Workshop Presenters

A Nationally Board Certified teacher and Educator of the Year, Julie has taught kindergarten through graduate school. She is a content area literacy consultant for the National High School Association and owner of Adams Educational Consulting. She also serves as the instructional coach and literacy consultant for the Stanford University New Schools Project and provides educational consulting to schools worldwide. Mrs. Adams is the author of Teaching Academic Vocabulary Effectively, Parts I-III and PDP Cornell Notes, A Systematic Strategy to Aid Comprehension.

CATHRYN BERGER KAYE

Former classroom teacher, Cathryn is president of CBK Associates-International Education Consultants. She is known for highly engaging keynotes and professional development for state and country departments of education, universities, organizations, administrators, and teachers on issues including service learning, student leadership, environmental solutions, engaging teaching methods, and respectful school communities. She is the author of The Complete Guide to Service Learning, Going Blue: A Teen Guide for Saving Our Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, & Wetlands with Philippe Cousteau, the How to Take Action workbook series, and the upcoming You’re All Wet and Other Reasons to Care About Water. Cathryn also authored the DVD available for free download, Service Learning in International Schools: A World of Possibilities, with nearly 3000 pages of resources. Cathryn travels 120 days annually and resides in Los Angeles. Reach Cathryn at cbkaye@aol.com

LORI BOLL

Lori has worked as a special educator in schools with various programs—from full inclusion to learning support to self-contained. For the past four years, Lori was the director of a small school in Shanghai working with a wide range of disabilities including dyslexia, autism, and Downs syndrome. Lori has two graduate degrees: in reading education and in special education and has been teaching for over 18 years in international schools around the world and in the United States. Lori is the proud mother of two children. Her 12 year-old-son is on the autism spectrum, and Lori has dedicated much of her studies to helping him, other children, and parents who struggle with this disorder and other special needs. Currently, she is the academic counselor at Concordia International School, Shanghai.

JILL BROMENSCHENKEL

Jill is an advocate for all students’ access to literacy and content, especially through systemic & collaborative 21st century practices. She has teaching, administrative, and instructional coaching experience in the US and International schools in Asia. Jill began her educational career as a classroom teacher and has also served as an ELL teacher, K12 ELL coordinator, district literacy & integration coordinator, education specialist, and middle school principal. As an independent consultant, she works closely with schools to develop systems for student immersion, academic access, technology connections, and collaborative professional learning. Jill is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in learning technologies with Pepperdine University and is looking forward to more of the ‘tomorrow’ our students are living in today! Connect with Jill on Twitter: @JillBromen and the Connectivity Learning facebook page: http://tiny.cc/FBConnect

FAYE BROWNLIE

Faye is known for her passion and practicality in the areas of literacy, assessment, diversity, and inclusion. She works in staff development throughout British Columbia, nationally and internationally, recently completing a three-year project in Latvia, ‘Think Differently in Math and Science’ in the middle years, and a three year project on differentiation and assessment for learning at Concordia Middle School, Shanghai. Faye is frequently found in K-12 classrooms, demonstrating strategies or co-teaching. She teaches courses for Field Services at Simon Fraser University and has written many resource books for teachers, the most recent being It’s All about Thinking - Collaborating to Support All Learners (2009 - English, Social Studies; 2011 - Math, Science).

TIM BURNS

Tim is an educator and author whose background includes over 30 years’ experience as high school teacher, counselor, first offender program facilitator, adolescent and family drug treatment program director, university instructor, and professional development specialist. While serving as program director at St. Vincent Hospital Family Recovery Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he taught for four years as a member of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies Institute faculty at the University of New Mexico. In addition he has, since 1986, taught graduate and undergraduate courses for the Division of Extended Studies, Adams State College, Alamosa, Colorado. Over the years, Tim has provided keynote addresses, professional development workshops, and given presentations in over 3,000 schools, agencies, organizations, and at conferences throughout the United States and in nearly two dozen countries throughout the world.

