SXSW EDU Sessions for Competency-Based Education

There are probably hundreds of sessions of great relevance to CompetencyWorks readers, and we all arrive with different needs and interests – but here is a small selection of sessions that touch on big issues in our field. We look forward to seeing you there!

iNACOL Sessions – We had a longer post on these last week, but here they are again, in brief:

• iNACOL and CompetencyWorks Meet Up, March 6, 11 a.m. – noon
• CEO State of Play in Personalized Learning, March 6, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Equity

• From Equity to Anti-Racism in Education – Marco Davis, Christopher Emdin, Kate Gerson, and Jeff Livingston discuss what it will take to change the inherently racist educational system.
• Personalized Learning Toward Equity – Evan Gutierrez, Carolyn Jones, Frances Messano, and Jim Shelton on how diversity and equity help leaders shift beyond one-size-fits-all education.

Personalized Learning

• Pathways to Personalization – Roshni Lakhi and Shawn Rubin help leaders who are struggling to design, launch, and scale blended and personalized learning initiatives.
• What Do We Mean by Personalized Learning? Larry Berger and Michael Horn discuss what it can look like in schools and how technology can help support and scale it.
• Blended and Personalized Learning Toolbox – Saro Mohammed and Stephen Pham provide an interactive session on blended learning for teachers and school leaders.

Student Agency

• Building Student Agency Through the Power of Place – Emily Liebtag and Nate McClennen discuss personalized learning that happens when students engage in their communities.
• Why InventEd is a 21st-century Essential – Teen inventor Alexis Lewis discusses the invention process and the exponential growth of K-12 invention opportunities.

Social-Emotional Learning

• Social Emotional Learning Should Be Like Fluoride – Pam Betten, Brian Kingsley, Jessica Reid Sliwerski, and Christina Riley look at how to embed SEL into core subjects.
• Why SEL Doesn’t Work – Angela Bailey, Kevin Kerr, and Kyla Krengel discuss barriers and pitfalls of SEL implementation and strategies to overcome them.

And an Assortment of Other Topics…

• Teachers and Students First, Tech Second – Paul Martinez and Marie White discuss how the Summit Learning Program help teachers tailor instruction.
• Unlocking Time to Fuel Student-Centered Learning – Debbie Brockett, Crystal Harden-Lindsey, Bob Lenz, and Chris Walsh on innovative ways to structure school schedules.
• How Will Americans Come To Embrace School Change? Meet Up, Andy Calkins and Kelly Young lead a discussion of how we move toward embracing broader, whole-person competencies.
• Competency-Based Education: The Future of Learning – Amardeep Kahlon and Ann Kennedy discuss CBE in a higher education context.
• Playful Assessment: Don’t Stop the Fun – And finally, how can we miss hearing from YJ Kim, Emily Martin, and Louisa Rosenheck about assessment that is student-centered, authentic, and fun?