Dan Rothstein, Luz Santana, and the staff of the Right Question Institute (RQI), in partnership with Maine Township High School District, are excited to announce our one-day Midwest Seminar on Best Practices in the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) in Chicago this summer.

Regional seminars offer a special opportunity to work closely with Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana, the creators of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), and to collaborate with educators from around your region to explore the many ways the QFT is stimulating student curiosity, promoting deeper learning, and helping to build the democratic habit of mind of asking questions.

Exciting features of this one-day experience include:

• A Dynamic, Flexible Strategy to Improve Education for All: More than 250,000 educators from pre-K through higher education, in all subject areas, and in a wide range of communities all around the world are successfully using the QFT to teach all students how to ask their own questions.

The QFT is a simple, yet powerful strategy that can help educators address frameworks and standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards, the C3 Framework for Social Studies, Danielson’s Framework, and the Common Core State Standards, which place an emphasis on students’ questions and student driven-inquiry. This seminar will also support the work of educators who are interested in instructional approaches such as project-based, personalized, and inquiry-based learning. The seminar is suitable for anyone who is invested in creating a more equitable and inquisitive learning environment.

• A Differentiated Professional Learning Experience: Educators new to the QFT leave with a deep understanding of the strategy and the ability to immediately apply and use it with students and share with colleagues. Experienced practitioners gain new insights and ideas for using the QFT and have opportunities to share their work and collaborate with colleagues from across the region.

• An Active Learning and Working Seminar: The seminars offer a mix of large group and small group activities with an emphasis on hands-on, active learning. Participants choose from a range of workshops in the afternoon session, led by local educators with extensive experience with the QFT in the classroom and in professional development settings. Workshops will cover “fake news” and media literacy, STEM applications and NGSS standards, the QFT in the humanities, educational technology, and more.

• Opportunities to Learn with RQI co-directors: Dive into RQI’s New Book Partnering with Parents to Ask The Right Questionsand learn how to use the QFT to strengthen school-family partnerships, facilitated by co-author Luz Santana. Or, join co-author Dan Rothstein who will lead a workshop on use of the QFT for consensus-building in schools.

• Building Your Own Shared Interest Networks: Educators tell us that a highlight of RQI’s seminars is the chance to collaborate with a community of other teachers, librarians, specialists, coordinators, and administrators representing a range of grade levels and serving diverse communities across the country. Connect to a vast community of engaged, creative educators who can support and enhance your work.

This is a time in our country and our world, when educators are more important than ever. These seminars celebrate the great work being done to stimulate student curiosity, engagement and learning, and honor the key role you play in promoting democratic habits of mind, the most fundamental of which is the ability to ask your own questions.

Space is limited. We don’t want to miss the chance to learn with you this summer. Register soon! 

Tentative Schedule

Parking

Parking is available on-site, free of charge. Attendees should park in the north parking lot.

Payment Information

We have three options for payment: paying by credit card, paying by check, or paying by invoice. Please include attendee names on all checks and purchase orders. If your school or district will be unable to provide payment until a later date due to budgeting allocation, please email seminars@rightquestion.org and we can provide additional support so you can register and capitalize on early bird or regular registration rates and provide payment at a later date. 

If paying by credit card, full payment is due upon registration.
If paying by check, payment must be received within 30 days of registration.
If paying by invoice, you must supply a purchase order number within 30 days of registration. We cannot hold spaces without a purchase order. 

Cancellation, Transferring Registration, and Waitlist Policy

Cancellation
To cancel your registration, contact us in writing no later than June 1st to receive a refund less a $25 cancellation fee. After June 1st, no refunds will be issued.

Transferring Registration
We will accommodate transfers whenever possible.

Waitlist
Space for this event is limited. If the event is closed, please contact RQI to be placed on a waitlist.