KIM COFINO

Kim Cofino is an enthusiastic and innovative educator, presenter, and consultant. She is currently the Technology and Learning Coach at Yokohama International School in Japan. Previously, Kim taught at ISB in Thailand; MKIS in KL, Malaysia; and MIS in Munich, germany. An Apple Distinguished Educator, she focuses on helping core subject teachers authentically embed current and emerging technologies in the classroom to create a global and collaborative learning environment. Her inquiry-based, constructivist approach to teaching utilizes project-based learning experiences developed using the Understanding by Design process combined with the MYP Technology Design Cycle. To learn more about Kim, please visit: http://kimcofino.com

CATHY DAVIDSON

See Page 11

Alison is an inspirational presenter who is passionate about helping individuals make progress in their lives through education - and, in so doing, to help their families, communities and countries to prosper. She has a wealth of educational experience interacting with international educators to share best practice and contribute to improving the learning outcomes for students. Alison works closely with teachers, school leaders and bureaucrats to ensure that students access the very best teaching and learning opportunities.

BRETT DILLINGHAM

Brett teaches children how to write and tell their own stories and poetry across content areas. He has worked in Ireland, England, Belgium, germany, Hungary, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Canada, Alaska, and the Lower 48 states. In his teacher workshops, Brett teaches storytelling and poetry as performance literacy. He is the author of the children’s book Raven Day (Mcgraw Hill, 2001) and the textbook Performance Literacy Through Storytelling (Maupin House, 2009), which was the gold Recipient of the Independent Book Publisher Awards. He is the past president of the Alaska State Literacy Association. He is a sought after educator and speaker and is frequently invited to present keynote addresses. Brett teaches workshops on performance literacy where students write and perform their own stories and poems to real audiences. In addition to his teaching, Brett is a world-class storyteller.

EULA EWING MONROE

Formerly a classroom teacher and teacher educator in her native Kentucky and currently a teacher educator at Brigham Young University, Dr. Monroe has devoted her career to education at virtually all levels. Active with professional development for teachers in many locations, her passion for mathematics teaching and learning is also a driving force in her mathematics education courses at BYU. An author, speaker, and consultant, she is especially interested in the intimate link between language and mathematics and enjoys helping teachers and their students understand and use the language of mathematics. She believes that “math is all about relationships”—it is no coincidence that she sees the wonder and interconnectedness of nature through the eyes and mind of a mathematician during her travels. Yet she is always eager to return home to the people and values that anchor her life—her family, her friends and colleagues, and her church. Her hobbies include writing poetry on occasion, listening to country music, reading, and, yes, traveling.

SANDY FURTH

Sandy has a MS degree from the University of Utah with course work in educationally handicapped from the University of Colorado. She has taught for over 20 years in Colorado, Japan, Malaysia, and England and has experience as a regular educator as well as a learning disabilities specialist. In addition, Sandy has had a private tutorial business and has consulted with several international schools on ways to implement special needs programs in an international setting.

DAVID GRANT

David is a teacher, professional development leader, media producer, and consultant in school reform and technology integration. He currently works as the technology and expeditionary learning strategist for King Middle School in Portland, Maine. Over the past 15 years, he has been an integral part of the leadership team that has transformed King from a failing school into a national model for project based learning and technology integration. Additionally, David is a professional development consultant and national media producer for Expeditionary Learning Schools (EL)—a national school reform network. He is currently working on a multiyear project to create a set of core program materials for EL, documenting best practices in schools around the country. From 2001-2004, David was a consultant and professional development facilitator for the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI)—the first-ever whole state effort to bring the power of laptops and wireless classrooms to every 7th and 8th grader in a state. David continues to provide one-to-one consulting through the Maine International Center for Digital Learning, working with education development teams from around the world. You can learn more about David’s work at Edutopia, or at the Buck Institute for Education.

