Montreal, Quebec • October 17–19 - Amazon Web Services

Agenda Montreal, Quebec • October 17–19

Wednesday, October 17

6:30–8:00 a.m.Registration

Continental breakfast

Salon Drummond Foyer

Ballroom Foyer

8:00–9:45 a.m.Keynote—Rebecca DuFourThe Power of Professional Learning Communities at Work: Bringing the Big Ideas to Life

Ballroom

9:45–10:00 a.m. Break

10:00–11:30 a.m. Breakouts Titles & locations: pp. 3 & 5 Session descriptions: pp. 9–17

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Lunch (on your own)

1:00–2:30 p.m. Breakouts Titles & locations: pp. 3 & 5 Session descriptions: pp. 9–17

2:30–2:45 p.m. Break

2:45–3:45 p.m.Panel discussionA Q&A time with presenters. Receive practical answers to your most pressing questions.

Ballroom

Thursday, October 18

7:00–8:00 a.m. RegistrationContinental breakfast Ballroom Foyer

8:00–9:30 a.m. Keynote—Richard DuFourImplementing the PLC Process: Will You Soar or Settle? Ballroom

9:30–9:45 a.m. Break


11:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Lunch (on your own)

12:45–2:15 p.m. Breakouts Titles & locations: pp. 3 & 5 Session descriptions: pp. 9–17

2:15–2:30 p.m. Break

2:30–3:45 p.m.Team timeA collaboration time for your team. Presenters are available for help in team discussions.

Ballroom

Friday, October 197:00–8:00 a.m. Continental breakfast Ballroom Foyer


9:30–9:45 a.m. Break

9:45–11:45 a.m.Keynote—Anthony MuhammadNo More Drama: Getting Everyone on the Bus and Becoming a Real PLC

Ballroom

Agenda is subject to change without prior notice.

Agenda

1

Breakouts at a G

lance

Breakouts at a Glance

Presenter and TitleWednesday, October 17 Thursday, October 18 Friday,

October 19

10:00–11:30 a.m. 1:00–2:30 p.m. 9:45–11:15 a.m. 12:45–2:15 p.m. 8:00–9:30 a.m.

Karen BranscombeGetting the Right Answers Means Asking the Right Questions Salon A Jarry–Joyce

Leading by Example: Yes, You Do Make a Difference Salon B–C Hémon

Speaking With One Voice: One District’s Journey Through the PLC Process Hémon

Charlie ColemanPyramid of Behaviour Interventions: Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment Jarry–Joyce Salon B

Reading Interventions at the Elementary School Level Jarry–Joyce

Rebecca & Richard DuFourBuilding the Collaborative Culture of a Professional Learning Community at Work (Part 1)

Ballroom

Building the Collaborative Culture of a Professional Learning Community at Work (Part 2)

Ballroom

Rebecca DuFour

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Whatever It Takes in Elementary Schools

Salon Drummond Centre–East

Lights, Camera, Action! Setting the Stage for PLC Success in Elementary Schools


One Is the Loneliest Number: Developing Leadership Capacity in Your School


Richard DuFourRaising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Whatever It Takes in Secondary Schools Ballroom

Getting Started: Building Consensus and Responding to Resisters Ballroom

How to Ensure That This Too Won’t Pass: Sustaining the PLC Journey

Salon Drummond

West

3

Breakouts at a Glance

Presenter and TitleWednesday, October 17 Thursday, October 18 Friday,

October 19

10:00–11:30 a.m. 1:00–2:30 p.m. 9:45–11:15 a.m. 12:45–2:15 p.m. 8:00–9:30 a.m.

Greg KushnirCreating a Culture of Continuous Improvement Salon A Salon A

The First Two Years: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building a PLC Salon A Salon A

Using Google to Enhance Your PLC Salon B–C

Anthony MuhammadElephants in the Room: Confronting Barriers to Collaboration Ballroom

Laurie Robinson

Feedback: The Breakfast of ChampionsSalon

Drummond West

Salon Drummond

West

Assessing Students Responsively: Differentiating With a Laser Focus

Salon Drummond

West

Salon Drummond

West

Sylvie Rochon

Le travail des équipes de collaboration Jarry–Joyce Salon B

Les conversations cruciales : une compétence essentielle dans le changement et le travail des équipes de collaboration

Jarry–Joyce

Leadership et supervision pour un changement durable et de qualité Salon B

Ainsley B. RoseLeading Professional Learning Communities: How Do You Know If You Have Made an Impact?


