(Get a print copy of the sectional options here.)

NID Teachers Conference 2018

Sectional Options

***Super Sectional and Sectional #1***

Super Sectional 1A 

One Size Does Not Fit All! Early Childhood Curriculum Design
Rebecca Schmidt
* Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2)
The three Core Considerations of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) are the foundation for best practices in planning curriculum for a variety of early childhood age levels. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves with a hands-on approach to curriculum design.

Super Sectional 1B 

The Power of Project Based Learning   
Doris Knuth, M.S., M.Ed.  and Michele Gnan
* Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2)
Looking for support in maintaining your early childhood center or program? Concordia University's Early Childhood Initiative in connection with the Early Childhood Center and other EC professionals has designed a program where we will work with your program's needs in the areas of project based learning, professional development, documentation, and curriculum. Come and explore how the Initiative can help you.

Sectionals

Art Trek beyond Pinterest: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Carol Staunch
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Are you wondering how you can use creative art lessons to connect with other core subjects? This presentation will share how you can use digital visuals, such as Pinterest, but alter the approach to include art elements, principles, art appreciation concepts and integrate the National Core Art Standards in your classroom. (Includes hands-on demonstration and linked resources.)

Critical Thinking Skills Within the Social Studies
Dr. Doug Feldmann
*Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration
The purpose of this exploratory study was to ascertain dispositions that practicing middle and high school history teachers have in regard to alternative history and the likelihood (and the degree to which) they would utilize it in their classrooms to promote higher-order thinking skills. The presenter will connect attendees to his actual online university classroom.

Getting it WRITE: Improving Writing Instruction at the Intermediate & Jr. High Level
Laura Piel
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Preparing students for the amount and types of writing they will do in high school and college can be a daunting task! We'll go over some methods for implementing a strong writing program for 4th-9th grade. We'll discuss creating clear and concise rubrics and how to incorporate a variety of writing styles (narrative, argumentative, persuasive, explanatory, research, etc.) at every grade level along the way.

Google Goodness
Mark Hess
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th)
Examine features of the Chrome browser that you may have overlooked or not known about, as well as, some top extensions. As time permits, we will look at some of the teacher-friendly features of Google Keep, Docs, Slides, and Sheets.

Got Resilience?
Dr. Kim Marxhausen
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), Special Education
For resilient learners obstacles become learning opportunities. Resilience is certainly important to life, but can it be taught or demanded? Learn how teaching the faith promotes resilience leading to academic success. Help your students harness their inner grit.

Let’s Talk About Race!: Celebrating Diversity
Dr. Carolyn Theard- Griggs
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade)
Explore racial diversity and how conversations about race can be included in pre-school and early elementary classrooms. Recommended activities will be shared to promote a celebration of diversity in the classroom.

Move Over Three R’s--Time to Communicate, Collaborate & Celebrate
Paige Craig
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Athletic Directors, Admissions
What does your school do when you need something? Ask, of course! Alumni are an often overlooked resource for preschool, elementary, and high schools. Discuss the basics of Alumni Relations and how the three C’s can help you connect and engage with alumni to inspire greater contribution of time and resources to your school.

Navigating the Process of Synodical Placement
Debbie Arfsten
*Administration
Who do I contact for a new teacher? How many graduates are there? Will new teachers be guaranteed a teaching call right away? Does it matter when I submit a request? The trail of synodical placement can be confusing and sometimes misunderstood. Come hear the ins and outs of the system to help both administrators and upcoming new teachers navigate the process.

No Time for Music Literacy? Think Again!
Emily Woock
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade)
Teaching music literacy can easily get lost in the shuffle, yet it is key to building a strong music program. We will examine ways to include literacy in every lesson and look at why literacy is so important.

