Solutions Workshops | Institutes | Summits
Hold your PD to a higher standard —and get better results As a busy educator, you don’t have time for PD that fails to impact student learning. That’s why we make sure that when you’re at a Solution Tree event, every single minute is valuable. For more than 20 years, educators just like you have walked away from our events with renewed inspiration for better learning— and practical, research-based tools and strategies to make it happen. What else will you get from our events? You’ll meet educators from around the world who share your concerns, passions, and commitments. You’ll have real conversations with education’s visionaries. And you’ll find a network of educators and experts to support you on your journey forward.
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Contents TM
PLC at Work School Improvement Leadership Common Core Literacy RTI Assessment Instruction Technology 21st Century Skills Teams Classroom Management and Behavior
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Bring a dynamic experience back to your school or district Whether you’re attending a workshop, institute, or summit, you’ll discover essential frameworks for maximizing student performance as revealed by some of education’s trailblazers. Under their seasoned guidance, you’ll discover the latest techniques to carve improved paths to learning.
Workshops Capacity Days of training Number of presenters Research-based strategies Expert guidance Honest conversations
75–150
500–1,800
2,000+
2
2–3
3
1–2
2–12
4–12
Panel discussions Interactive team training Customizable content Intensive, topic-specific breakout sessions Built-in team time Critical support on key leadership issues Hybrid events available Mobile application On-site bookstore
Institutes Summits
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PLC at Work Summit TM
February 20–22
Phoenix, AZ
Keynotes • The Power of Professional Learning Communities at WorkTM: Bringing the Big Ideas to Life Rebecca DuFour
Richard DuFour
Robert Eaker
• Implementing the PLC Process: Will You Soar or Settle? • What It Means to Be a Professional Learning Community • The Perils and Promises of Current Trends in Teacher Evaluation • The Will to Lead: The Transformational Leader • Standards Aren’t Enough: Engaging Every Student, Teacher, and Leader
Robert J. Marzano Anthony Muhammad Douglas B. Reeves
Timothy D. Kanold
Thomas W. Many
Mike Mattos
Build school culture where learning thrives Hear from authors you know and trust as they address the most important aspects of school culture that must change as you create your PLC. Learn how to change assessment and grading practices, address conflict, and build a system of interventions that satisfies RTI requirements. Each keynote presentation will address concepts essential to the PLC process. The speakers will be available to answer your questions. The materials you receive provide powerful tools, resources, and research to help you implement the PLC concept in your own school or district. Whether you are just beginning to build a PLC or need to regroup for your next steps, this summit provides practical knowledge based on the three big ideas that drive a PLC, delivered by experts who know the process best. You will return to your school system ready to build staff capacity to work interdependently within high-performing collaborative teams committed to continuous improvement.
Kenneth C. Williams
solution-tree.com/2013PLCSummit
Hybrid Events What is a hybrid event? February 20–22 PLC at Work Summit TM
April 24–26
Leadership NOW Summit
June 18–20
PLC at Work Institute
July 17–19
PLC at Work Institute
July 24–26
PLC at Work Institute
August 5–7
PLC at Work Institute
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A hybrid event is an opportunity for a large school team to experience one of our conferences without traveling or incurring food and lodging costs. Instead, at a convenient location of your choosing, your staff will view a live video stream of keynote and breakout sessions and panel discussions, while enjoying expert on-site facilitation from a trained associate.
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PLC at Work Institutes TM
Learning Outcomes • Build the capacity of staff to function as a PLC at Work™. • Use the PLC at Work™ process to sustain continuous school improvement. • Create a focus on learning.
Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Mike Mattos, and Robert Eaker
• Develop systems of intervention and enrichment for students who experience difficulty and for those who are already proficient. • Create a collaborative culture.
June 3–5
Las Vegas, NV
June 6–8
St. Charles, MO
• Use evidence of student learning to inform and improve professional practice.
June 12–14
Tulsa, OK
• Build consensus for change.
June 18–20
San Antonio, TX
July 8–10
Minneapolis, MN
• Effectively address resistance to engaging in the most promising practices to improve student learning.
July 17–19
Pasadena, CA
July 24–26
Orlando, FL
• Implement the Common Core State Standards for mathematics through the PLC at Work™ process.
August 5–7
Lincolnshire, IL
• Engage in difficult conversations productively.
August 12–14
Seattle, WA
• Lead the PLC at Work™ process effectively.
September 18–20
Albuquerque, NM
October 1–3
Charlotte, NC
October 28–30
Indianapolis, IN
November 12–14
Salt Lake City, UT
The Professional Learning Communities at Work™ process is increasingly recognized as the most powerful strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement. These institutes gives you and your team the knowledge and tools to implement this powerful process in your school or district.
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How does it work?
Are these ‘virtual’ events?
