WinterEdCon24 — Conference Archive
WinterEdCon24 was held virtually on February 23, 2024. The conference continued our region's work on establishing strong curriculum and assessments supported by high-quality learning targets and observable indicators, with presentations, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities for educators across the MARESA service area. Thank you to everyone who participated! This page is preserved as an archive of the event and its resources.
WinterEdCon24 Snapshot
- Date: February 23, 2024
- Time: Schedule 1 (12:15-2:25), Schedule 2 (1:00-3:10)
- Format: Virtual Conference
- Flyer: WinterEdCon24 Flyer
- Resources: Resource folder (October and February PD)
- SCECHs: Provided by participating districts
Keynote: Dr. Garth Larson
Garth Larson, Ed.D is the Co-Founder and CEO of FIRST Educational Resources. Garth has previously worked as a director of learning, elementary principal, and started his career in education as a high school speech and English teacher. Garth currently consults with school districts around the world and provides customized professional development around a variety of topics, mainly Professional Learning Communities 2.0, learning-centered grading practices, leadership, and school improvement.
Keynote & Session Descriptions
Keynote: Characteristics of Effective Assessment Design
Writing high-quality and meaningful assessments is essential to ensure that educators can accurately report student growth and achievement. This session guided participants through the characteristics of high-quality assessments and the process of aligning assessments to learning targets, revisiting the focus on clarity from the October keynote.
Breakout Session 1: Clarity Through Learning Targets and Observable Indicators
During this interactive breakout session, consultants from the STAGR Center worked with content-level teams to review the process of writing high-quality targets and observable indicators for success, using the framework and information from the October conference. Teams worked through the templates provided in the STAGR Roadmap to ensure clarity for what kids are expected to learn and what success looks like.
Breakout Session 2: Clarity Through Writing High-Quality Assessments
During this interactive breakout session, consultants from the STAGR Center worked with all participating districts on the process of writing high-quality assessments, using the framework and information provided by Garth Larson in the opening keynote. Teams completed templates to ensure clarity for how students are assessed within each participating district.
Resources
- Resource Folder – October and February PD
- Learning Targets and Observable Templates from October PD
- (STAGR) Assessment Template
Conference Schedule
Schedule by Building/District
The conference ran on two schedules to accommodate the varying start/end times of local school districts.
Printable Schedule by Building/District
Agenda
- Welcome: Dr. Travis Smith, Deputy Superintendent, Marquette-Alger RESA
- Keynote: Dr. Garth Larson – Effective Assessments, High-Quality Learning Targets, and Observable Indicators, as related to John Hattie's Visible Learning
- Session 1: High-Quality Learning Targets & Observable Indicators
- Session 2: Effective Assessments
Specialty Sessions
Alongside the main conference, WinterEdCon24 offered dedicated sessions for early childhood educators, student services staff, functional/life skills educators, and school-based therapists.
Early Childhood
Student Services
Functional / Life Skills
Therapists (OTs, PTs, SLPs)
Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Speech-Language Pathologists attended a Comprehensive Medicaid Training for School-Based Therapists presented by Stephanie Abata, Marquette-Alger RESA, followed by networking and resource sharing.