2019 High AIMS Summer Institute: Full Schedule

Welcome to the 2019 High AIMS Summer Institute!

High AIMS is a consortium of 30 public school districts in southwest Ohio. Fairfield City Schools will serve as this year’s host to 2,000+ educators for our 6th annual Summer Institute. We will offer two nationally acclaimed keynote speakers and 250 breakout sessions as teachers and administrators immerse themselves in dynamic and inspiring professional learning.

#HighAIMS19

August 1-2, 2019 Held at Fairfield High School
8:30 am - 4:00 pm 8800 Holden Blvd.
Fairfield, OH 45014

Keynotes: August 1 - Hall Davidson
August 2 - Ron Clark

10:15am EDT

Mindfulness, Community Building and the Impact on Student Achievement (45 min)

Limited Capacity full

While calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings and thoughts, students (and teachers) can successfully practice mindfulness, build community and resolve conflict amongst themselves. Many teachers have expressed a desire to learn more about mindfulness and building positive classroom communities. Come and join me to get resources, practice, and gain insight into practicing mindfulness, community building and how these things can impact overall student achievement.

Presenters

Tiffani Wills

Asst. Principal, Cincinnati Public

Tiffani Wills is an instructional leader who has great presence in motivational speaking, building exceptional leaders, community building, mindfulness and empowering others to be their best selves. In 2015, Rustic UrbanLife was founded by Tiffani Wills and one of her dear friends... Read More →

Thursday August 1, 2019 10:15am - 11:00am EDT
HS 1102

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

10:15am EDT

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! FINANCIAL LITERACY K-12 (45 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

You are teaching your students about money. What are you using? How do you know if the curriculum is valuable? Have you seen the Ohio Department of Education K-12 Financial Literacy Standards? What can we do to help you? In this session we will attempt to help you get the most out of your financial literacy instruction without breaking the bank.

Presenters

Val Krugh

Director, School Relations, Economics Center- University of Cincinnati

Dr. Krugh's primary duties include establishing relationships with new and existing educational institutions and creating and implementing curriculum for professional development programs. Content delivered is targeted to students in grades kindergarten through 12 in Financial Literacy... Read More →

Thursday August 1, 2019 10:15am - 11:00am EDT
HS 2413

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

12:15pm EDT

High Engagement/Low Prep Instructional Strategies for Any Classroom (45 min) {Repeated 8/2@ 10:15am}

Limited Capacity filling up

Teachers will learn high engagement strategies, rooted in best practice, that can be done traditionally or enhanced digitally. All strategies will have a high impact on student engagement with low preparation on the teacher's part!

Presenters

Tiffany Rexhausen

7-8 Innovation Specialist, Lakota Local Schools

Tiffany Rexhusen is an experienced educator and instructional leader in Lakota Local Schools for 15 years. She has taught high school and junior high English Language Arts before moving into the role of an instructional coach. In this work she was able to work in multiple capacities... Read More →

Thursday August 1, 2019 12:15pm - 1:00pm EDT
HS 2212

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Everyone

12:15pm EDT

Level Up! Amplify engagment through games and gamification (45 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

Humans are naturally drawn to play. Why not use that to our advantage as educators to teach and engage our students? In this session, we will explore the mechanics of games such as competition, experimentation and choice, problem solving, and rewards and examine how we could capitalize on these mechanics to amplify student engagement with our content.

Presenters

Lori Wegman

Instructional Specialist, Fairfield

I am in my 27th year as an educator. I attended Lee University, graduating with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and Secondary Education in 1994. I have taught in Georgia, Minnesota, and now Ohio. I have experience teaching science to all ages from toddlers to adults and have worked... Read More →

PDF Games HA2019 pdf

Thursday August 1, 2019 12:15pm - 1:00pm EDT
HS 1105

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Everyone

12:15pm EDT

Learning and Literacy Centers: Where Content Knowledge and Literacy Skills Intersect, grades 4-12 (90 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

Imagine your classroom as an interactive, collaborative meeting space where learning thrives. Your students actively and willingly participate in activities that develop content area knowledge and literacy skills simultaneously. Learn about schools where Dr. McKnight has implemented Learning and Literacy Centers (LLC). In these schools, LLC implementation has resulted in substantial student performance gains in rural, urban and suburban contexts since it provides a practical context for the integration of formative assessment, differentiated instruction, multi-tiered interventions, movement, and technology.

