Science Leadership Academy CEO and Executive Director of Inquiry Schools Co-Keynote EDspaces 2018
Silver Spring, Md. — Chris Lehmann and Diana Laufenberg have been selected as Plenary Session Keynote Speakers on Thursday, November 8 at EDspaces 2018 in Tampa, FL. They will present “Creating the Schools We Need,” an inquiry-based discussion on how to re-imagine and re-envision the purpose of school.
Lehmann and Laufenberg will share their vision on creating learning institutions where all members of the community — students, teachers, and administrators alike — see themselves as active learners.
EDspaces attendees will learn about principles enabling networked learning, promoting research, creativity, communication, and collaboration to help prepare students to be functional citizens within a modern society. Their model includes discussions of key concepts including treatment and use of technology, learner-centric classrooms, and teachers as mentors who bring real-world experiences to students. EDspaces registration opens mid-May.
“Chris and Diana are the types of educators we all wish we had as students,” says Karina Ruiz, Principal at BRIC Architecture and member of the 2018 AIA-CAE Leadership Group. “Their absolute devotion to creating enduring relationships with students while focusing on inquiry-driven, project-based learning is a model for all of those looking to make an impact in the lives of students.”
As the founding principal and CEO of the Science Leadership Academy, Chris Lehmann leads the strategic network of three progressive science and technology schools in Philadelphia, PA. A pioneer of the School 2.0 movement internationally, the Academy is an inquiry-driven, project-based, 1:1 laptop school and was recognized by Ladies Home Journal as one of the Ten Most Amazing Schools in the U.S., an Apple Distinguished School from 2009 through 2013, and it is the Dell Computing Center of Excellence for Technology in Education. Chris is co-author of “Building School 2.0: How to Create the Schools We Need”, co-editor of “What School Leaders Need to Know about Digital Technologies and Social Media”, the author of the education blog “Practical Theory”.
For 16 years Diana Laufenberg was a secondary social studies teacher most recently at the Science Leadership Academy. Her practice has deep roots in real-world, experiential education. Prior to her work in Philadelphia, she was an active member of the teaching community in Flagstaff, AZ where she was named Technology Teacher of the Year for Arizona and a member of the Governor's Master Teacher Corps. In 2013, she partnered with Lehmann to start Inquiry Schools as Executive Director of the non-profit, working to create and support student-centered, project-based learning environments.
EDspaces is the conference advancing the conversation about the future of learning environments. It is where innovations are unveiled and collaborations form, bringing together education’s creative change agents who plan, design and manage innovative learning environments. Leaders from school districts and colleges, architects, interior designers, dealers and exhibitors engage and participate in the ongoing transformation of the learning environment. This growing event was honored in Trade Show Executive’s Fastest 50 for three categories in 2017. For more information, and to register, visit www.ed-spaces.com.