Call For Proposals
RESC Alliance Virtual Learning Institute
Reframing Education in the Digital Age
The week of July 13th 2020
The RESC Alliance Virtual Learning Institute will provide educators with an opportunity to exchange innovative ideas and explore solutions to help our students, families, and educators navigate learning in our new era. We welcome innovative, hands-on, collaborative presentations from educators, teachers teams, coaches and administrators. Educators are encouraged to share their learning and successes in distance learning with the greater CT education community! Please email us with any questions at efreel@aces.org or srenehan@crec.org .

Dates and Process
  • Early bird deadline for proposals is June 3, 2020. Acceptance of proposals will be communicated no later than June 8, 2020.  
  • If there are still spaces available, second round proposals will be accepted until June 8. Acceptance of round 2 proposals will be communicated no later than June 15, 2020.

Proposal Guidelines
  • Proposals must align to one institute theme.
  • Proposals must include at least one participant learning target with an equity focus, and identify the intended audience(s).
  • Sessions will be 60- 75 minutes and must include opportunities for participants to engage with the content and one another. Be prepared to share takeaways, strategies, and/or materials which participants can put to immediate use in their practice. 
  • Proposals must indicate technology tools and/or apps that will be utilized or modeled in the session.
  • Presenters are strongly encouraged to incorporate accessibility options, such as closed captioning.
  • Proposals should identify one lead organizer. The lead organizer may be a presenter or co-presenter. 
  • Organizer/presenter and all presenters must register for the conference. One presenter per session will receive a fee waiver code upon proposal acceptance.
Institute Session Themes

Theme 1: Reframing Education in the Digital Age
  • What is Learning? 
  • Reframing our mission and vision
  • Distance Learning Plans
  • Shifting roles of the teacher, leader, family and student 
  • Redefining the “classroom”
  • Technology and learning
  • Equity  
  • Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities (e.g., PPTs, IEPs, 504 Plans, providing services)

Theme 2: Addressing the Social-Emotional Learning Imperative
  • Trauma-informed, Resiliency-Focused Education
  • Restorative Practice
  • Building a classroom community
  • Self-care 
  • Supporting and engaging families
  • Wellness checks
  • Supporting the whole child

Theme 3: Engaging Students in Blended / Virtual Experiences
  • Synchronous/live learning vs. asynchronous learning
  • Blended learning, flipped classroom models
  • Inquiry and/or project-based learning
  • Blended and virtual learning in CTE, Unified and Fine Arts
  • Interdisciplinary learning & 21st Century Skills
  • Small group instruction, conferencing and conferring
  • Designing a learning arc
  • Student engagement and discourse
  • Engaging all learners (e.g., English learners, students with disabilities, gifted students, etc.)
  • Service delivery from a distance
  • Assessment (e.g., tools, approaches, rubrics, feedback, etc.)

Theme 4: Committing to Continuous Professional Learning
  • Lead learners
  • Online leadership
  • Virtual coaching
  • Teachers and paras - together as one
  • Adapting professional learning plans
  • Virtual learning “walks”
  • Collaborative teams (e.g., PLCs, data teams, etc.)
  • Virtual EdCamps