Ecolint Education Newsletter - September 2014

Education Newsletter Bulletin pĂŠdagogique September 2014

Education Newsletter / Bulletin pĂŠdagogique September / Septembre 2014

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Contents Page GPS – Guiding Principles Support Conrad Hughes

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The Ecolint-Oprah Winfrey Academy Exchange Isabel Hahn & Francesca Buttle

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From the Institute Alison Ball & Frédéric Mercier

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Ecolint Eighty Years Ago: a Student’s Point of View Anders Elf

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In principium erat Loïs Alejandro Rodriguez-Giovo

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Annexe VI reports

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Guiding Principles Support Conrad Hughes (Director of Education) Now that we have committed ourselves as a Foundation to the guiding principles for learning, we need to work together to ensure that we are supporting their development in the classroom. What follows is a list of some of the projects and professional development opportunities over the next months that will do this.

Maintenant que, en tant que Fondation, nous nous sommes engagés aux Principes directeurs pour l’apprentissage, il nous faut travailler ensemble à leur bonne application dans les classes. Ce qui suit est une liste de certains des projets et des offres de perfectionnement professionnel proposés ces prochains mois qui iront en ce sens.

Conrad Hughes Directeur de l’Education Honnêteté en milieu scolaire Les bibliotécaires de la Fondation utilisent pour la deuxième année consécutive la base de données EBSCO qui donne aux élèves et aux professeurs un accès facilité aux ressources disponibles sur les trois campus. Une base de données scolaire permet des recherches plus ciblées et préparent les élèves aux méthodes de recherche appliquées dans le cursus postsecondaire telles que les révisions systématiques utilisant des bases de données puissantes (par ex. ERIC ou CONSORT). Les élèves plus âgés peuvent ainsi accéder à des documents et des ressources de grande qualité sans avoir à fouiller dans les moteurs de recherches commerciaux.

Pour en savoir plus, contacter le bibliothécaire de votre école Information Literacy Thursday 16th October 2014 - ‘Google Education Trainer’ Preparation Day Aim: To develop the skills of a focused group of educators to within easy reach of the ‘Google Education Trainer’ certification.

Audience: This professional development is intended for proficient users of Google Apps for Education. The day will prepare staff to take the necessary next steps to receive ‘Google Education Trainer’ status. Each session includes an interactive overview, top tips from the Google Apps for Education Training Center, hands on activities, and inspiring ideas for how to use Google Apps for teaching, learning, and professional collaboration. The activities are flexible, designed to help new users quickly understand the "core magic" of each app and to challenge veteran users by revealing features and innovative uses they never imagined. The experience is grounded in Google culture, complete with high energy, fast paced demonstrations and challenging activities that can truly be called "hard fun."

Location: Campus des Nations - Saconnex Site Friday 17th October 2014 [aka PED Day] - Integrating Google Apps for Education to your classroom Aim: To develop the technology integration skills of educators in all schools of the International School of Geneva.

Audience: This workshops will focus on the use of Google Apps for Education to support teaching and learning. The sessions are intended for staff members with beginner to intermediate technology skills. Staff will either attend the morning or the afternoon Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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session. The morning session will focus on the needs of Early Years - Year 4 teachers. The afternoon will be focus on the needs of Year 5 to Year 13 teachers.

Location: Campus des Nations - Saconnex Site To find out more, contact your school Technology for Learning Coordinator L’apprentissage par les STEM Notre partenariat avec l’EPFL continue d’évoluer. Nous avons programmé pour cette année les projets suivants: a. Année 6: tester les hypothèses de base et les fondements du codage en utilisant Thymios - un degré au Campus des Nations Pour en savoir plus, contacter jennifer.fenton@ecolint.ch b. Année 7: les classes de mathématiques continuent avec Thymios pour asseoir leur compréhension du codage avec des collectes de données et l’analyse appropriée - un degré au Campus des Nations Pour en savoir plus, contacter steven.cormack@ecolint.ch c. Année 9: Mission to Mars - une activité d’apprentissage interdisciplinaire fondée sur des projets mêlant science informatique, sciences naturelles et mathématiques, en mettant l’accent sur la réflexion d’ordre supérieure, l’éthique, le travail d’équipe, le caractère et la métacognition – un degré à La Châtaigneraie Pour en savoir plus, contacter michael.winter@ecolint.ch d. Année 9: utilisation de Thymios pour une unité en classe de physique (temps-vitesse et temps-distance) - un degré à LGB. Pour en savoir plus, contacter matthew.jennings@ecolint.ch Les quatre projets susmentionnés utiliseront le robot Thymio (développé à l’EPFL), qui offre un enseignement et apprentissage du codage par le biais de la robotique.

Scientific Literacy Dr Per Kind, an assessment and science literacy academic at Durham University’s School of Education will run three one-day workshops on a scientific critical thinking framework he is elaborating with Stanford University. Dr Kind’s workshops will triangulate higher order thinking learning objectives, standards of scientific literacy and assessment design.

