thinking with Practical Applications and Speed Innovation Session (Part 1 of 2)In the first part of this workshop, participants will engage in a rapid design challenge to gain introductory experience with the design thinking process. In the second part of the workshop, facilitators will share experiences in using this process with middle and high school students in and out of the classroom. These experiences range from using the process in stand-alone classroom and community challenges to using parts of the process within national competitions such as the Lexus Eco-challenge and Ecybermission. Teacher experience with various assessment methods for this process will also be shared. While the facilitators will share personal experiences with middle and high school, elementary school examples will also be presented. Audience: Teachers (all levels), auxiliary programs personnel, administratorsKatye Couch & Kristi Bryson - Girls Preparatory School

Destination Imagination in Independent SchoolsDestination Imagination: A perfect solution for Independent School thinking!Franklin Road Academy has completed its third and most successful year of facilitating teams for Destination Imagination (DI) on our campus. Students are inspired and equipped to become the next generation of innovators and leaders as they prepare and compete in seven standards-based challenges. Student teams creatively use techniques in design thinking, engineering, and problem solving. Learn how your school can start a team(s). Just imagine the possibilities!Audience: Teachers, Administrators, Support StaffCarol Byrd & Diane Perry - Franklin Road Academy

Easy Steps to Starting a Full Time Summer Camp ProgramCamp Bruins began as a need for our 2 year-old - rising 6th graders during the summer months. Our camp is full of themed activities, enrichment classes, mini camps, weekly activities and special events such as field trips, bike days, summer library, themed parties and an end-of-summer carnival. See how our successful program started from scratch and became a template every summer, as well as an effective tool to increase our school's enrollment. Audience: after school care directors, summer camp directors, early childhood teachers, and early childhood directorsFaith Dixon & Beth Hudson - University School of Jackson


The F5 Project - Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Thinking

For the past three years, I have taught about entrepreneurship at a Chattanooga venture incubator (Lamp Post Group) and at McCallie School. The F5 Project uses five principles of entrepreneurship to explore the world of startups as well as personal skills like emotional intelligence, collaboration, and leadership. The session will describe the F5 curriculum and its impact on high school students. Audience: Humanities, Technology, Curriculum DesignChris Carpenter - McCallie School

Facing History and Ourselves: Literacy Strategies that Foster Reading, Writing, Critical Thinking and Student Engagement (Part 2 of 2)This multi-media session introduces educators to Facing History content, resources and pedagogy. Facilitators model innovative tools that support reading for evidence, using film as informational text, critical analysis of primary sources, and fostering discussions that increase student engagement while enhancing formal writing assignments. Participants will experience four specific literacy strategies created by Facing History in partnership with Literacy Design Collaborative and leave with access to LDC modules and Facing History lessons, videos, and teaching strategies. Audience: MS/US TeachersLauren Boccia & Sarah Stuart - St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School

How an Intentional Focus on Questioning Changed Our SchoolLipscomb Academy completed a two year study on comprehension that focused on critical questioning and the process completely changed the school culture. Find out how monthly professional development - along with classroom coaching - changed the culture of instruction and how test scores improved as a result. Participants will leave with tangible ways they can improve these areas in their own school.Audience: All levels - teachers and administratorsLisa Bruce - Lipscomb Academy & Dr. Jeanne Fain - Lipscomb University

I Flip, You FlipThe flipped classroom has transformed teaching and learning in our classes. We excited to share the benefits and opportunities the flipped classroom provides all types of learners. Students of the 21st century are able to learn anytime, anywhere. The goal of the flipped classroom is to introduce, or reinforce concepts at home by way of videos. In the classroom, students are able to use essential questions, problem solve, collaborate with fellow students and make application while the teacher is there to guide. Students are able to go deeper with comprehension and they are encouraged to take ownership of their learning.Audience: 5 - 12 TeachersSara Mitchell & Emily Reed - Lipscomb Academy

The Importance of Grit, Growth Mindset and Self-Control: An Exploration of Character LabThese skills are all very important, but how do we cultivate them in our students? During this session, we will explore the tools from Character Lab, a nonprofit on a mission to develop, disseminate, and support research-based approaches to character that enable kids to learn and flourish. Participants will leave with an understanding of the new Character Growth Card and how to improve self-control to achieve one's goals using the evidence-based WOOP method. This session will be helpful for anyone looking to actively implement and integrate these important skills into the culture of their school.Audience: Faculty, Administrators, School CounselorsCassie Peach - Currey Ingram Academy


Importance of Outdoor Experiential Learning

As screens and technology continue to soak up much of our attention, separating from them and connecting with an environment free from distraction and connecting with others in this environments becomes increasingly relevant and meaningful. Audience: teachers/adminJesse Teague & Jacob Altemus - McCallie School

Improve Comprehension Skills Using Google FormsCome join us for a hands on session on creating and implementing comprehension skills and practice using short stories and google forms. We will learn how to create these forms online, ready for you to take them back to your classroom and implement with stories you have to use for your students. This will be an interactive session, requiring you to use your laptop and a google account. Audience: SK-3rd Grade TeachersAmy Smythe & Kelly Stockel - Woodland Presbyterian School

Instruction and Assessment in Latin ClassesThis session will be a round table discussion of instruction and assessment in Latin. Specifically, I am interested in discussing Comprehensible Input/Modern Language methods in the Latin classroom (Do you use them? Do you think they're important? If so, in what way?) vs. more "traditional" instruction as well as assessment practices (What format(s) do you use for testing? Do you require students to memorize charts as charts or just to use grammar in practice?). As the presenter I will give a brief introduction to my interest/observations of this topic, but am more interested in hearing others' ideas and practices. Audience: Latin teachersKelly Northrup - Webb School

An Introduction to Threat Assessments in the Private K-12 Environment (Part 2 of 2)Introduction to the concept of threat assessments; identify the differences between risk, vulnerability and threat; discuss the history of threat assessments; discuss and identify current threats; identify risk mitigation concepts; discuss response options; identify the principles of threat assessment and management. Audience: Administrators, facilities personnel, and any staff member who may be involved in security-related activities/tasksMichael Mann - Brentwood Academy

Leadership is an Action, Not a Position: Teacher and Student Leadership This session has been canceled.

Lipscomb Academy's IGNITE Program: Helping Students Choose Career PathsOur school began the IGNITE program 5 years ago to better utilize our local University and community resources. 10th-12th grade students who are interested in various career paths such as Health Science, Leadership and Public Service, Business or STEM sign up for these 1- year programs. Students participate in 1-2 learning activities a month outside of normal school hours as their busy schedule allows. Find out how to begin a similar program at your school.Audience: Administrators and Teachers interested in organizing a similar programKristi Reynolds - Lipscomb Academy


Making Science and Social Studies Come Alive In Your Classroom

Learn to plan interactive science and social studies lessons that will engage and enrich. By weaving novels, field trips, special projects, and the innovation lab into our classroom we keep our students actively engaged throughout the year. Audience: Upper Elementary Social Studies and ScienceAnne Goldberg & Carrie Carpenter - St. George's Independent School

Many Models of MakingWant to utilize your school makerspace but not sure how? Looking for ways to connect design thinking and making to your classroom curriculum? Attend this session to see a variety of cross-curricular projects completed in Harpeth Hall’s Design Den. Learn about the collaboration and implementation process, view product examples, and discuss ideas for your own classroom.Audience: 5th-12th Tech Integrators, TeachersCaitlin McLemore - Harpeth Hall School

Movie Making in MathAssessing your students' math mastery can be achieved without necessarily using a worksheet. Come see how students in 4th grade make short 1-3 minute videos to explain their understanding of math concepts. Participants will see the good, the bad, and the ugly examples and learn how to assess understanding from videos. Rubrics and instructions for the students will be handed out so that teachers can head back to their own classes ready to use this alternate method of assessment.Audience: math teachersCatherine Greenslade - St. George's Independent School

