2024 Great Ideas in Education Conference

Sense making in a science class has the expectation that students think. This session will engage participants in a thinking classroom in which thinking to make sense of a phenomena is the norm, and students are discouraged from slacking, stalling, mimicking, and faking their way through the science content. Thinking classroom practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned science thinking and learning, and have the power to transform classrooms.

Standards, standards, standards. How well do teachers know them to be able to deliver their instruction effectively as well as know the extent and depth of knowledge for their grade level? Learn about a framework for understanding standards alignment horizontally and vertically. This framework will promote PLC groups’ abilities to focus on high quality instruction. Moreover, learning the alignment can accelerate learning across the grades due to reducing overlapping instruction.

Attendees will be able to:

• Highlight findings from The Opportunity Myth & The Opportunity Makers
• Connect High-Quality Instructional Materials to School Improvement
• Describe Curriculum-Based Professional Learning and How it Supports Quality Instruction

Research over the last decade has provided strong evidence that instructional materials can be one of the most cost-efficient and effective school improvement measures. States that have sought to increase access to high-quality instructional materials (HQIMs) have reported significant gains in student reading proficiency, mastery of mathematics standards, teachers’ perceived support, improved alignment to state standards, and student engagement. The bottom line is that the selection and implementation of HQIMs, supported by curriculum-based professional learning, is a transformative school improvement measure that has been underutilized.
In this session, we'll explore TNTP's national research that highlights the role of HQIMs in standards-aligned instruction, describe the role HQIMs play in supporting quality instruction, and introduce curriculum-based professional learning as a mechanism that supports school improvement.

This session explores the concept of "Thin Slicing," which delineates a sequential progression of a lesson from prior knowledge to grade level standard. Learn how to quickly gather insights into student thinking through targeted tasks and observations. Discover how Thin Slicing can inform your instruction, differentiate learning, and propel students towards deeper mathematical understanding. Math teachers will experience and work together to create thin sliced lessons. They will collaborate on how to launch the lesson and provide tasks that increase rigor and ability to avoid frustrations and boredom while instilling perseverance and patience.