Presenters

Katherine McKnight

Thursday August 1, 2019 12:15pm - 1:45pm EDT
HS 3307-3309

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

1:15pm EDT

Mindfulness, Community Building and the Impact on Student Achievement (45 min)[Session added 8/1@10:15am]

Limited Capacity filling up

Presenters

Tiffani Wills

Asst. Principal, Cincinnati Public

Thursday August 1, 2019 1:15pm - 2:00pm EDT
HS 1102

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

1:15pm EDT

STEPPS toward Success: Supporting a Growth Mindset for Learners on the Autism Spectrum (45 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

The groundbreaking work of Carol Dweck and others on the importance of a growth mindset is particularly powerful for learners with special needs whose path to the “mountaintop of mastery” may be less direct, require more structured practice, require alternate routes or require specfic evidence based instruction. This interactive presentation will explore special considerations for helping learners with special needs (particularly autism) develop and apply a growth mindset that encourages resilience, positivity and ownership of goal-setting and attainment. Participants will discuss and apply the following evidence-based instructional strategies, outlined in the STEPPS acronym to support growth mindset: scaffolded reinforcement, task analysis, emotional self management support, positive momentum, peer mediated intervention, and scripting.

Presenters

Lisa Combs

Consultant/Instructor, Combs Educational Consulting/Wright State University

Lisa Combs, MA Special Education, is an instructional and behavioral consultant, certified autism specialist, author, and adjunct faculty with Wright State University. Lisa earned her B.S. and M.A. degrees in Special Education from Ball State University. Lisa’s career in education... Read More →

STEPPS pdf

Thursday August 1, 2019 1:15pm - 2:00pm EDT
HS 3207-3209

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

2:15pm EDT

Engaging the Brain (45 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

Maya Angelou said "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better." With all the research in neuroscience, educators can now do better by focusing on strategies that amplify learning by engaging the brain. In this session we will explore seven things needed by adolescent brains in order for learning to take place and examine easy ways to make sure we supply them in our classrooms.

Presenters

Lori Wegman

Instructional Specialist, Fairfield

PDFEngaging the Brain HA2019 pdf

Jensen 10StudentAchievementBoosters pdf

Thursday August 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
HS 1105

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Everyone

2:15pm EDT

High Engagement/Low Prep Instructional Strategies for Any Classroom (45 min)[Repeated 8/2@10:15am]

Limited Capacity filling up

Presenters

Tiffany Rexhausen

7-8 Innovation Specialist, Lakota Local Schools

Thursday August 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
HS 2212

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Everyone

2:15pm EDT

First Impressions: Starting the Year Just Right (90 min)[Repeated 8/2@10:15am]

Limited Capacity filling up

First impressions. First impressions matter in conversations, in relationships, and in classrooms. Join this 90 minute interactive session led by the Ohio Writing Project (OWP) to think about and design the first days and weeks of your literacy classroom. Participants will discuss the role of the first days in creating classroom culture, review first day plans from other K-12 educators, practice strategies for starting a year focused on your beliefs, and have time to sketch out a plan to create the first impression and the literacy classroom you want for students.

Presenters

Beth Rimer

Co-Director, Ohio Writing Project, Miami University (OH)

Thursday August 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:45pm EDT
HS 2413

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

10:15am EDT

First Impressions: Starting the Year Just Right (90 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

Presenters

Beth Rimer

Co-Director, Ohio Writing Project, Miami University (OH)

Friday August 2, 2019 10:15am - 11:45am EDT
HS 2413

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

11:00am EDT

High Engagement/Low Prep Instructional Strategies for Any Classroom (45 min)

Limited Capacity filling up

Presenters

Tiffany Rexhausen

7-8 Innovation Specialist, Lakota Local Schools

Friday August 2, 2019 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
HS 2212

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Everyone

11:00am EDT

Top Ten Ways to Amplify Your Students’ Passion for Reading (45 min)

Limited Capacity filling up

Imagine a classroom full of excited readers and writers! How do educators create a culture of passionate learners who can’t wait to come to class every day to read, write, and discuss all kinds of texts? Join us in exploring 10 strategies that will amplify your students’ passion for reading and sharing their voices with the world.