Data: The Heart of PLC TeamsSalon

Drummond Centre–East

Salon C

Common Formative Assessments: The Essence of Professional Learning Communities

Salon C Salon C

Agenda is subject to change without prior notice.

5

Le Centre Sheraton Hôtel Montréal

Maps

7

Le Centre Sheraton Hôtel Montréal

8

Karen Branscombe Getting the Right Answers Means Asking the Right Questions

“Jane is a great teacher. She often stays late and helps with filing in the office and she sometimes goes to home and school meetings.” If this is the kind of answer you get when you ask about a teacher, it is time to look at the question being asked. The questions central office educators ask reflect the focus and vision of the district. What does great teaching look like in your district? What are the team discussions at a school? What does a principal know about instruction and learning? What are the “look-fors” when central office educators visit schools? In this session Karen Branscombe explores the vital role of the central office.

Participants in this session:• Learnaboutthelinkbetweenthefocusofthecentralofficeandstudentlearning.• Exploretheevidenceofwhatmakesacentralofficegreatintheeyesofaschool.• Discussthecoachingschooladministratorsneedandhowthisroleiscriticalforthe

centraloffice.

Leading by Example: Yes, You Do Make a Difference“Hello, I am from the central office and I am here to help!” or “Here come the suits!” Have you heard this before? If you have moved to an administrative and/or central office position, you know what this is about. In this session, participants explore the role of the central office in student learning and how to face the very real challenge of staying connected to the classroom. Karen Branscombe leads a discussion on how this leadership journey adds value to schools. Working as a professional learning community, the central office can model a focus on collaboration, learning, and results.

In this session, participants:• Learnofonedistrictteam’sleadershipstyleandhowcentralofficeeducatorsstay

connected to classrooms.• Discusstheroleofcentralofficeeducatorsinstudentsuccess.• Explorebestpracticesforbuildingcredibilityandtrustbetweenthecentralofficeand

schools.

Speaking With One Voice: One District’s Journey Through the PLC ProcessFor the past six years, School District 2 has been on a PLC journey. By engaging 1,200 teachers in determining the essential learnings in their curriculum, district administrators have successfully moved the team towards common formative assessments. School District 2 continues to improve student learning by applying current best practice research in assessment and instruction. In this session, participants learn of the journey and leave with a roadmap to apply to their own districts.

This session calls on participants to:• Learnofthesuccessfuldevelopmentofcommonformativeassessmentsandnon-

negotiables.• Engageinadiscussionofhownon-negotiablesaredeterminedforadistrictof1,200

teachers.• Sharebestpracticesforthechallengesandopportunitiesinadistrictwhenyoufocuson

collaboration, learning, and results.

Session Descriptions

SessionD

escriptions

9

Charlie Coleman Pyramid of Behaviour Interventions: Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment

In his recently published book (with co-authors Tom Hierck and Chris Weber), Charlie Coleman describes seven keys that create the conditions for learning in any school. Charlie shares examples of real schools making a real difference with real kids, and supports these examples with current research on effective schools, PLCs, and positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). The seven keys help to pull these powerful, proven school improvement strategies together in a very realistic and doable way.

Participants in this session:• Gainfamiliaritywiththesevenkeystoapositivelearningenvironment.• DevelopanunderstandingofthecriticalconnectionbetweenPLCsandPBIS.• Recognizethepowerofpersonalconnectionsandtheimpactthishasonstudentsand

staff.

Reading Interventions at the Elementary School LevelReading interventions within a PLC enhance the success of any structure or strategy that a school may put into place. This session explores a series of reading intervention strategies an award-winning, inner city elementary school successfully implemented. Charlie Coleman shares examples from that school’s PLC journey that saw reading scores move from 67 percent to almost 90 percent, with considerable improvement in the achievement of the large aboriginal student population. While the focus of this session is on elementary schools, there are practical applications for grades K–8.

In this session, Charlie helps attendees:• ExaminepracticalreadinginterventionstrategiesusedwithinaPLC.• Sharehands-onexamplesofhowtodifferentiatereadinginstruction.• Takeawaystrategiesandstepsthatanyschoolcanusetoimprovereadingscores.

Rebecca & Richard DuFour Building the Collaborative Culture of a Professional Learning Community

at Work (Parts 1 & 2) Powerful collaborative teams are the fundamental building block of a professional learning community and a critical component in building a collaborative culture.

Learn how educators transform their congenial groups into high-performing collaborative teams, and get a sense of the specific work undertaken by those teams. Discover ways to provide time and support for collaborative teams during the school day. More importantly, identify structures and strategies to help teams stay focused on doing the work that has a positive impact on student achievement.