Neurofeedback: Non-Medicinal ADHD TreatmentNeurofeedback provides hope for students with ADHD who struggle with their medication. Many studies have shown neurofeedback without medication improves academic performance and leads to a reduction of ADHD symptoms. The technology-based training teaches self-regulation of brain function by rewarding the brain for proper focus and functioning. Session will include live demonstrations and practical, results-based examples of how students can benefit from this technology.Audience: Administration, Student Health, Counseling, Learning SupportTrey Tucker - McCallie School

Ocean Robotics in a Landlocked STEM ClassroomTwo co-teachers will provide lessons learned, handouts and generate group discussions about developing middle school students’ problem-solving, communication and presentation skills. The presenters will provide attendees an overview of how technology was used, in a 1:1 iPad school, to connect their 8th grade STEM classes to ocean engineering and exploration. The landlocked Tennessee students used multiple forms of technology to facilitate the engineering design process. They connected with real-world ocean explorers and with one of their teachers who was on board the Ocean Exploration Trust’s exploration ship, the EV Nautilus. In this project, students designed, built and tested underwater robots while communicating with the Nautilus expedition, that was using full-sized ROVs to explore the Pacific Ocean. In addition, science club students built and tracked an ocean current drifter (equipped with a GPS transmitter) that was deployed by the Nautilus in the Pacific Ocean so that students could monitor ocean currents.Audience: STEM teachersMiller Callaway & Kirk Beckendorf - Webb School of Knoxville


Overcoming Robophobia (Part 2 of 2)

Interested in starting a Vex robotics program in your school but don't know where to start? In this session we will explore the advantages of using robotics both inside and outside the classroom to engage students in STEM fields. Participants will get hands on experience with the Vex Clawbot and basic programming.Audience: Teachers interested in doing robotics in the classroom or as a clubWendy Stallings & Chris Allen - Brentwood Academy

Pinterest and Instagram in World Language Class Planning and Prep (Others Too) I will present on different ways to use social media, specifically Pinterest and Instagram, in planning foreign language classes. The focus is on using them to find authentic resources and valuable lesson resources and not have to go all over your town, or spend a lot of money. Also, I will be showing how Pinterest and Instagram can help expand your classroom outside of the four walls. Audience: Foreign Language teachers Robyn Kerstiens - Webb School

Preparation of Advanced Placement: Learning to Think (Part 2 of 2)Aren’t you tired of being told you need to teach critical thinking? You already know you need to, but they never tell you HOW. In this session Jenna Fergus will aid teachers to 1) consider ways they make students think, 2) discuss student thinking through their subject area, 3) develop a present lesson plan into a CRIT plan encouraging students to use research and technology to spur more effective thinking. Everything begins with THINKING.Audience: Advanced Placement teachers or those who prepare students for AP. Also, visual arts teachersJenna Fergus - Briarcrest Christian School

Risky BusinessMiddle School boys will take risks. But obviously we want to help focus them to taking healthy risks. How do we as educators do that? This session will focus on how to use our academic, fine arts, and athletic programs to help our students grow. Taking healthy risks influences how middle school boys excel academically, socially, and spiritually. Teachers and mentors play a vital role in modeling this for their students. We will explore how this looks, and we will look at both positive and negative "consequences" of risk taking.Audience: MS teachers and administratorsTammy Barber - McCallie School

S.T.R.E.A.M. (Students Taking Responsible Environmentally Active Measures)Spearheaded by Lipscomb Academy's (LA) primary level Green Team, STREAM is an on-going campus stream restoration project. Young students developed partnerships with Lipscomb University mentors, LA upper School students, Nashville officials and State/National Environmental Services to change a 'dead' stream into a vibrantly restored ecosystem. A simple question from a young student: "Why don't we have tadpoles in the creek anymore?" began an investigation and restoration project. Join us to learn how to conduct scientific inquiry with students of all ages, engage community volunteers, and tap funding resources.Audience: any grade level, people with interest in school and community service partnerships and/or environmental educationBecky Collins & Ginger Reasonover - Lipscomb Academy

Starting a 1:1 iPad ProgramThis session has been canceled.


STEM in an Asian Tiger: A Fulbrighter’s Experience in Singapore

This session will explore the value of the Fulbright Distinguished Award Program for teachers. Specifically, it will examine Singapore’s STEM initiatives, cultural insights and how teachers can become “globally competent.” It will also explore examples of best practice while contrasting the differing reform efforts going on in Singapore and the US. Audience: US STEM, World/Global Studies TeachersMichael Lowry - McCallie School

Successes & Challenges: Student Leadership and Service in the Early Years of High SchoolParticipants will exchange concepts and goals involving the selection of leadership positions, styles and types of leadership, experiential learning in groups with defined purposes, and the development of goals for service-oriented groups. Further exchanges will include how to measure successes of these concepts and goals.Audience: Teachers and administrators who work with groups and students involved in leadership developmentLuther Killian & Bart Wallin - McCallie School

Teaching History Through Biography Baylor University Professor Sarah-Jane Murray contends that humans are physiologically hardwired for story. Thus, teaching history through biographies taps into an innate human desire to hear stories while simultaneously communicating the historical material at the center of our subjects. Participants will engage in an activity that tethers primary documents and discussion to a biographical passage. This method increases engagement with content and offers a narratival context of material easily forgotten outside of story. Audience: 6-12th History Teachers Jared LaCroix - University School of Nashville

Teaching Math Concepts Through Creating ArtThis session will guide elementary teachers in how to use the artistic process to help students discover mathematical concepts. Learn how using a shared language between art and math will benefit your students' ability to visualize vocabulary. You will receive lesson plans and get to participate in a sample project. Audience: Elementary Homeroom Teachers, Art Teachers, Math TeachersCharles Bopp & Beth Landers - St. George's Indepedent School

Teaching Spelling: One Grade Level's Journey from Spelling Tests to Spelling MasteryWe are 4th grade teachers on a journey that started to help our students have success in spelling beyond memorizing the words for the Friday test. We’ve gone from a rules based workbook, to Words Their Way for Derivational Relations. Students now have two weeks to study the etymology, meaning, and how 24 different words are used in writing. Our results have been quite amazing, and we’d love to share them with you.Audience: 3rd-5th grade teachersSarah Williamson & Beth Lafferty - Lipscomb Academy


Teaching the Writing Process for Academic Essays

I will walk through the process of teaching essay writing from generating ideas through the final draft. The image of writing as part of a long, evolving conversation about a topic, as so famously expressed in Burke’s parlor analogy, serves as a basis for this session. The session will explore pre-writing activities involving reading what others have written on a topic and then encouraging students to develop their own ideas through free-writing, listing, creating concept maps, and/or outlining. I will then show how the drafting process can develop through tiered assignments leading to a complex final paper, ways students can respond productively to each others’ writings, and at ways the revision process can improve the final draft.Audience: US Teachers, & possibly MS TeachersSara Baker - Christian Academy of Knoxville

"That's So Cool!" Joyful Learning in Computer ScienceThink all computer science classrooms are dark & dull? Not so! Come see how the vibrant and easy-to-learn Scratch programming language sparks enthusiasm and joy! Scratch is a tool of engagement that empowers students to be creative and confident while learning to code. Computer science effortlessly imparts the 21st century skills of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Let us show you how!Audience: LS/MS Teachers, Administrators, Tech IntegrationKaren Richards & Jill Pieritz - Girls Preparatory School

"These are but Wild & Whirling Words." - How to Engage Students with Shakespeare's Language (Part 2 of 2)This session will equip teachers with some tools to engage students in the reading of Shakespeare. Teachers will be placed in the learning role as I model lessons for them that can be used in their classrooms. Teachers will also learn how performance enhances meaning and comprehension, and how it can function as close reading lessons. Activities will include choral readings of Shakespeare's famous lines from Hamlet with an emphasis on tone, performance of 2-line scenes, close reading lessons through the creation of prompt books, engaging in Shakespearean compliments as a warm-up activity, connections with the original printings of Shakespeare's plays, and how to implement performance in the classroom in an effective way. Audience: High School EnglishChasidy Burton - Lipscomb Academy