Dates: November 3 at LGB March 16 at Campus des Nations May 26 at La Châtaigneraie To find out more, contact conrad.hughes@ecolint.ch Creativity, Critical Thinking & Learning Support Manoj Chandra Handa, CEO of the Oceans of Excellence Gifted Education Consultancy (Australia) will be presenting a 90 minute keynote on differentiated learning for the gifted, higher order thinking, creativity and innovation followed by two workshops on differentiated high performance learning and creativity. The workshops will assist teachers in developing differentiated units of learning and provide practical strategies for fostering higher order thinking and creativity.

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The keynote and workshops will take place on the 17th of October Ped Day at Campus des Nations.

To find out more, contact conrad.hughes@ecolint.ch La philosophie pour les enfants (ateliers avec Michel Sasseville - organisés par l’Institut d’apprentissage et d’enseignement) Ces ateliers présenteront aux enseignants le travail de Matthew Lipman, dont la Philosophie pour les enfants stimule la pensée créative, critique et empathique chez les jeunes apprenants par le biais de la méthode socratique.

Vendredi 21 novembre 2014, de 17h00 à 20h00 - en français/anglais à Nations Samedi 22 novembre 2014, de 9h00 à 16h30 - en français/anglais à Nations Lundi 24 novembre 2014, de 8h30 à 15h30 - en anglais à Nations Mardi 25 novembre 2014, de 8h30 à 12h00 - en anglais à Nations 25 novembre (13:00 - 15:30) - en français à LGB 26 novembre (8:30 - 12:00 / 13:00 - 15:30) - en français à LGB Pour s’inscrire, contacter frederic.mercier@ecolint.ch Mindfulness Character Education for a Challenging Century via Webconference We are bringing together a global community focused on the theme of “Character education for success in life and work”. Featuring keynote speakers from across the globe including Linda Darling-Hammond (Professor, Stanford University), Bernard Harris (First AfricanAmerican astronaut to perform a spacewalk), James Heckman (Nobel prize in Economics and Professor, U. of Chicago) and Andreas Schleicher (Deputy Director, Education Directorate, OECD). Join leading educators, policymakers, and executives to discuss solutions to the crucial questions: Which character traits matter most for the 21st century? And how are they best developed? Presented by the Center for Curriculum Redesign in partnership with OECD/CERI. Participate in person or via live-stream video.

The conference will take place on October 22-24 at the Arts Centre, LGB. To register, contact conrad.hughes@ecolint.ch "Eduquer à la paix, est-ce le rôle de l'école?" (Conférence avec notamment Michel Sasseville et Naasson Munyandamutsa, et organisée par l’Institut d’apprentissage et d’enseignement) 26 novembre 2014 - 19:30 (Centre des arts, LGB) Pour s’inscrire, contacter frederic.mercier@ecolint.ch L’éducation à la paix par la pratique du dialogue (Michel Sasseville, organisé par l’Institut d’apprentissage et d’enseignement) - 27 novembre, 17:00 - 20:00 - 28 novembre, 8:30 - 17:30 - 29 novembre, 9:00 - 18:00 - 30 novembre, 9:00 - 12:00 Campus des Nations (Salle Rousseau) Pour s’inscrire, contacter frederic.mercier@ecolint.ch Dot-B Mindfulness training 4 days of training on the .b curriculum to enable you to teach mindfulness to young people in an inspiring, interesting and fun way.

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Venue: La Grande Boissière Dates: 5-8 February Visit www.mindfulnessinschools.org for more information Please discuss with your school principal before registration Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction sessions with Bianca King The 8-Week Course Starts week of October 13th – each session is 2 hours manage thoughts, moods and emotions respond to situations rather than react focus and prioritize centre yourself amidst difficult life challenges relate to yourself and others more authentically Participation by Ecolint staff will be subsidised by 50% through Foundation support To register: http://doodle.com/4qwuunq3t3kuchmy

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The Ecolint-Oprah Winfrey Academy Exchange Isabel Hahn (student, Campus des Nations) & Francesca Buttle (teacher, Campus des Nations) When Oprah Winfrey asked the great South African leader Nelson Mandela what he wanted for his birthday, she was hardly expecting for him to answer “build me a school.”

This year, the first exchange between Ecolint and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls took place. In February, one of their students, Tshepiso Latakgomo accompanied by their teacher of Economics flew to Geneva in order to embark on a two week exchange. As a result, I; year 12 student Isabel Hahn, along with Francesca Buttle, teacher of Performing Arts, had the opportunity to fly to South Africa for a similar two week exchange.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls was founded was officially opened in 2007 in a small suburb on the outskirts of Johannesburg. It features beautiful low rise buildings which incorporate African culture and design into their architecture. Commonly abbreviated to OWLAG, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls is a boarding school which gives girls with high academic potential from a low socio-economic background an opportunity to receive a full-on extensive education. The recruitment process begins in seventh grade, where thousands of girls apply for sixty spots in eighth grade. The school is open to girls from all over South Africa with different cultural backgrounds, and this diversity is evident through the multitude of languages and cultures that are present within the vibrant community that has come to define OWLAG. The school is based on the African notion of “Ubuntu”, which is the idea that we are who we are because of the people that we are surrounded by, and that other people help to mold and guide us into becoming brighter, more successful people. Even without knowing the exact parameters of Ubuntu, it becomes quickly evident that the cultural differences do nothing but unite the students and help to establish a diverse, caring, and loving community that is supportive of one another.

