Connecting Minds to Learning

WestEd’s SchoolsMovingUp website will feature a free webinar entitled “Reducing School Dropout Rates” on Wednesday, October 14, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. CET).

This webinar, will offer research-based recommendations for reducing school dropout rates. Marlene Darwin, Senior Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research, and Nikola Filby, Director of WestEd’s Innovation Studies Program, will showcase the recommended practices in the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide, which includes strategies for identifying and advocating for at-risk students, implementing programs to improve behavior and social skills, and keeping students engaged in the school environment. The webinar will also provide a brief introduction to the resources from the Doing What Works website illustrating how these recommendations have been carried out.

See the webinars page on SchoolsMovingUp for further information, including specific topics to be addressed by this webinar, at http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/webinars.

We are now accepting registrations for the Teaching All Kinds of Minds  Course that will be held in Zurich from the 10^th-12^th October 2009.

This course is a great way to start the new school year and will help you to understand the unique learning profiles of the students you teach and discover how you can support every student reach their individual potential.  The course will provide you with core theory, ‘best-practice’ strategies and practical resources for you to use in your classroom.  

If you (and your colleagues) are interested in attending this course, please let me know as soon as possible, and I will be happy to send you more information.

We will be holding this course in collaboration with Foundations For Learning in Zurich.

We are now accepting registrations for our All Kinds of Minds Professional Development Courses that will be held this summer.  I would be grateful if you could share this information with the primary and secondary teachers at your school.

Courses will be held at the following locations:

• Ballarat, Australia – 10,11,12 June 2009

Teaching All Kinds of Minds (NEW three-day course)

•  Bendigo, Australia – 15,16,17 June 2009

Teaching All Kinds of Minds (NEW three-day course)

•  Geneva, Switzerland – 29 June- 03 July 2009

Schools Attuned to All Kinds of Minds (five-day course) Generalist Path

• London, England – 10,11,12 August England

 Teaching All Kinds of Minds (NEW three-day course)

If you or your colleagues are keen to discover innovative ways to support students who experience difficulties achieving in class, understand the unique learning profiles of the students you teach and discover new ways to differentiate your instruction then these courses will provide you with core theory, ‘best-practice’ strategies and practical resources for you to use in your classroom.

Places in these courses will be filled on a first come first served basis. For more information about these professional development opportunities, please contact me as soon as possible.

You have not heard from me for a while because I have been out and about working with teachers at the Sussex Children’s Centre, ACS Hillingdon International School and the International School of Basel.  It is always wonderful to work with teachers who are so focussed on learning and dedicated to supporting their students.

While I was away Bruno della Chiesa provided some insight on the field of educational neuroscience and why it is important to the future of learning. He and his colleagues have published a book entitled Understanding the Brain: The Birth of a Learning Science.  This book which is partially available online provides new insights about learning. It synthesises existing and emerging findings from cognitive and brain science.  It will be interesting to see how this book aligns with the work that we are doing.

A second thing that caught my eyes was a really terrific article that Jenny Wood has written about How to Get a Grip on Your Professional Learning Network (PLN).  This is a great article for all educators who are keen to extend your professional development through new technologies.