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.

Click here to learn more and to register.

Matt Walker, Associate Professor and Director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at UC Berkeley, is a Kavil Fellow of the National Academy of Science. His research uses a number of neuroimaging techniques to understand the role of sleep in human brain function. He received a National Science Foundation fellowship in 2002, and has since been awarded numerous National Institutes of Health awards.

Click here to register.

Lois Hetland is one of the leading thinkers on teaching, learning, and visual art. She is a key member of Project Zero, the educational research group of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Few people can so powerfully make the case for the educational value of art as Hetland, who has long focused on creativity in personal development. For this lecture she considers creativity in relation to three other areas: product, process, and place. She explores the distinctive value of contemporary art, the role of cultural institutions, and the demands of the creative economy.

Hetland will begin by noting the ways in which art education is undervalued and how arts educators have attempted to justify it by extra-artistic qualities—achievement in non-arts subjects relevance to the creative economy—arguments that miss the spirit of a liberal education and, at K–12 levels, the “whole child.” Hetland will then discuss two key issues in detail: the value of Artistic Mind as the desired outcome of arts education and the wider value of creativity in society.
Her discussion will address the extended field of arts participants, contexts, and venues (including schools, community spaces, and museums); the value of basing art education on the work of living artists; and the four categories of creativity, as Hetland sees them: creative person, process, place, and product.

Her lecture will be followed by Q&A with Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, chair of the California Arts Council, and Dominic Willsdon, Leanne and George Roberts Curator of Education and Public Programs at SFMOMA.

DATE: Thursday 2 February, 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Phyllis Wattis Theater, SFMOMA
TICKETS: Click here to purchase.

Participants are encouraged to bring some discussion questions that have worked for them, as well as some that haven’t.

Kate Moore is the English Department Chair at the Branson School. She offered a similar workshop in 2008 and is back by popular request!
This workshop is most appropriate for teachers in grades 6 – 12.
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 2012

TIME: 8:45 – noon

PLACE: The Bay School, 35 Keyes Ave., in the San Francisco Presidio 94129

COST: $75 for Collaborative members; $100 for non-members

Click here to register.

Erin Murphy, who leads this workshop, is the Primary School Director at Marin Primary and Middle School. She has worked for a number of years in the area of literacy research, specifically in “Teacher Talk”, how teachers facilitate comprehension through conversation. She is currently consulting with a local public school on this topic.

How can we help students become more comfortable taking risks and speaking out in a group? Are you interested in new ways to teach and assess comprehension? You are invited to join us for a morning workshop on “Comprehension Through Conversation,” a hot topic in literacy today as we consider the tools the 21st Century learner will need for the future.The goal of this workshop will be to look at the way teachers can talk with students and lead them in interactive discussions about texts and topics across the curriculum. You will learn strategies for teaching discussion expectations and how to get kids to “dig deeper” in their conversations. The workshop is appropriate for teachers K through 4 – yes, even Kindergarten!Erin Murphy is the Primary School Director at Marin Primary and Middle School. She has worked for a number of years in the area of literacy research, specifically in “Teacher Talk”, how teachers facilitate comprehension through conversation. She is currently consulting with a local public school on this topic.

DATE: Tuesday, December 6, 2011

TIME: 8:30 – noon

PLACE: The Bay School, 35 Keyes Ave., in the San Francisco Presidio 94129 COST: $75 for Collaborative members; $100 for non-members.

Registration is now closed.

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.