Daniel Keegan

The SAMR Model & the Transformative Middle School

We "shared our story" from the establishment of a digital learning environment to our ongoing movement through the SAMR continuum. We explored how various applications can strengthen instructional practices in the areas of flipped learning, student presentation, collaboration, communication, and student assessment. We explored the needs and characteristics of adolescent learners and how digital learning and utilizing applications meet the needs of our students and engage them in the love of learning.

It All Comes Back to the Question: Inquiry Design Across the Disciplines

New York State Middle School Association

May 2016

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This presentation was created to highlight the ways in which the Inquiry Design Model promotes good teaching, student engagement, and ongoing opportunities for assessment of student learning. Lesson staging, 

Inquiry Design in the ELA Classroom

Long Island Language Arts Council

March 2016

Designed and presented by a team of administrators and teachers from Oceanside School District, this workshop was the only one to marry the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) to ELA instruction and assessment. With a strong focus on the creation of compelling questions and a commitment to the use of supporting questions strongly aligned to both fictional and non-fiction selections, this presentation emphasized skill development across disciplines and the integration of an inquiry approach to teaching and learning in both social studies and ELA.

Designing Teach Teams to Promote School Leadership & Strengthen School Culture

Nassau Suffolk Middle School Assistant Principal Association

February 2016

This presentation was designed to promote the use of the Teaching Channel TCH Teams platform as a means to promote professional collaboration. To be launched in full this coming summer, the Leaders and Learners TCH Team will strengthen instructional and supervisory practices through the collegial sharing of best practices.

Implementing the New York State Toolkit

New York State Council for Social Studies

March 2015

Working to marry the C3 Frameworks, CCSS, and the new New York State Frameworks for Social Studies, the NYS Toolkit was created to strengthen the inquiry approach in classrooms throughout New York - and the country.

Unpacking the New York State Social Studies Toolkit

Long Island Library Association (March 2015) Nassau Association of District Curriculum Officials (November 2014)

In preparation for the September 2015 rollout of the NYS Toolkit, these presentations were designed to prepare district and community officials for the resources which would be made available to teachers and students in the coming school-year.

The Role of Technology in Flipping Your Classroom

Nassau Association of School Technologists 

2014

Building upon the research that highlights the critically important role of prior knowledge and the development of schema to frame a lesson or concept, this presentation provided practical and technological applications which could serve to level the playing field for those students without strong background knowledge. A strong emphasis was placed upon the three phases of flipping the classroom using video and screencasting:

• commercially-produced video tutorials (e.g. Khan Academy, History Channel, Discovery)

• teacher-produced tutorials (e.g. Educreations, Explain Everything, TouchCast)

• student-produced tutorials (e.g. iMovie, Sock Puppets, TouchCast)

Mastery Learning in the 1:1 Digital Environment

New York State Middle School Association 

2014

Built upon a strong belief in the differentiation of learning experiences and outcomes, this workshop highlighted the ways in which a unit was designed to promote student autonomy, self-assessment and consistent reinforcement and remediation.

The pillars of the mastery learning unit:

• mini-lessons center the class each day

• each stage of the unit has a clearly articulated objective

• classroom centers provide geographical variety and peer-to-peer support

• students progress through stages at their own pace; teacher uses multiple forms of assessment

• the summative assessment provides for student choice, presentation variety, and self assessment

Engagement & Student Production in the 1:1 Digital Classroom

Long Island Technology & Education Summit

2014

Designed to highlight Oceanside Middle School's implementation of iPads in our 1:1 digital classroom, workshop participants were introduced to the foundational principles upon which our digital model was created, the ways in which sound instructional methods were strengthened in the digital classroom, and the world of new opportunities now made available to our students. Our presentation also placed a strong emphasis on apps which helped teachers and students progress through Bloom's Taxonomy, now amended for digital learning.

The 1:1 Classroom: Device, Deployment, & the Development of Capacity

Association for Middle Level Education

2014

Presented by a team of teachers and administrators from the Oceanside School District, this workshop shared Oceanside's story and its move to the 1:1 model. Designed for school administrators looking to transition to the 1:1 digital learning environment, this session highlighted the many decisions and questions that needed to be made along the way. Which device best met our instructional aim? How would teachers be trained? How could we assess the efficacy of the 1:1 model? This session came full circle as our team shared student and teacher-produced exemplars that represented our school's progression along the SAMR Model.

Assessing in the Absence of an Assessment

Long Island Council for the Social Studies

2011

With the cessation of the New York State Social Studies Assessment, teachers throughout New York were presented with an interesting quandary: How to effectively measure student growth without mirroring what the state had created as an end-of-year assessment. This workshop presented both formative and summative assessment ideas that were authentic, student-centered, and designed to promote student engagement and historical thinking skills. Assessments presented included a strong emphasis on primary source analysis, argumentative writing, and contextualization of historical sources. 

Creating an Integrated Writing Program in the Middle School Classroom

New York State Language Arts Council

2009

This presentation highlighted Oceanside Middle School's commitment to creating an integrated writing program across the disciplines. Though this workshop focused on the marriage of ELA and social studies, shared language, rubrics, and instructional methodologies illustrated how our approach to writing translated across varied disciplines.

Seven Strategies to Energize Your Classroom

New York State Council for the Social Studies

2006

This workshop allowed for participants to take part in a series of activities designed to engage learners, promote a hands-on approach to student learning, and solidify content and skill development through a cooperative and constructivist orientation.

Strategies Included:

1. Inside the Circle, Outside the Circle

2. Partner Museum Tour

3. Gallery Walk

4. Write-Around

5. Student-Created I Have, Who Has?

6. From a Mess to a Model

7. Act-It-Out Presentations

Creating a Pre-Advanced Placement Program at the Middle Level

New York State Council for the Social Studies

2002

Honored as the 2003 New York State Program of Excellence, this presentation highlighted Oceanside School District's articulated vision and development of curricula to meet the challenges of Advanced Placement work at the high school level. Built upon the philosophical foundation that middle school students must be challenged to complete coursework that is rigorous, expansive, and connected to global themes, our presentation team shared the ways in which units and projects were developed to foster student choice, differentiated learning experiences, and global awareness and understanding. 

Study Skills Across the Curriculum

Regional Presentations

1999-2001

Certified as a National Study Skills Trainer in 1999 by Patrica Shouts Olsen's organization, Study Skills Across the Curriculum, I presented across Long Island and New York on the many components of this program. These components included Listening, Notetaking, Test Taking, Time Management, and Research. In Oceanside, we developed a framework for implementing this program across the K-8 continuum, with primary teaching responsibilities for specific skill-based instruction by grade and/or department. Though primary teaching responsibility was embedded within a grade-level or department's curriculum, a clear and spiraling plan for reinforcement of each skill was mapped out throughout the K-8 continuum.

Building a DBQ

New York State Council for the Social Studies

1998

This presentation was designed to demystify the DBQ process for both teachers and students. Working backwards from their own essay prompt, participants were assigned the task of "building a DBQ" through the collaborative and creative process of analysis, discussion, and selection of historical sources. Believing that the process of building their own DBQ with scissors, glue sticks, and big paper would engender a sense of confidence and promote historical understanding, this presentation successfully made students active learners and "pulled back the veil" on how a DBQ is created.