Presentation Ideas:
Mr. Gleason offers different presentations about CMP and teaching, however here are some of his special interests:
Mr. Gleason offers different presentations about CMP and teaching, however here are some of his special interests:
- Lighting A Fire In Kids (or Teachers) - This presentation can be geared toward students or teachers. How can we cultivate curiosity, instill intrinsic motivation and make impactful connections with our students and/or teachers?
- Assessment and Grading – My belief is that we tend to focus on the type of assessments that measure what matters least in our schools. Overburdened, underfunded, hard working teachers are struggling to meet the needs of increasingly complex classrooms while being mandated to teach to the test in hopes of achieving high standardized test scores. Assessment isn’t seen as a tool for learning but rather the end in itself. I believe that when done correctly, assessment can provide the practitioner with the vital information needed to meet the needs of his/her students. Assessment can provide the necessary feedback needed for teachers to improve their practice and students to gauge their growth. Assessment when done correctly, can define what is truly important in a classroom and communicate growth to parents and community members. You see, assessment is not evaluation, but includes evaluation. Assessment answers a questions. Self-assessment is powerful, because it mandates reflection and analysis. Gathering information does not require a test and reporting information does not require a grade. You can measure anything, but that does not mean that it is important. It is time to change the assessment paradigm.
- Overcoming Fear In Our Classrooms - “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”― Marie Curie How has fear and uncertainty impacted you and your teaching this past year? You are carrying a lot on your shoulders right now ranging from equity, social justice, recruitment, retention, instructional minutes, engagement, not to mention your own mental health and physical well being! The goal of this session is to help participants to name the fear that is driving choices made in the classroom and to re-center ourselves on our values, principles and beliefs.
- A New Take On Assessment: The End Of Average - Are you above average? Every day we are measured against the "average person," judged according to how closely we resemble the average—or how far we exceed it. The assumption that average-based yardsticks like academic GPAs, personality tests, and annual performance reviews reveal something meaningful about our ability is so ingrained in our consciousness that we never question it. But this assumption is spectacularly wrong.
- Everyone Loves A Good Story: How To Use Storytelling In Your Teaching - Stories have deep meaning in our society. Studies show that students (and adults) listen to and remember the stories we tell. Storytelling can be used in our classrooms to effectively engage our students. Storytelling can also be used to advocate for our discipline and classrooms. This session will reveal the key components to a great narrative and how to construct everything from TED presentations to elevator pitches.
- You Are Teaching The Next Neil Armstrong- We are preparing students for a world that we can hardly imagine. The students we are currently teaching will live in a world that will see humans walk on Mars. What skills, knowledge, and dispositions will be necessary to navigate this uncertain future? With all of the challenges facing educators, it is easy to just use what works and to stop innovating. This session creates the space for educators to reflect on the HOW and WHAT we are teaching to the next generation through our discipline.
- The Reflective Practioner: Using The Danielson Framework and Other Resources To Guide Improvement In Our Practice- The Danielson Framework for Teaching is a research-based set of components of instruction, aligned to the INTASC standards, and grounded in a constructivist view of learning and teaching. It is currently being used across the country as the foundation of a school or district's mentoring, coaching, professional development, and teacher evaluation processes, thus linking all those activities together and helping teachers become more thoughtful practitioners. Through observation, reflection, and careful analysis we can all grow and improve our practice. This session will look at the history of the Danielson Framework, examine the content and construction of the framework, and reveal a process for self-improvement.
- Technology and CMP – The advance of technology is one of the most important changes we face. How can technology enhance and not get in the way of great teaching?
- Concerts That Teach – How can we transform our performances into informances?
- Creativity and CMP – How can we use the concepts shared by Sir Ken Robinson, Daniel Pink and others in our classrooms? What is the role of creativity in music?
- Music, Talent and the Brain –Are some students more talented than others? What is talent and what is skill? What can we control? What is more important the length of practice or the quality of practice? This session will outline the principles/concepts set forth by Daniel Coyle's book "The Talent Code". The presentation will include information about Myelin, it's role in developing skill, and how it can be increased. The three keys of success: Deep Practice, Ignition, and Master Teaching will be shared as well as real examples of how this information has been used in a middle school band program.
- The Truth Behind Motivation - Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink has made a profound impact on my teaching. Drawing on decades of research, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what education does. Many of our schools are stuck using “carrot and stick” approaches that often fail and actually do harm. This book study will examine the elements of intrinsic motivation-autonomy, mastery and purpose as well as how to put these principles into action in your classroom. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own practice as well as engage with other educators to cultivate new ideas and concepts. Along the way, we will visit classrooms that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and meet teachers who are blazing a trail for us.
- Questioning Strategies – Our most used (and often neglected strategy). Ways to improve what we do most. and more!