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Upon arrival at Johannesburg airport we were met by OWLAG staff and each handed a blanket “we thought you might need this, as it’s going to be cold.” Little did we know that the temperature that night was going to drop to a cool six degrees. This was the end of the South African winter and it was a sharp contrast to the warm European summer that we’d left behind the day before.

The next few days were spent getting to know people and familiarizing ourselves with boarding school life. Every minute was filled and we soon found ourselves adapting to the regular mealtimes which punctuated the day. Language lessons included the native South African Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sotho and Zulu. What made a lasting impression on us was the high academic expectations that everyone had of the girls, and their audacity and capacity to meet it. Every day after dinner time the girls were to participate in a two hour “Study Hall”, which allowed them to catch up on any school work, or to prepare for their next classes; a study period much needed in order to maintain their high academic standard. One of the links between Campus des Nations and OWLAG is the highly stimulating academically challenging Middle Years Program followed by both of the schools. What came to surprise me most, was just how big the hearts of these girls were. Every spare minute was spent catching up with family; making sure every distant relative was doing well. Oprah Winfrey once said “When you’re changing a girl’s life it’s not just that life. You start to affect a family, a community, a nation.” Perhaps one of the most touching things I heard throughout the trip was during this Study Hall, in which one of the girls abruptly stopped her work, put her pen Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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down with a sigh, and exclaimed that she missed the sound of her mother’s heartbeat and that she would work hard in order to be able to support her through no matter what.

The hearts of the teachers were no smaller than those of the students, for they too, always aimed to make sure that everyone was well taken care of and happy. On Wednesday evening we were invited by the drama department and grade 9’s to attend a theatrical production titled “The Voice of Anne Frank”, in a beautiful theatre situated in the heart of Johannesburg’s downtown redevelopment area. The piece featured an extravagant solo actress accompanied by a cellist with a powerful musical composition to match the storyline of the performance. No sooner than two days later, were we invited to attend the grade 10 economics trip, which included a visit to the South African Mint, a Woolworths distribution center, the South African Reserve Bank and the Union Buildings in the city of Pretoria. We also passed by the supreme courts, where the famous Pistorius trial had been taking place.

Our day began at 6.30 in the morning, and we returned back home at 7.30 in the evening.

The fully-packed trip gave us the exciting opportunity to learn about the production of South African coins, how Woolworths stores and distributes its goods, and what the security features of the South African Rand included.

The following day we prepared for yet more stimulating experiences and headed off to the impressive Apartheid Museum. This was a memorial to the atrocities of the Apartheid era and the struggle for freedom which culminated in de Klerk’s government’s acceptance of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1992 and Nelson Mandela’s release from twenty seven long years of imprisonment. This was truly one of the most impressive exhibitions I have seen and if you are ever in Johannesburg, then this is not to be missed.

Next, we visited the Soweto (South West) township; formerly one of the largest townships in South Africa. Over the last decade, a lot of government aid has gone into redeveloping the area which included Mandela’s house on Vilakazi Street, and the imposing Calabash stadium. We arrived in Soweto just as the sun was descending over the two giant cooling towers of the former power station. The township was alive and buzzing with life; thick smoke pouring out of the chimneys of the small houses and people stopping to talk to us and to share their stories. During our walk around the streets, we were reminded of the huge historical importance of this district during the Apartheid years.

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Each year the students at OWLAG take part in a week-long trip to various parts of South Africa. We were invited to accompany the grade 10 girls on the tour to the Isandlawana battlefields of the Kwa Zulu Natal province, followed by some time on the east coast city of Durban, on the Indian Ocean. The first three days of the trip, we spent camping at picturesque valley titled “Babanango Valley”. There we took part in exciting activities such as orienteering, map reading and River-study. As previously mentioned, we also had the opportunity to visit the battlefields at which the Anglo-Zulu battle took place in 1879. Bursting with enthusiasm, the 51 girls from OWLAG took every challenge on board and successfully accomplished everything and anything with a smile. In the evenings a camp fire was held, which incorporated singing, the sharing of jokes, and theatrical and musical performances by the students. On the fourth day, we embarked on our way to Durban, where we got to spend a couple of hours on the lovely beach front of the Indian Ocean. The return journey incorporated a stop at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site near Howick, where there was a large and impressive memorial to Madiba.

All in all, no words can describe the amount of enthusiasm that was present each and every second of every day. The love that everyone had to offer undoubtedly made our experience in South Africa an unforgettable one, and with the hospitable disposition that everyone radiated, it was impossible to feel excluded or left out at any part of the day. Perhaps one of the most important things we learnt throughout the duration of the trip was the true importance of Ubuntu; being able to actually experience the spirit and joy that was present when working and being together, and building the bridges that allow a community to progress forwards to a more aspirational future. We look forward to further enriching our newly found friendship with OWLAG.