For a significantly lower per-person cost, rather than travel to the conference, you can host a hybrid event. If you sign up to host, you will make arrangements for the location where the hybrid event will be held for your staff, and we will arrange for the facilitator and materials.
We prefer to use the term hybrid event because this is not going to be like sitting at your computer or watching the conference on TV. It is a multifaceted, participatory, and guided alternative experience that captures the collaborative dynamic of the conference.
Visit solution-tree.com/hybrids for information on how you can stream an event to your school or district!
PLC at WORK
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Building Better Schools Together Institute October 17–19
Toronto, ON
Learning Outcomes • Build staff commitment with a focus on maintaining a collaborative culture. Wayne Hulley
Karen Branscombe
Tom Hierck
• Reinforce and support planning initiatives by leveraging relevant data. • Develop clear goals that effectively direct staff planning. • Employ high-yield strategies that have the most potential to change outcomes. • Enhance planning with specific strategies to monitor progress in a cycle of continuous improvement.
François Massé
Anthony Muhammad
Ainsley B. Rose
Kenneth C. Williams
“Excellent! As a new teacher, I found [Wayne’s] presentation very useful, and I really liked the hands-on, practical tips. You reaffirmed why teaching is my passion.”
Lead your school, impact change Research proves that most school improvement plans fail to bring about lasting change that impacts student learning. For the past 45 years, Wayne Hulley has focused on developing sustainable strategies and processes proven to help students learn better. At this institute, you’ll discover how to implement Wayne’s model, the Planning for School and Student Success Process (PSSSP), which identifies and counteracts eight critical issues that inhibit students from reaching their full potential. Unlike other school improvement models, the PSSSP is not a template, but rather a dedicated process that focuses on building positive school culture that emphasizes collaboration. This model demonstrates how evidence, clear goals, and implementation efforts must be monitored on an ongoing basis. Learn how this process interacts with high-yield strategies such as professional learning communities, response to intervention, and other initiatives for improved school culture.
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—Natalie Seguin, teacher, Conseil scolaire district catholique de l’Est ontarien, Ontario
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Leadership NOW April 24–26
Las Vegas, NV
A Collaborative Summit for Administrators and Teachers
Learning Outcomes • Gain an understanding of how to create high standards of achievement for all students. Richard DuFour
Robert J. Marzano
Sir Ken Robinson
• Ensure collaborative learning through shared leadership and accountability. • Acquire techniques for consensus building, strategic planning, and vision development. • Develop effective systems of job-embedded professional development.
Anthony Muhammad Kenneth C. Williams
Rebecca DuFour
• Obtain tools, tips, and templates proven to impact team effectiveness and student learning.
Expand your capacity for leadership
Tammy Heflebower
Timothy D. Kanold
Phil Warrick
“It was a perfect balance of research and practical strategies. Marzano and DuFour are a brilliant collaboration!” —Jeanne R. Gren, principal, Anna Jarvis Elementary School, West Virginia
As an educator, you’re used to prioritizing competing expectations while equipping your school or district with the right tools to stay on track. But good leadership is more than just staying on track—it’s also anticipating what lies ahead. So how do you create reliable systems that drive best practice in every classroom using limited resources? And how can teachers train themselves to be stronger leaders within their schools and classrooms? This summit offers insight straight from the top, addressing leadership at the district, school, and classroom levels. Participate in open, honest conversations with some of the boldest names in education. You’ll get top-to-bottom training on everything from the key elements of effective leadership to techniques necessary for transforming student learning. This summit is a must for those looking to deepen the reach and impact of their networks.
Privileged access
to some of the boldest
names in education.
Honest conversations about the issues your school or district is facing.
Genuine support of educators working through the same issues.
solution-tree.com/LeadershipNOW
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Common Core Mathematics in a PLC Workshops Learning Outcomes • Define the gap between current instruction and assessment practice and the expectations of the CCSS for mathematics. Timothy D. Kanold
Jonathan A. Wray
October 3–4
Bellevue, WA
• Understand current expectations of the PARCC or Smarter Balanced state assessment consortia. • Design a transition plan that reflects the paradigm shifts required for successful student experiences in the CCSS for mathematics. • Commit to implementation of the transition plan for Common Core readiness. • Use and apply the online resources for the analysis and development of effective mathematics lesson design and highquality mathematics assessment tools and processes.
Timothy D. Kanold
October 9–10
Juli K. Dixon
Glenview, IL
Overview Does your school have a viable transition plan to meet the demands and expectations of the Common Core State Standards? Led by nationally known mathematics education authors, you’ll learn how to focus your time, energy, and resources on ways to successfully implement the CCSS for mathematics. The presenters will examine the CCSS through the lens and the work of your professional learning community. You will reflect on current mathematics instruction, content, and assessment design and practices to develop a comprehensive framework for improved student achievement. The Standards for Mathematical Practice will be provided. These workshops will focus on fundamental areas (paradigms) necessary to prepare you and your team for this important period of transition.
