The goal of the session-building process is to give every person in attendance the ability to shape the learning that happens over the course of the edcamp. Providing unrestricted access to the session board fosters the type of professional empowerment that supports what teachers can sustainably learn from each other. As you encourage folks to post session on the board, remember to tell them that you can post topics you’d like to share [yellow post-its] OR learn about [orange post-its]. You don’t need to be an expert on a topic to run a session. In fact, some of the best sessions are those where you can get feedback and resources from your peers about something that interests you.

— The Edcamp Model: Powering Up Professional Learning

In addition to the rich conversation that will take place in the sessions, we hope that you’ll extend the reach and impact of these conversations via social media. Please use the hashtags: #edcampPENY #pennyaction

MORNING SESSIONS

8:30-9:30 CHECK-IN/REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST/SESSION BOARD

9:30-9:45 OPENING REMARKS FROM MICHELLE FINE

Michelle Fine is a Professor in the Psychology & Urban Education programs at the CUNY Graduate Center. A social psychologist, her primary research interest is the study of social injustice: when injustice is perceived or appears simply fair or deserved, when it is resisted, and how it is negotiated by those who pay the most serious price for social inequities. She studies these issues in her work with public high schools, prisons, and youth in urban communities, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her research is typically participatory, with youth and/or activists, drawing from feminist, critical race, and other critical theories.

9:45-10:10 PLAN FOR THE DAY AND OVERVIEW OF SESSIONS

10:15-11:15 SESSION ONE

11:30-12:30 SESSION TWO

12:30-1:00  REFLECTION/NEXT STEPS/SURVEY

Continue the conversation/learning over lunch at one of the many local restaurants in the area.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

The Law of Two Feet means you take responsibility for what you care about — standing up for that and using your own two feet to move to whatever place you can best contribute and/or learn.

Four principles apply to how you navigate in edcamp space:

Whoever comes is the right people

Whoever is attracted to the same conversation are the people who can contribute most to that conversation—because they care. So they are exactly the ones—for the whole group– who are capable of initiating action.

Whatever happens is the only thing that could’ve

We are all limited by our own pasts and expectations.  This principle acknowledges we’ll all do our best to focus on NOW– the present time and place– and not get bogged down in what could’ve or should’ve happened.

When it starts is the right time

The creative spirit has its own time, and our task is to make our best contribution and enter the flow of creativity when it starts.

When it’s over, it’s over

Creativity has its own rhythm.  So do groups.  Just a reminder to pay attention to the flow of creativity — not the clock.  When you think it is over, ask: Is it over?  And if it is, go on to the next thing you have passion for.  If it’s not, make plans for continuing the conversation.

Brave Space Guidelines

• What is said here stays here; what is learned here, leaves here
• Be fully present: Engage in critical dialogue through conscious questioning and active listening.
• Participate at your own comfort level, but push yourself; the most learning happens when we are a little bit uncomfortable.
• Notice your own defensive reactions and attempt to use these reactions as entry points for gaining deeper self-knowledge.
• It’s ok for us all to be at different places with the things we discuss today.
• Show respect for one another’s beliefs, values, and experiences. Strive for humility.
• Share air time
• Attend to personal anecdotal evidence but also look at broader societal patterns.

Adapted from DiAngelo & Sensoy, 2014