Twelve Virtues of a Good TeacherSt. John Baptist De La Salle, Founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, proposed to his Brothers twelve virtues they should possess in order to be good teachers and brothers of their students. These virtues possessed and practiced by teachers reap a good harvest for teachers to be effective mentors for their students. Audience: US teachersBrother Joel William McGraw, F.S.C. - Christian Brothers High School

Using Blended Learning to Prepare Students for Undergraduate Level Coursework in Sciences A large problem professors face in undergraduate science education is how to make students realize that for every one hour they sit in lecture they should spend at least 2 hours preparing outside of lecture. Many students are underprepared for the pace, depth and rigor experienced in undergraduate level science courses. Many institutions are looking to SPOCs (small personalized online courses) as a way to force students to take charge of their education. In this session we will specifically discuss the use of a SPOC in AP Biology that was designed in conjunction with UMASS-Boston and MIT as a method to motivate students to prepare for smart conversations in the classroom. Audience: Advanced or AP level science teachersElizabeth Forrester - Baylor School


Using Doceri - An Interactive Whiteboard App

As educators in a world of technology we look for options that will allow our teachers and students to interact with lessons. Nearpod allows you to develop multimedia presentations that your students can interact with during your lesson. Doceri is an iPad app that allows its user to control their desktop remotely, annotate over documents or websites, and record video lessons. Come learn how Doceri and Nearpod can change how you use technology in the classroom.Audience: MS/US teachers of all subject areas interested in DoceriNicole Scott & Cammie Bennett - Briarcrest Christian School

Using DEATH'S ACRE to Teach the Skeletal System (Part 2 of 2)Did you know that you can figure out a person’s height, gender, age and race from their femur? If you want to learn how we can use the femur and many other bones from the human skeleton to determine the BIG FOUR join us in our analysis of articulated and disarticulated bones using DEATH'S ACRE by Dr. Bill Bass and other sources by Dr. Bass and others. There will be a drawing for a copy of DEATH’S ACRE at the end of the class!Audience: Anatomy and Physiology, Forensic Science and Biology teachers,Laura Kile - Webb School of Knoxville

Who’d You Tell Today? Goal Setting to Maximize Your Communications and Marketing EffortsYour school has the same number of communications channels as much larger organizations. How do you manage all of this with far fewer resources? We will look at how we can use goal setting to maximize our limited resources in this hands-on workshop. Together, we will map out objectives, find the right online tools for the task at hand, assess progress, and consider timelines for adjusting your activities. We may even learn to say an occasional “no”. Sherri Bergman, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School & Lorrie Jackson, Finalsite

Why Are All the Black Administrators Sitting Together in the Admin Team Meeting? (Part 2 of 2)Are your administrators of color experiencing “racial fatigue?” Does “stereotype threat” hinder your admin of color from speaking their truth or hinder you from hearing it? In this interactive workshop, we will explore the concepts of racial fatigue, stereotype threat, and leadership EQ in order to develop new tools and a framework for heads to more intentionally and mindfully govern their institutions.Audience: AdministratorsMichael Eatman & Angela Brown - The Pike School (Andover, Massachusetts)

Sessions in Block E (Monday 1:20 – 2:15)

A 2-Day Seminar in Community Problem SolvingDuring this interactive session, we will share how we developed a 2-day Community Problem Solving seminar. The seminar included a workshop with an overview of non-profits in our community where students gained insight about start up, fundraising and community involvement. A modification of the design thinking method was used to guide students through the process of identifying a community problem, brainstorming solutions and choosing the best one to pitch to a panel of adults. Audience: Upper School teachers & administrators, club sponsors, community service advisers and sponsorsRenee Romero & Tracie Durham - Girls Preparatory School


ALEKS: Online Math Courses for All Levels

I will be sharing how Webb School of Knoxville uses the ALEKS online program in the middle schoolas a supplemental math resource, as well as in the upper school for students traveling abroad or those students who need to fill in skill gaps. The discussion will also include ways to use the program in lower school grades. We will be opening up the discussion to others who might have had success with similar programs.Audience: mathematics teachers, all grade levels Jami Sawyers & Jamie Shores - Webb School of Knoxville

Alter Digital Images in Photoshop Easily! (Part 1 of 2)Is the idea of using Photoshop overwhelming? Yes, there are a lot of tools, layers and windows, but once you master a few of the basics, it's easy! In this session you will learn how to manipulate a photograph, using a sense of humor! Audience: Art Teachers, any levelJudy Condon - Baylor School

Authentic Advising: Best Practices in High School Advisory ProgramsThis session will explore best practices in high school advisory programs, including ideas for curriculum, student support, and parent communication. The first part of the session will review how McCallie's advisory program has evolved over the past ten years, and then attendees will participate in an open discussion of what goals they have for advising, what works in their school programs, and what they'd like to see improved upon.Audience: Administrators and Faculty who oversee or participate in high school student Advisory programsHank Hopping - McCallie School

Auto Mechanics in a Private SchoolAn independent school education, while excellent, often lacks hands-on, real world activities. Come learn how a small group of students and I began an Auto Mechanics Club which has become one of the most popular on campus. The presentation will last about 20-25 minutes, and will include information on the skills, tools, and facilities needed, suggestions on how to generate support, and a discussion of the benefits of "vocational" education and how it might be incorporated in independent schools. The balance of the session will be used for questions, discussion, and if time permits, an outdoor demonstration of our electric vehicle.Audience: Teachers and Administrators with an interest in hands-on educationRobin Fazio - Baylor School

Background Music to Academic Rigor: Life Beyond the PerformanceResearch shows the positive effects of music on the brain, academics and whole child development. Using this research music should not be “background noise” in your school culture or events; rather music is a core subject for all students. Student musicians should be viewed as developing learners rather than entertainers. During this hands on experience participants will be taken through a greatly condensed version of beginning instrumental music instruction; from assembly and position to executing a quality sound from musical notation. Audience: All School Faculty and AdministrationBethany Cantrell & Julie L. Stout - Webb School of Knoxville

Blended Experience Levels in Entry-level Language CoursesThis session has been canceled.


Build a Working Electric Motor for Less Than $5 (Part 1 of 2)

During this double session, science teachers (and other interested participants) will build, from scratch, and take home a working DC electric motor using commonly available hardware and hand tools. A great project for any physical science class, this activity fits well into a unit involving electricity, magnetism, and energy transformations. A lot of fun and a satisfying experience for all involved.Audience: All interested, especially science teachersBryant Haynes - Girls Preparatory School

Comprehensive Career Counseling (Part 1 of 2)A 9-12 career curriculum will be presented, including: A four steps to career readiness model, a complete career assessment, a career research template, a career day event schedule, an English career exploration essay assignment, and a website with career resources. Attendees will be challenged to evaluate their paradigm of career exploration. Rather than simply asking students "what will you be?" they will be encouraged to explore ways they might also ask the questions: "Who will you be?" and "Why?" Examples and resources will be provided, and time will be given for exploration of the model and assessments. This information will be presented by a panel of educators: a school counselor, an English teacher, the Capstone coordinator, and the high school librarian, in order to demonstration how collaboration is being used to integrate career counseling into the high school curriculum. Audience: School Counselors &/or Career TeachersPamela Benton, Jim Blackwell, Diana Holden & Colin Roberts - Christian Academy of Knoxville

Co-Piloting with Parents: How to Use Technology to Effectively Engage with ParentsThis session has been canceled.