“Very motivating speaker! I am ready and armed to meet the PLC teams in my school and develop their skills in the area of looking, analyzing, and making decisions in the best interest of the —Kathryn Zanin, teacher, Doolen Elementary School, Arizona student.”
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Common Core for English Language Arts Workshops Learning Outcomes • Identify the conceptual shifts in the CCSS for English language arts. • Enumerate the anchor standards in reading, writing, speaking and listening, language, and foundational skills. Douglas Fisher
Nancy Frey
March 27–28
Boston, MA
• Comprehend the components of text complexity, text-dependent questions, and close reading. • Analyze lesson vignettes and videos for compliance with the key tenets of the CCSS. • Appraise the intervention efforts available at a selected school or district to determine strengths and needs. • Evaluate a collaborative planning team process, and identify areas of strength and need. • Develop an action plan for implementation of the CCSS.
Nancy Frey
April 8–9 September 23–24 December 2–3
Santa Ana, CA St. Paul, MN Bellevue, WA
Overview The Common Core State Standards have set a new precedent for the foundation of schooling. As a result, teachers, teacher leaders, principals, and curriculum directors must reevaluate their practices to align with the rigor and relevance demanded by the Common Core. These workshops combine expertise in English language arts with the PLC at Work™ process and focus on building capacity for implementation. Gain assessment strategies for developing student proficiency as well as the chance to deeply explore the standards and leave with an action plan. Learn what changes to curriculum and instruction are necessary to meet the standards and ensure student achievement. Participants will learn how to develop lesson plans that incorporate text complexity, close reading, and informational texts as required by the new standards.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
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Annual Conference on
Common Core Standards and Assessment April 30–May 2
Phoenix, AZ
Learning Outcomes • Design standards-based assessments that tell you immediately whether your students are hitting their learning targets. Douglas B. Reeves
Robert J Marzano
Timothy D. Kanold
• Examine how instruction and assessment will need to change in order for students to be successful with the CCSS for mathematics and English language arts. • Determine how to “power” the Common Core. • Learn the current status of the assessment consortia (PARCC and Smarter Balanced), and analyze content-specific implications for your school or district.
Douglas Fisher
Cassandra Erkens
Robin J. Fogarty
• Discover a process to unpack the new CCSS and design simple formative assessments. • Uncover how to make homework practices matter. • Start thinking collaboratively to design common assessments aligned to the Common Core.
Diane J. Briars
Nancy Frey
Mary Kim Schreck
• Understand the importance of student involvement in assessment design, and examine different ways you can promote involvement in your classroom. • Explore new ways of grading that clearly reflect student learning. • Frame essential 21st century skills within the context of curriculum, assessment, and instruction.
“All of the speakers gave clear, plain-talk seminars. They all had in-the-field experiences that I could relate to. Each presenter had oodles of research that backed up their assertions.” —Ann Marie Mancini, teacher, Holmes Elementary School, Connecticut
Meet the demands of the standards Schools throughout the nation face a new challenge of transitioning to the Common Core State Standards. In addition, educators now realize how important it is to integrate 21st century skills into every classroom. How do you align current curriculum with these new initiatives? Which assessments will best monitor students’ progress and engage them in the learning process? How do you implement equitable, defensible grading practices that make sense to students and parents? Most important, how do you accomplish this while maintaining quality instruction and your sanity? For answers to all these questions and more, this is the conference to attend! We’re bringing you experts who have worked on the new CCSS for mathematics and English language arts. You’ll have time to explore, network, and discover new tools for implementing practical strategies.
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Common Core NOW Institute August 12–13 Boston, MA
Learning Outcomes • Examine mathematical practices and thinking shifts necessary for both students and teachers to learn important concepts and procedures. Cassandra Erkens
Douglas Fisher
Robin J. Fogarty
• Learn how to call on all students to apply complex reasoning to real-world issues and challenges. • Gain up-to-date information on the work of the PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessment consortia. • Acquire strategies proven to help students develop the critical thinking skills demanded by the Common Core.
Timothy D. Kanold
Juli K. Dixon
Francis (Skip) Fennell
• Enable students to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence. • Identify classic, contemporary, and informational texts with the complexity necessary to achieve the analysis, research, and comprehension insights of the standards.
Mary Kim Schreck
“I was able to hear perspectives on the Common Core Standards by professionals who have been in the work for several years, and their knowledge and background are so valuable to those of us in the process.”
• Collect tips and tools for supporting and monitoring the implementation of the standards.
Top-notch guidance on anchor standards You’ve unpacked the standards and started the implementation process. Now our experts take you deeper, equipping you with techniques for tackling specific requirements for English language arts and mathematics. Learn how to prepare for major instructional shifts embedded in the standards with Common Core-aligned curriculum design, resource selection, and assessment.