Presenters

Holly Mueller

Education Consultant and Gifted Coordinator, Hamilton County ESC

Holly Mueller is an education consultant and gifted coordinator at Hamilton County ESC. She was a classroom teacher for 18 years, mostly in the middle school setting, and taught ELA, social studies, and gifted classes. She was a 2017 Teacher of the Year for Ohio Board of Education... Read More →

Megan Ginther

K-5 Literacy Specialist, Goshen Local Schools

Megan was a classroom teacher for 15 years at the intermediate level, where she taught language arts and social studies to regular ed, gifted, and special education students. She is now the K-5 Literacy Specialist for Goshen Local Schools. Megan is an avid reader and loves spreading... Read More →

Friday August 2, 2019 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
HS 3207-3209

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

11:00am EDT

StartSOLE. A way to bring student-centered inquiry to your classrooms immediately. (90 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

SOLE, Self-Oriented Learning Environment is a method for people to collaboratively engage in knowledge acquisition and transfer using digital platforms. The SOLE pedagogy (which is applied within a single class period) enables our digital natives to approach learning with comfort and excitement and without constraints from an analog world. SOLE responds to the age- old call for all teaching and learning to be inquiry-based and relevant to the learner. It is extremely simple to implement in your existing classroom. All you need is a class of students, a few internet ready devices, and a big question (over 8000 available from StartSOLE)
This interactive session will prepare you to use SOLE in your learning environment right away. You will leave access to all of the tools you need to connect, plan, and implement SOLE in your classrooms right away.

Presenters

Jeff McClellan

Founder and CEO, STARTSOLE

Dr. Jeff McClellan has a broad range of experiences as a practitioner, researcher, and entrepreneur that shape his contributions to the field of education. His most recent endeavor began four years ago when he became the founding director of STARTSOLE. Evidence shows that problem-based... Read More →

Friday August 2, 2019 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
HS 2310

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Building and District Level Administrators

11:45am EDT

Engaging K-12 Students Across Curriculum Using Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Strategies (45 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

If you have English Learner (EL) students in your classes, do you ever feel uncertain about how to engage and include them in daily learning objectives? Find out how to include Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) strategies in your instruction. Developed in 1999, SIOP helps to communicate content and language objectives to students of all language levels. Teaching, learning and assessment are integrated, and can be used to drive future instruction. This interactive session will explain the components of SIOP, offer an activity, and provide strategies that can be easily applied in the classroom.

Presenters

Connie Reyes-Rau

ESL Supervisor/Title III Coordinator, Hamilton County ESC

Connie Reyes-Rau has been a leader in education for nearly 30 years. Throughout her multi-faceted career, she has served as a special education teacher, school psychologist, and school improvement consultant. Today, she is the ESL Supervisor for the Hamilton County ESC. She specializes... Read More →

Tonia Swami

English Language Learner Teacher, West Clermont Local Schools

Tonia Swami is an English Language Learner teacher in the West Clermont school district. She has extensive experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students and their families in urban, suburban and rural communities. She has presented cultural competencies... Read More →

Friday August 2, 2019 11:45am - 12:15pm EDT
HS 3304

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

12:30pm EDT

Connecting Writing and Mathematics (45 Min)

Limited Capacity seats available

Come explore how writing can play a critical part of every math class and how it can support conceptual understanding. Participants will engage in writing activities and prompts that can be used in the mathematics classroom to foster deeper thinking.

Presenters

Anne Berger

Educational Consultant, HCESC

Anne Berger is currently a Mathematics Consultant with Hamilton County Educational Service Center. Her work with districts includes math curriculum work, instructional best practices and instructional coaching. Prior to her work with the ESC, Anne spent ten years as a high school... Read More →

Erin Milligan

Education Consultant, Hamilton County ESC

Erin Milligan is currently an Educational Consultant at Hamilton County Educational Service Center. She supports teachers in the areas of STEM education, focusing on best instructional practices in mathematics education. Prior to her current position, Erin taught high school students... Read More →

Amy Wettengel

Education Consultant, Hamilton County ESC

Amy Wettengel is a Mathematics Consultant with Hamilton County Educational Service Center. Her work with districts includes math curriculum work, instructional best practices and instructional coaching. Her interests include building deep understanding of the how and why of mathematics... Read More →

Friday August 2, 2019 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
HS 2310

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Building and District Level Administrators

1:15pm EDT

Kickstart Critical Thinking and Collaboration with Quick, Team-building Lesson Starters (45 min)[Repeated 8/2@2:15}

Limited Capacity filling up

Experience 2 engaging lesson starters that will promote critical thinking and collaboration and walk away with more! These quick challenges incorporate perseverance, trial and error, failure, risk-taking, communication, reflection and revision skills, all of which our students need for current and future success. Focusing on engagement drives up energy levels for students and teachers, increases achievement and makes classroom management easier. These activities can be used to introduce a topic in your content standards or to teach/reinforce effective teamwork principles. Participants will work in small groups to complete the challenges and will reflect on each as a whole. The session will prepare participants to incorporate these kickstarters with their own students.