CreaTech: Using Practical Technology to Elicit Student CreativityActivities and techniques used to enrich core curricula and engage multiple learning styles will be shared. Resources to be used include Google Drive & Docs, MS Office suite, and iPad with GarageBand and MadPad apps. Participants are encouraged to bring these or other devices and tools for possible collaborative exploration.Audience: Elementary & Middle School core, Music, Art, TechnologyCarey Shinbaum - St. Nicholas School

Design Star for Lower School MathHelp bring out the architects, engineers and chefs in your upper elementary math students with relevant projectbased assessments that complement and enrich your math curriculum. Utilize wikis, blogs, apps, and ipads to engage your classroom in higher order thinking skills and collaboration. If you’re ready to get out of the workbooks this session is for you! Sample classroom projects and resources will be shared.Audience: Lower School MathDiane Kemp - Bright School


Design Thinking with Practical Applications and Speed Innovation Session (Part 1 of 2)

In the first part of this workshop, participants will engage in a rapid design challenge to gain introductory experience with the design thinking process. In the second part of the workshop, facilitators will share experiences in using this process with middle and high school students in and out of the classroom. These experiences range from using the process in stand-alone classroom and community challenges to using parts of the process within national competitions such as the Lexus Eco-challenge and Ecybermission. Teacher experience with various assessment methods for this process will also be shared. While the facilitators will share personal experiences with middle and high school, elementary school examples will also be presented. Audience: Teachers (all levels), auxiliary programs personnel, administratorsKatye Couch & Kristi Bryson - Girls Preparatory School

Dialectic Over Rhetoric: Resources and Strategies for Effective Dialogue on Big Questions (Part 1 of 2)Building on 1) ideas concerning the purpose and importance of vibrant dialogue found in thinkers such as J. S. Mill and Walter Lippmann and 2) collaborative problem-solving practices exemplified in such programs as Model United Nations, we will examine and test ways of engaging students (and each other) in conversations that make us genuine partners who cooperate in a search for better shared understanding of problems and greater collective wisdom about how to deal with them. We will spend the majority of our time sampling these strategies and building a collection of resources to help us facilitate student engagement. Audience: MS & US social studies and humanities teachersEd Snow - McCallie School

Education on the Go: Using Podcasts in ClassPodcasts are an increasingly popular way of capturing an audience and conveying detailed information, so what role can they serve in school? This session will explore the merits and pitfalls of assigning podcasts for homework (instead of assigning pages to be read) or listening to podcasts in class. Topics to consider will be length of time spent listening, integrating podcasts into discussions and papers, basing individual or collaborative projects on podcasts, methods of taking notes on podcasts, and teacher follow-up to those notes. Audience: HS Teachers (especially Humanities)Randy Odle - McCallie School

ELL: Developing and Assessing Oral Language ProficiencyAdvancing students’ abilities to speak in English requires classroom instruction that ensures extended discourse, creative use of language, and narration. This session will share lesson plans and contextualized communicative activities that help students move towards higher levels of English language proficiency. Spoken performance assessment criteria on four analytical sub-scales will be used for performance indicators of acquisition.Audience: ELL and Foreign Language Teacher,; Teachers from any subject area who have ELL students in their classroomsDaiva Berzinskas - Webb School

Feedback and Collaboration Using Google Docs and Google SlidesThe session will explore the possibilities for editing documents and providing feedback, both teacher and peer-to-peer, using Google docs. Educators will also learn how to create a collaborative Google slide presentation that may be used to meet a myriad of learning objectives. Audience: MS/US TeachersAnna Terry & Angel Neal - Briarcrest Christian School


From Disconnected to Integrated in Two Years

This session will cover everything from the reasons that led us (Girls Preparatory School) to look for an integrated solution, the steps that we took to find one and through the actual implementation timeline. Training, budgeting, buy-in and networking will also be discussed. Find out what we did right, what we would do differently and where we go from here.Audience: Administrators, ITMelanie Northcutt & Daniel Millbank - Girls Preparatory School

From Flipped to MasteryTwo chemistry teachers will share their experience enhancing the flipped model by incorporating a mastery element. They will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a flipped classroom and how aspects of mastery address some of the flipped shortcomings. The various platforms used in these classes will be discussed in detail. Audience: Teachers and curriculum specialistsPerry Key & Mary Loveless - Baylor School

Fun With a Purpose-Games That Rock!!Every game we play has a purpose. Today we will discuss and be involved in a variety of activities that will be fun but also will provide students the opportunity to work on skills like team building, cooperation, and positive competition. Favorites include speed stacks, cooperative games, pedometers, tag games, cardio and fitness. Join us to fill your back pocket with fun with a purpose. Great for physical education and classroom teachers, too!Audience: Physical Education and Classroom TeachersDodie Montgomery & Steve Owen - Webb School of Knoxville

Gifted Teacher RoundtableCome and share how the gifted program at your school works. Let's brainstorm and discuss units, lessons, scheduling, and testing. Bring copies of your favorite units, activities, and assessments to share with other gifted teachers.Audience: Gifted TeachersKathy DeFreece - Christ Methodist Day School

The Holocaust: A Student-Centered ApproachYou are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness. What would you do? That is the set-up of Simon Wiesenthal’s nonfiction work The Sunflower, about his experience as a prisoner in the Holocaust. This question of forgiveness also served as a through-line for our unit on the Holocaust, along with other themes such as prejudice, moral courage, the will to live, and the need to bear witness to history. We will show you how we altered our traditional literature unit to incorporate fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and film, ultimately asking the students to show their learning in a project-based, authentic assessment, with key elements to give students voice along the way. In this session you will see how we set up our project, incorporated a variety of activities, view student samples of the final project, and also think about how to do the same in your own classes. While we used this approach in an English class, it could also be applied to other humanities classes because the underlying strategies are universal. Audience: MS/US teachersDenise Croker, Emy Noel & Scottie Girgus - Harpeth Hall School


How to Design a Makerspace that Matters

In February 2016, McCallie opened its version of a Makerspace, the Turner Center for Technology, Engineering and Design (The TED). During this session, I will discuss how to design a makerspace and why it is important that it successfully integrates into the curriculum, community and school culture.Audience: School Administrators, Technology Integrators, Lower, Middle and Upper School teachersBrad Droke - McCallie School

Integrating Technology, Research, and Literacy in ScienceAccording to researchers, 65% of future jobs have not been invented yet. How can teachers prepare students now for the future that awaits them? One approach involves creating a student-centered classroom, where the teacher uses both technology and project-based learning to teach students important skills. In this session, teachers will learn to create a class environment where students learn communication, collaboration, problem solving, research, writing, and presentation skills, while also learning important content standards in science. After the session, teachers will understand how to implement strategies such as the flipped classroom and project based learning in a way that will prepare students for the future.Audience: Middle School ScienceEmily Reed - Lipscomb Academy

Laugh, Learn, Grow- Using Improv-Based Skills For Class and for Life!See how using improv-based techniques can help you think quickly on your feet, communicate much better, work as a team and have more fun! For your classroom AND your faculty! Its listening, collaboration, being flexible, and having trust—folded in an envelope of play!Audience: Teachers of all grades, faculty, and staff looking for communication skills & fun- for themselves and for studentsBarry McAlister - Montgomery Bell Academy

LEGO Mindstorms in the ClassroomThis hands on basics to LEGO Mindstorms will offer participants a chance to program LEGO Robots to perform a simple task. They will be introduced to how some of the lessons integrate math and argumentative writing into the classroom setting.Audience: K-8 STEM TeachersMiller Callaway - Webb School of Knoxville

Let's Talk: Reliable Ways to Foster Class DiscussionIn this session teachers will be introduced to a variety of methods for developing students' discussion skills and fostering insightful discussion that includes all types of learners. We will start by learning about and practicing some small group discussion techniques and then move on to methods that work in a large group setting. This is an interactive session where teachers will have a chance to practice some of the methods and share their own experiences and problems with cultivating discussion in their own classes. Audience: MS/US teachersCindy Meyer & Rachel Tinker - Webb School of Knoxville


Literacy Collaboration Roundtable: Grades 3-5

Calling all 3rd-5th grade literacy teachers... Do you often find yourself wondering how you can effectively grow readers and writers in the amount of time that you have in your literacy block(s)? Do you enjoy sharing ideas with other educators to learn new and exciting ways to engage readers and writers? Do you strive to step outside of your own classroom to collaborate with other teachers who share your passion for literacy? If you answered "yes" to one (or all) of these questions, you will love this session! The Literacy Collaboration Roundtable will encourage every participant to share ideas about how to make our literacy blocks engaging and exciting for our young readers and authors. Come with an open mind, an eagerness to grow ideas off of other educators, and a excitement for sharing what works great (and not so great) within your classroom community. Audience: Grades 3-5 Literacy teachersRandi Schlosser - St. Peter's Episcopal School

