Introducing BATDC Teacher Networks!

The Collaborative is exited to introduce a new feature this spring for passionate educators: your very own BATDC online professional learning communities. If you have an idea for starting a professional learning community, we would love to hear it. The Collaborative anticipates supporting 5-10 new communities in the first year.

What are we looking for in community moderators?

We are looking for people who are passionate about some aspect of teaching and learning, and excited to help others connect around those ideas and practices. Moderators don’t need a PhD, but they need to demonstrate that they know their chosen field well, whether its differentiation, design thinking, or diversity, and can help others become familiar with it. Some of the moderators will have led programs for BATDC already, including one-time workshops or ongoing programs.

How will the Collaborative help me lead a community?

We will get the technology piece up and running for you, so you don’t have to worry about monthly fees and other techy bits. We will also promote your site on the BATDC website , at our live events and workshops, and through social media. We may also provide quarterly check-ins with all the moderators, to make sure you have what you need. This should leave you free to focus on supporting your growing community, and feeding them with resources, questions, and inspiration.

What does the Collaborative want from these online communities?

The Collaborative, as its name suggests, draws its strength from its member schools, teachers, administrators, and all of their connections and interests. The more that our members are growing, learning, and leading, the better the Collaborative is at fulfilling its mission. These communities will help the Collaborative connect its members with expertise, resources, and one another. They will also help more professionals discover the work of the Collaborative through links on each site.

What if I’m not ready to lead a network?

We hope that you’ll consider joining one or more of the new networks as they come online. Spend time finding the areas you are interested in, let the ideas jostle with your own career, students, and interests, and see where it leads over time.

I am ready! How do I sign up?

If you think you would like to start a BATDC online professional learning community, please take a moment to tell us why by filling out our online questionnaire below. We want to hear about your ideas and your goals for the community. You should hear back from us within two weeks about next steps.

Whether you are a teacher, department head, group leader, or administrator, you know the power and impact of excellent facilitation. If working towards mastery in this area is a priority, then this dynamic 3-day session is for you.

Click here to learn more and to register.

Do you want to bring “21st century skills” – like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication – into your classroom or school? Have you heard the buzz about Design Thinking doing great things at places like Stanford’s d.school, IDEO, and other innovative places and wonder what it might offer your curriculum and school?

Design Thinking is a problem-solving approach that challenges students to combine empathy, creativity, and critical thinking to come up with innovative solutions that meet the needs of real people. You will experience the entire design thinking process and learn how it might work in your own school and classrooms. You’ll also come away with resources ready to use with your students and peers.

Mark Basnage is the Director of Academic Technology and Innovation at the Prospect Sierra School and Director of Technology at the Oakland Military Institute. His masters degree from Stanford is in Learning, Technology, and Design, where he was an active part of Stanford’s d.school community. Coeylen Barry is a former lecturer at the Stanford d.school. She has worked with schools around the world to bring design thinking into the classroom. She is also the founder of KDT Consulting which works with schools, businesses and non-profits to use design thinking to create innovative solutions.

Additional voices will come from a local “panel of doers” who have deep experience using design thinking in the classroom.

Date: November 10-11, 2011

Time: 8:30am to 3:00pm

Location: San Francisco Friends School

Cost: $350 per person for BATDC member schools, (non-member rate: $450) includes breakfast, lunch, and materials.

Click here to register now.

How can we help students who have difficulty communicating, making friends, or working in groups? Teachers and specialists in grades K – 8 are invited to come to this workshop, which will cover specific vocabulary, activities, and games to enhance and develop a student’s ability to make transitions, communicate, and develop friendships with an emphasis on problem-solving abilities.Through case study and experiential role playing, participants will leave with new ideas to implement with students and parents.
This workshop will be interactive, interesting, and playful! Participants should come prepared with at least two students in mind and one classroom setting they want to work on during the workshop.

