PETERBOROUGH, N.H., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Staff Development for Educators (SDE), one of the nation's leading providers of professional development for K-12 educators, is pleased to announce its annual National Conference on Differentiated Instruction, taking place July 15-19, 2013 in Las Vegas.
Each summer, upwards of 4,000 educators from across the country attend the four-day event to learn about Differentiated Instruction (DI), an approach to teaching and learning that matches what and how a student learns to the student's readiness level, interests, and learning style in order to foster maximum academic growth.
The big difference in 2013 will be a deliberate broadening of topics based on feedback from 2012 attendees. "We pay serious attention to what educators say they need, and we work hard to deliver," reports Kate Maggs, Program Planning Manager at SDE. "'You spoke and we listened,' is a way of life at SDE." The 2013 conference will offer sessions on the new Common Core State Standards, 21st century learning, technology integration, classroom management, motivation, and much more.
In addition, there will be "flipped" sessions for which educators will be given materials to review ahead of time, "make and take" sessions in which attendees construct useful materials to take with them, and a 28-session administrator strand to guide school leaders in choosing the most relevant and beneficial sessions.
Delivering the keynote address for the conference will be celebrated educator Ron Clark—New York Times best-selling author and subject of the movie, The Ron Clark Story. Several other notable names in education will present at the conference, including
- Dr. Harry and Rosemary Wong, who produced The Effective Teacher, the video series that won the Telly Award for being the best educational staff development video of the past twenty years
- Rick Wormeli, award-winning author, renowned educational consultant, and perennial conference favorite
- Kelly Gallagher, adolescent writing authority
- Rich Allen, PhD, motivation and brain expert
- Peter Johnston, author of the very highly regarded book, Choice Words
A keen interest of 2013 conference attendees will be the new Common Core State Standards for achievement, which are poised to replace disparate standards in English Language Arts and Math in 46 states.
"The new standards are a major step forward into the kind of learning that's critical for students to succeed in the 21st century," said an enthusiastic Terra Tarango, SDE's president. "The sit-in-straight-rows-and-obey-instructions approach to education was invented 100 years ago to produce compliant, homogeneous factory workers. Today's students must master multi-dimensional abilities like creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration in order to be prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century."
The DI conference is one of five outstanding national conferences that SDE hosts each summer, divided between Las Vegas and Chicago. Attendees can realize substantial savings on tuition by registering before SDE's "Early Bird" discount deadline of March 15th, 2013.
About SDE
SDE provides professional development for PreK through Grade 12 educators. Through Onsite PD, PD Events, Web-based PD, and PD Resources, the company empowers teachers and administrators across the country with ongoing professional development that is not only research-based, innovative, and rigorous, but also practical, motivating, and fun. All SDE training is presented by the nation's top authors and educational experts, with the goal of creating extraordinary classrooms that prepare students for the evolving demands of the 21st century.
Educators interested in learning more about SDE's national conferences and the many other professional development opportunities offered by SDE can visit the company's website, www.SDE.com, or call 1-800-462-1478.