Making the Grade: Homework Help and the Tennessee Electronic LibraryWhen it comes to class projects, Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) resources provide tools to help students select a topic, start working, and stay on track. This session will highlight homework help resources available through TEL, the state of Tennessee’s free virtual library. You’ll walk away with quick tips for navigating resources and using document tools to help students quickly collect and manage relevant content.Audience: Teachers, librarians, instructional & technology coachesErin Loree - Tennessee State Library & Archives

Math is Everywhere!Students often think that math is only found in math class. This presentation will enlighten you and your students as to the everyday places we find math. Participants will discuss the various kinds of math found in the photos contained in the presentation. I will explain how the idea came about, share my experiences finding examples of math, and how it has changed my students' perceptions. Often, a student will come to class excited to show me a picture he or she has that contains math. Excite your students, too. Attendees will receive their own copy of the presentation. Audience: math teachersCatherine Greenslade - St. George's Independent School

Poetry 180- A Poem A Day Keeps the Students at BayPoetry 180, a program created by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, offers the opportunity to start each class with a poem. Collins has hand-picked 180 poems that he thinks are ideal for inclusion in the High School curriculum. He believed that poetry needed to play a larger role in the classroom, and having started each of my classes with a poem for the last four years, I wholeheartedly agree. Poetry 180 offers routine, an easy way to begin class with critical thinking, and a tangible and accessible inclusion of poetry in a curriculum. In this session, we'll talk about the ways that poetry has been taught in the past, and how a more open-ended and informal turn to poetry actually results in greater appreciation and understanding, and a functional foundation for the study of poetry in more focused course like AP American Literature. Audience: US English TeachersSam Currin Jr. - McCallie School

Pringle Dust or Not?Come experience a hands-on STEM activity from start to finish with our "Ship the Chip" challenge and bring back the resources and ideas you will need for your students. As manufacturing engineers, your team will plan and build the smallest and lightest package for a single Pringles potato chip to travel in the US Post Service. Will your chip survive the journey?Audience: MS STEM TeachersKimberly Moon - Christ Methodist Day School


Proven Inquiry-Based Space Science Labs and Activities (Part 1 of 2)

Workshop will cover classroom tested, inquiry-rich activities designed to help students learn the processes of science through the study of Earth and Space Science with explicit alignment to the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards. Activities will be based on the NASA Galileo Educator Network Professional Development Institute and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific training curriculum.Audience: US Astronomy/ Earth-Space Science TeachersNeal Dexter & Michael Lowry - McCallie School

Roar, Quack, and Yee-HawThematic units are one of the best ways to teach early childhood students. Making learning fun and purposeful is the goal, even though the students think they are just "playing." Our PK teachers will share some of their favorite units and discuss how they layer phonics, writing, and math skills into each theme. Each unit ends with an amazing culmination project that you will want to try in your classroom tomorrow!Audience: Early Childhood TeachersMolly Griesbeck & Katie Holliday - Christ Methodist Day School

See. Think. Wonder: From Sticky Notes to Social Media (Part 1 of 2)This double session will immerse participants in a learning environment where curiosity drives instruction. We will model routines and protocols to encourage students to generate, record, and organize their questions and learn how to get answers. If you are looking for ways to meld student interest with content and skill goals, this is the workshop for you. Tools will range from chart paper and sticky notes to Google Docs, Padlet, Twitter, Facebook, and Storify. Session 1: Collecting questions. Thinking routines to develop and categorize student questions within a unit of study. Audience: MS teachers, History & Geography Teachers, Upper Elementary School teachersTrish King & Elizabeth Resnick - Girls Preparatory School

Sports, Snacks, Redheads, and StatisticsBig Data might be all around us, but students often fail to recognize it. We will use rather small data students can eat, cheer, and observe while learning how probability and stats provides real insight into the world around us. Activities are intended for use not only in AP Statistics but also in all levels of Upper School math. Handouts provided. Bring a calculator; come hungry. Audience: Those interested adding statistics to upper school math courses and AP Stats teachersMarti Wayland & John Lecce - Baylor School

STEAM'n It Up - Art and Science IntertwinedCome learn all about 2 parts of our STEAM initiative at Christ Methodist Day School! Two of our Encore Teachers will share how they have collaborated and intertwined our Art and Science programs to extend students' learning. From dancing skeletons to reclaimed wood Memphis scenes to color/shadow life-size cardboard cutouts - you will leave inspired and ready to STEAM up your school!Audience: Special Subject TeachersMary Cheairs & Shelley Bolton - Christ Methodist Day School


Student-Centered Benefits of Differentiated Assessment and Self-Selected Weighting

This session will review the benefits of allowing students to self-select their own assessment methods and weighting, as well as how to structure rubrics and grading to ensure measurable mastery of content or skill. This method; ideally suited for the English, literature, history, or Humanities classroom, results in student-centered assessment that allows autonomy and creative expression. Audience: English & Humanities Jamie Roszel - St. George's Independent School

Stump the Chumps: Using the Power of Imitation (& Competition) to Improve Student WritingHow do student writers—or any writers, for that matter—develop a compelling voice, a winning style? Are good writers anointed by the spirit of Homer or can students be taught to write well. . . through imitation? This session will begin with a 10 minute introduction to the genesis of and rationale for a fun and interactive writing exercise euphemistically called "Stump the Chumps." In practice, students are given numerous examples of the writing of a particular author (say, Annie Dillard) and, over the course of a unit that could range from a few days to a few weeks, learn what stylistic elements the prose writer (or poet ) uses to achieve her purpose; once this has been accomplished, the class plays the game: each student writer is given an identical, short passage and then asked to invent what comes next by imitating then writer’s style so closely as to convince the other participants (i.e., their competitors) that his work is the genuine article. Participants in this workshop will engage in a truncated version of the game.Audience: Teachers of writing, language arts, and literatureJonas Holdeman - Memphis University School

Success Skill of GritGrit is being tenacious, hanging in, and not giving up, but it is more than that. Grit is an approach to learning and an attitude about life. Hoerr will cover the steps in teaching grit and the role that educators can play.Audience: TeachersTom Hoerr - New City School (St. Louis, Missouri)

Throw Away Your Markers & Educate ElectronicallyKids love technology. They probably understand it better than we do. Using programs like Doceri, Kahoot, and Educreation we will look at different ways to reach them and give them resources to use outside the classroom. Audience: All TeachersChandler Ganick - Brentwood Academy

Travel and Study Abroad: Minimizing Risk, Maximizing Reward (Part 1 of 2)A look at how risky international travel and study is and how to reduce risk. A discussion on maximizing the benefits for our students: What is the reward for the traveler? Is it worth it? And how do we maximize these benefits? Audience: EveryoneJesse Teague & Will Honeycutt - McCallie School

Understanding Boys (Part 1 of 2)Join several McCallie administrators and leaders as they share research, experiences, best practices and ideas that McCallie has learned in its 110 years of developing boys. Boys today are often adrift, disengaged, and under-performing. What can parents, educators, and youth leaders do to challenge and inspire them and help them grow into men of honor, integrity and excellence?Audience: All teachers, 6-12Kenny Sholl, Lee Burns & Troy Kemp - McCallie School


Utilizing AP Resources in a Standard College Prep Classroom: Teaching Authentic Historical Skills

Reading comprehension, critical thinking and analysis, and effective writing are more important today than ever. How can we stretch students' potential in these areas and encourage student autonomy? What strategies do we use to make sure ALL students are being challenged and not just those taking AP and other advanced courses? Come see how the concepts and materials from an AP course can be used to enrich the standard classroom. Audience: Middle & High School TeachersJesse Savage & Douglas Williams - Lipscomb Academy