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— Samial B. Morerod, principal, Katherine Gallegos Elementary School, New Mexico
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COMMON CORE 11
Assessments for State and Common Core Standards Workshops Learning Outcomes • Review the six shifts in the CCSS. • Preview assessments proposed by SBAC and PARCC. Kay Burke
March 25–26 Boston, MA April 15–16 Glenview, IL November 14–15 Santa Ana, CA
• Target and “repack” essential state or CCSS into teacher checklists to guide instruction. • Recognize the difference between a standards-referenced classroom and a standards-embedded classroom. • Use the “language of the standards” to develop curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments. • Understand the differences and similarities between formative and summative assessment.
Overview Understand why educators need to create rigorous formative and summative assessments correlated to the language and concepts of the state or Common Core State Standards. Kay Burke models an ongoing process that will improve classroom teaching and assessments by focusing on collaboration, communication, and critical-thinking skills. Learn how to create common assessments, teacher and student checklists, and analytical rubrics. Use metacognitive strategies to improve learning by using feedback, scaffolding, and differentiation. Work in teams to develop a valid assessment process to monitor student work and to prove students have met or exceeded the standards. These hands-on workshops are geared toward teacher development of a complete curriculum unit correlated to the standards. Each grade-level, content-specific, or interdisciplinary team will leave with a grade-level or content-area performance task unit targeted to the CCSS and curriculum goals. School and district administrators should plan to accompany a teacher team in order to participate in the hands-on learning and to develop an action plan for districtwide implementation of the process.
“I kept hearing about ‘unpacking the standards’ without any explanation as to what that really meant. Not only did I learn about ‘unpacking,’ but also ‘repacking’ the standards! Actually going through the process of unpacking and repacking made it — Ines Schmook, principal, Lake Orienta Elementary School, Florida very clear.”
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Implementing Common Core Standards With Total Instructional Alignment Workshops Learning Outcomes • Learn tools and processes to successfully unpack and align the national Common Core Standards through curriculum, assessment, and quality instruction. Lisa Carter
March 18–19 April 17–18 April 22–23 October 1–2 October 7–8
Atlanta, GA Albuquerque, NM St. Charles, MO Bellevue, WA San Diego, CA
• Write clear learning goals that are specific, measurable, and aligned to higher-order thinking. • Create high-quality assessments designed to frequently measure individual student learning progress. • Explore vertical and horizontal teams that embed flexible grouping and differentiated instructional practices. • Align your school system as a culture in which time—not learning—is the variable and standards, curriculum, assessment, and instruction are connected. • Align and adjust instruction in the classroom and systemwide to meet the individual learning needs of all students.
Overview Plan ahead to ensure a seamless transition from current state standards to the new Common Core State Standards. These workshops are designed to help school and district teams prepare for smooth and effective implementation. The first step is to develop an implementation process that has been field-tested for success. Total Instructional Alignment (TIA) is a proven process for creating high-achieving classrooms, schools, and districts. As the architect of this process, Lisa Carter guides teachers and administrators in understanding the critical alignment of the Common Core through development of curriculum, assessment, and instruction.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
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Common Core State Standards Workshop Learning Outcomes • Discover the purpose, organization, and content of the CCSS. • Learn about the three facets of text complexity and how this relates to the CCSS for English language arts. Robert J. Marzano
Tammy Heflebower
• Gain an understanding of instructional and assessment practices that support the CCSS. • Learn about proficiency scales and how they support CCSS implementation. • Study the CCSS assessment process, specifically in relation to potential item types.
Jan K. Hoegh
February 7–8
Phil Warrick
Midwest City, OK
Hosted by Mid-Del Public Schools
“I loved the way that the content was modeled by the presenters. It was a great way to see the information in action.” —Sherry Ann Adams, principal, Melba Elementary School, Idaho
• Explore possible strategic plans for implementing the CCSS.
Overview Find new confidence that Common Core State Standards implementation is doable and meaningful to you and the students you serve. The Common Core initiative is currently being implemented across the United States, and because of the rigorous timeline and the implications of the standards themselves, teachers and administrators are seeking support. Dr. Marzano and his core leadership team have developed a fourmodule training series that will help teachers and administrators effectively and efficiently transition to these new standards. Workshop participants will walk away with current information related to the CCSS and also knowledge about processes that can be facilitated at the school or district level. CCSS curricular, instructional, and assessment processes will be addressed in great detail. Participants will have an opportunity to create a draft plan for implementation.
marzanoresearch.com
MARZANO Research Laboratory marzanoresearch.com 888.849.0851
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Elementary Reading Intervention Strategies Workshops Learning Outcomes • Learn the critical attributes of instruction for students at risk of reading failure. • Acquire reading intervention strategies for phonemic awareness, word identification, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins
March 11–12 April 17–18 May 6–7 September 25–26 October 14–15 December 2–3
• Design an intervention lesson based on your core program.