NICHOLAS JACKIW

Nick is the chief technology officer of KCP Technologies, and is the software designer responsible for The geometer’s Sketchpad®, which has repeatedly been voted the “Best Educational Software” in mathematics. As one of the founding members of the Visual geometry Project at Swarthmore College in 1987, he designed and developed all of the VgP interactive software; and in that capacity, began formulating the Dynamic geometry approach that defines the Sketchpad experience. That approach has now become the ubiquitous paradigm of the entire field of mathematics visualization software. Nick has been a senior scientist and P.I. on many National Science Foundation research projects, is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, and works frequently with teachers in professional development settings.

NANCY JOHNSON

Nancy teaches 8th grade reading/language arts at Singapore American School during a two-year leave as professor of English/language arts at Western Washington University. There she teaches courses in children’s and young adult literature, English/language arts methods, and writing. A former elementary and high school teacher, she works in schools and presents at conferences locally, nationally, and internationally. She is the co-author of The Wonder of It All: When Literature and Literacy Intersect, as well as three books about literature circles, and she coordinates Western Washington University’s annual Children’s Literature Conference. An active member of NCTE, IRA, and ALA, in 2003 Johnson served on the Newbery Award selection committee and was awarded the Arbuthnot Award by the International Reading Association for teaching and advocacy of children’s literature. She has recently been elected to the 2013 Caldecott Award selection committee.

Doug has been the director of media and technology for the Mankato (MN) Public Schools since 1991 and has served as an adjunct faculty member of Minnesota State University since 1990. His teaching experience has included work in grades K-12 both, here and in Saudi Arabia. He is the author of six books including Teaching Right from Wrong in the Digital Age; Machines are the Easy Part; People are the Hard Part; and The Classroom Teachers Survival Guide to Technology (forthcoming). His long-running column “Head for the Edge” appears in Library Media Connection. Doug’s Blue Skunk Blog averages over 50,000 visits a month, and his articles have appeared in over 40 books and periodicals. He has conducted workshops and given presentations for over 130 organizations throughout the U.S. and internationally and has held a variety of leadership positions in state and national organizations, including ISTE and AASL.

JAMES KETT

Dr. Kett has extensive experience in mathematics education as teacher, department head, consultant, and author. After teaching in the Michigan public school system, he received his Ph.D. in mathematics education from Western Michigan University in 1996 and became a teacher and department chair at Singapore American School. For six years, from 2004 to 2009, he was also an Advanced Placement Reader in statistics. He has published two books on effective use of technology in the mathematics classroom. Now, as a private consultant, he speaks at conferences, trains teachers using Autograph, helps schools develop math competitions, and gives inspirational lectures to students and teachers.

LORI LANGER DE RAMIREz

Lori began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a master’s degree in applied linguistics and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently chair of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools in New York. Lori is the author of books and articles on the topics of technology, diversity, and language teaching. Her interactive website (www.miscositas.com) offers picturebooks, videos, thematic units and other curricular materials for teaching world languages. Lori has presented workshops at conferences and in schools in the U.S. and internationally. She is the recipient of the Nelson Brooks Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Culture, several NEH grants, and a Fulbright. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural education, interdisciplinary and content-based teaching, folktales and authentic materials, and Web 2.0 tools.

STEVE LAYNE

See page 23

MAGGIE MOON

Before moving abroad to Southeast Asia in 2007, Maggie was a senior staff developer at The Reading and Writing Project, at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to working across the U.S. with the R&W Project, Maggie taught both 3rd and 4th grades, at P.S. 163 in NYC. She has worked with hundreds of elementary schools within NYC and across the U.S., and presented at the R&W Summer Institutes for over 6 years, even as a classroom teacher. She also had the privilege of being part of the team that helped to implement the role of literacy coach across the NYC Public School system at its onset. Since moving abroad, Maggie has lived in Manila, Philippines, guangzhou, China and now resides in Shanghai. Maggie has worked with many of the international schools in southeast Asia, as well as local schools in Manila. She has presented at EARCOS and NESA Administrators’ and Teachers’ Conferences for the past few years, and has run the three previous cohort sessions of the Literacy Coaching Asia Institute out of Hong Kong International School. Her next round of the Literacy Coaching Asia Institute for 2011-2012 is at Shanghai American School.