Presenters

Tricia Kluener

Technology Curriculum Coordinator, Ross Local Schools

Tricia Kluener is currently the Technology Curriculum Coordinator for Ross Local Schools. She has worked for the district since 2007 and has been supporting educational technology since 2004. She supports students and staff throughout the district with technology integration efforts... Read More →

Friday August 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:00pm EDT
HS 3404

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

1:15pm EDT

Interactive Notebooks: Ignite, Increase, Improve, and Invigorate Instruction (2.5 hrs)

Limited Capacity seats available

Ignite engagement, increase achievement, improve organization, and invigorate instruction in any subject area by using Interactive Notebooks with your students!

Led by four secondary teachers who use Interactive Notebooks in math, science, and English; this hands-on session will introduce participants to the brain-based research behind this innovative instructional tool, provide tips from teachers in the trenches on management and execution, and inspire teachers to begin using Interactive Notebooks in your 6-12 classroom.

Presenters

Brianna Doyal

teacher, Oakwood

An 8th grade teacher with a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Dayton, I have 19 years of experience teaching English at Oakwood Junior High School as well as having had the opportunity to present at multiple educational conferences including AMLA, OTEC... Read More →

Rachel Keyes

Junior High Math and Science Teacher, Oakwood Junior High School

The 2019-2020 school year will be my 20th year in education. I have been teaching in the Oakwood City School District since 2003. Prior to that I taught at St. Luke Catholic School in Beavercreek, Ohio. I love instilling a passion for learning in my students while teaching about the... Read More →

Christina Davis

Teacher, Oakwood High School

Math and Science teacher (secondary)

Sally Harper

teacher, Oakwood Junior / Senior High

I am a junior high and high school science teacher with a Master's degree in Geosciences. I have been teaching for 17 years and currently teach 7th grade science and high school environmental science. Outside of school I am a mom to a 7 year old and 4 year old triplets.

Friday August 2, 2019 1:15pm - 3:45pm EDT
HS 2405

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Everyone

2:15pm EDT

Connecting Writing and Mathematics (45 Min)[2nd session added 8/2@12:15pm]

Limited Capacity full

Presenters

Anne Berger

Educational Consultant, HCESC

Erin Milligan

Education Consultant, Hamilton County ESC

Amy Wettengel

Education Consultant, Hamilton County ESC

Friday August 2, 2019 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
HS 2310

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Building and District Level Administrators

2:15pm EDT

Kickstart Critical Thinking and Collaboration with Quick, Team-building Lesson Starters (45 min)

Limited Capacity seats available

Presenters

Tricia Kluener

Technology Curriculum Coordinator, Ross Local Schools

Friday August 2, 2019 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
HS 3404

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

2:15pm EDT

Mindfulness, Community Building and the Impact on Student Achievement (45 min) [Also offered 8/1@10:15am)

Limited Capacity filling up

Presenters

Tiffani Wills

Asst. Principal, Cincinnati Public

Friday August 2, 2019 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
HS 1102

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators

2:15pm EDT

Writing in the Wild: Amplify Student Voice Through Authentic and Rigorous Writing Instruction (45 min)

Limited Capacity filling up

Are you struggling with providing writing instruction that engages learners and also produces results? Join us for a session in which we explore ways to support writers at every stage of the process. Participants will examine strategies that empower learners to use voice and choice in all writing. Learn how to engage learners in authentic writing experiences while being prepared to write to prompts and about sources.

Presenters

Holly Mueller

Education Consultant and Gifted Coordinator, Hamilton County ESC

Angela Faulhaber

Literacy Coach, Hamilton County ESC

Angela Faulhaber is a literacy coach, supporting teachers in districts all over the area. She strives to be a teacher who writes, and a writer who teaches (in the words of Linda Rief). She blogs for Three Teachers Talk, and can be found on Twitter at @WordNerd.

Friday August 2, 2019 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
HS 2213

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Building and District Level Administrators

3:15pm EDT

Writing in the Wild: Amplify Student Voice Through Authentic and Rigorous Writing Instruction (45 min) [2nd session added 8/2@2:15pm]

Limited Capacity full

Presenters

Holly Mueller

Education Consultant and Gifted Coordinator, Hamilton County ESC

Angela Faulhaber

Literacy Coach, Hamilton County ESC

Friday August 2, 2019 3:15pm - 4:00pm EDT
HS 2213

Successful Instructional Strategies, K-12 educators, Building and District Level Administrators