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From the Institute Alison Ball & Frédéric Mercier (Directors of the Institute of Learning and Teaching) Lorsqu’en 1924, des pédagogues issus du mouvement humaniste de l’Education Nouvelle ont créé l’Ecole Internationale de Genève, ils pensaient que l’on pouvait par l’éducation, renforcer la démocratie. C’est pour cette raison, que nous pouvons lire dans la charte de l’école, des engagements qui visent la promotion de la Paix dans le monde.

En choisissant l’Education à la Paix comme un des thèmes pour célébrer ses 90 ans, l’Ecole Internationale de Genève rend un hommage à ses fondateurs visionnaires.

L’idée d’éduquer à la Paix semble aujourd’hui «couler de source» et c’est tant mieux. Il convient cependant de ne pas oublier les personnes ou les évènements qui ont facilité ce processus.

D’abord dans les années 60, aux Etats- Unis, les philosophes Matthew Lipman et Ann Margaret Sharp, ont développé la pratique de la philosophie à l’école primaire et secondaire.

Cette pratique qui vise à développer la pensée critique et créatrice des enfants, a inspiré de nombreux changements dans le monde de l’éducation.

Plus tard, en 1989, l’Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies a adopté le texte de la Convention (54 articles) à New York, par acclamation (sans vote), à l’unanimité des pays membres des Nations Unies, dans la résolution 44/25.

Cette conception de l’enfant que propose la convention était à l’époque, novatrice, car elle définissait l’enfant comme un être indépendant et en devenir. Mais c’était surtout la première fois qu’un texte international considérait l’enfant comme un sujet de droit à part entière. On y trouve «le droit d’exprimer librement son opinion» (art.12), «la liberté d’expression» (art.13) et «la liberté de pensée» (art.14).

En 1999, dans une de ses déclarations, l’Unesco reconnaît les travaux de Matthew Lipman : «Incontestablement, l’enfant d’aujourd’hui est l’adulte de demain. C’est donc à juste titre qu’il faut dire avec Matthew Lipman que l’impact de la philosophie sur les enfants pourrait ne pas être immédiatement apprécié. Mais l’impact sur les adultes de demain pourrait être tellement considérable qu’il nous amènerait à nous étonner d’avoir refusé la philosophie aux enfants jusqu’à ce jour».

Pour cette année anniversaire, nous accueillerons Michel Sasseville, professeur de philosophie à l’Université Laval au Québec, qui a poursuit le travail de Matthew Lipman, sera dans notre fondation du 21 au 31 novembre.

On nous a écrit plusieurs fois pour nous demander si ces stages de formation étaient seulement pour ceux qui pratiquaient la philosophie dans leur classe. Nous avons à chaque fois répondu qu’ils étaient ouverts à tous, car nous sommes tous équipés pour penser et développer cette habileté.

Les stages 1, 2 et 3 sont les mêmes, seule la langue change.

Stage de Philosophie 1 / Philosophy Workshop 1 (en anglais ou enfrançais/in English or in French) - 21./22.11.2014 / Inscription Philosophy Workshop 2, in English - 24./25.11.2014 / Inscription Stage de Philosophie 3, en français - 25./26.11.2014 / Inscription Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique 15 September / Septembre 2014

Une formation de 21 heures dans le cadre du Master Francophone permettra d’approfondir ce qu’est une communauté de recherches.

27.-30.11.2014: Education à la Paix par la pratique du dialogue / Education for Peace through the Practice of Dialogue / Inscription This year we also look forward to welcoming you to Masters modules taught by visiting lecturers from Durham University (UK) on Classroom Assessment, November 20th – 23rd Research Methods in Education 5th – 8th March and International and Intercultural Education 23rd – 26th April. You may be joining the module as a Durham Masters Student or may also apply to attend this module as a professional development opportunity. For further information please see the Institute website and/or contact directly alison.ball@ecolint.ch Other opportunities this year include the pilot Gifted Education Higher Order Thinking teacher development course http://www.unlockingtheworld.com/programs/gifted-education-andhigher-order-thinking which will run from October for 9 sessions, once a month throughout the year. Places are limited so if you would like to sign up for this please apply through the usual school professional development channels and also contact alison.ball@ecolint.ch The assistant course led by Nicolas Baltassat (level 2 only) will begin on 15th October. If you wish to attend please see your Principal.

Remember to look out for other opportunities, such as PGCE sessions open to all in primary maths, literacy, questioning in science, child development and also in January, on the La Châtaigneraie campus, Special Educational Needs seminars. There are language courses for English and French, and, as mentioned above, a course for anyone interested to learn more about ‘Philosophy for Children’ with a visiting world expert in the field, Professor Michel Sasseville from Laval University in Canada; this is offered in English on November 21st/22nd or 24th and 25th If any of the above interest you please check the Institute website, the Institute brochue and also get in touch with us for further details.

