"Best Practice"

I had attended Fall 2005 "Best Practice" Institute between September 30-October 20, 2005 at EastWest Center, Hawaii University, Honolulu, Hawaii. There were 24 participants from two countries - 12 from southern Thailand and the same number from Bundung, Indonesia.
Followings are what we had learned from the Institute :

AsiaPacificEd Fall 2005 “Best Practices” Institute
September 30-October 20, 2005

Welcome and Program Introduction – Goals, Intended Outcomes & Logistics/Resources by Namji Steinemann, and Terance Bigalke, Director, Education Program, East-West Center

Opening “Community- Building” Activity by Namji Steinemann and Patrice Lewis, Desert Ridge Middle School, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Introductions to Participating Schools

Review of Award Documents & Visa Papers by Valerie Wong, Visa Officer/Award Services, East-West Center

Defining “Best Practices” & Constructing KWL(What we Know and Want to Learn about “Best Practices”) by Judy Rogers, Sonora High School, Sonora, California

Jigsaw : Small Group Investigations/Presentations of “Best Practices” Topics, by Judy Rogers

Introduction to “Class Meeting” &Assessment by Patrice Lewis

Visit Assignments : Documenting “History” of School-Visit Experiences by Namji Steinemann and Judy Rogers

Southeast Asia : A Crossroads of Cultures by Barbara Andaya, Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii

Small Group Discussion in School Groups to Discuss Visit Expectations and Logistics

Roundtable Discussion/Sharing of School Visit Goals and Expectations

“Best Practices” Presentation : Backward Design Lesson Planning by Cris Rathyen, Moanalua High School, Honolulu, Hawaii

Concurrent “Skills Development” Sessions
Strategies for Improving Reading and Writing Skills by “Best Practices”
Strategies for Incorporating Technology into Teaching by Soo Boo Tan, Education Specialist, AsiaPpacificEd Program, East-West Center

Strategy Session : Creating “Posters” of School Visit Experiences by Judy Rogers

Introduction to “Five –Step” Process by Namji Steinemann

Concurrent Sessions : Modeling “Best Practices”
Using Primary Sources and “Authentic” Real-World Connections by Patrice Lewis
Differentiating Instructions to Address Diverse Learning Styles of Students by Judy Rogers

“Best Practices” Lesson Planning and Rubric Development by Judy Rogers

Small Group Work on “Best Practices” Lessons by Soo Boo Tan, Patrice Lewis, and Judy Rogers

Group Presentations of “Best Practices” Lessons

Review of Travel Logistics for School Visit by Soo Boo Tan and Wendy Nohara

Sharing Observations of “Best Practices” &Round-robin Sharing of Posters by Namji Steinemann

KWL : What Have We Learned about “Best Practices” Teaching?
By Charlene Weiss, University of New Mexico/Albuquerque Public School, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Roundtable Discussion : “Where do we go from here?” by Namji Steinemann and Charlene Weiss

Individual or Small Group Planning on Applying “Lessons Learned” by Soo Boo Tan and Charlene Weiss

Discussion of “Habits of Mind” by Charlene Weiss

Class Meeting “Synthesis” Level Questions (Bloom’s) by Charlene Weiss

Develop Peer-Assessment Rubrics for “Lessons Learned” by Charlene Weiss
And Namji Steinemann

Group Rotation, Assessment, and Feedback : “Evaluation” Level Questions (Bloom’s) by Charlene Weiss and Namji Steinemann

Participant exchange & Review of Resources by Charlene Weiss, Soo Boo Tan, and Namji Steinemann

Resources of the EWCA(the Officeial EWC Alumni Association) by Gordon Ring, Alumni Officer, East-West Center

Institute Evaluation & Sharing Reflections