Please find below, a list of support options that Tony provides to educational groups. If you wish to inquire further, feel free to get in touch at tony@tonyryan.com.au or contact his office on 61 7 3343 9250.
Keynote and Workshop Topics
The following topics are available as either a keynote or a workshop. The content of each would alter according to the time available, and according to the specific needs of the group involved. This is negotiated extensively with Tony prior to the event.
INSPIRING CLASSROOMS
Strategies for creating classrooms that inspire the students and YOU
Classrooms are all about learning. Let’s not distract ourselves here. In spite of the plethora of social and technological issues that are endlessly foisted upon school curriculum, our key focus must always be placed upon the quality of the students’ learning experiences. Yet, these learning experiences can no longer be fashioned by tedium and rote learning behaviours. The competition is too strong these days.
Our best response to all of this? One option is to develop energetic and spirited classrooms that actually encourage students to return, day after day. If you were a student, would you want to be in your classroom each day? In fact, even at your present age, do you want to be in your classroom each day??
The content for this highly practical day will include:
- Powerful processes that specifically help you to maintain your enthusiasm for daily teaching
- A large range of thinking strategies that can enhance the intellectual rigour within all curriculum areas
- Web 2.0 applications that can deeply engage children on a consistent basis
- Specific frameworks for sustaining and furthering your own learning throughout the year
TALKING IN CLASS
Practical strategies for encouraging your students to engage in meaningful dialogue
Once upon a distant past, many teachers longed for a silent classroom in which students quietly completed their work. Even today, the occasional quiet learning environment is probably necessary for the teacher’s sanity.
However, in most learning experiences, we must encourage all students to talk about their work. The neuroscience research clearly indicates that intellectual engagement is strengthened through consistent substantive conversation.
For most young people, they need to talk in order to learn. Effective teachers have always encouraged their students to engage in consistent intellectual dialogue all through the lesson.
This entertaining and practical session will provide you with a wide range of practical strategies for enhancing the talk of your students. Amongst the occasional joke and story, the focus will be placed on:
- The neuroscientific basis for students engaging in ongoing dialogue about their learning
- The implications of Web 2 collaborative environments (eg FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter) for the verbal capacity of the Net Generation
- Strategies for enhancing the intellectual rigour of their everyday learning conversations
- Processes for learning basic social skills such as listening to peers
THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
The one wish of many teachers? To teach students who are fully engaged in their learning, and can self-regulate their thinking and their behaviour.
In this highly practical workshop, you will be positively challenged with many powerful strategies for steadily developing these ‘engaged’ young people.
The material will focus on:
- The use of self-assessment rubrics for everyday learning
- The development of self-talk capacity in students of all ages
- Everyday classroom strategies for maintaining higher levels of engagement
THE WORK / LIFE INTERFACE
To be a 21st century leader of learning can be inspiring, rewarding and personally fulfilling. Unfortunately, given the onerous weight of professional responsibilities today, it also can be personally overwhelming and time-consuming, and can drain your motivation for life in general. In such an environment, it can become difficult to attain any semblance of a balance between your professional work and your outside ‘life’.
In this entertaining and practical presentation, you will be offered strategies that may help you to steadily seek that fabled balance. No quick-fixes can be, or will be, offered. The topics will include:
· Developing optimum use of your everyday energy
· Retaining your sense of humour
· Generating your own resilience
· Encouraging intrinsic motivation in yourself and others
· Thriving through constant professional change
· Re-discovering passion and purpose for leadership and life
THINKERS KEYS
Practical strategies for promoting higher order thinking and deep understanding
Students in a Knowledge Society must engage in the richest possible intellectual rigour with their daily lessons. To explicitly involve them in high order thinking experiences is the single most effective way to advance their learning in all fields.
Based on the latest version of the Thinkers Keys program, this entertaining and practical workshop will provide you with a series of lessons and handouts for enhancing the intellectual quality of your everyday lessons.
