The 2005 Lenses on Learning Leadership Institute
Important Information
About the Institute
The 2005 Lenses on Learning Leadership Institute is a residential institute that will prepare 2 person teams who will facilitate the course, Lenses on Learning: A New Focus on Mathematics and School Leadership (Modules 1 –3).
Instruction in the Facilitators Institute will be conducted in a pedagogy aligned with the pedagogy of standards-based mathematics classrooms and the pedagogy that facilitators will use in their own classes with administrators. The Leadership Institute will include work in four strands:
- Exploring the mathematics of the elementary curriculum. Prospective facilitators will view and discuss videotapes of clinical interviews with children; work on mathematics problems designed for adults covering important topics in the elementary mathematics curriculum; and examine samples of students’ mathematical work
- Understanding the nature of standards-based instruction. Prospective facilitators will view and discuss videotapes of standards-based elementary mathematics classrooms and examine the pedagogical principles of the Institute itself.
- Considering the implications of these changes for specific areas of administrative practice (professional development and teacher supervision,) Prospective facilitators will examine and discuss qualitative data from earlier work with administrators that illustrates ways in which administrators worked with these new ideas in different areas of their administrative practice.
- Learning to facilitate the learning of administrators. Prospective facilitators will examine the principles of constructivist learning for adults; explore principles and practices of discourse-based instruction; and practice-teach excerpts from the curriculum to each other.
The Leadership Institute will provide:
- Instruction from the Lenses on Learning authors and experienced Lenses on Learning facilitators
- Lodging from Sunday night June 26– Saturday Morning July 9. Institute participants will share double occupancy rooms. Room assignments will be made based on gender with an effort to keep facilitation teams together. If you prefer to have your own room, single accommodations are available for an additional fee.
- Food— Breakfast, lunch and breaks will be provided each day (except Saturday July 2 and Sunday July 3). Participants will be responsible for their dinners.
- A full set of the Lenses on Learning materials (a $345 value)
The Lenses on Learning Course Materials
Lenses on Learning: A New Focus on Mathematics and School Leadership is a three module course that provides an opportunity for K-8 administrators (building principals and central office staff) to learn about standards-based mathematics education, how to support it, and the way that its principles impact key aspects of their work. Each module focuses on a functional area of administrators’ work such as classroom observation and teacher supervision and professional development for teachers. In each module administrators explore new ideas about learning, teaching, and mathematics, through the lens of that module’s functional focus.
Each module contains material for 3 – 5 three-hour classes. Modules can be combined flexibly to meet local needs and interests. Typically, the course is given in 4 sessions in the fall and 3 – 5 sessions in the spring of an academic year. Using portions of the materials in a one-week summer institute or in a three-day retreat is possible.
The materials contain detailed descriptions of activities and discussion questions for every class session, accompanying readings, artifacts for analysis in class (videotapes, samples of student work, excerpts from teacher journals, vignettes, case studies, etc.), and homework assignments. There also are detailed facilitator's notes for every class session, discussing the new ideas presented, how administrators might respond to these ideas, and how they might relate them to their practice.
The 2005 Lenses on Learning Leadership Institute will target all three of the course modules:
Module 1: Instructional Leadership in Mathematics
Module 2: Teacher Learning for Mathematics Instruction
Module 3: Observing Today's Mathematics Classroom
The Facilitators
The 2005 Leadership Institute will be directed by Lenses on Learning author Ellen Davidson. Co-facilitators include Jill Lester an assistant director of SummerMath for Teachers at Mount Holyoke College, Jeannette Pillsbury who currently teaches in the Education Department at Luther College (Decorah, IA) and prior to coming to Luther College was an elementary school principal with the Boston Public Schools, and a facilitator to be named later. All facilitators are experienced in teaching Lenses on Learning to administrators from all over the country.
The Site
The Leadership Institute will be held at the Sheraton Lexington Inn in Lexington Massachusetts. Lexington is a historic suburb located approximately 15 miles outside of downtown Boston.
Dates and Times
The 2005 Lenses on Learning Leadership Institute sessions will begin on Sunday evening June 26 (with a full session from 6 - 9 pm) through Friday evening July 8th. The institute will close with a final session from 6-9 on Friday July 8th. Sessions will run from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday. Wednesday sessions will begin at 8:30 AM, and break at 12:00 noon for a free afternoon. We will reconvene for a Wednesday evening session that begins at 6:30 PM and ends between 9:30 and 10:00 PM. There will be no sessions held over the weekend (July 2 and 3).
The Institute Fee
The fee for the 2005 Lenses on Learning Institute is $2,800. This price is based on double occupancy rooms. Single accommodations are available for and additional $520.