This generation of students spends several hours each day staring at screens in silence or texting. Past generations spent a great deal of time outdoors, playing games and interacting with friends face-to-face. The kids of those generations built social capital and considerable interpersonal skills as a matter of course. More than a decade ago, Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford* wrote that “Future workers need to know how to use a variety of critical thinking skills to build complex ideas and solve problems with others.” But, “Despite their power, rich conversations in school are rare.” That book, Academic Conversations, was published in 2011. That future has become our present. Rich conversations produce new ideas and help students build content understandings. Academic conversations build confidence and relationships, even as they develop critical thinking skills.

When he started teaching in 1972, Ron Nash thought that talking was teaching, so he did a lot of it in his classrooms. It took him more than two decades to understand that talking is learning. Calling on one student at a time is not enough; if there are 30 students in a classroom, there can be 15 simultaneous conversations going on—at any grade level and in any subject area. And teachers can eavesdrop on those discussions, checking for understanding and providing feedback. As for students, listening—or pretending to listen—to a teacher talk is counterproductive; it does nothing to help students build oral language and basic communication skills. It does cause them to go to a better place in their minds.

Register for this October 26  VaSCL workshop, and join Ron as he models practical strategies that will help students survive and thrive in school, the modern workplace—and in life. Wear comfortable shoes and get ready to stand, pair, share, laugh, and learn in this highly interactive and fast-paced day of learning. If you are looking for a day of sit-and-git, this ain’t it. You’ll also receive a valuable and interactive guidebook, along with a copy of one of Ron’s books that will support and enhance the day’s instruction.

*Zwiers and Crawford, 2011. Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk That Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Recertification Certificates (5 points) will be given at the end of the PD workshop series after completion of an electronic exit survey.

Teachers PreK-12, Coaches, Curriculum Leaders, Administrators

The workshop fee is $149 for each participant who is a member of a school division that is a member of VaSCL. You can check here for member divisions.

The registration fee for participants from Non-Member school divisions is $199.

If you would like to pay now by credit card or through a PayPal/credit account, you will be given an opportunity to do so below.

If payment is not made by credit card/PayPal account at registration, the person whom you identified as the Billing Contact will be sent an invoice for payment of your registration fee.

In the registration form below, required fields are indicated with a red asterisk. Once you have submitted the registration, the person or people whom you have registered will receive a confirmation email (with registration information included) within 24 hours.

VaSCL has a no refund policy for workshop registrations.

If a participant is unable to attend the workshop please let This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. know as soon as possible.

We are happy to allow a substitute to attend in your place. Allison will need to know the person’s name and email address for confirmation.

If you have questions or concerns, or would like to receive more information about this workshop, please contact our Professional Learning Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.