Our 90th birthday year promises to be, as ever, full and busy and some of you are especially busy undertaking higher degrees. We would love to hear from you as to the topics of your research so that we can include this is in the Ecolint Research Journal, the second Edition of which will be available in October. Indeed we encourage you to contact us about any of the opportunities mentioned above or other ideas and projects you think the Insititute may be able to help with.

We wish you an excellent 2014/15 school year and look forward to meeting many of you during the coming months.

With best wishes, Alison and Frédéric

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Ecolint Eighty Years Ago : a Student’s Point of View Anders Elf (Department of English, La Grande Boissière) ‘My sister and I were walking up the path to the school for the first time.’ Fredrika and Helen are about to start their first year at La Grande Boissière. They stop to laugh at the ‘cows in the field across the road’. It is 1930.

From No Strange Land is a memoir of life at Ecolint between 1930 and 1935. Fredrika Tuttle Blair Hastings wrote it at college when she was nineteen, and it is indeed a teenager’s and student’s point of view that we get. We feel her development from a thirteen-year-old nervous newcomer to a more confident and mature last-year student. We understand what it was like to be a student back then, and sense the optimism in Europe between the wars, the idealism, the idea that peace was possible.

Fredrika was talented as a writer. Her anecdotes and reflections convey the atmosphere both in and out of the classroom. She is a great observer and knows how to select details. As she describes a typical classroom, she notes that the pale green desks ‘were often inscribed with confessions’, such as ‘ “Pierre aime Mary-Helen” and underneath “Le pauvre. Il se fait des illusions” ’.

Bilingualism seems to have been a natural part of the school. Fredrika has classes in both English and French, and the students are sensitive to language issues. When she is elected to write a play with another student at the end of her first year, they choose to dramatise the Norman Conquest with the scenes set in France in French and the scenes in England in English. For the coronation scene, they had the bishop who crowned William speak Latin, as both Saxons and Normans were on stage.

There are many memorable portraits of teachers and students, and several chapters devoted to the Head Mistress, Mme Maurette, and her father, ‘the white-bearded patriarch’ Paul Dupuy. He was Fredrika’s teacher of ‘International Culture’, and had come to Ecolint after his retirement to help his daughter run the school. Fredrika and her sister had already been to six different schools, and saw themselves ‘as immune to School Spirit’. Mme Maurette proved them wrong. Upon entering her office with their mother, the Head Mistress started interviewing the girls. ‘That was already a difference’, Fredrika writes, as previously, ‘conversations of this sort were usually carried on between principal and parent with the children sitting by, mute and cautious.’

There is so much in this autobiographical account: gossip, social intrigue, Escalade parties, theatre plays and the importance of boys. Fredrika tells us that ‘jilting boys was a sign of a strong moral character’, but is still shocked when a friend says: ‘ “He worships me, poor child...I’m afraid I shall have to stop seeing him,” in the tone of: “Poor Rover has the mange: we will have to put him out of his misery.” ’ The girls do not care about the boys per se, but crave their attention as a means of gaining status among themselves. (I wish I had known all this forty years ago.)

Sadness creeps in at the end, partly because it is Fredrika’s last year, and she will have to part from her friends and the school, but mostly because of the political situation in Europe.

There is a sense of doubt and despair as teachers and students ask themselves if it was right to educate children for peace in a world where war seemed inevitable.

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Despite some poignant passages in the last chapter and in the Postscript, the prevailing mood is one of hope and enthusiasm. From No Strange Land is an uplifting account and an enjoyable read. Fredrika’s language is mature and rich. (She occasionally uses words such as ‘abeyance’ and ‘incur’.) There are several striking and beautiful passages where the reader has to stop and reflect; but mostly the language just flows, even though there are a few instances of unusual punctuation, an Ecolint tradition which is still with us today.

This memoir was rejected by publishers in the late 1930s ‘as being of too limited interest.’

However, it should be of great interest to most members of the Ecolint community. Fredrika continued to write after her college days, and is most well-known for her biography of Isadora Duncan, which was published in 1986.

(Copies of From No Strange Land will shortly be reprinted and made available in the Foundation’s libraries.)

Assembled school in 1925, with Paul Meyhoffer (back row, far left), Paul Dupuy (back row, far right) and Lo s Meyhoffer (front row, centre)

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In principium erat Loïs Alejandro H. Rodriguez-Giovo (Foundation Archivist) No document in any archive, however rare, precious and evocative, can match in value the eyewitness account of a live human being. Someone who can tell you vividly what happened, because he or she was actually there, and moreover was an integral part of the historical event, is the ultimate source, next to which all others are but pale derivatives. Alas, with the passage of time such direct witnesses become increasingly rare, and the reliability of those who survive sometimes wanes, as the physical consequences of extreme old age take their toll.

