Alpha to Omega Learning Centre – Conference 2009

The Eighth International Conference - HELP 2009 (Holistic Enhancement of Learning Potential) conducted by Alpha To Omega Learning Center was inaugurated by Mr. Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for School Education, on 18th Oct, 2009 at, ‘Green Park’ Hotel, Vadapalani, Chennai. Mr. P. Haridas, Secretary, M.O.P Vaishnav College, was the guest of honor. The three day conference cum training focused on providing new tools to enhance learning in classrooms and to create an understanding of instructional approaches. This would go a long way in helping facilitators and teachers to modify current teaching tactics to enhance the learning ability of any student and thus help improve the academic grades which is the need of the hour. To this end Alpha to Omega Learning Center had speakers from various universities across the world discussing strategies to make inclusive education more effective.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Thangam Thennarasu spoke about how institutions like ours working towards addressing the needs of children with Learning Disability could assist the government to frame syllabi for inclusive education. He also emphasized the need for making remedial measures mandatory at all schools to make sure education reaches all. Mr. P.Haridas said that focus should be holistic improvement rather than assessment merely based on academics.

The ‘BIG FOUR’ conducted by Mr. Jim Knight, director of the Kansas Coaching Project, University of Kansas was on classroom management and content planning and suggested effective teaching strategies helpful for teachers to adjust their instruction to ensure mastery of learning and to motivate the students by providing constructive feedback.

Ms. Sharon Schindele’s “ Co-operative Thinking Skills” the two day workshop was a study skill program aimed at imparting knowledge on interactive teaching strategies. These help the students to work together to make decisions and resolve controversial issues as well as introduced thinking devices which are designed to foster teacher student interaction to make the learning more effective or enhance the content knowledge.

‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ a developmental disorder, which is very much in focus now-a-days, helped develop a clearer understanding of this developmental disorder and see the world from an ASD perspective.. It gave practitioners and families an idea of how to adapt to meet the needs of a child with ASD. Parents of children with ASD from Alpha to Omega Learning Center were also provided an opportunity to interact on a one to one basis with Ms. Celia Churchill and Ms. Angela Southall, Clinical Psychologists from U.K. specializing in ASD.

The conference concluded with Mr. Girish Pande, Commissioner of Income Tax, who was our guest of honor at the valedictory function. He lauded Alpha to Omega Learning Center on the work being done and the need to reach out to more and more children and also create awareness. Certificates were distributed to the participants.

From the Principal's desk

Greetings from Alpha to Omega Learning Centre!!

It gives me immense pleasure to invite you for our Eighth International Conference.

This time we have moved a step ahead and have invited experts to disseminate knowledge not only to help people
in the field of LD but also to school administrators, teachers and parents. This would be an addition to the bag of
tools to facilitate children in the process of learning.

We are pleased to inform that many of our students have pursued higher education and are well placed in life. As
December to mid January attracts devoted enthusiasts from all over the world.
part of our mission we have also been training teachers all over the country and abroad. A full fledged school is yet
another landmark in the twenty years since the inception of Alpha to Omega.

I invite you to join hands with us to bring in a greater change in the lives of students and kindle in the them the love
of learning.

 

Regards,

Jayashree Ashok
Principal

Letter from our Director

June 15, 2009

Dear Friends,

The last two decades have seen us work towards our vision and mission. A curriculum to foster holistic learning is
our goal. Underachievers are often trapped under various labels with little support in mainstream education.

Today's global view is inclusive education, wherein the "At Risk and Low Achievers" benefit from intervention to
bridge the gaps in their preliminary skills of reading and writing.

The theme of this conference cum training will create an opening to understand instructional approaches.

Study skills, appraisal and instructional effectiveness are studied to determine if we are providing what is needed
and when and how much is the need.

Thank you for joining us to learn new tools to enhance learning in our general classrooms and in reaching out to
all our learners to face the challenges in the future.

The Alpha to Omega family welcomes you in spreading the message that "learning is not a barrier for any child."