Visible Thinking and Culture Philanthropy in the Second Language Classroom (Part 1 of 2)Participants will learn how to implement Visible Thinking (Ron Ritchhart's Thinking Routines) to promote conversation in the second language classroom. Topics addressed include the advantages of using Visible Thinking to empower students to participate in the target language, implementing Design Thinking to integrate culture in the immersion process, and executing hands-on culture philanthropy projects (using culture to connect the classroom to the community and motivate giving). The session will end with an open discussion about multicultural empathy.Audience: Second language teachers and teachers of multicultural empathyVeronica V. Herrera - McCallie. School

Visual Journaling: Helping Your Students Find their Artist VoiceSometimes our students do not know what they want to say in their artwork. After elementary school, students sometimes think that all art created in school should look the same or be created the same way. Through the process of visual journaling, students can explore their inner voice and find that creativity needed to make meaningful artworks. This process combines the art of mixed media collage along with journaling to allow students to explore their thoughts and emotions and find out what they want to tell the world with their artwork.Audience: MS/US Art TeachersAmie Pike - St. Cecilia Academy

World History from the Ground Up - Eight Years InBaylor School created their own two-year World History curriculum in 2007 and proceeded to implement the program over the next two years. This required course for freshmen and sophomores seeks to emphasize the major themes in the past which have helped create our current world while focusing on a student-centered curriculum and the learning of key skills rather than being just another survey course. Along the way, Baylor became an iPad school, the World History teachers decided against getting an e-texbook and have continued to write our own curriculum on a shared wiki. Four Baylor school faculty members will discuss the benefits and challenges of this program, the philosophy which continues to drive it, as well as the strategies implemented to maximize student learning. Audience: US teachers interested in a non-textbook, self-created curriculum Carin Cushman, David Conwell, Bob Olson & Jack Batt - Baylor School


Worry Warts, Scaredy Cats, and Chicken Littles, Oh My! Understanding and Intervening in Anxiety in Children

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health diagnoses in children. This presentation will discuss symptoms of various anxiety disorders according to the DSM-5. It will cover how to distinguish between “normal” anxiety and characteristics in need of intervention. Strategies that teachers and other school personnel can use to help children cope with and overcome anxiety will be presented. These will include behavioral and cognitive techniques such as relaxation exercises and thought restructuring. Audience: K-12 teachers, school counselors, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapistsAllison Bender & Jennifer Seay - The Diagnostic Center at Currey Ingram Academy

Yoga For KidsThis session has been canceled.

Sessions in Block F (Monday 2:30 – 3:25)

The 5 Best School Growth Strategies for 2016-2017School Growth has had the privilege of serving 750 schools in 45 states and 13 countries over the past 3 years. Through this interaction with so many different types of schools, including private, charter, and public, we are able to cross-pollinate the best practices and strategies of the most successful schools. This presentation will describe what's working and what's not working as schools seek to grow enrollment, funding, and overall quality. We will share the strategies that are producing the greatest return on investment, helping you accelerate through the learning curves to achieve your goals. Learning organizations have a distinct advantage, and we'll show you how some schools are leveraging this competitive edge to change the trajectory of their students and their communities.Audience: Administrators & Board MembersTammy Mozingo - SchoolGrowth Alter Digital Images in Photoshop Easily! (Part 2 of 2)Is the idea of using Photoshop overwhelming? Yes, there are a lot of tools, layers and windows, but once you master a few of the basics, it's easy! In this session you will learn how to manipulate a photograph, using a sense of humor! Audience: Art Teachers, any levelJudy Condon - Baylor School

Anchor Down with Anchor Texts!Having a good, supportive anchor text for a reading lesson is key! But trying to select this type of text is not always easy. In this session I will share with you many anchor texts I have found and use when teaching reading comprehension strategies. I will share how I use them and some tips for how I find them. We will look at how these texts connect to reading as well as writing. Also, we will spend some time looking at different samples of texts and brainstorming what strategies we can anchor to them. Get ready to anchor down your reading lessons with effective anchor texts! Audience: Lower School and Middle School Teachers-Language Arts emphasis Catherine Groves - St. Paul Christian Academy


Build a Working Electric Motor for Less Than $5 (Part 2 of 2)

During this double session, science teachers (and other interested participants) will build, from scratch, and take home a working DC electric motor using commonly available hardware and hand tools. A great project for any physical science class, this activity fits well into a unit involving electricity, magnetism, and energy transformations. A lot of fun and a satisfying experience for all involved. Audience: All interested, especially science teachersBryant Haynes - Girls Preparatory School

‘But I Can't FIND Anything!' - A New Approach to the Research PaperHistory classes have always provided students with a time-honored way of learning how to search for information on their own: the research paper. But in today's world of information literacy and changing library holdings, how can we keep this tradition meaningful and truly helpful as a learning tool for our students? Come join a World History teacher and a librarian as they explain the "new, revamped" research paper. Carin Cushman had been assigning her sophomore World History classes a current events research paper for the last four years. Students would pick a topic in the news and trace it back to its origins in the Cold War or earlier. This year she asked Baylor School's new head librarian, Julie King, for help revamping her research project to incorporate the newest search engines and databases. Come see what worked and what didn't! Audience: Upper School, History & Humanities Teachers, LibrariansCarin Cushman & Julie King - Baylor School

Celebrating and Teaching Citizenship - A Cross-Curricular ProjectCMDS 4th Grade Teachers use citizenship as a basis for a cross-curricular project each year. The project ends with a special breakfast that the students host and serve to local citizens they invite to honor. Writing, social studies, art, math, public speaking, and life skills are taught through this unit. It's a wonderful way for students to combine academic and real-world skills.Audience: 3rd-6th Grade TeachersRuth Thompson & Laura Grimes - Christ Methodist Day School

Classroom GymIs your PE teacher absent? Is the gym closed for the week? Or do you just have ten minutes to let the students burn off some steam? This class will teach you some fun, active games to play in your own classroom. It will also teach you some activities which create a sense of community and allow for fun without chaos. Don't worry about being roped into playing either; if you'd rather observe and take notes from the side, "active" participation in this session is purely voluntary. Come fill your tool bag with some great ideas! Audience: PE Teachers, Classroom Teachers - K-7Steve Owen & Dodie Montgomery - Webb School of Knoxville

Comprehensive Career Counseling (Part 2 of 2)A 9-12 career curriculum will be presented, including: A four steps to career readiness model, a complete career assessment, a career research template, a career day event schedule, an English career exploration essay assignment, and a website with career resources. Attendees will be challenged to evaluate their paradigm of career exploration. Rather than simply asking students, "What will you be?" they will be encouraged to explore ways they might also ask the questions: "Who will you be?" and "Why?" Examples and resources will be provided, and time will be given for exploration of the model and assessments. This information will be presented by a panel of educators: a school counselor, an English teacher, the Capstone coordinator, and the high school librarian, in order to demonstrate how collaboration is being used to integrate career counseling into the high school curriculum. Audience: School Counselors &/or Career TeachersPamela Benton, Jim Blackwell, Diana Holden & Colin Roberts - Christian Academy of Knoxville


Continuing the Conversation About the A in STEAM

To fully engage both sides of the student brain, Art and Math/Science faculty at Baylor School have created a unique afterschool STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) activity. Students learn basic engineering and design concepts, using small projects and simulation, and the activity culminates in the student designing a product to make Baylor campus a better place. Some examples include tornado shelters, learning management systems, and a virtual campus tour for international boarding students.Audience: Anyone involved in STEM or Digital Media ArtsDr. Vincent Betro & Heath Montgomery - Baylor School

Creating Outdoor Play and Learning Environments with Nature in MindWould you like to gain ideas about how to create a sensory-rich outdoor play and learning space intended to engage children with nature? This session offers a headmasters’ vision of bringing nature and gardening to students along with the design and product expertise of a play space designer and manufacturer. This session will describe case studies, resources and best practices for designing, sourcing, and maintaining a naturalized play space. The session will feature the Pre-K and Kindergarten playground on The Bright School campus in Chattanooga, TN. We will also offer the opportunity for a tour of the space if your schedule allows. Join us to learn how to create a naturalized play space and learn how to create a nationally recognized site on your campus.Audience: Elementary and early childhood teachers, administrators, capital planners and designersO. James Morgan – Bright School & Lindsay Richardson - PlayCore