Overwhelmed and Under Nourished? Seeking Spiritual Health
Rev. William Yonker
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Athletic Directors
Tending to your spiritual health revives joy, excitement, courage, and ingenuity in facing the calling to feed the lambs of Jesus. St. Bernard of Clairvaux said Christian spiritual leaders should be reservoirs (only after we are filled, do we spill to others) but too often we are canals (what we take in we quickly pass on, never really being filled or nourished).

Raising Up Prayer Warriors
Victoria Wykert
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Acts 2:42 states, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Watch kids from preschool to 8th grade coming early to pray together; then they are the Prayer Warriors praying with other individual students and teachers. Hear why the students participate, learn how to enhance this important relationship, and experience ideas that could strengthen prayer life in your school.

Reading Comprehension: Helping All Students Understand What They are Reading
Dr. Anastassia McNulty and Dr. Lauren Wellen
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
This presentation will focus on comprehension that will help students set goals and link them to skills and strategies.  Students need strategies to support their reading and get a deeper understanding of comprehension by using questions, prompts, charts, and other tools for learning. Informal assessments and standards will be aligned for all students from elementary through middle school. 

Reflecting on the Danielson Framework to Improve Teaching and Learning
Dr. Denise Glasgow, EdD., Dr. Kim Sekulich, Ed.D., Dr. Paul Sims, Ph.D., and Dr. Mary Zaharis, Ph. D.
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th-12th Grade), Administration
It is important for teachers and administrators to understand that the Danielson Framework for Teaching can be used for more than just providing the teacher with a final, summative performance rating. This effective evaluation tool can also create the basis for meaningful dialogue and a course of action that leads to the development of individual, professional growth for each teacher and greater gains in student achievement.

Using the Desmos Activity Builder To Engage Mathematics Learners
Dr. Adam Pappe
*Middle School (6th-8th Grade),  High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration
Learn the basics of Desmos--a free, online mathematics engagement tool. Experience Desmos as if you were students in grades 3 to 12 on their own tablet or laptop. Specific emphasis will be on creating your own activities or editing ready-made experiences in the Desmos activity builder.

Winning on Two Scorecards
Dr. James Pingel
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Athletic Directors
You hear it all the time--Play like a champion. Win the day. Christians know that they have already been crowned a champion for eternity, and Jesus has not only won the day but your eternity. Find out more on how you can use the platform God has given you to teach your student-athletes about Him and His Word. Achieve on both spiritual and secular scorecards.

***Super Sectional and Sectional #2***

Super Sectional 2 

“Why Do You Do What You Do?”
Phil Vischer
* Everyone!
How to pour yourself out without running dry.

Sectionals

Aging is the Only Way To Live!
Dr. Rich Bimler|
* Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade),  High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Admissions, Special Education, Athletic Directors
People of all ages need to see aging as a blessing to celebrate instead of a burden to bear. Learn how to help people of all ages to joyfully age in the Lord! Let us celebrate together how we can help each other rub "ministry shoulders." Let's celebrate God's gift of aging!

Cantigny In and Out of the Classroom
Mari Davis, Stephanie Moyer, Melissa Tyer
*Middle School (6th-8th Grades), High School (9th-12th Grade)
Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., has a variety of field trip and in-classroom resources. Learn about how we engage your students in social studies and science in the park and how you can use our resources to engage them in the classroom. We off FREE field trips, speakers, artifacts, and programs for your classroom as well as opportunities for custom experiences.

Building Brains Through Play
Dr. Kim Marxhausen
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Special Education
Learn how to find time and ways to build relationships with your students amidst your busy day of teaching, grading, meetings, and testing. Participate in some relationship building activities.

Building Teacher- Student Relationships
Dr. Kathleen Briseno and Dr. Peggy Snowden
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade),  High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Special Education, Athletic Directors
More and more skills instruction has been pushed down to early childhood classrooms. Look at how children develop executive function skills through play and how teachers can help parents and administrators to understand the importance of play. Let's find out why research supports play.

