GARC: The Cleveland Experience
The final requirement for GARC: attending and presenting at the annual ICGS Conference in Cleveland. The theme for 2023: Rethink. Recharge. Reengage.
A year after our awesome cohort, Florence, Matt, Jo, Lucy, and Shirley (we missed you, Gemma), first got to hang out in person in Boston, we were back around a new table in Cleveland with our inspiring and patient cohort leader, Debbie. Cleveland was like attending a family reunion with your favorite family members.
Our first two days in Cleveland, Saturday and Sunday, were busy. While Florence, my co-presenter from All Hallows School in Brisbane, and I had collaborated virtually on our presentation, Cleveland provided the first opportunity to walk through our presentation in person together. Forty minutes is not a lot of time and, in our first run through, we went way over! Some serious editing was needed!
On Sunday, I served on the C’23 panel, where panelists gave advice to the C’24 cohort. Questions were wide-ranging, including
- How did you approach your literature review?
- What process did you use for analyzing your data?
- What is the biggest challenge you face and what advice would you offer the new cohort to overcome a challenge like this?
My two most important pieces of advice?
- Do not write your final report at home or in school. Write your final report in a neutral location. I wrote mine near the beach in Los Angeles.
- Have a non-teacher read your final report. Unbiased feedback is critically important.
I remember being in the “audience” as a C’23 cohort member and feeling completely overwhelmed. I can only hope that my advice was helpful for C’24!
Gallery Walk
The Gallery Walk on Monday provided us an opportunity to both discuss our research and promote our session.
Presentation
Our session was Monday afternoon at 4:50 PM in Veterans B at the Cleveland Hilton. We were thrilled to see the room filled to capacity!
- Girls Taking Control: Using Asynchrony to Cultivate Autonomy In and Outside the Classroom (Florence)
- What I Really Want To Do Is Direct … My Own Learning. Or Do I? Stories from A Grade 12 Atmospheric Science Classroom (Eric)
Florence and I could have easily split our session into two fifteen minute slots with time for questions at the end. Instead, we intertwined our presentations as they both focused on student autonomy in the classroom!
Here is a video of our presentation: Senior Learners’ Learner Autonomy in Girls’ Schools.
As I sat on my flight back to Newark (comfortably in first class and mercilessly with no delays), I realized that GARC and being a member of C’23 was one of the best professional development experiences of my career.
I’ll admit I had a crisis of confidence in the middle of it and the action research process was much more involved than I originally believed. I’m also not sure the results of my research were particularly earth-shattering.
Perhaps my greatest take-away. I’ve been motivated to pursue another action research project, focusing the “student use of a social learning app that makes holistic growth visible through authentic moments.”
Fun Facts About Cleveland
Restaurant recommendation: Sittoo’s Lebanese Grill in University Circle. Best $11 shish-kebab meal I’ve ever had.
The rush hour in Cleveland seems to be very quiet.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is still an amazing place.
