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NSDC's Summer Conference Sampler Summer Conference Sampler Home Keynote Speaker Bios and Session Descriptions Give Us Your Feedback Video Resources Keynote Speakers Carol Johnson Ronald Ferguson Phillip Schlechty Robert Duke Breakout Sessions Critical Thinking: The Key to Unlocking Intelligence Instructional Coaching: What We Are Learning About Effective Coaching Practices Professional Learning Strategies That Engage the Adult Brain Race, Relationship, and Rigor Shared Leadership: Creating a Culture of Embedded Coaching Teamwork Toolbox: The Real Work in Group Talk and Collaboration

Keynote Speakers

	Carol Johnson “The Challenge to Lead” Carol Johnson has served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools since 2007. Prior to arriving in Boston, Johnson served as superintendent of the Memphis City Schools, and superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, where she was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year in 2002. Johnson is president-elect of the Council of Great City Schools, serves on the advisory boards of the Spencer Foundation and the Harvard Urban Superintendents Program, and is an advisor to the College Board. Johnson’s keynote address focuses on key moments in the struggle to provide educational opportunities for all students, and highlights the need to continue the fight for educational equity. She discusses the big picture of education, and also shares her own mother’s inspirational story of what it means to be a teacher.
	Ronald Ferguson “Leadership to Improve Instruction, Raise Achievement, and Close Gaps” Ronald Ferguson is the senior research associate at the Malcolm Weiner Center for Social Policy at Harvard University. Ferguson’s teaching, writing, and research focus on a variety of issues related to education and economic development, and he also works with school districts on closing achievement gaps. Ferguson is the creator and director of the Tripod Project for School Improvement, and is also faculty co-chair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University. In his keynote address, Ferguson outlines the framework of the Tripod Project for School Improvement, focusing on the concept of strategic coherence and the roles organizational norms, classroom conditions, and student-engagement targets play in increasing student achievement.
	Phillip Schlechty “Reform or Transform: Why Tinkering Is Not Enough” Phillip Schlechty is president and CEO of the Schlechty Center for Leadership and School Reform, a nonprofit organization that partners with school leaders across the country to transform classrooms, schools, and districts. In his more than 50 years in education, Schlechty has served as a classroom teacher; a professor of education, department chair, and associate dean at the University of North Carolina; a special assistant to the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools; and founding executive director of the Gheens Professional Development Academy. Schlechty is the author of several books, including An Action Plan for Educational Reform and Schools for the 21st Century: Leadership Imperatives for Educational Reform. In these excerpts from Schlechty’s keynote address, he discusses the difference between reforming and transforming schools, the need to instill a sense of honor in all students, and the importance of repurposing schools to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed.
	Robert Duke “Why Students Don’t Learn What We Think We Teach” Robert Duke is the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Centennial professor in music and human learning, a university distinguished teaching professor, the Elizabeth Shatto Massey distinguished fellow in teacher education, and director of the Center for Music Learning at the University of Texas at Austin. Duke has worked closely with children at risk both as a public school music teacher and through the juvenile court system. He is also the founder of the National Forum on Research in Motor Learning and Music, a collaborative devoted to the study of motor skill development and procedural memory consolidation. In Duke’s keynote address, he discusses the difficulty associated with teaching what is important, getting teachers to think differently about how to prepare children to be accomplished learners, and the need to teach students to embrace the “messiness” of learning.

Breakout Session Descriptions

	Critical Thinking: The Key to Unlocking Intelligence Alex Terego This session explores the need for schools to teach today’s students a new set of skills that will better equip them to thrive in the 21st century. From critical thinking, to tolerance for ambiguity, to collaborative problem solving, Terego discusses why incorporating these skills into lesson plans across grade levels and content areas is critical for today’s educators.
	Instructional Coaching: What We Are Learning About Effective Coaching Practices Jim Knight Knight, a researcher at the University of Kansas Center for Research and Learning, discusses the attributes of effective instructional coaches, as well as the impact of effective coaching on teacher practices. Knight also examines specific coaching strategies, including enrolling teachers, modeling lessons, observing lessons, discussing data, and reflecting on practice.
	Professional Learning Strategies That Engage the Adult Brain Marcia Tate In this preconference session, educational consultant and author Marcia Tate discusses the keys to giving engaging professional development presentations. Tate, who served as executive director of professional development for the DeKalb County School System in Decatur, Georgia, also discusses how to ensure educators continue practicing new strategies long after a professional development workshop is over.
	Race, Relationship, and Rigor Robin Weaver and Jameca Stephenson In this session, learn how Harmony Hills Elementary School, a Title I school in Silver Springs, Maryland, explored the impact of race on student achievement. Principal Robin Weaver and staff development teacher Jameca Stephenson discuss how to organize professional development experiences that focus on the impact of race, rigor, and relationships on student achievement. Gain strategies for helping instructional staff to effectively teach students who are demographically different from themselves.
	Shared Leadership: Creating a Culture of Embedded Coaching Joylyn McCain, Lori Ritz, and Cindy Harrison This session explores the academic improvements that have occurred over the past eight years at Sunnyslope School in Phoenix, Arizona. Ritz, Sunnyslope’s principal, McCain, the school’s program coach, and Harrison, who has worked with the school as a consultant, discuss how creating a culture of collective efficacy, school-wide goal setting, and embedded coaching helped turn Sunnyslope from a school that was not performing well academically to one that has become a model for other schools in the state and country.
	Teamwork Toolbox: The Real Work in Group Talk and Collaboration Jana Reiter, Peggy Dersch, and Mary Jo Barker This session explores research-based strategies and skills to develop effective and productive teams. Group dynamics are explored through simulations and role-play activities. Participants come away from this session with tools and resources to make them more effective leaders.