1. No category

Adolescent
Workshop
A NAMTA Event
at the
AMI
AMI/USA
Refresher Course
ASSOCIATION
MONTESSORI
INTERNATIONALE
Adolescent
Creativity,
Collaboration,
& Discovery
February 13-16, 2015 • Atlanta, GA
All interested parents and
educators are welcome to attend.
Adolescent Workshop, A NAMTA Event
at the 2015 Refresher Course, Atlanta, GA
Adolescent
Workshop
A NAMTA Event at the AMI/USA Refresher Course
Friday, February 13, 2015
8:30 – 11 a.m.
Registration
10:00 a.m. – Noon
Leadership Workshop, Optional and Open to All
The Pedagogical Lens of Leadership
Gretchen Hall
Administrative leadership and policy work will be discussed in an approach that
supports best practice, effective teaching, and optimal outcomes.
10:00 a.m. – Noon
Inclusion Workshop, Optional and Open to All
Montessori and the Child with Special Needs
Monica Smith
Learn more about how the Montessori legacy can help you support all of the
children in the prepared environment.
12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Registration
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Advocacy Workshop, Optional and Open to All
National Network of Montessori Advocacy
Representatives of AMI, AMS, MPPI, and the State Advocacy Coalition
Learn about opportunities for contributing to raising Montessori awareness at
state and national levels.
Atlanta Marriott Marquis • 404-521-0000
Adolescent Creativity, Collaboration, & Discovery
Friday, February 13, 2015, continued
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Registration
7:00-8:30 p.m.
Young Children as Explorers
Alison Gopnik
When looking at how children solve problems, across three different types of
problems and age ranges, a surprising developmental pattern appears: Younger
learners are better than older ones at learning abstract principles. Given evidence, children are better than adults at being able to deduce causation. Alison
will explore two factors that might contribute to these counter-intuitive results. In
the first, as we gain knowledge, we appear to become less open to new ideas.
The second factor, resulting from both neuroscience and evolution, is that younger minds and brains are intrinsically more flexible, creative, and exploratory,
although less efficient as a result. Alison will discuss implications of this research
in our understanding of early childhood education, and will suggest that adults
may have something to learn from this child-like openness.
8:30-10:00 p.m.
Fruit and Cheese Reception
Saturday, February 14, 2015
7:15 – 8:45 a.m.
Registration
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
The Adult’s Role in Adolescent Creativity,
Collaboration, and Discovery
R. Keith Sawyer
In the 21st century, the key task for educators is to prepare
learners to participate creatively in today’s innovation age.
The new interdisciplinary science of learning has come to a
consensus about structuring learning environments that result in enhanced skills of
creativity, collaboration, and discovery. This talk will explain how creativity and innovation happen in today’s knowledge economy. The core message is that innovation
today is always collaborative: It is deeply embedded in organizations and social
networks. Some types of education are most likely to result in the kind of knowledge
that underlies creative collaborative work. Learners need a deep conceptual understanding of complex concepts and the ability to work with them creatively to generate
new ideas, new theories, new products, and new knowledge.
February 13-16, 2015 • Register before February 1, 2015
Adolescent Workshop, A NAMTA Event
at the 2015 Refresher Course, Atlanta, GA
Saturday, February 14, 2015, continued
10:30-11:00 am
Book Signing with Keith Sawyer
11:00 – 11:45 a.m. (Q & A Session 11:45 a.m. – Noon)
The House that Adolescents Built:
A Journey of Discovery and Constructiveness
Jenny Höglund
This is the story of an adolescent farm project that has found
a unique self-discovery process in its foundation for building
social community. The students built the physical environment, including a farm house, barn, and many out buildings, and worked
alongside the adults while sharing adult-level responsibilities. These
students were able to reach the highest level of social awareness
through the practical reality and unity of the farm enterprise. The
power of the Sätila Montessori farm community demonstrated the
levels of cooperation and depth in Montessori adolescent education as it prepared the adults for authentic encounters of the teen personality at the
Swedish AMI Montessori Orientation to Adolescent Studies in the summer of 2014.
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Break 2:45 – 3:00 p.m.)
Break Out Sessions (Choose one)
Sessions will be repeated on Sunday.
