CONFERENCE 2008: Imagining the 21st Century Classroom

On January 4-5, 2008 at the Ferguson Center for the Arts at Christopher Newport University, teams from each Newport News school were involved in a global "think tank" on the topic of educating in and educating for the 21st Century. Teams from each school had a unique opportunity to interact with educators from around the globe using both live and video-feed experiences. The conversation generated challenged as well as expanded our thinking about effective classroom and administrative practices.

Goals for Imagining the 21st Century Classroom

1. To engage colleagues in considering the shape of education in the 21st Century
2. To contribute to international thinking on future schooling
3. To develop and share strategies for effective classroom practice in the 21st Century
4. To bring together academics, administrators, school leaders and school teams in a ‘working’ conference
5. To seek a commitment to continuing the work of the conference over the next 12 months

Presenters

On Site:

• Tom Clark, CBE, Specialist Schools & Academies Trust, United Kingdom (biography)

• David Crossley, Director, Specialist Schools & Academies Trust, United Kingdom (biography)

• Ken Walsh, OBE, Associate Director, Specialist Schools & Academies Trust, United Kingdom. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust is the leading national body for secondary education in England. The SSAT and its partner organization, International Networking for Educational Transformation (iNet), are committed to working with schools to transform education through the sharing of best practices and innovation. (biography)

• Professor Yong Zhao is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also serves as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. Zhao received his Ph.D in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1996. His research interests include diffusion of innovation, teacher adoption of technology, computer-assisted language learning, globalization and education, and international and comparative education. Zhao has published extensively in these areas. His articles have appeared in AERJ and Teachers College Record. He received the 2003 Raymond B. Catell Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association. This award recognizes “a scholar who has conducted a distinguished program of cumulative educational research in any field of educational inquiry within the first decade following receipt of their doctoral degree.” His most recent publications include: What Should Teachers Know about Technology: Perspectives and Practices (IAP, 2003) and Research in Technology and Second Language Education: Developments and Directions (IAP, 2005). His current work focuses on the impact of globalization on education and the integration of Eastern and Western educational practices.

• Dr. Steven W. Edwards, Edwards Educational Services, Inc. - Consultant/Coordinator (biography)

• Brenda Bigland, CBE, Principal Lent Rise Primary School, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

• Mike Butler, Principal, Djanogly City Academy (High School), Nottingham, United Kingdom (biography)

Live Video Feed:

• Lucy Fisher, Elementary School Principal and Government Advisor, Tasmania (biography)

• Professor Brent Davies, Cert Ed, BA, MSc, MPhil, PhD - Professor of International Leadership Development at the University of Hull. He is also a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education (University of London), Special Professor at the University of Nottingham and a Faculty Member of the Centre on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California. He is an ‘Associate Director of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust’ (biography)

For more information on these presenters and the work of the organizations, visit:

• Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
• International Networking for Educational Transformation (iNet)
• Ken Walsh
• Professor Yong Zhao