Post-graduate Planning and Transition Year
20 Kearsarge Ave. Roxbury, MA 02119
BDEA's Responsive
Education Alternatives Lab
& Extension Programs
Join a community that is learning how to do education differently.
Learn about competency based teaching and assessment from practitioners
Every year, BDEA hosts upwards of 200 visitors to the school, most of whom are educators and all of whom are invested in improving not just outcomes for students, but the actual experience of school. Initial interest in BDEA began with curiosity about our fully integrated competency-based assessment practice, and has grown to include recognition of our strong professional learning community and overall trauma sensitive school culture and climate. BDEA provides several different Professional Development options that focus on these varied but interwoven practices.
We are now offering 2-day residencies for groups of 8-10 working on implementation of a student centered, competency based program in their school or district. Our summer 2017 intensive was sold out, so we are delighted to be able to respond to increasing interest in this work throughout the school year. If you would like to hear more about this opportunity, please email Rita Gehrenbeck-Shim directly at rgehrenbeckshim@bostonpublicschools.org.
Two days including breakfast, lunch, snacks and all materials: $450 per person
REAL provides a four-day dive into the theory, pedagogy, systems and structures of student-centered, competency-based teaching and learning, and attracts teachers and practitioners from around the country. The result is an annual gathering of education professionals with a common goal of incorporating or improving student-centered practices in their schools and districts.
Through a combination of workshops and supported planning time, we address the following questions and explore the systems and structures that support the best solution(s) for your school.
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What do you want your students to know when they graduate? How do you build your competencies from that basic premise?
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What kinds of assessments give teachers and students the most accurate information about progress and competence?
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What does "differentiated" look like in a competency-based classroom?
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How can we ensure that students are always at the center of our decision making?
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How does "trauma-sensitive" become the norm rather than the exception?
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How can educators consistently meet students where they are and give them the space, the respect, the supports, and the tools they need to earn a diploma and graduate with a viable plan for the future?
Join us at REAL, become part of a national learning network, and leave with a plan that puts you on the road to implementing competency-based teaching and assessment in your classroom, program, school, or district.
Four days including breakfast, lunch, snacks and all materials: $650 per person
For educators piloting or implementing a student-centered, competency based program or school, BDEA offers two days of workshops that will dig deeper into the areas of instruction, assessment and curriculum design, and provide assistance in that process, particularly:
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Differentiating instruction for different paces: how to personalize learning for students in a classroom
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Designing rubrics (using the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix)
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Designing cognitively demanding assessments
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Designing relevant and engaging curriculum that incorporate active and project-based learning
Two days including breakfast, lunch, snacks and all materials: $350 per person
Watch for Data REAL in 2018
You’re creating a school; hiring staff, looking for a building, figuring out transportation, brushing up on education policy, weeding through curriculum, fending off vendors, weighing the impact of laptops vs tablets….. What does data have to do with it?
The answer is, of course, everything. Because the minute all of the challenges have been worked out and you open your doors and have students in your seats, you need to assess their progress and report to the district, the state, parents, and anyone who gives you money or services. But if you are assessing student progress in a non-traditional setting (like competency-based, project based, or non-graded), including information about soft skills, creating individual learning plans that also include college and career readiness pathways, and are excited about the potential for measuring social and emotional growth—your data needs are in a different sphere altogether.
Enter DataREAL. As the companion piece to BDEA's REAL summer intensive, DataREAL offers participants a full day of team and individual coaching in the creation and use of a data system that addresses the needs of your school or district.
© 2014 by Boston Day and Evening Academy