Some years ago I had the privilege of getting to know Harry Patch, the last surviving veteran of World War I, not long before he passed away. He was 111 years old at the time (the same age as Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings), but entirely compos mentis and still a patient, gentle and wise interlocutor. I chose not to tire him with the innumerable questions that came to my mind: although unfailingly courteous, Mr. Patch spoke in a sleepy, hoarse whisper, with a remote look in his eyes, as if he already glimpsed the au-delà. He reminded me of Robert Frost’s “After Apple-Picking”: “But I am done with apple-picking now. / Essence of winter sleep is on the night, / The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.”

In contrast, there is nothing somnolent or detached about Lo s Meyhoffer, Ecolint’s first student (as page one of our school’s original, handwritten register – dated 17th September 1924, and carefully preserved in a locked display cabinet in the Archives – testifies). Loïs, who after living abroad in pursuit of her further studies and humanitarian work for the World Council of Churches, now lives autonomously at the same address in Champel (a superb art déco building adorned with colossal caryatids) where she was born in 1918, could not be more alert and sharp-witted. Many of us who are four, five or six decades younger have reason to envy her memory and mental agility. One has to keep on one’s toes when speaking to Loïs; affable though she is, she pounces unerringly on inaccuracies, fallacies and fuzzy thinking, dotting “i”s and crossing “t”s not pedantically but soberly, with matter-offact precision.

What is most notable about Loïs, however, is her uncompromising commitment to our school’s core values and ideals. They are deep-rooted in her; she is, after all, the daughter of Ecolint’s first director, Paul Meyhoffer, a distinguished educator from the Institut JeanJacques Rousseau who earlier in his life had pursued theological studies and was the author of Les idées pédagogiques de Luther (1909). It would be fair to say that her father’s Christian, and specifically Protestant, ethos – which he shared with his fellow Genevois Henri Dunant, the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross – is one of the strands that has crucially contributed to our school’s identity, together with pacifist convictions, a multi-cultural outlook and a firm belief in the “equal value of all human beings” (famously affirmed in Article 4 of our Charter). Lo s is the chief guardian of Ecolint’s moral mission, and what she has to say about how we have indulged ourselves with grand, lavish facilities instead of devoting our resources to scholarships for Third World students may be uncomfortable to hear but is salutary.

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Loïs Meyhoffer visiting refugees on behalf of the World Council of Churches near Frankfurt, Germany, in 1954 This is a role that she has shared with at least two other remarkable women in the history of our school: Marie-Thérèse Maurette, our director between 1929 and 1949 and an impassioned defender of humane, egalitarian principles, and Elspeth Williamson, a memorably greathearted and fiercely idealistic English teacher at La Grande Boissière in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, whom one Director-General described as “my moral conscience” (to which Elspeth instantly replied: “Why don’t you have your own?”).

Loïs has followed the development of Ecolint from day one (she is the six year-old girl sitting and shading her eyes in the foreground of our earliest, iconic photograph, when we had a grand total of eight students) and continues to take a loving but critical interest in where we are heading, now that the number of students has increased to 4,400 and some 30,000 Ecolint alumni are disseminated throughout the world. As evidence of her perennial engagement, here are some reflections that she submitted to the school’s authorities earlier this year, in connection with the Alumni World Reunion and our 90th Anniversary: “En pensant à la prochaine réunion mondiale ou nous célébrerons les 90 ans de l'Ecole , je voudrais proposer un nouveau défi. 1924, l'année de la création de l'Ecole était une période d'euphorie. La "grande Guerre" 1914-1918 venait de se terminer, la Société des Nations était née permettant aux peuples et aux nations de régler leurs différents par le dialogue et l'arbitrage plutôt que par la guerre. Mais une génération plus tard éclate la seconde guerre mondiale. Cependant l'Ecole a continué à oeuvrer pour la paix, engageant dans cet effort ses enseignants, ses élèves et les milliers d'anciens dispersés aux quatre coins du monde.

Et la tâche n'est toujours pas terminée, les conflits se multiplient. Que faire ? Ne pourrionsnous pas engager une réflexion sur la place et le rôle des minorités dans nos sociétés: minorités ethniques, linguistiques, religieuses ou raciales. Il y en a partout, dans tous les Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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pays dans toutes les sociétés, ignorées ou bafouées par la majorité. Si l'on pouvait reconnaître leur légitimité et leur valeur et leur donner leur juste place cela permettrait peutêtre d'éviter des conflits. Apprendre à se tolérer, à reconnaitre la valeur de l'Autre, à le respecter. Tous sont nécessaires pour former une société humaine riche de toutes les cultures, de toutes les croyances. Nous pourrions engager la communauté de notre Ecole à réfléchir à cette question en vue de notre prochain anniversaire. Ce serait vraiment le rôle de notre Ecole qui est l'exemple même de cet enrichissement par la différence. Montrer que c'est possible et proposer des voies à suivre pour mieux vivre ensemble serait une tâche intéressante pour tous, pour les élèves actuels comme pour nous leurs aînés.”

