Spending time in the Airport post NMSA 07

I had to take the early bus to the airport this morning, so I have a little time to spend making a post. There are lots of folks here waiting for flights to many destinations.

Troy and I got together with our colleagues for dinner and reflection after the conference was over. I think that exchange is one of the most important sessions I attend at an NMSA conference. The enthusiasm is infectious and gets us excited to head back to our own classrooms. Always in life there are opportunity costs. At NMSA you can’t see every session you want to go to and the dinner at the end of the conference extends my conference experience by hearing about the best parts of the sessions I couldn’t attend.

If you went, what sessions did you attend? Here’s my list. You’ll notice that it differs from my plan on the podcast. Where I could, at this point, I’ve put a link to the presenter’s website so you can get the benefit of their resources also.

  1. Why Try? I’m Going to Fail Anyway! The effects of Teacher Expectations on Student Achievement.
  2. Cooperative Learning that Works in a Differentiated Classroom.
  3. Ready, Set, Write: Supportive Steps that Engage Students in Composition, Ross Burkhardt
  4. Planning 6th Grade Survivor Camp, Marcia Sewell, Centre Middle School
  5. Please Sit Still, Pay Attention, and Get Your Homework Done!, by Dr. John F. Taylor
  6. Project LEAD (Leadership Education and Development), COE Texas Tech University
  7. Confronting Hard Facts, Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense in Education, Keynote by Rick DuFour
  8. Middle Grades Teacher Program Assessments
  9. Response to Intervention Through Middle School Electives
  10. Incentive Press, Make-and-Take at their booth. (Thanks for the coupon!)

My group is planning to sit down and go through the Rick DuFour presentation again back at the school and share the things we gathered at the “brain buffet”.

What kind of things are you planning to do for reflection post NMSA 07?