It’s that time of the year again! The public voting period for SXSWedu’s PanelPicker has arrived, and we would love your help in bringing The Learning Accelerator (TLA) back to Austin! Please take a few minutes to look into the sessions below and vote for your favorites. If you aren’t already registered to vote for SXSWedu sessions yet, you can create your account and cast your votes. Voting ends on Friday, August 23.
BL/PL Toolbox: Putting Innovation into Action
Educators and leaders strive to ensure that ALL students are supported in an effective and equitable manner. Integrating technology with in-person instruction through personalized and blended learning can be a powerful way to achieve this goal. This interactive, learner-centered session offers stations featuring: how to set up specific structures (e.g., station rotation), strategic planning with data, and how to implement specific strategies to personalize & engage students in their own learning. Speakers include members of the TLA team: Juliana Finegan, Nithi Thomas, and Jeremy Jones.
Modeling Best Practices: Strategic PD for Educators
Looking for ways to revamp & revitalize your current approach to professional learning for innovative models? Come join a team of district & ecosystem leaders in a hands-on workshop where you will explore key tangible, practice-based strategies around onboarding, effective adult learning, & creative ways to package your PD to inspire & engage. The workshop will include insights, an exploration of resources, and time for action planning so that you can apply your learning immediately! Speakers include Jin-Soo Huh (education innovator), Juliana Finegan (TLA), and Kristen Watkins (Dallas Independent School District).
Distributed DEI: Taking on the Work in Remote Organizations
If we aim to improve educational equity, we must also walk the walk and build diversity, equity, and inclusion within our staff and culture. But with the added complexities of developing relationships and building culture across remote and distributed organizations, the work becomes harder. We partnered across multiple education nonprofits to test and codify effective practices for developing DEI capacity across virtual environments, and we hope to share our learnings with the field. Speakers include Stephen Pham (TLA) and Dionne Aminata Samb (Illustrative Mathematics).
So You Want to Innovate? Remember to Communicate!
Schools are transforming education by embracing innovation and breaking out of traditional paradigms. Ed leaders must prepare thoughtful messages and deliberate, accessible approaches to gain buy-in and overcome misinformation. Workshop attendees will begin building their own communications plan, develop key messages, and share lessons learned from real-world district efforts to communicate about innovation in the classroom. Be prepared to share your experiences for collective learning! Speakers include members of the TLA team: Kira Keane and Samantha Artukovich.
Mapping the Edtech Genome: What Works Where and Why
More than $13 billion is spent on edtech each year — but 85% of it is wasted on tools that are either poorly implemented or a poor fit for the context. The EdTech Genome Project, launched in 2019 as a massive, sector-wide initiative, is discovering how to help districts and schools make wiser edtech decisions. Learn from members of the diverse team that is leading this groundbreaking work as, for the first time, they share the group’s interim findings and seek audience feedback. Speakers include Ayana D’Aguilar (Jefferson Education Exchange), Stephanie Marken (Gallup), Emily Barton (University of Virginia), and Saro Mohammed (TLA).
Mo’ Tech, Mo’ Equity/Efficacy Problems? A Debate
Where do you stand on the notion that educational technology is critical to increasing equity and efficacy in K-12 education? In this Oxford-style debate, hear from field experts and leaders who will dive into this idea, present evidence to support and oppose the topic, and share their own perspectives. The audience will be invited to interact and pose their questions to the speakers, as well as participate in polling to find out which side prevails. Speakers include Saro Mohammed (TLA), Benjamin Riley (Deans for Impact), and Vincent Quan (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab [J-PAL North America] at MIT).
Igniting Classroom Practices with Learning Science
Learning sciences seem to be everywhere these days. The message that educators have been getting has flipped from, “the research is new,” or “the evidence isn’t conclusive,” to “learning science clearly shows us…” This is great, but the challenge remains to help educators clearly connect these learning science principles to practice. In this session, you’ll discover which learning science principles are most important for instruction, why, and where you can find free resources to learn more. Speakers include Saro Mohammed (TLA), Benjamin Riley (Deans for Impact), Youki Terada (Edutopia), and Melina Uncapher (University of California San Francisco & Advanced Education Research and Development Programs).
Real Talk: Are We Achieving Equity in Ed Reform?
Education reform efforts can come in many different shapes and sizes, all with the goal of achieving educational equity. We know our system of schooling needs new ideas to better prepare our future generations. But with so many efforts, where have we succeeded and fallen short in seeking equity in schools? Let’s grapple with this challenging question together and have an honest conversation on how equity is looking in education reform to date. Speakers include Stephen Pham (TLA), Xiomara Padamsee (Promise54), Frances Messano (NewSchools Venture Fund), and Emmanuel Felton (The Hechinger Report).
Thank you and hope to see you in Austin!