Creative Writing in the 1st and 2nd Grade ClassroomsWe will share with you the strategies and resources we have implemented in our Creative Writing curriculum. Audience: 1st and 2nd grade teachersKatie McCorkle & Stephanie Marshall - St. Nicholas School

Dialectic Over Rhetoric: Resources and Strategies for Effective Dialogue on Big Questions (Part 2 of 2)Building on (a) ideas concerning the purpose and importance of vibrant dialogue found in thinkers such as J. S. Mill and Walter Lippmann and (b) collaborative problem-solving practices exemplified in such programs as Model United Nations, we will examine and test ways of engaging students (and each other) in conversations that make us genuine partners who cooperate in a search for better shared understanding of problems and greater collective wisdom about how to deal with them. We will spend the majority of our time sampling these strategies and building a collection of resources to help us facilitate student engagement. Audience: MS & US social studies and humanities teachersEd Snow - McCallie School

The Emperor’s New Clothes? Laptops, tablets, podcasts, multitasking, social media x 10, e-texts, smartphones… Countless dollars and hours devoted to implementing emerging technology: to what end? To what degree are we providing effective learning strategies vs. providing new distractions? In our striving to be innovative have we unwittingly become the sheeple marketing arm for the software/hardware industry? What does valid research offer on the effects of technology on educational outcomes? Where is the balance point? Come join the discussion.Audience: EveryoneKeith Sanders & Andrea Becksvoort - Girls Preparatory School


Enjoying Poetry Through Written Discussion

Students are increasingly reliant on the internet to help guide their responses to literature. Without online resources to supply or confirm their ideas, some students are anxious about voicing their opinions, especially about poetry. This presentation will model a classroom strategy that lessens this anxiety and deepens students’ thinking by moving discussion onto the page. This non-verbal but highly participatory exercise enables a rich discussion of poetry and increases students’ confidence in their own expression. Audience: MS/US English TeachersCatherine Ingalls - Girls Preparatory School

Growing School Gardens: Reflections on 14 years of ExperienceTwo instructors from different schools will discuss their experiences initiating and maintaining school gardens. In Baylor School's organic garden students cultivate over 30 varieties of vegetables and fruits. Students participate throughout the year, working in it after school, doing building projects, and in a summer internship program. St. Peter's has a raised bed organic garden which is used in conjunction with the school's pre-K-5 curriculum as a weekly class, and students have the opportunity to cook the food they grow. The presenters will also discuss biological and organic growing techniques, tools, and land area needed, and how to gain support for such programs.Audience: Teachers and administrators interested in gardening programs and/or experiential learningRobin A. Fazio - Baylor School & María E. Vives-Rodríguez - St. Peter's Episcopal School

How to Address the Challenges Boys Face as They Move from Middle to High SchoolWe will talk about the challenges boys face as they transition from middle to high school, as well as some strategies to help address those challenges. From academic & social to personal & spiritual challenges, boys want and need guidance as they enter a new stage in their lives. Audience: Freshmen teachers, curriculum designers, dorm advisorsBart Wallin & Jim Daughdrill - McCallie School

Implementation and Challenges of a Spanish Immersion Program in Your SchoolResearch shows that the earlier children are exposed to a second language the better the acquisition and retention of the language is as an adult. At St. Peter’s School we have implemented a Spanish Immersion program starting in the 3 year old preschool class, moving to a full Kindergarten classroom in 2016-1017. The benefits and results have been outstanding, and the challenges have been present but overcome. Some of the results speak for themselves, as we will show some video clips of parents, teachers, and students. The challenges include staffing issues, resources for the classrooms, and classroom management differences. We will talk about how to overcome some of the challenges and explain to administrators and teachers the difference between a Spanish class to a Spanish Immersion program.Audience: Anyone interested in dual immersion education Monica Griffin & Claudia Pickett - St. Peter's Episcopal School

Implementation of a Robotics & Engineering CourseThere is no shortage of cool stuff to teach MS students. The trick is how to fit it into the school day. We will relay how we eventually developed a trimester course in Robotics & Engineering (STEM emphasis) for each grade (6-8) and how we fit it into our schedule. Our hope is that other educators will join us in a brainstorming session on the implementation of new courses/programs. Audience: MS educatorsDavid Nelson & Miller Callaway - Webb School of Knoxville


IT Academic Technology - A Work-In-Progress

Historically, McCallie has looked to its IT department for academic technology suggestions and support. With the addition of an academic technologist, the technical academic decision making and support processes have changed. This presentation describes these changes to this point, including the benefits and struggles we've come across along the way.Audience: IT and Academic Technology StaffRobert Wilson & Brad Droke - McCallie School

Learning Specialist Roundtable Gather with other TAIS Learning Specialists to build your professional network and hear what other schools are doing in the area(s) of student support. Bring your questions, big ideas, something that is working well, a problem you want the group to help you solve, etc. This discussion is always lively and fun! Audience: Learning Specialist that serve grades 6th-12th Support Services Department - Girls Preparatory School

Make Math StickWhat do duct tape, mathematics, and restless students have in common? Come see how minimal set-up time, basic materials and student movement have helped me get my students to internalize concepts in mathematics. Use these ideas as a formative assessment or just as a way to have your students “do” the math physically. Either way, movement makes math stick!Audience: Math teachers - grades 6-10Kimberley Myers - Girls Preparatory School

Managing Apple Computers and Mobile Devices Using the Casper SuiteThis session has been canceled.

Marketing & Admissions for Small SchoolsThis session will look at current admission practices and trends and will present ideas of best practices for anyone involved in the admission process and is geared for schools with smaller admission offices. Participants will be encouraged to share one issue/problem for discussion and brainstorming and will also be asked to share an idea or practice that their school does well. heads of school, admission directors, marketing personnel of smaller schools with smaller admission officesSean Corcoran - Brainerd Baptist School

May the Apps be with You, Learning the Force of the iPadWhere do we start with a 1:1 classroom? We will cover five, free apps that can be used across your curriculum. Transistioning to a 1:1 will be a cinch with these apps! If you are looking to start a 1:1, or if you need new ideas for your integration, this session is for you. We will explore using each of the five apps in several ways and across your curriculum. Audience: Upper elementary/MS teachers who are 1:1 or will be going to a 1:1Sandra Welshan & Amanda Day - Christian Academy of Knoxville

Music, Language, and the BrainMusic and language share an amazing amount of overlap in neural processing and structural activity in the brain. We will explore current research and see how current musical education in the United States may be poorly structured and how musical training impacts literacy and language learning in younger children. We will explore the cognitive universals shared in musical training and language development and look for ways music can enhance the development of phonological awareness and literacy skills in young students. Audience: Interested teachers and administrators; Language and music teachers; Early childhood specialistsMichael Ake - McCallie School


Preventing Student Use: Alcohol & Drug Comprehensive Orevention Planning

Preventing risk and ensuring student health is exceptionally valuable to school communities. An alcohol and other drug education course, assembly, set of rules, counselor, or a parent meeting at school is just one piece of this critical puzzle. A comprehensive prevention plan as the overall blueprint for maintaining a healthy school community is what is needed to create truly measurable gains in student health and wellness across lower, middle and upper school environments. It is a school’s climate – the sum total of values, attitudes, rules, policies, relationships, events, activities, and priorities – that establish the health of a school community. In this session, FCD will guide attendees through the construction and implementation of FCD’s research based comprehensive prevention planning model, offering clear and effective strategies to prevent student substance abuse. Stephanie Kootsikas Voyles - FCD

Problem-Based Learning in Algebra 1, Geometry, and BeyondProblem-based learning can be a great way to learn mathematics. The Webb School has adopted PBL in its Algebra 1 and Geometry courses over the past two school years, using problem sets from Phillips Exeter Academy and Deerfield Academy. We are expanding PBL to Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus classes this year. Most math classes at Webb are now entirely student-led, discussion based classes. We will discuss the daily routine in our classroom, problem sets used, teacher involvement and expectations in the classroom, challenges with student/parent acceptance, and other topics. Audience: Math teachers, Algebra 1 and higherTeddy Schaffer & Jeff Mitchell - Webb SchoolProject Design for Hands-On LearningCreating and developing a hands-on project to demonstrate learning is often challenging. In this session, project design techniques used in the visual arts will be applied to problem solving and development of a project based learning experience for your curriculum.Audience: Visual arts instructors and teachers interested in the development of hands-on project based learningSuzanne Mortimer - The McCallie School