A. Navigating the Intersection between Montessori
Education and Informative Data: Why Record
Keeping Matters When Fostering Adolescent Discovery
Katy Myers
Katy Myers will discuss record keeping at the adolescent level,
the use of adaptive online assessments, and how practitioners
can use this valuable information to inform individualized instruction. She will also present the innovative record keeping
system currently in use at Denver Montessori Junior/Senior
High School. This system was created using the free Google Apps for Education
platform and can provide a roadmap for schools to design their own record keeping systems that are suitable to the needs of their unique programs.
break out sessions continue on the following page
Atlanta Marriott Marquis • 404-521-0000
Adolescent Creativity, Collaboration, & Discovery
B. Montessori Adolescent Psychology: The Keys to
Successful Interactions with Young Adults
James Moudry
Have you prepared yourself to be interpersonally effective in
your work with teenagers? The role of service to adolescent
development is complex and not easy to master. Adolescent
psychology demands a steady adult guide and a thoughtful
model for the students to build their individual personalities. In
this session, we will look at case studies to reveal best practices based on Montessori’s pedagogy. Attendees will take away concrete, positive examples of how to be
effective in working with teenagers. Participants will have the opportunity to share
cases from their own experiences.
C. Exploring the Adolescent’s Creative Pathways
through Humanities and the Dramatic Arts
David McNees
Nurturing a holistic, creative principle within our students
brings hope for social change, adaptation, and peace. The
adolescent is a seeker on the path of discovering an authentic and personal role in the power to serve good and is learning to recognize the value of character and how it affects
community. Along this path, the adolescent tries on many roles. As Montessori
guides, we have unique opportunities to coalesce ideas concerning healthy role
fluidity and the spark of creative flow as they inform our pedagogy and enhance
our students’ experience. In this, we may explore how the adult guide can prepare
an environment that honors the connections between social development, creativity, and cognition within the humanities and dramatic arts.
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Open Meeting with the AMI/USA Board
6:00 p.m.
School Tours
Register with AMI/USA and pay the tour fee at the event.
8:00 p.m.
Call for Papers
NAMTA invites graduates of the Orientation to Montessori Adolescent Studies to
submit an outline for one twenty-minute presentation to be given on Saturday, February 14, 2015, 8-10 p.m. at NAMTA’s adolescent workshop. Please submit your
outline by email to christine@montessori-namta.org. Include your name and the
year you attended orientation. Deadline for submission is January 15, 2015. Those
chosen to present will receive a 50% tuition discount for the adolescent workshop.
There will be time for five selections. Presenters will be notified January 20.
February 13-16, 2015 • Register before February 1, 2015
Adolescent Workshop, A NAMTA Event
at the 2015 Refresher Course, Atlanta, GA
Sunday, February 15, 2015
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Creating a Context for Students’ Flow and Creativity:
The Importance of Personal Insight and Experience
Kevin Rathunde
Creating optimal environments for students’ flow experience
and creativity is easier when parents and teachers understand these processes from the inside through personal
insight and experience. Dr. Rathunde draws on his past
research on flow, Montessori education, and his current study of play in middle
adulthood to suggest ways that adults can foster students’ self-expression and
creativity by first cultivating these processes in their own lives.
10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 a.m. – Noon
Following the Adolescent: Keys to Discovery through
Observation and Planning for Spontaneous Activity
John McNamara
After working in the classroom for 43 years, John re-examines his role in designing an environment that fosters student
exploration and discovery. Each year John asks, “Who are
my students?” Maria Montessori called it “following the child,”
which is how Montessori guides allow the nature of the student to provide the plan
and direction for the environment. When students are given the freedom to act on
their environment they develop their intellect and will. The teacher as observer is
always willing to make changes both in himself and in the environment giving student’s remarkable and spontaneous learning abilities.
Courtesy of Chris Warren
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
2008 Montessori Orientation to Adolescent Studies
Atlanta Marriott Marquis • 404-521-0000
Adolescent Creativity, Collaboration, & Discovery
Sunday, February 15, 2015, continued
1:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Break 2:45 – 3:00 p.m.)
Break Out Sessions (Choose one)
D. Navigating the Intersection between Montessori Education and Informative
Data: Why Record Keeping Matters When Fostering Adolescent Discovery
Katy Myers
E. Montessori Adolescent Psychology: The Keys to Successful Interactions
with Young Adults
James Moudry
F. Exploring the Adolescent’s Creative Pathways through Humanities and
the Dramatic Arts
David McNees
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Meet and Greet/Networking
Monday, February 16, 2015
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Designing Adolescent Frameworks:
The Art of Environment Planning for Student Discovery
Laurie Ewert-Krocker and David Kahn
Both David and Laurie have collaborated in the process of designing adolescent programs that lead adolescents to each make
their own connections and discoveries and to subsequently own
them through a community process. This presentation
will convey the principles behind learning structures
that encourage both teachers and their students to
find independent, site-based projects that are original,
involve choice, and contribute to both the adolescent
and larger communities while supporting a wide exposure to the disciplines.
10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Break
10:15 – 11:30 a.m.
