Such Good People! - Part 3
In case you missed last week's Digest post or the week before, I repeat the intro here: A new wrinkle we are introducing this year is the EMT - or the Eleven Minute Talk. It is really our own creation - who knows - it may catch on in the larger world! We thought a TED-length talk might be a little long and the 400 seconds of a Pecha Kucha or approximately 7 minutes a bit short, so we split the difference! This format will give us the opportunity to learn and celebrate great classroom and school stories, as well as learn about various programs, tools, and resources. This post will conclude our three-part introduction to our EMT speakers.
In our third 90-minute workshop session on Friday morning, one of our workshop sessions will be the EMT focusing on Classroom Stories. We will have 6 speakers and they will each speak for 11 minutes. At the end of the time, we will have time for participants to engage privately with each of the participants. To give you an idea of what you will experience if you attend this session, here are some of the participants and their topics for the School Stories EMT workshop.
Carla Alblas - Projects from the Heart - "The projects and work that I do with my classes in grade 7 and 8 is centered around one similar thing - learning within community. We begin each year looking at the great commandment that Jesus gave to all of us - to love God and to love our neighbours. We take the time to dig into the question, "Who is my neighbour?" and to acknowledge that loving God and loving our neighbour is the foundation for all the learning that happens in our classroom. This is what ties all the projects together that I'm excited to share."
Aspen Wallace - Tiny Homes and Math - Hear how designing Tiny Homes can help middle schoolers fall in love with math.
Trent DeJong - Pigeons and Pedagogy - "Project Based Learning is not “hands-on learning,” nor is it just a new fad in education. It actually attempts to capture the conditions that are part of all of our most significant learning experiences."
Judith Carcamo - Authentic Tasks in Spanish Class - "My talk will be centered around the question: How to invite students in foreign language classes into authentic tasks that build the Kingdom of God while deepening their learning? I will be sharing about projects we do in Spanish class that aim to give students authentic learning opportunities."
Alice Mustin - Realizing the Future - "I will be sharing how Northern Territory Christian schools work together as a unique model and system of schools, which seeks to enhance student pathways despite the challenges of access to education, limited resources, and vast distances across the top end of Australia. In the remote top end of Australia, where even the dirt can kill you, a system of Christian schools began 45 years ago on the edges of a swamp in Darwin. Amidst the rugged, raw, free, and vibrant communities, education challenges abound due to access to education, cross-cultural complexities, limited resources, and vast distances. Come and hear how the vision to see ‘all our students find their path and step into their future’ has been creatively realised across NT Christian Schools.”
Kelly Boender - Civic Hospitality Project - meet one of the authors of and learn more about this great classroom resource. From the project website: "We began this project with the aim of creating an approach to civic engagement rooted in Christian hospitality. Unlike tolerance, hospitality calls us to care for those who are different. We seek an approach to civics education that helps students grow in love of neighbor as they participate in civic spaces and processes."
Whova app - if you have registered for CDL6 most of you should have received information about downloading and using the Whova (pronounced Who vah) conference management app. We will be using that app to help you maximize your CDL experience - we will share all the workshop information, allow you to sign up for workshops, to connect with each other, post pictures, give feedback, view PPT's of presentations, learn more about partner/sponsors, etc. Be sure to sign up for the workshops you are most interested in - some sessions are already full or filling fast!
If you have not registered yet, time and space are running out! We now have over 460 attendees registered and only have room for 500! For more information on the pre-conference offerings, our conference schedule, lodging options, etc., please visit our website and register now.
We are really excited about and blessed by the partners who will be joining us at our conference! All will be sharing information at their tables, and some will be doing workshops and EMT's (Eleven Minute Talks). We seek partners who understand and get behind the mission of CDL and who have genuinely helpful ways to support your work. This week we are grateful for the support of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Click on the logo for more information.
If you can't make CDL6 but would like some high-quality, intensive PD on Christian Deeper Learning, then please consider attending Steven and Joanna's week-long Summer Institute!
REGISTRATION OPEN for the CDL Summer Institute!
Live it!
Knowing about God is quite different from walking day to day with God.
Knowing about Christian Deeper Learning (CDL) is quite different from being able to engage your students in CDL.
The purpose of this institute is:
To immerse you in a CDL experience that will equip you to provide a CDL experience for your students. It’s very hard to teach something with an authenticity that you haven’t experienced yourself.
To explore what it means to teach “Christianly” in all subjects and grade levels. Biblical integration sometimes happens in what we teach and sometimes in the way we learn together.
To engage you with the curriculum, instructional practices, and assessment strategies that support CDL for all your students.
To create a culture that encourages Christ-like character and invites the learner into God’s story.
To refresh and renew your spirit in a pastoral setting – a mansion on a lake with outstanding hospitality and cuisine.
We are limited to 35 participants. Last year we had a waiting list. If you are interested, please register soon. Register here.
Editor's note about the Digest: We hope to share with you each week articles of interest that you may have missed. This will include current information as well as previous blog posts from CDL that perhaps you didn’t have time to read the first time around. If you have items you think may be of interest, please feel free to get in touch with me at danbeerens@gmail.com. We are also seeking blog writers for our blog posts which are published each week on Monday and Wednesday. For more info, see our guidelines.