Proven Inquiry-Based Space Science Labs and Activities (Part 2 of 2)Workshop will cover classroom tested, inquiry-rich activities designed to help students learn the processes of science through the study of Earth and Space Science with explicit alignment to the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards. Activities will be based on the NASA Galileo Educator Network Professional Development Institute and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific training curriculum.Audience: US Astronomy/ Earth-Space Science TeachersNeal Dexter & Michael Lowry - McCallie School

Searching Beyond the Standard Essay for Knowledge and Application in Literature CoursesSharing stories from my background of teaching in both public and private settings (as well as co-ed and single-sex), I seek to offer some specific examples of projects/assignments I have done (to varying levels of success) with my literature courses. These examples include handwritten letter projects, art, music, and other connections to particular literary texts/themes. I would also like for this to be an interactive session with feedback from the members of the audience.Audience: Open to all, but it would be most relevant to Upper School English teachers (& applicable to grades 6-8)Adam Tolar - McCallie School


See. Think. Wonder: From Sticky Notes to Social Media (Part 2 of 2)

This double session will immerse participants in a learning environment where curiosity drives instruction. We will model routines and protocols to encourage students to generate, record, and organize their questions and learn how to get answers. If you are looking for ways to meld student interest with content and skill goals, this is the workshop for you. Tools will range from chart paper and sticky notes to Google Docs, Padlet, Twitter, Facebook, and Storify. Session 2: Finding answers. Strategies to find the best sources for answers. Some questions are easily answered using the textbook, an atlas, or a simple Internet search, but others like “What is it like to live on an island?” or “How do you celebrate your favorite holiday?” are better answered by natives who can speak from experience.Audience: MS teachers, History & Geography Teachers, Upper Elementary School teachersTrish King & Elizabeth Resnick - Girls Preparatory School

Strategies for Growing Young ReadersYou are a reader. It’s part of the reason you became a teacher, but do your students share in that love for the written word? In this workshop we will consider various methods to cultivate a lifelong love of reading. We will discuss the value of classic novels as well as explore popular fiction and non-fiction texts as a way to draw readers in. Not only will we share successful instructional practices, we will also invite participants to share strategies they have found most useful. Audience: Humanities Teachers/LibrariansLouise Cook, Margaret Granbery, Rebecca Burnette - McCallie School

Success Skill of DiversityDiversity is understanding that the differences among us should be recognized, appreciated, and embraced. This attitude acknowledges our history of differences while empowering every person to succeed and enabling us to come together in a caring, respectful, and productive way. Hoerr will offer specific strategies and ideas to pursue diversity. Audience: AdministratorsTom Hoerr – New City School (St. Louis, Missouri)

Teacher Bliss: Setting the Tone for Success Through MindfulnessIn our fast pace, data driven era, mindfulness is a valuable commodity. As educators, we can intentionally incorporate practical methods and strategies to promote a creative and invigorating learning atmosphere. In this collaborative session, we will experiment with a spectrum of sensory activities to revitalize the body, mind, and spirit, while practicing exercises which engage the whole brain. We will address different styles and techniques appropriate for elementary, middle, and upper grade levels.Audience: K-12 Teachers and Administrators Noelle Coleman - Bright SchoolTrey Tucker & David Cook - McCallie School

Teaching Beyond the Test: Research Projects, AP U.S. History, and National History DayIs it possible to prepare students for the rigorous APUSH test while also developing research and analytical skills that move beyond the DBQ and the other parts of the national exam? Is it possible to find time to allow students to explore bigger, more focused projects, to delve into detailed historiographies and archival collections, and to produce a well-done final product? The session leader will share how he flipped his classroom, streamlined the APUSH course, and used the National History Day contest guidelines to shepherd students through the creation of original projects over the course of the junior year. Audience: AP humanities TeachersDuke Richey - McCallie School


Tech High Five

Are your students great at creating projects and adding the content needed--yet they aren't visually appealing? This class will give you the frame work to instruct your students on creating quality work. Our students are growing up in a digital society, we need to give them the skills for digital design at a young age. Audience: K-12Sarah Warren - Christian Academy of Knoxville

Tiny Computers Create Big IdeasSession will show how incorporating inexpensive Single Board Computers (SBC) like Arduino and Raspberry Pi into your curriculum can result in big returns in terms of creating interest in Electronics, Programming and Maker Spaces. These low cost computers allow students to take a hands-on approach to Computer Science and can inspire "non-techies" to explore engineering, coding and creativity. Audience: STEM and STEAM teachers, upper elementary to 12 grade and MakersRaymond Pryor - Webb School

Travel and Study Abroad: Minimizing Risk, Maximizing Reward (Part 2 of 2)A look at how risky international travel and study is and how to reduce risk. A discussion on maximizing the benefits for our students: What is the reward for the traveler? Is it worth it? And how do we maximize these benefits? Audience: EveryoneJesse Teague & Will Honeycutt - McCallie School

Understanding Boys (Part 2 of 2)Join several McCallie administrators and leaders as they share research, experiences, best practices and ideas that McCallie has learned in its 110 years of developing boys. Boys today are often adrift, disengaged, and under-performing. What can parents, educators, and youth leaders do to challenge and inspire them and help them grow into men of honor, integrity and excellence?Audience: All teachers, 6-12Kenny Sholl, Lee Burns & Troy Kemp - McCallie School

Using a Class Website for Student Expression and CollaborationThis session will focus on the merits and trials of creating a class website that students may contribute to, edit and review. Learn from my successes and failures in trying to incorporate websites as a fresh venue for student writing, accountability, collaboration and publishing.Audience: Any teacher looking for an alternative venue for student writing and research projectsKeith Chapin - McCallie School

Using Ecoterrariums to Study Plant Growth and Soil PropertiesIn this session we will learn how to study plant growth and soil properties in the lab using easy to construct ecoterrariums. We will build an ecoterrarium, with one lucky attendee getting to take it home, and discuss the different variables that can be modified and studied using this system. Ecoterrariums are perfect for studying the effect of earthworms and other soil critters on plant growth, and how these organisms affect the soil. Ecoterrariums are easy and inexpensive to build, costing approximately $4 each for materials and the soil test kit, thus allowing for considerable replication. We will examine data collected in past years and see how the students can use technology to monitor the system. The session will include a drawing for a Rapitest soil test kit ($20 value).Audience: MS/US science teachersGary Schott - Harpeth Hall School


Visible Thinking and Culture Philanthropy in the Second Language Classroom (Part 2 of 2)

Participants will learn how to implement Visible Thinking (Ron Ritchhart's Thinking Routines) to promote conversation in the second language classroom. Topics addressed include the advantages of using Visible Thinking to empower students to participate in the target language, implementing Design Thinking to integrate culture in the immersion process, and executing hands-on culture philanthropy projects (using culture to connect the classroom to the community and motivate giving). The session will end with an open discussion about multicultural empathy.Audience: Second language teachers and teachers of multicultural empathyVeronica V. Herrera - McCallie School

"Write this Down " - Working with Students to Create Science and Math JournalsWant to help students remember what you have taught? Want them to take ownership of their notes? Science and math interactive notebooks can be a great way to introduce new material, engage students in your lessons, and provide them with their own personal means of review. There's a reason interactive journals are all over Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers! We would love to introduce you to them if you haven't already taken the plunge or hear about how you are using journals in your classroom. We are a small step above novices, but we would love to answer questions, pool resources with other teachers, and get you excited about using journals in the elementary classroom. Audience: Elementary science and math teachersDeb Gruner & Jessica Robinson - Brainerd Baptist School

web viewlearning to think (part 1 of 2) aren’t you ... two instructors from different schools...

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