2026 GOCSD Innovation Summit

How can you teach students to communicate effectively while also making it relevant to the digital environment all around us? Podcasting! In this session, attendees will hear one teacher's experience bringing podcasting into her classroom and how it can be adapted for other ages or subjects. Participants will leave with materials to help them supply, plan, and teach podcasting in their own classroom.

By middle and high school, we often assume students “have language”—but gaps in speaking and listening quietly limit comprehension, participation, and achievement. This session will show you how to: Turn classroom talk into a tool for thinking—not just participation Structure discussions so every student processes, speaks, and learns Maintain rigor while reducing linguistic barriers Through practical, classroom-ready strategies, you’ll learn how to increase engagement, strengthen reasoning, and improve retention—without adding more to your plate.

Join us for an insightful session where we’ll share effective strategies and ideas for 6-12 classroom teachers, grounded in the science of reading. Drawing on the valuable insights from our district’s 6-12 teachers participating in LETRS, this presentation will offer practical, research-based approaches to enhance literacy instruction. Whether you're looking to strengthen reading comprehension, vocabulary, or writing skills, you'll leave with actionable strategies to support diverse learners and improve outcomes in your classroom. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from both research and real-world teacher experiences!

In a world of instant answers, innovative classrooms must shift from information retrieval to "Cognitive Wrestling." This hands-on session provides a practical framework to transform searchable assignments into high-rigor challenges AI can’t solve alone. Participants will audit a current lesson using our "Un-Googleable Rubric" and leave with four "Task-Hacking" strategies to immediately deepen Tier 1 instruction. Move beyond the AI panic and rediscover the power of task design that demands human critical thinking.

Stop the cycle of "extra work" and transform your classroom into a hub for deep thinkers. This session moves beyond repetitive practice to explore authentic enrichment—experiences that enhance the curriculum through high-level inquiry and creative application. Learn to replace standard assignments with impactful strategies like "Fermi Problems," curriculum compacting, and tiered tasks without the burden of writing a second lesson plan. By shifting from "more" to "deeper," you will gain practical tools to challenge advanced learners effectively.

Research indicates that educators spend approximately two and a half hours each week addressing student behavior. That’s nearly 15 FULL DAYS of a school year! With increasing demands on teachers, we cannot afford to lose valuable instructional minutes to preventable disruptions. This session focuses on simple, effective classroom management strategies and routines that create clear expectations and maximize instructional time. Participants will see video exemplars and hear what students, teachers, and administrators think it looks like. In addition, attendees will leave with tools to design a classroom management plan, ensuring systems are in place before students arrive.