Bellevue, WA Glenview, IL St. Paul, MN Boston, MA Omaha, NE San Diego, CA
• Teach reluctant readers to read a lot. • Collaborate with colleagues to solve specific reading problems in your classroom or school. • Explore which specific reading indicators, outcomes, and standards students find most challenging. • Review the Literacy Look-Fors Observation Protocol from Dr. McEwan-Adkins’s book Literacy Look-Fors.
Overview Discover the most effective reading intervention strategies for struggling K–6 students. Acquire a toolkit for scaffolding instruction for all students, and learn how to design a customized intervention plan for your classroom, school, or district. Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins models strategies and shows you how to adapt them to your reading program. Bring your biggest reading obstacles and challenges, and gain research-based solutions to ensure literacy for all.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
LITERACY 15
Simplifying RTI Institutes Learning Outcomes • Create a school/district culture that focuses on student learning. • Build a highly effective, collaborative core program. Austin Buffum
Mike Mattos
• Focus core instruction on rigorous core curriculum. • Unpack the CCSS into focused student learning targets. • Design, analyze, and utilize common assessments to improve core instruction and guide interventions. • Plan for embedded intervention time. • Engage and empower students in the learning process.
Laurie Robinson
Chris Weber
April 15–17 June 26–28 July 31–August 2 October 22–24
Vancouver, BC Denver, CO Grand Rapids, MI Kansas City, MO
“Thank you for the excellent training— among the best I have attended in my 20 years in education. It sparked a real interest in me to look at our current way of doing business and how we can develop interventions or alter them to better meet the needs of all kids.” —Jeff Schneekloth, associate principal, Taft Middle School, Iowa
• Target interventions to meet individual student needs. • Understand the critical components and implementation of a behavioral RTI system.
The key to unlocking powerful interventions What does successful response to intervention (RTI) look like when all the pieces come together? The underlying premise of RTI is that schools should not delay providing help for struggling students until they fall far enough behind to qualify for special education, but instead should provide timely, targeted, and systematic interventions to all students who demonstrate the need. With unprecedented access to nationally recognized experts who have successfully implemented RTI in a variety of settings—often with limited personnel and dwindling resources—you will learn how to create a tiered system of support. With a drill-down breakout approach full of hands-on activities and through interactive and highly engaging keynotes, these institutes will explore how to build an intervention program by looking at the four essential elements of a successful RTI model: collective responsibility, concentrated instruction, convergent assessment, and certain access. Expanding on the methods detailed in their best-selling books Pyramid Response to Intervention and Simplifying Response to Intervention, the presenters include specifics on how to lead the RTI process at the site and district levels. Learn how to create a proactive process to identify students who need help, place them in the proper intervention, monitor their progress, revise interventions as needed, and determine when students no longer need additional support. Each presenter will match theory with practice and offer strategies that can immediately pay big dividends for both students and staff.
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Simplifying RTI Workshops Learning Outcomes • Use the four guiding principles to guide thinking and implementation. • Shift to a culture of collective responsibility.
Mike Mattos
March 20–21 March 25–26 October 9–10
Atlanta, GA San Diego, CA San Diego, CA
• Build team structures for collaboration. • Define essential learnings in a program of concentrated instruction. • Create a toolbox of effective interventions. • Develop a system of convergent assessment to identify students for intervention, determine their unique needs, monitor their progress, and revise or extend learning based on their progress.
Overview Austin Buffum
April 4–5 October 7–8
Dallas, TX Glenview, IL
RTI is not a series of implementation steps to cross off on a list, but a way of thinking about how educators can ensure each child receives the time and support needed to achieve success. These workshops were developed for school teams who have started RTI but are still refining processes or experiencing challenges. The presenters have worked with hundreds of schools throughout North America and can help your school make RTI efficient, effective, and equitable. RTI work must be divided between collaborative teacher teams and two schoolwide teams (a leadership team and an intervention team). Together, the entire school assumes responsibility for the learning of every student. Learn why bureaucratic, paperwork-heavy, compliance-oriented, test-score-driven approaches fail—and then learn how to create an RTI model that works. Acquire four essential guiding principles— collective responsibility, concentrated instruction, convergent assessment, and certain access—and experience a simple process for bringing these principles to life in your school.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
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Pyramid Response to Intervention Workshops Learning Outcomes • Identify students needing additional support, determine appropriate interventions, monitor progress, and revise a student’s program as needed. Mike Mattos
March 13–14 April 24–25 May 1–2 May 8–9 November 20–21
San Antonio, TX St. Charles, MO West Palm Beach, FL Centennial, CO St. Paul, MN
• Extend student learning and support students who have already mastered grade-level curriculum. • Create a more focused, doable Tier 1 core curriculum. • Utilize universal screening tools to identify students for extra help before they fail. • Determine when formal special education placement is appropriate. • Explore how the three big ideas of a PLC—focus on learning, build a collaborative culture, and results orientation—make PLC and RTI natural partners.
