Friday, September 16
8:00 to 8:15
Phil Giansante@pgiansante
www.philgiansante.com Phil Giansante is an international educator with 23 years experience in both Canada and Argentina. A mathematics and technology teacher, he firmly believes in the 21st Century Skills and Project-based Learning model of education. Phil will address the trendy topic that "Everything in Education is Wrong". Having attended, presented at, and organized many professional development conferences, he will also offer his insights on maximizing your conference experience. |
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This morning I'm going to address the trendy topic that "Everything is wrong with Education"
I've noticed a trend recently that we're constantly being told that we are doing things wrong.
And education has not been immune from this trend.
The two quotes on this slide are real ...
"Everything we've been doing in education is wrong."
- Innovate 2015
"If you're not on Twitter, it's like you're illiterate."
- Google Summit 2016
More and more we are being told that we are failing our students.
That the educational system is broken ...
Let's take a quick poll by a show of hands.
How many people here care about their students?
How many people here provide a safe learning environment for their students?
How many people challenge their students to be critical thinkers?
How many people use Professional Development to improve their teaching?
You see ... I don't believe the whole concept the "we're doing everything wrong"
The fact that everyone is here today proves to me that we're not doing everything wrong.
Everyone is here today to Learn and Improve.
That's what education is about.
As you attend workshops today, it's easy to look at the amazing work that educators are doing in their classrooms and feel that you don't measure up.
It's important that you ... "Don't compare your beginning to somebody's middle"
The idea is not to leave this conference feeling like you've been doing everything wrong, or that everybody is doing more than you.
Only set a goal to learn and improve and move forward.
The idea is to leave with a positive attitude ...
ready try new things
ready to move forward
ready to improve
ready to make some changes
ready to take some risks
ready for the possibility that some risks might fail
ready to give up some of the control in your classroom
ready to say "I don't know"
ready to ask for help
ready to say "I can to do better"
Finally, I'd like to offer some ...
Tips for Maximizing your Conference Experience
I've attended a lot of conferences. I've also organized a few.
I've attended some great workshops and I've attended some not-so-great ones.
One of the keys as a participant is not to get overwhelmed.
You probably won't be able to integrate everything you learn at this conference into your class.
Identify the best ideas you want to implement and then prioritize them.
What do you want to implement immediately?
What do you want to implement in the next year?
What is cool but you simply won't be able to use?
I like the the way the Horizon Report categorizes items: Implementation time 1 year, 2 years, 3 years
Start working on your top choices now. Don't wait until next week, next month, or the next holiday. The longer you put it off the less likely you are do actually do it.
If you want to make a change that seems too challenging, get people on board to help you out.
If you feel you will need help accomplishing your goal ...
recruit people that help and support asap.
A shared goal will have more chances of success.
If you learn something you want to integrate into your curriculum ... make sure you leave a workshops knowing
"the next step".
This could mean getting the presenter's contact information,
a website, a YouTube playlist, etc.
Finally .... I encourage you to share what you learned with people at your school. Run a workshop. Start a Professional Learning Community. Start planning for LEC 2017!
And don't forget an important ingredient of learning ... have fun.
I hope everybody has an enjoyable conference and that you walk away with lots of plans to make you the best educator you can be.
This morning I'm going to address the trendy topic that "Everything is wrong with Education"
I've noticed a trend recently that we're constantly being told that we are doing things wrong.
And education has not been immune from this trend.
The two quotes on this slide are real ...
"Everything we've been doing in education is wrong."
- Innovate 2015
"If you're not on Twitter, it's like you're illiterate."
- Google Summit 2016
More and more we are being told that we are failing our students.
That the educational system is broken ...
Let's take a quick poll by a show of hands.
How many people here care about their students?
How many people here provide a safe learning environment for their students?
How many people challenge their students to be critical thinkers?
How many people use Professional Development to improve their teaching?
You see ... I don't believe the whole concept the "we're doing everything wrong"
The fact that everyone is here today proves to me that we're not doing everything wrong.
Everyone is here today to Learn and Improve.
That's what education is about.
As you attend workshops today, it's easy to look at the amazing work that educators are doing in their classrooms and feel that you don't measure up.
It's important that you ... "Don't compare your beginning to somebody's middle"
The idea is not to leave this conference feeling like you've been doing everything wrong, or that everybody is doing more than you.
Only set a goal to learn and improve and move forward.
The idea is to leave with a positive attitude ...
ready try new things
ready to move forward
ready to improve
ready to make some changes
ready to take some risks
ready for the possibility that some risks might fail
ready to give up some of the control in your classroom
ready to say "I don't know"
ready to ask for help
ready to say "I can to do better"
Finally, I'd like to offer some ...
Tips for Maximizing your Conference Experience
I've attended a lot of conferences. I've also organized a few.
I've attended some great workshops and I've attended some not-so-great ones.
One of the keys as a participant is not to get overwhelmed.
You probably won't be able to integrate everything you learn at this conference into your class.
Identify the best ideas you want to implement and then prioritize them.
What do you want to implement immediately?
What do you want to implement in the next year?
What is cool but you simply won't be able to use?
I like the the way the Horizon Report categorizes items: Implementation time 1 year, 2 years, 3 years
Start working on your top choices now. Don't wait until next week, next month, or the next holiday. The longer you put it off the less likely you are do actually do it.
If you want to make a change that seems too challenging, get people on board to help you out.
If you feel you will need help accomplishing your goal ...
recruit people that help and support asap.
A shared goal will have more chances of success.
If you learn something you want to integrate into your curriculum ... make sure you leave a workshops knowing
"the next step".
This could mean getting the presenter's contact information,
a website, a YouTube playlist, etc.
Finally .... I encourage you to share what you learned with people at your school. Run a workshop. Start a Professional Learning Community. Start planning for LEC 2017!
And don't forget an important ingredient of learning ... have fun.
I hope everybody has an enjoyable conference and that you walk away with lots of plans to make you the best educator you can be.