Deeper learning — education focused on critical thinking, teamwork, and rigorous academic content — is a key part of the XQ philosophy, and plays a major role at all our schools. We believe that deeper learning is the best way to prepare students for the fast-changing demands of the 21stcentury.
XQ is thrilled to be sharing our ideas, experience, and expertise at eight panels at the Deeper Learning 2019 conference this week in San Diego. From student voice to place-based learning, XQ Schools are excited to pass on their knowledge and brainstorm with their cohorts from around the country.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27TH
XQ panels kick off Wednesday morning, with “Architects of Student Voice: How do we embed student voice and choice into our curriculum and school culture?” This panel will cover strategies to help students to co-construct their own learning experiences, take an active role in school-level decision-making, and develop leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills. The panel will be led by Alex Campbell, sociology teacher and project-based learning coach at Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton, Tenn., and Arlyn Shelton, curator of learning experiences at Circulos, in Santa Ana.
11 a.m. Wednesday at HTHI 222
Monica Martinez, XQ’s chief of school development, and John Bosselman, director of instruction at Latitude 37.8 High School in Oakland, are leading a panel called, “How Deeper Learning Can Create a New Vision for Teaching.” Participants will closely examine the new roles for teachers created by deeper learning, including learning designer, facilitator, networker, and advisor, and discuss how to fluidly move among roles depending on what is most needed to promote student learning.
11 a.m. Wednesday at HTHI 122
“Community & City as Classroom: How can we enable learners to go beyond conventional classroom experiences to engage in authentic learning and work with the community?” is the topic of a panel Wednesday afternoon. Led by Amanda Zhorne, strategic partner developer at Iowa BIG in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this hands-on strategic session will cover how teachers can establish and maintain powerful partnerships with community organizations and businesses to create authentic, contextualized learning experiences for students.
2 p.m. Wednesday at HTE 108
“Making Space for Equity: Student-Initiated Pathways” will focus on how student voice, community partnerships, and place-based design can help increase equity in the classroom. It will be led by three educators from Grand Rapids Public Museum School, which is based at the Grand Rapids Public Museum: Dan Donovan, design and math teacher, Kimberly Rowland, curriculum integration specialist, and Ben Garlets, math teacher.
2 p.m. Wednesday at HTE 109
THURSDAY, MARCH 28TH
Learn how to redesign high schools in your community at “Design the Next Super School,” a five-hour immersive and experimental workshop that concludes with an evening exhibition. As part of the Super School Project, XQ created a three-phase design process to turn ordinary school development on its head. In this workshop, diverse teams of participants will take on the XQ challenge to design and reimagine school. Ginger Spickler, director of partnerships at Crosstown High in Memphis, Tenn., and Sarah Baltazar-Pinheiro, XQ’s associate director of education products, will lead the workshop.
10:30 a.m. Thursday at HTM 8. The exhibit begins at 4:30
FRIDAY, MARCH 29TH
In “Essential Guidance for Essential Questions,” participants will design content-aligned “big questions” to stimulate students’ curiosity. Using a simple, free app for facilitating “self-organized learning environments,” participants will learn how to use “big questions” as the foundation of inquiry-based instruction to develop deeper learners. This session will help teachers get started to write their own driving questions. Fernando Wagner, an advisor at New Harmony High in New Orleans, and Jeff McClellan, founding principal at MC2 STEM High School and founding director at StartSOLE, will lead the panel.
9 a.m. Friday at HTHI 202
Mental agility is the theme of “Our Most Powerful Tool to Transform Education is Hiding in Corporate America: Leveraging the agile mindset to drive deeper learning.” Trace Pickering, executive director of Iowa BIG, and Nate Adams, a coach in mental agility, will provide an introduction to the agile mindset and how it can dramatically improve approaches to learning and outcomes for students.
9 a.m. Friday at HTE 203
“Meeting Students Where They Are: What does competency-based, self-paced actually look like in my classroom?” will focus on effective pedagogical tenets and assessments of competency-based learning to establish equitable learning environments, especially for students with different learning strengths and challenges. Deion Jordan, dean a Crosstown High, Samantha Stiles, a teacher at Crosstown High, and Angela Stepancic, an educational designer at redesign, will lead the workshop.
9 a.m. Friday at HTHI 218
XQ recently launched “Give Me Five,” a conversational newsletter for educators and ed leaders ready to rethink high school. We find, summarize, and curate five stories every two weeks that educators can put into action. Sign up now
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