This two-part continuing session is designed for educators at all levels and is highly recommended for all participants who are new to PLC concepts.


10

Rebecca DuFour

The Power of Professional Learning Communities at Work: Bringing the Big Ideas to LifeThe professional learning community concept is supported by research and endorsed by educationalorganizationsatalllevelsasourbesthopeforsustained,substantiveimprovement.But what are the big ideas that drive the professional learning community concept, and what do they look like in the real world of education?

Rebecca DuFour offers practical strategies for bringing the big ideas to life. Participants engage in the actual work of collaborative teams in a PLC and travel on virtual field trips to schools and districts that use these ideas to profoundly impact student and adult learning.

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Whatever It Takes in Elementary SchoolsSchools that function as PLCs must ultimately do two things: 1) build a collaborative culture to promote continuous adult learning, and 2) create structures and systems that provide students with additional time and support for learning.

Participants in this session examine strategies to collectively: • Respondtothelearningneedsofeachstudentinatimely,directive,andsystematicway.• Createandsustainstrongparentpartnershipstoenhancestudentlearning.• Makecelebrationsapartoftheschoolculture.

After examining different models of systematic intervention and enrichment, participants receive criteria to assess their own school’s response and an action-planning template for next steps in raising the bar and closing the gap.

This session is recommended for elementary school educators.

Lights, Camera, Action! Setting the Stage for PLC Success in Elementary SchoolsElementary school educators beginning the PLC journey face the immediate challenge of how to provide the time and structure essential to the PLC process. This interactive workshop is designed to help elementary educators address that challenge.

Becky DuFour provides effective templates and proven strategies for reallocating existing resources to support learning for all. Participants are invited to bring their creative ideas to this session.

This session is recommended for elementary-level educators who have an interest in and/or a responsibility for creating schoolwide and team schedules.

One Is the Loneliest Number: Developing Leadership Capacity in Your SchoolBotheducationalresearchersandorganizationaltheoristshaveconcludedthatwidespreadleadershipisessentialtothesuccessofalearningorganization.ToinitiateandsustainthePLCprocess in your school or district, lots of leaders are necessary.

In this highly interactive session, participants examine a case study, identify specific strategies to develop and support leaders, and create the structures for widely dispersed leadership that is characteristic of PLCs.


= Keynote11

Richard DuFour

Implementing the PLC Process: Will You Soar or Settle?The journey to becoming a professional learning community is fraught with dangerous detours and seductive shortcuts at every turn. Inevitably, these detours and shortcuts can circumvent actually doing what PLCs are meant to do. Recent studies have found that partial implementation of the PLC process produces no gains in student achievement while deep implementation results in dramatic gains. In this session, Richard DuFour alerts educators to inevitable challenges in implementing a PLC and provides research, rationale, strategies, and tools for overcoming these challenges.

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Whatever It Takes in Secondary SchoolsThe mission statement of most schools asserts all students can and should learn. The nagging question that confronts those schools, however, is “What happens when they don’t learn?”

This session uses the powerful video Through New Eyes: Examining the Culture of Your School to help you see school from a new perspective—the perspective of a student. Participants then contrast the traditional school response when students experience initial difficulty in their learning with the systematic response of a professional learning community.

This session calls on participants to:• Assessthecurrentmannerinwhichtheirschoolsrespondwhenstudentsdonotlearn.• Examinedifferentschedulesandmodelsthatprovidestudentswhoarenotlearningwitha

timely, directive, and systematic response that ensures they receive the additional time and support essential to their learning.

This session is recommended for middle and high school educators.

Getting Started: Building Consensus and Responding to ResistersThe most significant barrier to building a school culture focused on continuous improvement isthetraditionofprivatizationofpractice,isolation,andindividualautonomythathascharacterizedteaching.Howcanafacultybuildconsensusforsignificantchange?Whatarethe most effective ways of addressing the concerns of those who resist even when the staff has decided to move forward?

As a result of this session, participants can:• Defineconsensus.• Applythemosteffectivestrategiesforbuildingconsensus.• Utilizesevenresearch-basedstrategiesforaddressingresistance.


= Keynote12

Richard DuFour How to Ensure That This Too Won’t Pass: Sustaining the PLC Journey

Most education leaders have ample experience launching school-improvement initiatives but few have experience in sustaining those initiatives until actual improvement occurs. A central challenge for any school engaged in the PLC process—whether its journey is just beginning or it has been on the journey for several years—is sustaining the focus, collective effort, and commitment necessary to drive the process deep into the culture.