Overview Austin Buffum
March 13–14 April 10–11 May 2–3 May 8–9 May 14–15 October 3–4 October 16–17 November 20–21
Bellevue, WA Santa Ana, CA Milpitas, CA St. Paul, MN San Diego, CA Hunt Valley, MD Tampa, FL Las Vegas, NV
Response to intervention (RTI) is our nation’s best hope to ensure high levels of learning for all children. Federal law since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004, RTI’s underlying premise is that schools should not delay providing help for struggling students until they fall far enough behind to qualify for special education, but instead should provide timely, targeted, systematic interventions to all students who demonstrate need. Understand why RTI is most effective when implemented on the foundation of a professional learning community (PLC). Learn how to create three tiers of interventions—from basic to intensive—to address student learning gaps and how to make RTI work in your school.
“A team from my district attended the Pyramid Response to Intervention Workshop in Boston. I can truly say it transformed us. We walked away not only with a clear picture of how it could look in our schools, but the inspiration to do it with integrity.” —Susan Kinney, assistant to the superintendent for staff development and student intervention, Boyertown Area School District, Pennsylvania
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Response to Intervention in Math Workshops Learning Outcomes • Learn how to use assessments for universal screening and benchmarking in mathematics. William N. Bender
Darlene Crane
March 20–21 April 24–25 May 6–7 September 25–26 November 12–13
Milpitas, CA Omaha, NE Centennial, CO St. Paul, MN San Antonio, TX
• Gain strategies specific to middle and high schools for using RTI in mathematics. • Understand how differentiated instruction strengthens Tier 1 instruction for all grade levels. • Examine how the new Common Core State Standards initiative impacts RTI. • See how other schools in the nation handle implementation problems.
Overview Focus on the tough issues that surround RTI in mathematics. Your K–12 mathematics leadership team will work out a comprehensive approach to important RTI decisions, determining where holes in learning exist and how to intervene. These intensive workshops help elementary, middle, and high school educators see what response strategies need to be used when students have been moved up without mastering essential concepts and skills. This “backward” approach will be useful in designing intervention plans for all grade levels. Come with the issues, questions, and implementation problems you have faced in your district. Participate in brainstorming periods where you can exchange strategies, ideas, and resources with your team members and other participants.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
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Assessment NOW Institute October 21–23
Atlanta, GA
Learning Outcomes • Learn how to use common assessments to integrate the CCSS.
Victoria L. Bernhardt
Douglas Fisher
Tammy Heflebower
• Establish frameworks for reinforcing rigor and relevance in assessment design. • Create assessment tasks that integrate collaboration, creativity, communication, and higher-level thinking skills. • Explore item development in assessment design, and create rubrics aligned to performance tasks. • Discover how to create local rigorous and relevant assessments.
Tom Hierck
Timothy D. Kanold
Robert J. Marzano
• Identify important shifts in assessment practices for mathematics and English language arts. • Develop common formative assessments to monitor and promote continued learning.
Chris Jakicic
Beth Parrott Reynolds
Nicole Vagle
Make your assessment process timely, precise, and effective Discover how to connect instructional and assessment practices to prepare your students for success in a highly competitive, global, and information-rich world. At this institute, leading Common Core State Standards and assessment authors will share in-depth expectations of the standards and provide techniques for incorporating formative assessments and analyzing data to drive remediation and enrichment. Learn how to equip students to master the advanced content, complex reasoning, and design of CCSS-aligned assessments.
solution-tree.com/AssessmentNOW
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Building Common Assessments Workshops Learning Outcomes • Understand the rationale for using common formative assessments. • Learn the common formative assessment process from beginning to end.
Cassandra Erkens
March 11–12 April 2–3 April 15–16 May 14–15 May 16–17 September 23–24 November 12–13 November 18–19
San Antonio, TX St. Paul, MN Albuquerque, NM Bellevue, WA San Diego, CA Boston, MA Santa Ana, CA Las Vegas, NV
• Focus on the keys to accurate design and effective use of assessments. • Gain supportive tools, such as planning templates and protocols.
Overview In a professional learning community, teachers work together to answer the following critical questions: 1. What do we want students to learn? 2. How will we know if they have learned? 3. How will we respond when they don’t learn? 4. How will we respond when they do learn?
Sarah Schuhl
March 18–19 December 4–5
Milpitas, CA Bellevue, WA
Participants are encouraged to attend as a team, as time will be provided each day to support the collaborative planning process for a general common formative assessment framework.
Nicole Vagle
April 2–3 April 22–23 April 29–30 October 1–2 October 14–15 November 18–19
One of the best ways to study and answer these questions is through the use of common formative assessments. By collaboratively developing these assessments, teams establish a consistent way to effectively monitor student learning, collectively respond to results, implement informed practice, and raise expectations.
