Myron Dueck
Biography
During his 23 years of teaching and administration, Myron has developed a
number of grading, assessment and reporting systems with his classes in
which students have greater opportunity to show what they understand,
adapt to feedback and play a significant role in the reporting of their
learning. He shares his stories, tools and first-hand experiences with
educators around the world, and recently his presentations have diverged
to include global education trends and change. Myron's published work
includes articles in EL Magazine and his best-selling book, Grading Smarter,
Not Harder- Assessment Strategies that Motivate Kids and Help Them Learn
(ASCD, 2014). His second book, 'Giving Students a Say! Smarter Assessment
Practices to Empower and Engage' was released in January of 2021.
Videos include a project based in his own school district, 'Smarter
Assessment in the Secondary Classroom' and 'Ask Them'.
Myron lives in Summerland, BC, Canada with his family and is serving as
Vice-Principal, and teaching a class, for Summerland Secondary during the
COVID pandemic. Otherwise he is Vice-Principal for Assessment and
Innovation in his local school district - Okanagan-Skaha 67.
Myron Dueck
Featured Videos
Myron Dueck
Featured Keynote Programs
What Educators Might Learn from Advertisers
Novelist Norman Douglas wrote in 1917 that, ‘you can tell the ideals of a
nation by its advertisements’. Whether humorous or dramatic, subtle or
loud, by some estimates we encounter somewhere between 300 and
6000 ads each day. A staggering 600 billion dollars are spent annually
trying to influence what we purchase, what we think and how we act
(O’Reilly & Tennant).
We in schools might have something to learn from the world of
advertising. By using actual ads and digging into the design-thinking
behind them, some key themes will be investigated. For instance, we may
want to…
Design experiences that invite curiosity rather than demand
attention.
Be clear on our purpose of education.
Ensure that we create a feeling or culture that supports learning.
Spend time and energy creating our own ‘elevator pitch’ for what
we do, and why we do it.
The best advertising firms understand that success is born through
establishing a feeling, or culture, around a brand. More recently, in light
of avenues such as YouTube and Instagram, some suggest that it’s the
consumer who defines the product, not the producer. Could the same
changes be occurring in our schools? Participate in this keynote to
explore why education may want to take a page from advertising’s
catalogue.
Ch-ch-ch-Changes & CONSTRAINT - The Upside of Uncertainty and Restrictions
Perhaps David Bowie sang it best, ‘Times may change me, but I can’t change
time.’ We’ve been through some pretty big changes in our collective past,
and clearly 2020 is a year like no other in that department. There’s no
denying that transformational forces are at play in the global education
arena - not least on account of COVID. Unlike the pandemic 1919, our
readily accessible digital technology (the biggest change agent since the
printing press,) has allowed us to reach across the street, into our homes
and around the world… to connect, communicate, learn. Education has
mutated as of late, and there may be no going back.
We’re also getting weary of constraints, the daily inability to do things the
way ‘we’ve always done them’. Here too we might take a page from a rocker -
Mick Jagger. Apparently, the small stages of the Rolling Stones’ early days
are to thank for his unique dancing style. Perhaps Jagger epitomizes the
adage, ‘creativity loves constraint’.
So as the ground moves beneath our feet, let’s be mindful that changes and
constraints can be forces for good. In this keynote, Myron will argue that
instruction and assessments that include inquiry, differentiation,
exploration and problem solving may prove more effective for an uncertain
future.
Grading Smarter Not Harder… In One Hour
This keynote is an overview of Myron’s best-selling book, ‘Grading Smarter
Not Harder – Assessment strategies that motivate kids and help them learn’.
The audience will get a distinct flavor for the tone of the book as well as a
good idea for what we could do differently in the areas of grading, unit
plans (targets), homework, retesting and creativity. Myron tackles why we
need to consider changes to traditional grading and assessment routines,
and provides a look at the tools that can help pave the way for effective
change. Overall, the importance of building strong relationships is
emphasized.
The Value of a Target – How one educator embraced learning targets in his classroom.
Common Core (CCSS), NGSS, C3, AERO and many other structures of
learning outcomes have arrived and with them educators are tasked with
re-examining the focus of learning. In this keynote Myron Dueck will
discuss the importance of targets, while focusing on the vital role that
targets play in learning. If applicable to the location, a short history of the
origins of CCSS will be provided so that audience members will have a
better understanding of ‘how did we get here?’ Myron will layout how he
incorporated CCSS/NGSS/C3-style learning outcomes in into the day-to-day
routines of his own classroom. Student responses to learning targets will
be presented as well as a selection of projects that resulted from them.
Accurate data around the extent to which students have understood the
targets is achievable and Myron will highlight his experiences in obtaining
results that guide instruction. We create opportunities for creativity and
autonomy once it is clear of the direction of the learning. Common targets
do NOT equal common teaching, but assessments that link to common
targets can certainly equate to better instruction.