Closing Session
February 13-16, 2015 • Register before February 1, 2015
Adolescent Workshop, A NAMTA Event
Conference Speakers
at the 2015 Refresher Course, Atlanta, GA
Laurie Ewert-Krocker is pedogogical advisor at Hershey Montessori School’s Adolescent Community in Huntsburg, OH. She holds AMI diplomas at both the primary and elementary levels, a BA in English from John Carroll University (OH), and an MA in English
from the University of Washington. Ms. Ewert-Krocker was the founding head teacher
of the Hershey Montessori School’s Adolescent Community, a Montessori farm school
model that most recently is planning for students ages 12-18. She continues to innovate
through practice and uses the farm as the basis for preparing teachers in the AMI Montessori Orientation to Adolescent Studies.
Alison Gopnik is a professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at the
University of California at Berkeley. She received her BA from McGill University and her
Ph.D from Oxford University. Her most recent book is The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life.
Gretchen Hall is the AMI primary director of training at the Montessori Training Center of
New England and the director of CREC Montessori Magnet School, both located in Hartford, CT. She has a BS degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University
and a master’s degree in Montessori education from Loyola University.
Jenny Höglund is an AMI elementary trainer. She holds AMI primary and elementary
diplomas. Jenny co-founded the Montessoriskolan Lära för Livet in Sweden in 1995 and
has taught elementary and adolescent students for over twenty-three years as well as
serving as head of school since 2006. She has lectured at the Bergamo Centre in Italy
since 2006.
David Kahn has served as a director for various non-profit Montessori management organizations over the last 40 years. He has 17 years of Montessori teaching experience,
12 of them as teaching principal at Ruffing Montessori School (Cleveland Heights, OH).
Mr. Kahn was founding director of the Hershey Montessori School’s Adolescent Community in Huntsburg, OH, an internationally acclaimed Montessori farm school model for
adolescent education. He also serves as founding director emeritus of Montessori High
School at University Circle (Cleveland, OH). David developed the summer training institute with Laurie Ewert-Krocker and Jenny Höglund, The AMI Montessori Orientation to
Adolescent Studies, to guide and develop teachers who work with students ages 12-18.
John McNamara is a teaching principal at Ruffing Montessori School, West (Rocky River,
OH). He holds the AMI elementary diploma from Bergamo, Italy, has a BA from the University of Windsor, Ontario, and an MA in educational administration from the University
of Toronto, Ontario. John has taught for over 40 years.
David McNees is a guide at Hershey Montessori’s Adolescent Community in Huntsburg,
OH. He holds a BA in English from U.C. Berkeley, a master’s degree in creative art therapy, applied psychology from New York University and a certificate from NAMTA’s Montessori Orientation to Adolescent Studies.
James Moudry is an author, presenter, and advocate for responsive education for children of all ages. He concentrates on professional development and personal transformation for adults working with children. He focuses on supporting professionals serving
teenagers in school environments. James has worked in adolescent programs as an
administrator, faculty member, and coach. His current position is high school director at
The Post Oak School in Houston, Texas. He also serves on the board of the Montessori
Administrators Association and as a member of the AMI Global Research Group.
Atlanta Marriott Marquis • 404-521-0000
Katy Myers is currently the founding principal of Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High
School located in Denver, CO. Katy consults with schools throughout the United States
and was a founding parent of Compass Montessori, a pre-K through 12th grade public
Montessori charter school in Golden, CO where she served as the business manager and
assistant head of school for four years and head of school for six years. Katy’s educational background includes the AMI elementary diploma, adolescent Montessori certification,
a B.S. in speech and economics from Northwestern University, and an M.Ed from Arizona
State University in education administration and supervision.
Adolescent Creativity, Collaboration, & Discovery
Dr. Kevin Rathunde is a professor in the department of family and consumer studies
at the University of Utah. His research focuses on “optimal” experiences (e.g., flow experience and interest) and explores two interrelated areas: 1) how optimal experiences
impact human development, education, and creativity; and 2) how characteristics of individuals and social contexts (e.g., family and school) enhance or disrupt such experiences.
Dr. Rathunde’s latest study explores flow, identity development, and creativity in middle
adulthood by collecting in-depth interviews and drawing on his own experience as a musician. Before receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Dr. Rathunde performed for over a decade in an original pop-rock band and studied
guitar improvisation at the Bloom School of Jazz.
Dr. R. Keith Sawyer, a professor of education at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, studies creativity, learning, and collaboration. He received a computer science
degree from MIT in 1982 and then began his career with a two-year stint designing videogames for Atari. In 1990, Dr. Sawyer began his doctoral studies in psychology, where
he studied creativity with Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He has been a jazz pianist for over
30 years and spent several years playing piano with Chicago improv theater groups. Dr.
Sawyer has published 14 books and over 80 scientific articles. His latest book is Zig Zag:
The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity.