Dallas, TX Omaha, NE West Palm Beach, FL Hunt Valley, MD Tampa, FL St. Paul, MN
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
ASSESSMENT 21
Redefining Fair Workshop Learning Outcomes • Determine students’ readiness to learn and learning preferences. • Recognize when to use scaffolding and tiering. • Understand the crucial difference between providing content and coaching skills.
Damian Cooper
November 19–20
Toronto, ON
• Acquire assessment and differentiation strategies that will maximize learning for all students. • Identify what excellence means in the mixed-ability classroom. • Learn how to use responsive teaching and achieve standards. • Recognize the difference between norm-referenced and criterionreferenced grades and what methods to use for grading mixedability classes. • Determine ways to ensure that report cards convey information accurately, fairly, usefully, and clearly to both students and parents.
Overview Differentiation is a necessary response both to the changing demography of schools and to our understanding of how students learn. But the differentiation of instruction and assessment is often blocked by outdated beliefs regarding fairness. Drawing from his extensive experience in the field, Damian Cooper answers the common questions teachers have about putting differentiation into action. The workshop offers instructional solutions that are comprehensive, practical, clear, and effective. It includes strategies and examples of assessment methods to improve student learning and enable all students to realize their potential. The workshop is based on two key principles. First, assessment must promote learning and be fair, equitable, and sensitive to individual needs. Second, assessment must be manageable and efficient for teachers. And it must involve a reasonable number of welldesigned, high-quality tools. Teachers, instructional coaches, building administrators, and curriculum and assessment coordinators will acquire strategies to facilitate the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills students need to navigate the vast amounts of information they encounter in our digital world.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786 22 ASSESSMENT 22
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Becoming a Reflective Teacher Workshop Learning Outcomes • Explore 41 self-reflection strategies suited to implement into any classroom environment. Robert J. Marzano
Tammy Heflebower
• Identify ways to integrate self-reflection into the foundation of your learning teams. • Discover your pedagogical strengths and weaknesses, and learn what to do with them. • Understand the powerful and positive influence technology can have on your learning objectives. • Contextualize the research that transforms educators into experts.
Margaret McInteer
February 5–6
Midwest City, OK
Hosted by Mid-Del Public Schools
“I left feeling more prepared for the journey ahead. Very well presented!” —Christie Spurlock, teacher, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Indiana
Overview As teachers are asked to become more accountable for their classroom practices and outcomes, it’s critical to embrace selfevaluation and self-reflection as paths toward improvement. At this workshop, you’ll learn what teachers can do by themselves, for themselves, right now. Uncover why classroom autonomy and collaboration go hand in hand and what sort of framework must exist between teachers in order for success to manifest at every level of learning. After being introduced to a large range of instructional strategies, you’ll assess yourself based on those strategies, plan to design your own personal growth plan, and learn how to set and meet mutual teacher goals.
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MARZANO Research Laboratory marzanoresearch.com 888.849.0851
INSTRUCTION 23
Teaching the iGeneration Workshops Learning Outcomes • Explore the characteristics of today’s learners. • Review the essential skills—information management, communication, collaboration, problem solving, persuasion—that successful individuals have always relied on.
William M. Ferriter
March 27–28 April 4–5
San Diego, CA St. Paul, MN
• Examine the ways that new digital tools and services can make work with these essential skills more effective and efficient for 21st century learners. • Study practical handouts and processes designed to structure digital learning projects in 21st century classrooms.
Overview Developing literate citizens capable of successfully participating in a knowledge-driven, democratic society has long been one of the fundamental pillars of our K–12 educational system. To that end, public and private schools have traditionally focused on helping students master basic skills in core subjects like reading and math. Being literate in the 21st century, however, depends on much more than a simple mastery of reading and math. According to the National Council of Teachers of English and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, to succeed in tomorrow’s world, today’s students need to develop fluency with the kinds of digital skills that can make learners more efficient and effective. They must be able to manage—and judge the reliability of—multiple streams of information at once. They must recognize that they can build networks with others who share similar passions and begin to see conversations as opportunities to challenge and be challenged. They must also find ways to solve complex problems together, to raise their voices around issues that matter, and to leverage the power of persuasion to drive positive change in their communities. And despite growing up connected, today’s student can’t do this work alone. It is up to teachers to build a bridge between what students already know about technology and what we know about learning.
“I learned several things I could take back to my school and start working on with my team. I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to say that about a workshop recently. Really had a good time and am looking forward to more!”
—Patricia Leatherman, teacher, Washington Elementary School, Oregon
24 TECHNOLOGY 24
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21st Century Skills Workshop Learning Outcomes • Understand why the curricular priorities of schools no longer align with student needs. William M. Ferriter
Cheryl Lemke
• Connect 21st century skills with student engagement through targeted lesson design. • Discover existing educational practices and structures that support 21st century skills. • Build student competence by combining the power of professional learning communities with 21st century skills.