BAIRBRE NI OISIN

Bairbre is ESOL specialist teacher at St. Michael’s International School, Japan. Her professional interests include teaching ESL/EFL to elementary school students and teacher development through reflective practice and action research in an international school setting. She is one of the awardees of the EARCOS Action Research Grant 2010-2011.

JASON OHLER

See page 35

ERICSON PEREz

Ericson is the middle and upper schools student services coordinator at Brent International School Manila. He graduated from Brown University and The george Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in special education, respectively. He taught science at Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford, Connecticut, after which he joined the U. S. Peace Corps and served as a biology and chemistry teacher at a rural school in Kenya. When he returned from Kenya, he taught biology and general science to students with special education needs at Watkins Mill High School in Montgomery County, Maryland. In 2005, he became a National Board Certified teacher as an exceptional needs specialist, with a specialty area in mild/moderate disabilities. He is actively involved with SENIA, the Special Education Network in Asia, as well as with IBEN, the International Baccalaureate Educators Network.

Donna is a professor of education and the current Thomas S. Thompson Distinguished Professor in education at Pacific University, Oregon. She teaches courses in literacy and action research in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Prior to her life at the university, Donna taught 13 years in public schools, spending her days writing and reading primarily with young adolescents. She completed her first teacher action research project as a middle school teacher and has been a proponent of teacher action research since that time. She is co-author with Dr. Kevin Carr of the book, Becoming a Teacher Through Action Research.

DENNIS SALE

Dennis is presently senior education advisor at Singapore Polytechnic. He has worked across all sectors of the British educational system and provides a wide range of consultancies in both public and private sector organizations in several Asian countries. Over the past 20 years Dennis has been extensively involved in training, coaching, and assessing teaching professionals in a variety of vocational and cultural contexts. His specialist areas include creative teaching and curriculum development. He has invented highly effective and practical models in these areas, conducted numerous workshops in all educational contexts and many countries, presented papers at international conferences, and published in a variety of journals and books. He is widely noted to be a dynamic and creative presenter, blending practical relevance with situated humour.

PEGGY SHARP

Dr. Sharp is a well known presenter on children’s books and motivating children to read and use library media centers. She is a highly regarded teacher and library media specialist and has received national awards for her creative teaching ideas. Her articles on teaching with children’s books, motivating reading, and enhancing the instructional program have appeared in the top professional magazines. Peggy is a member of the Beverly Cleary Children’s Book Award Committee, the Julie Andrews Collection Advisory Board, and she has written Sharing Your Good Ideas and several other books for educators. She is a consultant for the Bureau of Education and Research and hundreds of school districts. She has conducted thousands of workshops for Phi Delta Kappa, Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Staff Development, International Reading Association and other organizations. Her articles about teaching with children’s books, motivating reading, and strengthening the instructional programs in both classrooms and library media centers have appeared in top professional magazines.

STEPHEN SHORE

Stephen is an assistant professor at the Ammon School of Education at Adelphi University teaching courses in special education and autism. He focuses his research and teaching on matching best practices to the needs of people with autism. In addition to working with and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen presents and consults internationally on educational and social inclusion as well as on adult issues pertaining to relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure as discussed in his numerous books, articles, and DVDs. Non-verbal and diagnosed at age two and a half with “atypical development and strong autistic tendencies,” recommendations for institutionalization were rejected in favor of parent-based intensive early intervention and support. Dr. Shore serves on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), as vice president of the board of directors for Autism Society - Massachusetts Chapter (ASMA), as past president of The Asperger’s Association of New England (AANE), and advisory board member of Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association (AHA), and other autism related organizations.

SPICE - JONAS EDMAN / RYLAN SEKIGUCHI / JOHANNA WEE / HYO JUNG JANG

Jonas is a curriculum writer at SPICE and is currently working on a unit on the Chinese American experience. Prior to joining SPICE he taught at Stockholm International School in Sweden. Jonas is a graduate of Stockholm University.