To borrow a Voltaire witticism: “Si Lo s Meyhoffer n’existait pas, il faudrait l’inventer.” But thankfully she does exist, and this year, more than ever, we should rejoice in her presence among us. And although I’d love to offer her secure and permanent accommodation in the Archives, I must admit that she’s better off in her comfortable flat on the Avenue de Miremont.

Postscript: Lo s’s contemporary Ecolint alumna and close friend, the distinguished historian and scholar Isabel de Madariaga (daughter of the great Spanish statesman and writer Salvador de Madariaga), passed away on the 16th June 2014, aged 94.

Below are the links to her obituary in The Guardian and The Independent: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/15/isabel-de-madariaga http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-isabel-de-madariaga-historian-andinspirational-teacher-who-changed-our-perceptions-of-catherine-the-great-and-ivan-theterrible-9608251.html

Earliest photo of Ecolint students and staff (20th September 1924, Route de Florissant 45), with Adolphe Ferrière (far right), Paul Meyhoffer (centre), Florence Fake (far left) and Lo s Meyhoffer (seated, foreground) Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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Annexe VI reports Odyssey of the Mind at LGB Marcia Banks & Masa Toya (La Grande Boissière) We have been granted a Licensing Agreement to exclusively conduct competitions within Switzerland and have received this year’s Long Term problems that serve as the basis for all levels of competition for the Odyssey of the Mind programme, a programme defined as the annual creative problem-solving programme conducted by Creative Competitions Incorporated.

Odyssey of the Mind is a “hands-on” activity for students where they create their solutions, as a team, to complex problems without the help of others. The coaches offer guidance and encouragement, teach team members how to explore possibilities, evaluate solutions, and when team members get an idea, make sure they obtain the skills required to carry out that idea. Coaches help individual teams understand the limitations of its long-term problem and recognize what is being scored.

To improve on what we are doing, we will have a coaches’ training session on September 27. Our second tier intervention will be a training for judges for the Regional Competition.

We will, as we did last year, sponsor a Spontaneous (Fun) Day, Saturday, February 7, 2015, for all teams in our geographical area, providing additional practice in solving spontaneous problems, helping teams to “think on their feet”.

The Regional Completion will be held Saturday, March 7, 2015. This year, under the terms of the Licensing Agreement, we will have this year’s official Spontaneous Problem and the integrated scoring and scheduling programme for the Long-Term Problems.

Odyssey of the Mind Eurofest is scheduled for the first week of May while the World Finals will be held May 20 -23.

Naturally, the most important aspect of the programme is ensuring that children have fun solving the problems in the spirit of creativity and teamwork, and demonstrating their solutions, perhaps in an assembly.

Odyssey of the Mind at Campus des Nations Nikola Vickers (Campus des Nations) This year will be the second for the Odyssey of the Mind club in the Primary School at Saconnex. Last year was a thrilling voyage of discovery for the adults and children involved, and we are planning an equally busy year ahead. This will start with training for coaches in the special skills required to guide the Odyssey teams - without ever instructing the children or telling them what to do. We are excited to be inviting parents and High School students to come along and coach or help us in other ways, with the year culminating in the Swiss Regional Competition in March 2015. We are also extending the club to include students from Year 5.

This is the year in which we aim to make the transition for the Odyssey of the Mind club from a "trial run" to a real part of the learning landscape for Nations Primary.

Odyssey of the Mind at La Châtaigneraie Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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Jeanette Terry & Todd Besanceney (La Châtaigneraie) We have made steady progress in our implementation of Odyssey of the Mind. We reflect continually on the format of the program, student team selection, and the practicalities of running such a program effectively and efficiently at the primary campus of La Chataigneraie.

This coming year our plan is to once again invite interested Class 3 students to a presentation about the program, and to follow this up with a letter to students/parents. These children will participate in Tuesday lunchtime sessions, along with those students who were involved in last year’s program (now in Class 4 & 5).

Our focus will be primarily on Spontaneous Problem Solving due to time constraints and lack of space for the building and storage necessary when engaging in Long Term Problem Solving. We will begin to explore the possibility of using the second Art Room as a work and storage facility.

We rely on the consistent assistance of our parents and technology teacher (when available).

We would like to form at least two teams to participate in OotM in Switzerland. We plan to keep attendance records, and have this adult team discuss students in terms of their evidence and capacity to be a dedicated, creative, and highly skilled team member.

Next semester we envisage the program will be an extracurricular offering, primarily led by passionate parents. In this way time can be allocated to in-depth explorations and to further building team skills. We plan to continue our support of the program by providing advice and attending these after-school sessions where appropriate, and by continuing our lunchtime sessions.

La réduction d’un manuel de chimie Arnold Nussbaumer (La Grande Boissière) But du projet Le but de ce projet est d’offrir aux élèves francophones qui suivent le cours de chimie IB au niveau supérieur et moyen du secondaire LGB, un cours correspondant aux spécifications du nouveau programme de chimie, dont les premiers examens auront lieu en mai 2016.