In this session, participants explore current research on how to sustain an improvement effort then translate that research into specific, practical strategies they can implement in their own schools or districts.

Greg Kushnir Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement culminates in change, and change is not easy. However, change is possible and can happen much more quickly and painlessly than you may think. This session examines ten steps that must be in place to ensure that school staff can develop and live in a culture of continuous improvement.

In this session, participants examine:• Theroleofcultureinschoolimprovement• Thetenstepsnecessarytocreateacultureofcontinuousimprovement• Theirschools’currentculturesinordertodeterminenextsteps

The First Two Years: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building a PLCCreating a professional learning community doesn’t occur by accident. Often, the journey challenges long-held beliefs and existing practices, which can seriously impede the process. The bottom line is the school needs a plan. Greg Kushnir shares the practical steps he used to build a PLC and dramatically improve achievement in each school he has led. This session focuses on the actions necessary to take in the first two years to ensure that your PLC is successful.

Participants in this session:• ExamineaprovenplanofactionfordevelopingaPLCculture.• Learnhowtocreateeducationalequityforallchildreninaschoolwhileovercomingthe

roadblocks to success.• Explorenextstepsforyourschoolordistrict.


13

Greg Kushnir Using Google to Enhance Your PLC

When a school commits to creating a culture of collaboration, teachers begin by creating products of their work. Essential learning outcomes, year-long plans, common assessments, intervention and instructional strategies, team meeting summaries, and at-risk student tracking sheets are just some examples of the documents your teachers need to access daily. This session examines how your school can use the free web-based Google suite of tools to increase the efficiency of your collaborative teams and how these tools can be used to easily gather and deliver common assessment data.

Greg Kushnir helps attendees:• CreateaGooglesharesitetoorganizeandstoretheproductsofcollaborativeteams.• SeehowGoogleDocscanbeusedtofacilitatecollaborationforsingletonsanddigital

teams.• UseGoogleformstocreatecommonassessmentsandgeneratedata.• DiscoverhowGoogleformscanbeusedtomonitorandsharetheprogressofeach

collaborative team in your school.

Anthony Muhammad

No More Drama: Getting Everyone on the Bus and Becoming a Real PLC This presentation deals head on with the issue of conflicting agendas within schools. A PLC has a very clear vision of its purpose: learning for all students. Anthony Muhammad examines the barriers to aligning the adults’ agendas with the school agenda and what leaders and teachers must do to develop the synergy necessary to guarantee learning.

Dr. Muhammad discusses the importance of:• Understandingtherootcauseofsocialdivisionandhowtohealoldwounds• Clarifyingeveryone’sroleindevelopingahealthylearningenvironment• Embracingthemoralimperativeofteachingoverpersonalagendas

Elephants in the Room: Confronting Barriers to CollaborationMany educators are placed into teams, but many never make progress because of personal and professional drama that prevents them from focusing on the needs of students. A house divided cannot stand! Anthony Muhammad helps participants examine psychological and sociological barriers that can arise and interfere with a school’s or a team’s ability to move forward. As a result of this session, participants leave with a clear understanding of what it takes to create a highly collaborative culture.

Participants in this session:• Recognizethebarrierstoeffectivecollaboration.• Strategizeonhowtopreventandovercomebarrierstoeffectivecollaboration.• Leavewithpracticaltoolstoimmediatelyaddressdisturbingissuesthatpreventprogress.


= Keynote14

Laurie Robinson Feedback: The Breakfast of Champions

The research is clear: teachers make a difference! In a paper he delivered at the annual Australian Council of Educational Research conference, John Hattie identified five major dimensions expert teachers exhibit. Laurie Robinson focuses on one of the most powerful of the five: feedback. When feedback is frequent, consistent, and descriptive, it helps monitor and provide multiple opportunities for continued learning.

Participants in this session:• Learnthefivedimensionsofexpertteaching.• Understandthedifferencebetweendescriptiveandevaluativefeedback.• Leavewithnumerousfeedbacktoolsandstrategiesforimmediateusewithstaffand

students.

Assessing Students Responsively: Differentiating With a Laser Focus Without first creating a clear roadmap for quality instruction, differentiation is a daunting task. Establishing a tight curriculum is a necessary first step, followed by instructional strategies to understand how each student learns.

Participants in this session:• Identifywaystoassesslearningthroughcontent,process,andproduct,accordingto

readiness, interest, and learner profiles.• ExamineRobertSternberg’smodelofthreemajorintelligences:creative,analytical,and

practical, interwoven with Howard Gardner’s list of eight basic intelligence types.• Learnmultipleexamplesofdifferentiatingthroughtic-tac-toe,choiceboards,compacting,

and learning contracts.