Toby Mickelson is Director of Learning Services at Redwood Day School. Kris Neugenbauer, a Speech and Language Pathologist with over 20 years experience, specializes in helping children who have delays in expressive and receptive language.
Questions? Contact Janet McGarvey: mcgarvey @batdc.org
DATE: Tuesday, October 25, 2011TIME: 8:30 – noon
PLACE: Black Pine Circle School, 2027 7th St., Berkeley, CA
COST: $75 for Collaborative members; $100 for non-members. Everyone is welcome!

Click here to register.

Registration is now open for our ongoing programs for next year. Our line-up includes:

• TALL Change: A Team Approach to Learning and Leading (Instructional) Change
• Collaborative Curriculum Study
• Leadership 101: Strengthening Your Skills in the First Five Years
• Experienced Educators: Leadership, Innovation, and Change

No matter where you are in your school career, these ongoing programs will help you deepen your craft. Click here to learn more about each one.

Incorporating ideas of ethics and social justice into the Science curriculum

The National Research Council suggests that individuals should be able to engage intelligently in public debate about issues of scientific concern. What can science educators do towards accomplishing this goal? How can we help our students develop a disposition for work that is not only of high quality but also is socially responsible?

[Read more...]

This session is now full. Please check the website in the spring for more workshops.

We All Do It:

Effective Advising in and out of the Classroom

January 27-28, 2011

The special event is designed for teachers and administrators who work with students in grades 5 -12; it is intended to help educators feel more empowered and effective as advisors. Presenters include Mike Riera, Head of Redwood Day School; Toby Mickelson, Director of Learning Services at Redwood Day School; Rachel Concannon, School Counselor at Head-Royce School; and Crystal Land, Assistant Head of School at Head-Royce School. Those of you who have heard any of them before know how wise, supportive, and dynamic they are.

Topics include understanding your official or unofficial role as advisor; what to do or not do when you are confronted with difficult situations and behavior; and facilitating effective advising within the classroom and beyond. Participants will be offered frameworks, models, and tools for working comfortably and skillfully with students, even in those moments when one is on the run.

To encourage teams of participants, we will offer discounts for school groups. Everyone is welcome!

Location: Redwood Day School, 3245 Sheffield Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601 [Google map]
Time: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Sign-in begins at 8:30 am.
Cost: $400 per person for the first three from a school, $350 for each additional (Non-members add $100 for each)

Checks should be made payable to BATDC and sent to: BATDC, 35 Keyes Ave., San Francisco, CA 94129.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED; THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST

Thank you for your interest! This workshop is now full. Please check back for more workshops in the Spring.

Women in Leadership II:

Context and Courage – Continuing the Conversation

Friday, January 14, 2011

Please be part of our second one-day conference for women. Like the first, it is designed for educators in all stages of their careers and will focus on the many manifestations of leadership within schools.  Its goals are to support participants in identifying professional roles, skills, and resources that will help them lead others, to discuss ways of finding balance between professional advancement and personal commitments, to share the experiences of women who have assumed or who are considering assuming roles of varied leadership responsibilities, and to establish on-going networking and mentoring relationships.

This year we will focus on the contexts of leadership in schools and examine the joys as well as the challenges of resilient leadership. In the course of the day we will hear exceptional keynote speakers and panelists as well as meet one another and discuss our questions and common areas of interest. While this event features different speakers and has a slightly different focus from the first, it is not necessary to have attended the first conference to take part in this second one. Among our special guests this year will be Jenny Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Everyone is welcome!

Checks should be made payable to BATDC and sent to: BATDC, 35 Keyes Ave., San Francisco, CA 94129.

Get ready for these exciting opportunities:

Women in Leadership II: Continuing the Conversation
Friday, January 14, 2011
Marin Country Day School
8:30 am to 3pm

We All Do It: Effective Advising in and out of the Classroom
January 27-28, 2011
Redwood Day School
9 am to 3 pm

Registration will begin December 3, 2010
Please visit the BATDC website or contact Janet McGarvey — mcgarvey (at) batdc.org — for more details.