Monica Smith holds a master’s degree in inclusive early childhood education and has
her New York State certification in regular education and special education (0-second
grade). She holds a Montessori primary diploma from the Maria Montessori Training Organisation in London.
Hotel and Transportation Information
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
265 Peachtree Center Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-521-0000
Register at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis by
January 20, 2015 to receive the AMI/USA room
rate of: single/double or triple/quad at $139.
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is approximately 12
miles from the hotel. Airport shuttle services are available The Atlanta Airport
Shuttle Service (call 404-941-3440 or visit http://www.taass.net). Estimated taxi
fare from the airport to the hotel is $32.
Additional directions and hotel details may be found on the hotel website:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/atlmq-atlanta-marriott-marquis/
February 13-16, 2015 • Register before February 1, 2015
Adolescent Workshop, A NAMTA Event
at the 2015 Refresher Course, Atlanta, GA
Register by February 1, 2015 for early registration rates!
NAMTA member tuition fee:
Non-member tuition fee:
❑ $370 ( ❑ $385 after February 1)
❑ $395 ( ❑ $410 after February 1)
Tuition fees include Saturday and Sunday luncheons.
Choose one: ❑ Non-Vegetarian ❑ Vegetarian
Saturday break out choice:
❑ A. Record Keeping/Myers
❑ B. Psychology/Moudry
❑ C. Creative Pathways/McNees
Sunday break out choice:
❑ D. Record Keeping/Myers
❑ E. Psychology/Moudry
❑ F. Creative Pathways/McNees
Last Name:_ ______________________ First Name:_ ___________________
Address:_ ______________________________________________________
City:___________________________________________________________
State/Province:_ ___________ Postal Code:_ ________ Country:___________
Name of Your School:_____________________________________________
Phone :_ _________________________ Email:_ ________________________
Payment Options...................................................................................................
❑ Check or money order: payable in U.S. currency and drawn on a U.S. bank.
❑ Visa ❑ MasterCard ❑ AmEx ❑ Discover (complete the information below)
Card Number:_ __________________________________________________
Name on Card: __________________________________________________
Expiration Date:________________3- or 4-digit Authorization Code:_________
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(month/year)
(found on front of AmEx, back of other cards)
Address: _______________________________________________________ Street Address where credit card bills are sent.
City:____________________________________State/Province:_ __________
Postal Code:_ ____________________________Country:_________________
Atlanta Marriott Marquis • 404-521-0000
2014-2015 Individual NAMTA Membership
Use this form to join NAMTA or renew your membership.
Membership is for individuals only. No schools, please. Please furnish your home mailing
address. You must provide an e-mail address to receive member mailings.
U.S. Resident............................................................................. ❑ $50
Outside U.S................................................................................ ❑ $60
Lifetime...................................................................................... ❑ $600
The NAMTA Directory (not included with membership)............. ❑ $18
NAMTA’s Online Bibliography (see description below) ............ ❑ $10
Total Enclosed............................................................................ $______
•
Return by January 15, 2015, to have your name listed in The NAMTA Directory.
•
The NAMTA Online Montessori Bibliography is a searchable database of
Montessori articles. Copies of articles are available for a fee.
❑ Check here if you do not want your name listed.
Last Name:_ ______________________ First Name:_ ___________________
Address:_ ______________________________________________________
City:___________________________________________________________
State/Province:_ ___________ Postal Code:_ ________ Country:___________
Name of Your School:_____________________________________________
Phone :_ _________________________ Email:_ ________________________
If you are a new member, please list your Montessori training information:
Location: ______________________________________ Affiliation: ________
Date of Diploma: ___________________________ Level of Course: ________
Current Montessori Status: ❑ Administrator ❑ Guide (Teacher) ❑ Trainee
❑ Assistant ❑ Parent ❑ Program Coordinator
Payment Options...................................................................................................
❑ Check or money order: payable in U.S. currency and drawn on a U.S. bank.
❑ Visa ❑ MasterCard ❑ AmEx ❑ Discover (complete the information below)
Card Number:_ __________________________________________________
Name on Card: __________________________________________________
Expiration Date:________________3- or 4-digit Authorization Code:_________
_
(month/year)
(found on front of AmEx, back of other cards)
Address: _______________________________________________________ Street Address where credit card bills are sent.
City:____________________________________State/Province:_ __________
Postal Code:_ ____________________________Country:_________________
February 13-16, 2015 • Atlanta, GA
A NAMTA Event at the
AMI/USA Refresher Course
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PERMIT # 1329
Adolescent Creativity, Collaboration, & Discovery
Call for Papers: Learn more at www.montessori-namta.org
Make your hotel reservations by January 20, 2015
to receive the NAMTA conference rate!
North American Montessori Teachers’ Association
13693 Butternut Road
Burton, OH 44021
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