Amongst many other things, you will be offered strategies for:
- * The creation of classroom climates that inspire students to consistently engage in high order thinking and deep understanding
- * The implementation of the Thinkers Keys within specific sequences of instruction
- * A large range of effective thinking strategies that can stimulate innovative solutions to local and global issues
- * Consistent processes for enhancing your own intellectual capacity
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
Being ‘cool’ for young people (and for more mature ones as well) predominantly requires one skill: To be socially resourceful. Both online and offline, an enriching life is often determined by your capacity to create sustainable and supportive connections with your peers.
Most Web 2.0 applications are interactive, and encourage you to create community at every opportunity. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (amongst 1000’s of others) are invariably about belonging to the group.
What impact, however, does this have upon everyday ‘real’ relationships, and the manner in which community is established within a classroom for an entire year?
This workshop will offer some practical strategies for steadily developing the personal and social skills of young people to engage in real classroom community. It also will focus on a series of viable applications of the Web 2.0 environments into everyday learning.
Amongst many other things, you will be offered:
- Ideas for managing personal stress and difficult personal issues (for students AND teachers)
- Strategies for engaging in authentic dialogue
- Processes for learning basic social skills such as listening to peers
- Practical activities for steadily creating a positive classroom climate
- A resource base of online support material
THE SPIRIT OF TEACHING
How you can make an inspiring difference with your work
Do you believe that you can make a difference to the world with your teaching? In troubled times, people of our planet always have sought leadership from inspiring individuals who openly contribute their spirit and energy to the creation of a better world. And many of these great leaders have been teachers who are prepared to stand up and make a difference with their everyday actions.
In this affirming yet challenging workshop, we will explore the release of spirit and passion in our everyday teaching, and the manner in which this spreads inspiring ripples throughout a learning community and beyond. The ideas in these sessions will be practical and relevant to the daily school environment. This exploration of spirit will focus on such issues as:
· The nurturing of your own physical, emotional and psychological energy on a regular basis
· The creation of resilient schools that can flow with the rapid changes of the educational and outside world
· The application of contemporary learning frameworks into rich authentic tasks that align with community needs
· The empowering of students to believe that they can make a difference with their lives
Teacher-In-Residence Programs
Tony is available for programs within schools on an everyday basis. These programs can be offered over a single day, or in a negotiated combination of different days. These can include:
· A full 4 days within a single week (usually Monday to Thursday)
· Two or three days per term over two or three terms
The teacher-in-residence program can involve a full range of options that include:
· Before- and after-school workshops
· In-school planning sessions of specific units with teaching teams
· Long-term development planning with Executive, Heads of Department or Admin staff
· Teaching demonstrations
· A series of teleconferences before and after the visits to the school
Here is a possible timetable for a 4-day program:
Monday:
8.00 – 9.00 Intro, teacher session; expectations for the week; outline of all activities; discussion on options for the classroom visits
9.00 – 3.00 Classroom visits; lesson demonstrations; teacher discussions
3.30 – 5.00 Teacher workshop on ‘The Magic Of Thinking’
Tuesday:
9.00 – 3.00 Classroom sessions and unit planning sessions
3.30 – 5.00 Teacher workshop on ‘Emotional Intelligence’
Wednesday:
9.00 – 3.00 Classroom sessions and unit planning sessions
3.30 – 5.00 Parent presentation on ‘How to help your children to believe in themselves’
Thursday:
9.00 – 3.00 Classroom sessions and feedback session with Executive
3.30 – 5.00 Wrap-up teacher session, including:
- practical classroom strategies
- reflection/analysis on the week’s classroom sessions
Some comments to teachers on the Teacher-In-Residence Programs
This long-term program is designed to complement, and to extend upon, the great work that is already taking place in your classrooms. Look upon it as a non-threatening and enjoyable way to discover how to create the best possible teaching and learning environment in your school.
By the end of the program, you will have been offered:
· many practical ideas for immediate classroom implementation
· an insight on your own teaching and learning styles
· the opportunity for personal reflection/analysis on your effectiveness as a teacher
The practical ideas will focus on:
· general lesson structure
· authentic instruction
· higher level thinking
· group interaction/dynamics
· reflective practice
During actual class time, the options can include:
· classroom demonstrations by Tony
· peer coaching (with Tony acting as a ‘critical friend’)
· one-on-one discussions related to unit implementation
· small group discussions on the development of authentic learning culture
Recent Comments