Welcome to Innovation in Education: What’s Next?, ELSA’s annual conference in education.
Please take a few moments to make yourself familiar with the procedure and terms below, and in the Cost and Registration Procedure page.
NEW THIS YEAR
The TDD Committee has introduced a signing-up system for all workshops.
Attendees registered for the conference are required to create a schedule by signing up for the sessions they would like to attend. Each session has a limited capacity so please make sure you sign up well ahead of time. Attendees who have NOT signed up for a session will not be allowed entry to that session unless there are places available.
Thank you for your understanding.
It is estimated that approximately 15 % of children within the school population have some form of diagnosed developmental delay, otherwise known as a Neurodevelopmental Disorder. The term Neurodevelopmental Disorder encompasses a large group of conditions including dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) (formerly known as dyspraxia); and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). In addition, there are increasing concerns regarding children’s poor physical development and lack of readiness for school. This workshop explores the link between movement and learning including the potential impact of retaining primitive reflexes, and the Movement for Learning Project developed through Loughborough University. Movement for Learning provides compensatory movement experiences for young children during their first year at school with an optional programme for their second year. It is designed to be delivered to the whole class for 20 minutes a day. Those children who participated in the programme improved their physical development scores by 18 percentile points (as a cohort) whilst the comparison group made no progress at all. Participants will be able to register for this free programme via www.movementforlearningproject.co.uk
Group work: why, how, what and when?
Session 1 and Session 2
These sessions will provide an opportunity to consider why group work is important, how to get it working effectively in your classroom, what kind of talk we want to encourage and when (and when not) to use group work. The course will draw on recent research as well as the experience and evidence derived so far from The English and Media Centre’s ongoing project: ‘The Value of Group Work’. Kate will share video evidence from the project to help you develop your thinking. We will reflect on and analyse group work tasks – their purpose, pacing and organisation. You will go away with practical strategies and resources which can be adapted for use at both middle and high school level.
Let’s Talk Science (YES! for Young Enthusiastic Scientists)
After being inspired by local coordinators of the Canada-wide Let’s Talk Science outreach program he met on his recent cross-Canada bike trip, Michael has set out to create a similar program at his school in Paris. The goal is simple, support student volunteers to create and deliver hands-on science activities for younger students.
This project is brand-new at the time of writing this abstract, so only time will tell whether the workshop will be to share stories of a wild success or catastrophic failure! Either way, it’s going to be an adventure, and you’re welcome to come along for the ride and learn whatever you can from my attempts!
Exciting writing: from screen to page (Primary, secondary)
This very practical workshop will present a very effective and engaging way to develop children’s narrative writing by using film. It will also emphasise how reading, writing and the teaching of grammar can be integrated in creative and powerful ways, to deepen understanding and to strengthen skills. This is a primary phase example, but the approach is adaptable for all ages.
Group work: why, how, what and when?
Session 1 and Session 2
These sessions will provide an opportunity to consider why group work is important, how to get it working effectively in your classroom, what kind of talk we want to encourage and when (and when not) to use group work. The course will draw on recent research as well as the experience and evidence derived so far from The English and Media Centre’s ongoing project: ‘The Value of Group Work’. Kate will share video evidence from the project to help you develop your thinking. We will reflect on and analyse group work tasks – their purpose, pacing and organisation. You will go away with practical strategies and resources which can be adapted for use at both middle and high school level.
A session on positive behaviour management
45 minutes of tips, ideas and strategies to help manage pupils, from the unruly, to the disengaged, and even to Sleepy in the corner who tries to take a nap every Friday afternoon in the second hour of class.
Together we will look at teacher behaviour, rewards and preventative strategies as ways to make our lives in the classroom more of a breeze! More precise ideas covered will include: reward systems; ideas for kinaesthetic lessons; managing disengaged male students; interactive online behaviour tools; body language and voice techniques; using competition as motivation; classroom environment and differentiation as a tool to manage behaviour.
Strengthening comprehension through book talk (key stage 2 : 7-11)
Reading is a complex process – it is so much more than reading the words on a page; it involves getting at the message behind the words. We can be sometimes fooled into thinking that learners can read effectively when, in fact, they are merely very efficient decoders who gain little understanding of the writer’s message. This session will look at how we can teach our pupils to read thoughtfully, responsively, critically and analytically. Ensuring children develop a language for talking about and investigating texts is key to improving comprehension whilst always looking to read for pleasure and enjoyment. With the increasing demands on pupils at the end of primary to find meaning in quite complex texts, this session looks at how we can prepare pupils through quality ‘book talk’.
Title: Righting their writing: handwriting workshop for adolescents
Jenny Feinmann and Rochelle Self-Bourillon
Age-range: Middle school
This session will describe a school lunchtime workshop which improved the handwriting skills of students in Grades 6 and 7. Theoretical aspects of handwriting development will be discussed, and participants will be introduced to The Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting test (DASH). This is a tool which can be used by teachers to identify which aspects of students’ graphomotor skills need attention. Based on the DASH assessment the students identified individual goals. The workshops then took place over two months and all the adolescents improved both the formation and legibility of their handwriting. This progress will be illustrated by writing samples which include the students’ own reflections on their involvement, progress and recommendations to other students about the workshop. Participants will try out some of the test materials and exercises which they should then be able to use with their own students.
The workshop covers the background and basic physiology of dyspraxia plus the commonly presenting features and areas of difficulty for the child, such as motor and sensory difficulties. It looks at key factors in identifying these children, the importance of diagnosis and early intervention. Sources of further information and advice will also be provided.
A session on the use of Assessment for Learning (AfL) in the classroom
The purpose of this session is to help you streamline your assessment for learning strategies, so that you can be efficient and effective in your marking. By covering a variety of AfL areas (questioning, plenaries, teacher marking, peer/self assessment etc.) you will come out of the session with (hopefully) some new ways to assess your students. A very practical session, with the aim of reducing your workload!
Creative writing in museums and galleries (All ages)
A visit to a museum or a gallery can be a powerful stimulus for pupils’ creative writing. This practical workshop will be a chance to explore and to try out one or two highly effective approaches to such writing, and to take away ideas for many more.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a reality for many of our students who are combining studying English Literature with a requirement to improve their English language skills. Addressing these students’ needs, while also covering the syllabus, is challenging - especially in classrooms where students’ English levels can vary widely. This session will offer teachers practical methods to support their bilingual students’ learning of English, while also covering the curriculum. Participants will come away with an understanding of the fundamental principles of CLIL and we will examine how to apply the methodology when teaching prose and drama. You will leave with a range of practical ideas and adaptable resources, suitable for both middle and high school students.
Please bring along a novel or play that you’d like to work on in the session.
Girls in STEM
The lack of engineers is one of the principal impediments to global economic growth.
A strong gender imbalance exists internationally, also in Africa, in regards to women’s presence in the STEM fields. Only 18% of women around the world are working and/or stuudying in the engineering sector and only 30% of all women are working and/or studying science.
It is important for today's policy makers and actors to contribute in reducing the gender gap in scientific and engineering fields in all countries, at all levels of education and in research.
UNESCO is committed to promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, STEM education and the role of women in STEM fields to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNESCO believes that by working with young women and providing them with the necessary 21st century skillset, especially in STEM, they will become powerful agents of change to achieve gender equality in male-dominated fields.