Sincerely,

Lalitha Ramanujan
Director

Speakers' Profiles

JIM KNIGHT

Jim Knight is Director of the Kansas Coaching Project at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than a decade studying instructional coaching, writing several books on the topic: Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction. Jim directs several research projects, including an I.E.S. funded qualitative and quantitative assessment of coaching, and Pathways to Success a comprehensive, district-wide school reform project in the Topeka, Kansas School District. Jim also leads the coaching institutes and the Annual Instructional Coaching Conference offered by the University of Kansas. Jim guides professional learning for instructional coaches and has presented and consulted in more than 40 states, most Canadian provinces, and in Japan. He has also won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards.

SHARON SCHINDELE

Sharon Schindele (MA) is an educational consultant from Maple Grove, Minnesota. An Assistant Professor at the University of St. Thomas in the Special Education Graduate Program, she also works as a Facilitator and Professional Development Leader for the Strategies Instruction Model of the Centre for Research on Learning, University of Kansas. Ms. Schindele directs the “LEARN” Strategies Grants for the state of Minnesota and facilitates the activities of a network of learning strategies and staff development speakers for the state. Previously she taught reading and writing to secondary students both in special education and general education settings.

ANN HOFFMAN

Ann G. Hoffman has her Masters’ in Education. She has more than twenty years of experience and works as a Strategic Instruction Model Professional Development Leader at the University of Kansas Centre for Research on Learning. She has worked with thousands of teachers and administrators. She has a strong reputation as a successful facilitator and trainer and works well with people of varied backgrounds and experience.

CELIA CHURCHILL

Celia Churchill is a psychologist who has worked for both the education and health sectors in Britain. She has delivered training to parents and professionals working in partnership to help them develop a better understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Celia has also worked alongside teachers to devise effective programmes to help children access the curriculum. Celia will draw on the works of several famous ASD pioneers and will also focus on management principles drawn from the TEACCH concept.

ANGELA SOUTHALL

Angela Southall is a Chartered Clinical Child Psychologist in the UK NHS. She specialises in bringing services and people together using a ‘whole child’ philosophy. Angela takes a solution-focused approach to ASD, utilising family intervention and parent-child interaction techniques to help managing challenging behaviour and overcome difficulties. Her specialist areas are parent-child relationships, attachment and trauma.

ABSTRACTS

A WAY FORWARD FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)"
MS CELIA CHRUCHILL & ANGELA SOUTHALL

A way forward for children and families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" will provide an opportunity for professionals and families to develop a clearer understanding of this developmental disorder. A first step in meeting the needs of those who have Autism is to see the world from the ASD perspective: Celia will help you do this, and will then move on with you to look at how practitioners and families can adapt to meet the needs of a child with ASD and also how youngsters themselves can gain insight into their responses and begin to adjust.

The Big Four Framework for Smart Teaching: What Really Counts in Improving Instruction?
JIM KNIGHT

When it comes to improving instruction, teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators have literally hundreds of options. But what teaching practices are the few that show the greatest potential to improve student learning? Researchers at the Kansas Coaching Project have been exploring this question for the past decade. The result is the Big Four Framework for Smart Teaching, which focuses on the instructional areas of classroom management, content planning, constructivist and intensive-explicit instruction, and formative assessment. This session will provide an overview of the Big Four, provide participants with several free resources they can use to promote use of the Big Four in their school or district, and summarize how instructional coaches can use the tools with teachers.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Students cannot learn if they are not on task. Teachers need to be able to keep the classroom a safe, productive learning community for all students. Coaches can teach teachers how to create safe learning environments by explaining high-leverage, proven teaching practices such as teaching expectations, increasing opportunities to respond, improved ratios of interaction, and so forth.

CLEARUNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT AND TARGETS
Teachers’ need to be sure they are teaching the right content, and that they know the content. By developing unpacking standards, developing critical questions, and creating learning progressions and content maps, teachers can develop instructional plans that place proper emphasis on the appropriate content. Then, by integrating questions and maps into their lessons, teachers can make their plans and their content more accessible to students.

INSTRUCTION
Teachers need to differentiate their teaching practices based on the kind of learning experienced by children. When students are engaged in mechanical learning, that is, foundational content that must be memorized and internalized, such as math facts or grammar, then direct instruction practices (advance organizers, scaffolded lessons, modeling, numerous opportunities to respond, frequent progress checks) are appropriate. However, when students are learning metaphorical content, that is, complex content that must be uniquely internalized by each student, such as problem solving or aesthetic appreciation of art, then constructivist practices (discovery learning, socratic dialogue, cooperative learning, project-based learning) are appropriate.