Developing Social- Emotional Learning Within ELA Instruction
Ami Shah
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Special Education
Explore actionable tips and tricks on fun, engaging, effective, and hands-on ways to build positive behaviors and social and emotional skills with your early elementary students. Come away with effective, easy-to-implement activities that you can start using right away! (Bonus: Activities also align to the ELA Standards!)

Digital Storytelling
Mark Hess
*Primary (1st-2nd Grade), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Look at the hows of great storytelling, as well as, the tools that get children to share them with you, classmates, family and the world. Common Core requires that students create narratives from kindergarten on. Let's give children a device and have them bank it for later refinement. It is still writing when they dictate it to a device and the device does the typing. Let's get them published!

Diversity is a Fact--Inclusion Takes Work
Noel Huddleston
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Discover strategies that aid teachers and administrators help their students become more inclusive of those who are culturally different. You will engage in activities that students will find fun and thought provoking. 

Environment, Relationships, and Sensory Experiences
Bogumila Ryndak-Mazur
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler-Grade 2)
Learn documentation and practical ideas about how to prepare a sensory classroom for young children to foster their development and learning.

Lutheran Schools as the Community Hub: Partnerships and Shared Resources for Ministry
Jason Honig
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade),  High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Admissions
Become equipped and empowered to utilize asset-based community development principals to communicate with your neighbors, to host purposeful events, and to provide reciprocal partnerships in your community. Our ministry expands beyond our schools' walls.

SUPERHERO EDUCATORS- Dynamic Data
Dr. Steve Gerner
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Discover how to fill the gap between assessment results and quality of teaching. SUPERHERO EDUCATORS use data to increase student achievement. Examine current assessment measurements and outcomes. Analyze instructional practices of data. Formulate an action plan to maximize student achievement based on data outcomes and analysis.

Teamwork in Student Development
Amanda Skubinna
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Hear suggestions and learn about structures for organizations to bring stakeholders together in support of students. In addition to the offerings from the presenter, there will be an opportunity for attendees to share their methods with each other.

The ABC’s of Defending Your Faith
Brad Alles
*Early Child. (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elem. (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration
How can you help students know about evidence that confirms what we believe and confess? It is as easy as ABC--A is for Archaeology, B is for Bible, C is for Christ... Discover details of these and other answers to questions people have about the truth of the Christian faith.

Understanding Temperaments: Goodness of Fit
Becky Rube Honig
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2)
Learn how temperaments affect our relationships with children and how we can create a "goodness of fit."

***Super Sectional and Sectionals #3***

Super Sectional 3 

Building Relationships in Our Schools--It’s More Than Athletics!
Beth Bierlein, Sue Domeier, and Amy Moeller
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
What happens when three schools who typically interact only via athletics put their heads together and come up with a way to celebrate our Lutheran heritage , reach out in service and love to others, and celebrate what it means to be a student in a Lutheran school? It means cookies and cards, hats and boxes, notes of love and encouragement--celebration!

Sectionals

A Child’s Brain on Poverty or Trauma
Dr. Kim Marxhausen
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade)
Poverty and trauma have devastating effects on brain development, putting children at a significant disadvantage. Discover teaching and learning strategies that not only fill in empty spots in their learning but also help their brains to develop.

Agape Sticks: Illustrate the Christian Faith
Rev. David Seabaugh
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler-Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th-12th Grade)
Christianity can often seem complex, confusing, and even burdensome. Agape Sticks is a remarkably simple method for illustrating the faith that instantly and powerfully applies to everyday lives. Agape Sticks is accessible enough for the impromptu napkin sketch and profound enough to illustrate the deepest theological topics in the classroom or chapel message. 

Bane or Blessing? Helping Your Board Lead Effectively
Dr. Richard Herman
*Administration
The quality of leadership of governing boards significantly impacts the effectiveness of Lutheran schools and churches. Key principles, best practices, and practical suggestions will help you lead and encourage your board to govern with impact.