Overview
Will Richardson
October 28–29
Ottawa, ON
Many educators have voiced concern about the effects of an inadequate educational system on the economy and innovative potential of students. There’s never been a better time to initiate change. Ensure your students are prepared to step up as the new generation of productive global citizens. Design your instructional practice using the latest social and neuroscience research on critical thinking, multitasking, multimodal learning, collaboration, and engagement. At this workshop, you will thread core subjects with 21st century themes that bring your curriculum alive with richness, rigor, and relevance. Learn how you can use high-tech tools in the classroom to serve as an extension of student thinking—and as places to explore ideas, research questions, test hypotheses, compose thoughts, and come to conclusions. You’ll hone in on teacher-friendly ways to utilize problem-based learning, clear communication, and metacognitive reflection— 21st century tools for engaging learning. These tools also serve as vehicles for collaboration and authenticity, two highly effective accelerators to learning, enabling interactivity that can sharpen and extend thinking and pique intellectual curiosity. Best of all, you’ll construct frameworks, strategies, and tools for creating and sustaining innovative schools that can compete with the best in the world.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
21st CENTURY SKILLS 25
Got Data? Moving Your Team to Results Workshops Learning Outcomes • Learn and apply the seven qualities of high-performing teams. • Engage with practical structures for using data to focus a team’s attention and energy. Bruce Wellman
October 16–17
Omaha, NE
• Apply a three-phase model for guiding data-driven collaborative inquiry. • Expand your repertoire of assessment tools, strategies, and structures for developing teams. • Distinguish between three ways of talking in teams: dialogue, discussion, and decision making, and understand the pathway and transition from one to the next.
Overview Laura Lipton
November 14–15
San Antonio, TX
Research has shown that data-driven teacher collaboration produces robust gains in student learning. However, your data teams, like many, still seem to struggle with these three dilemmas: committee without community, time without tools, and data without deliberation. Learn practical methods for using data to focus conversations and increase team productivity. You’ll also learn how to efficiently get work done while simultaneously developing capacities for doing increasingly complex tasks. The presenters will model facilitation practices and data-driven dialogue protocols that will lead your school or district to success. You’ll explore the seven qualities of high-performing teams and learn ways to apply strategies for encouraging your teams to adopt those qualities. When you return home, you’ll have field-tested tips and practical takeaways for immediate application with your teams.
“The presentation was well organized, goals were clearly defined, content was relevant, and the personal anecdotes created a comfortable learning climate.” —Lisa Moree, EL specialist, Harris Elementary School, Arizona
26 TEAMS 26
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Pyramid of Behavior Interventions Workshops Learning Outcomes • Develop shared knowledge of the research behind behavior and behavior supports. • Design districtwide policies aligned to research on positive support and reinforcement.
Tom Hierck
April 30–May 1 November 21–22
Milpitas, CA Toronto, ON
• Begin to build the components of a comprehensive pyramid of behavior interventions. • Articulate a clearly defined checklist to help move the plan forward. • Identify the ABCs of behavior assessment. • Recognize how to leverage personnel to support students in need. • Build the team capacity required to implement this collaborative process.
Charlie Coleman
May 16–17 December 4–5
Tom Hierck
Bellevue, WA San Diego, CA
• Inspire team members to rekindle their passion for building strong, positive relationships between students and adults.
Overview You’re working to build your academic interventions, but are you giving enough time and energy to behavioral interventions? Achievement is inextricably linked to behavior. Do you have a system in place that fosters a healthy relationship between the two? At these workshops, you’ll discover how to align your academic and behavior interventions to create a learning environment where all students are set up for success. The presenters will use their practical experience to walk you through the essential implementation steps created by combining the principles of Professional Learning Communities at Work™ and pyramid response to intervention with the tenets of behavioral interventions. Although designing a pyramid of behavior interventions is new territory for many, it can absolutely align to other system responses you are creating or have already created to support student success. Learn how to take what you’ve already got and grow it into something comprehensive and sustainable.
Come with a vision, leave with a plan. solution-tree.com/workshops 800.733.6786
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT and BEHAVIOR 27
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Workshops | Institutes | Summits “That was the best PD day I have experienced in 40 years of teaching. There was no magic bullet, no forms to fill out, just an ongoing plan to make things better!” —David Raterink, teacher, Hudsonville High School, Michigan
“There was a collective effort to focus on student learning and engagement, along with data and mutual accountability. Every keynote and breakout session was inspiring and filled with current, researchbased information.” —Karen Satterwhite, principal, Blanton Elementary School, Texas
“I left revitalized about teaching. I needed that, but probably not as much as my students needed it.” —Carrie Echeita, teacher, Forks Middle School, Washington