Sylvie Rochon Le travail des équipes de collaboration

Nous cherchons tous à être efficaces et à optimiser notre travail. Le travail en équipe de collaboration a permis à plusieurs écoles d’améliorer les pratiques professionnelles et par le fait même assurer la réussite d’un plus grand nombre d’élèves. L’atelier présente un encadrement pour le travail des équipes de collaboration. L’atelier vise un échange concret sur des pratiques et des outils de travail qui ont été mis en œuvre dans des écoles élémentaires et secondaires.

À la fin de cet atelier, les participants et les participantes pourront :• Comprendreletravaildeséquipesdecollaboration• Examinerdifférentsoutilspourencadrerletravaildesprofessionnels• Examinerdesexemplesconcretsd’horaireetautresoutilsdetravaildeséquipesde

collaboration


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Sylvie Rochon Les conversations cruciales :

une compétence essentielle dans le changement et le travail des équipes de collaborationIl semble parfois plus facile de travailler avec des élèves qu’entre adultes. Le travail des équipes de collaboration provoque souvent des malaises, des problèmes qui doivent être discutés entre professionnels. Comment peut-on appuyer les professionnels à se sentir à l’aise de discuter d’enjeux importants avec leurs collègues? L’atelier présente un modèle théorique et des techniques concrètes de conversations cruciales qui ont porté fruit dans les écoles.

À la fin de cet atelier, les participants et les participantes pourront:• Comprendrelavaleurajoutéed’avoirdesconversationscruciales• Examinerlestechniquesgagnantesdesconversationscruciales• Examinerlesconditionsgagnantespouravoirdesconversationscruciales

Leadership et supervision pour un changement durable et de qualitéLe travail en CAP signifie toute une transformation culturelle dans nos écoles. Amener un changement durable dans une école ou une organisation présente parfois tout un défi pour les leaders. Le leader se demande : Comment puis-je mobiliser les membres de mon école dans le changement? Quels sont les premiers pas à faire? Comment réagir aux personnes réticentes? Comment puis-je m’assurer de la qualité des changements? Quels sont les incontournables dans le changement? L’atelier présentera des pistes de réponses à ces questions à partir d’exemples concrets et de modèles théoriques.

À la fin de cet atelier, les participants et les participantes pourront :• Réfléchiràdifférentsmoyenspourunleaderd’amenerunchangementdanssonécole• Porterunregardcritiquesurdesincontournablesdesupervision:lepland’amélioration,

l’analyse des données, le leadership partagé.• Examinerdifférentesstratégiesdesupervisionàgrandimpact:visitesdeséquipesde

collaboration, visites en salle de classe, analyse des données

Ainsley B. Rose Leading Professional Learning Communities:

How Do You Know If You Have Made an Impact?Dr. John Hattie, in his landmark book Visible Learning, challenges readers to know their impact. This session examines this intriguing question and shares some of the startling evidence found in this book to create some cognitive dissonance with our current thinking about leadership and the implications it might have for our work in PLCs.


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Ainsley B. Rose Data: The Heart of PLC Teams

A professional learning community is the essence of a highly functioning school—and the successesofbothareintertwined.Gathering,analyzing,andusingdatatoinforminstructioniswhat makes the difference in achieving gains in student learning. However, the process of making thisworkhappeneffectivelyrequiresascholarly,organizedapproachtoavoidwhatisoftenreferred to as the “DRIP syndrome.”

In this interactive session, Ainsley B. Rose leads participants through a simulation of a PLC team in operation. Thus, participants experience an approach that is helpful in creating and applying acollaborativeculturetoanalyzestudentachievementdatatomakeinstructionaldecisionsthatresult in increased student learning.

Common Formative Assessments: The Essence of Professional Learning CommunitiesIf they are not already, common formative assessments should be the foundation of your work. Common formative assessments drive the conversations of a PLC, bring about a powerful impact on student learning, and raise student achievement. The challenge facing many of us is how to create, administer, and use the results of these assessments to inform our work. This session is designed to help participants understand a process for building common formative assessments.

This session affords participants the opportunity to:• Increaseassessmentliteracy.• LearnhowtobuildadraftCFA.• SharesuccesseswithCFAsoraskquestionstoclarifyformativeassessmentpractices.


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Documents

Montreal, Quebec • October 17–19 - Amazon Web Services