Bring Music to Your Students (Even if you're not a pro!)
Emily Woock
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler-Grade 2)
Teachers who do not have much (or any) musical training may feel intimidated or uncertain about how they can meaningfully incorporate music into their daily routines, yet there are many ways they can appropriately and effortlessly include more music into their curriculum. Examine tools and strategies to add music to your day, and look at various resources available to help you do so.

Connecting Dads/Men into Christian Community
Craig Mattes
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler-Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th-12th Grade)
Inviting school dads and men outside of our congregations to attend a worship service may not be the best first move. What are other venues where we can get men involved? We will discuss low cost and non-threatening ways to help men find belonging in Christian community and most importantly, where they can find a new or renewed belonging in Jesus.

Financial Wellness: From Challenge to Change
Karen Kirchner Wilhelms
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler-Grade 2), Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade),  High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration, Admissions, Special Education, Athletic Directors
Identify how you think about money and discover how to align financial behaviors, values and goals. Learn how the benefits provided by your employer through Concordia Plan Services can help increase your financial well-being.

Helpful Tips and Reliable Resources for Leading Meaningful Chapel Worship
Rev. William Beckmann
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
You are scheduled to lead school worship this week and don't have any idea of the direction you want to take. Gain some do's and don't's when leading weekly school chapel or preparing a children's message. Identify resources to search for planning meaningful experiences for students.

Leadership by The Book
Dr. James Pingel
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th-12th Grade), Administration, Admissions, Athletic Directors 
A new leadership book is published almost every seven hours. Find out how you can develop and reflect on your leadership philosophy and vision by creating your own "book of leadership." Inspired and motivated by the Good Book--God's Holy Word, you will be given a framework and process to continuously write and enhance your leadership skills, effectiveness, and story.

Learning Through Literature
Dana Busker
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2)
Find out how teaching concepts through literature selections will make learning fun for your students. Engage students through the use of emergent literacy to build their confidence in independent reading. An entire year's worth of selections will be presented with ideas you can take back to your classrooms and implement immediately!

Learning Through Routines for 0-3 Classrooms
Becky Rube Honig
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2)
If you work with infants and toddlers, most of your day is spent in 5 main transitions: Hellos & Goodbyes; Diapering/Toileting; Eating, Sleeping, and Getting Dressed. This workshop is designed to help you pack as much learning time into these routines as possible and move away from "conveyor belt care."

Nurturing Future World Changers: Fundamentals of Brain Development
Wanikka Vance-Clark
*Early Childhood (Infant/Toddler- Grade 2)
Understand child brain development, harness the power of purposeful play, and learn various proven strategies, including storytelling, games, and visualization to teach children. Tips on building retentive memory and nurturing future world changers will help both early educators and parents create an engaging learning experience.

Power Tools for Teaching Religion
Jared Stiek
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
The “go-to” activities in religion class should not be in-class reading and workbook completion. Fill your toolbox with powerful methods and activities for teaching the faith. See how interactive, hands-on, and group strategies for religion lessons can expand your current religion curriculum. 

Smiling Before Christmas
Valerie Winston
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Have you ever looked around your classroom to see if you're being filmed for a prank TV show? Random, spontaneous comments from your students may throw you off, interrupt class, or even cause you stress. But in those comments you can find joy, humor, caring, and wisdom. Find a new way to view those interruptions and see that it's okay to smile or even laugh before Christmas.

The Importance of Failure
Adam Russo
*Elementary (3rd-5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th -12th Grade), Administration
Learn about the importance and role of failure in a child’s social, emotional, and educational development. We will discuss how to integrate these concepts into perception of success to be more attuned to children (as parents and teachers) to help them benefit from failures rather than be paralyzed by them.

Using Demographic Services to Enhance Your Admission Goals
Megan Popp and Vanda Toner
*Administration, Admissions
Learn to use demographic dates to enhance your admissions and to help you partner with your Lutheran school teachers to help retain your current students. Recruiting is everyone's job.