Rylan is a curriculum specialist at SPICE and his publications include Uncovering North Korea, 10,000 Shovels: China’s Urbanization and Economic Development, An Examination of War Crimes Tribunals, and Inter-Korean Relations: Rivalry, Reconciliation, and Reunification. Rylan is a graduate of Stanford University.

Johanna is SPICE’s sales and marketing manager and webmaster. Johanna coordinates SPICE’s national and international dissemination efforts—most recently with international conferences in Nice, France, and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. In addition, Johanna manages SPICE’s web based resources, and she is currently working on a project to accompany the infectious diseases and global public health curriculum unit. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University and a former English teacher in Japan.

Hyo Jung is a curriculum writer at SPICE who specializes in curriculum units on topics on East Asia. Her most recent publication is InterKorean Relations: Rivalry, Reconciliation, and Reunification, and she is currently co-authoring a unit entitled China in Transition: Economic Development, Migration, and Education. Hyo Jung is a graduate of Stanford University where she received her master’s degree in East Asian studies.

Joe is the Director of the American International School of guangzhou, China. He has held similar positions at the Vientiane International School, Academia Cotopaxi, and the International School of Tanganyika. He was high school principal at the International School of Manila and the International School of Kuala Lumpur. He was also a high school principal in the U.S. prior to entering international education in 1983. He has experience interviewing and hiring administrators as well as being a candidate for various administrative positions. He is married to Jaci Stucker, an art teacher. Their two sons, Kirk and Derek, graduated from ISKL.

Paul is the high school principal at the International School of Beijing. He previously worked at schools in Yokohama, Ottawa, Dar es Salaam, and guangzhou. This is his sixth year of involvement in recruiting teachers and his M.A. thesis considered factors affecting faculty recruitment and retention at International Schools.

ANNA SUGARMAN

Anna is a specialist in educating gifted students. As an associate member of the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth to the Office of Overseas Schools, U.S. Department of State, she has provided training and consultant services through international conferences and in various international schools. While actively working with administrators, teachers, parents, and students, Anna designs and implements professional development options to create optimal learning environments to enhance educational programming for all children. She currently works as the professional development trainer/coordinator (K-12) for Shenendehowa Central Schools in Clifton Park, New York.

JEFF UTECHT

Jeff is an international educator, educational technology consultant, and author. He has worked internationally since 2002, in Saudi Arabia, China, and Thailand. Prior to that he worked in the U.S. Currently Jeff is working as the high school technology and learning coordinator for the International School Bangkok. Additionally, Jeff has consulted for Web 2.0 companies on educational issues. Jeff has been mentioned in several books on Web 2.0 and education and in his recent book, Reach, talks about using online communities and networks to create professional development opportunities for educators. Jeff regularly shares his thoughts on education and technology on his blog, thethinkingstick.com. To learn more about Jeff visit jeffutecht.com.

The EARCOS Action Research Grant

In an ongoing effort to implement the EARCOS Strategic Plan, specifically Strategy E, to Conduct, communicate, and archive relevant data and research to identify and enhance exceptional educational practices, grants will be made available to encourage our teachers, administrators, and professional staff to conduct action research to improve educational practices for the purpose of enhancing student learning.

Action research is a reflective process, conducted in the school setting, to solve a real problem, or to improve and enhance the instructional process. This research may be undertaken by an individual, or by several people collaboratively.

It is our belief that the results of such research will impact not only the researchers’ practices but also those of others with whom they share their findings. To that end, grantees will be expected to publish their findings, which will be made available to all EARCOS members on the website. Some researchers may elect to present their work at a subsequent ETC, ELC, or publish it in the EARCOS Journal.

DONNA KALMBACH PHILLIPS FOR ACTION RESEARCH WORKSHOPS

She completed her first teacher action research project as a middle school teacher and has been a proponent of teacher action research since that time. She is co-author with Dr. Kevin Carr of the book, Becoming a Teacher Through Action Research. She will be presenting four workshops at the ETC2012. see page 13, 25, 33, and 42.

To learn more about the EARCOS Action Research Grant visit http://www.earcos.org/ rs_action.php