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
Teachers need to know if their students are learning content so that they can adjust their instruction to ensure mastery of learning. Furthermore, students will be motivated to learn when they know how well they’re doing, when they’re getting frequent constructive feedback on their progress, and when they know what they still have to do to improve. Thus a process for developing and implementing formative assessments can be helpful for teachers and students.

COOPERATIVE THINKING SKILLS - MS.SHARON SCHINDELE AND MS.ANN HOFFMANN

THE BUILD STRATEGY
The BUILD Strategy is a strategy students can use to work together to resolve a controversial issue. The purpose of the BUILD Strategy is to enable students to work together to make decisions using a process similar to a debate. Throughout the discussion, they share ideas, listen carefully, restate views, and criticize ideas, not people. If possible, they “build” consensus regarding the most effective way of resolving the issue. Students who learned this strategy showed significant skill in discussing and resolving issues on a posttest administered once they had learned and used the BUILD Strategy.

THE LEARN STRATEGY
In today’s world, workers are expected to collaborate successfully with their colleagues. Because of this expectation in the workplace, educators have seen a need to help students develop cooperative thinking and learning skills. Educators have found that it isn’t enough to simply put a group of people together and expect them to successfully resolve issues, learn new information, make decisions, solve problems, and complete projects.

The LEARN Strategy is one of the Cooperative Thinking Strategies developed by researchers at the University of Kansas. The LEARN strategy was designed to enable students to work in teams to do just what its name implies—learn new knowledge and work together in a productive fashion to apply that learning. Research results indicated that students who learned this strategy performed a significantly higher percentage of study behaviors than students who did not learn the strategy. In addition, posttest scores showed significant gains in learning.

THE COURSE ORGANIZER ROUTINE
The Course Organizer Routine focuses on how teachers can introduce a whole course to students using a particular routine or set of instructional methods. Through the use of the Course Organizer Routine, the teacher helps students see and understand the big picture of the course and how the units fit within it. Specifically, this routine is used to help teachers launch a course and create a learning community. In general, the Course Organizer can be used to help students become oriented to where they have been in learning, where they are in learning, and where they are going in learning.

THE CONCEPT COMPARISON ROUTINE
Today’s teachers face many challenges as they attempt to meet their students’ needs. These challenges have created a need for instructional approaches that are not only effective but acceptable to both teachers and students. One such approach, developed at Kansas University’s Center for Research on Learning and based on over 12 years of research, is called Content Enhancement. These routines provide a package of instructional methods that teachers can use to help students understand and master key information. All Content Enhancement routines include a graphic organizer, linking steps, and an instructional sequence called Cue-Do-Review. The Concept Comparison Routine, one of the Content Enhancement routines, focuses on how teachers can help students acquire the ability to compare and contrast key concepts using a set of prescribed.

REGISTRATION FORM

HELP 2009: HOLISTIC ENRICHMENT OF LEARNING POTENTIAL

November 2009

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Check your options. Please note if you OPT to attend the Big Four workshop you will have to attend it on all three days to complete the training on INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING.

About Chennai
Chennai, till very recently known as Madras, is a unique blend of tradition and modernity. It owes its genesis to two determined Englishmen, who despite their superiors' pessimism, leased the site of Fort St. George in the 17th century from the local Nayaks (governors) at Poonamallee and founded a 'factory' for the East India Company.

This settlement grew, and soon encompassed the villages of Chennapattnam, Mylapattnam, Thirvanmiyur and Thiruvelllikeni etc., all with a history of more than 2000 years, St Thomas, the Disciple of Jesus Christ, who brought Christianity to this part of the world, is said to have spent his last days in Mylapore

The ancient temples, the many, graceful red edifices built by the British in the Indo Saracenic style, the churches and mosques are all testament to the long history of Chennai. The performing arts of Chennai, as in its dance, drama, and music are what makes it a city with a strong, cultural character. The Music Festival held from mid December to mid January attracts devoted enthusiasts from all over the world.

The city is also a paradise for food with a wide range of restaurants catering to all palates and wallets. It is a
shopper's paradise, famous for its silk, cottons, jewellery and handicrafts. Of all the silks in India, the Kancheepuram silk of Tamil Nadu is the most famous and is sought after by connoisseurs the world over

Hotel Information