Alors que leurs camarades anglophones ont plusieurs manuels de Chimie IB, compagnons de cours, résumé de programme… à disposition, les francophones n’ont pas accès à une littérature en français dédiée au programme de l’IB. Dans le nouveau programme, il y a beaucoup de matériel nouveau et ce cours devrait permettre aux élèves d’avoir un outil leur permettant d’organiser leur apprentissage de la matière efficacement et de comprendre le système d’évaluation interne et externe ainsi que l’organisation des travaux pratiques.

Contenu Le manuel en préparation devrait couvrir les trois parties du programme IB de chimie: le tronc commun pour les deux niveaux NM et NS, la MNSC (matière du niveau supérieur complémentaire) et une des options proposées dans le guide des études.

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Chaque chapitre du manuel correspond à un sujet ou une option prise dans le même ordre que dans le guide IB. Les thèmes de la matière du tronc commun se suivent selon le programme du guide de chimie IB et ils peuvent être étudiées par tous les élèves quelque soit leur niveau d’étude.

Les compléments du niveau supérieur sont traités séparément et sont disponibles pour tous les élèves qui souhaitent approfondir leurs connaissances où qui suivent le NS. Le cours est rédigé en reprenant la structure du programme développé dans du guide de chimie IB,  Idées essentielles  Nature de la science  Notions clés  Applications et compétences  Directives et informations supplémentaires Dans chaque thème se trouvent de nombreux exercices tirés d’épreuves du IB des années passées.

A ce jour, l’introduction et les 4 premiers thèmes du programme ont été traités.  Introduction, évaluation, travaux pratiques.  Thème 1 – Les relations stœchiométriques  Thème 2 – La structure atomique  Thème 3 – La périodicité  Thème 4 – La liaison et la structure chimiques Le cours a été rédigé en document Word et ensuite converti en format PDF pour les élèves.

A chaque étape d’avancement du programme, il leur est envoyé par courriel.

Ils peuvent ainsi suivre l’avancement de l’étude de la matière au travers du script qu’ils peuvent imprimer chez eux, suivre sur une tablette ou un ordinateur personnel.

Les deux premiers chapitres du cours ont déjà été distribué aux élèves, 16 élèves en classe 12 chimie IB NS et 8 élèves dans la classe IB NM de mon collègue, le Dr Etwaree, qui enseigne dans la classe 12 IB NM. Projet de Site web et manuel de physique en francais pour le Baccalauréat international Olivier Coupy (La Grande Boissière) les programmes BI de Physique, au niveau standard et au niveau avancé ont été profondément revus et modifiés pour cette année, et remaniés pour un démarrage en septembre 2014.

Les ressources nécessaires à leur mise en oeuvre sont très limitées et ne seront disponibles (et qu’en anglais) qu’au cours des prochains mois. Il n’est pas prévu à ce jour de de projet de publication de ressources pour la physique en français et le passé nous a montré que ce ne sera pas le cas dans le futur non plus.

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Le contenu des nouveaux programmes sont spécifiques à ce cours, et ne correspondent à aucun livre/manuel/exercices/sites internet etc.... édité en français (programmes nationaux français, belges ou canadiens). Nos élèves (et leurs parents) ont donc besoin de pouvoir se référer et d’étudier sur la base d’ouvrages qui n’existent pas à ce niveau, ce qui est un grief très ancien auquel nous devons faire face depuis des années. Il a été mis en exergue, année après année que les résultats des élèves francophones en général, et en sciences en particulier souffrait sans doute de ce déficit.

Le moment est donc propice pour réaliser en français un manuel complet adapté, avec textes, schémas, présentations, exercices, ainsi qu’un site internet de référence et de ressources, pour mes élèves physiciens de classe 12 et 13, ainsi que pour les collègues qui pourraient en avoir besoin.

Je suis en effet le seul physicien à enseigner le BI en français dans notre fondation, ce qui fait que je ne peux ni échanger des ressources, ni partager mes questions et points de vue avec quiconque dans mon entourage professionnel. Il en est de même sur le site du BI sur lequel aucun physicien francophone ne participe aux forums de discussion.

Actuellement je suis en train de produire des documents, cours et exercices, ainsi que travaux pratiques, de construire un site internet de référence et par la même de combler ce déficit de ressources francophones.

Le cours ayant commencé, j’ai préparé les premières unités du cours et poursuivrai ce travail tout au long de l’année, au fur et à mesure de l’avancement du programme. Le site internet en est à ses balbutiements, mais est déjà opérationnel pour les tous premières unités d’enseignement.

Projet d’élaboration d’un polycopié de biologie pour les élèves francophones de IB. Véronique Chanon (La Grande Boissière) Une période de décharge annuelle selon l’annexe VI, soit 1h30 par semaine m’a été attribuée pour ce projet.

Cette année, comme tous les 7 ans, le programme de biologie BI est entièrement modifié.

Ces changements sont très importants et passionnants puisqu’ils permettent d’incorporer les dernières découvertes scientifiques en constant progrès. Cette année, les changements concernent non seulement le contenu du cours mais également l’organisation des travaux pratiques.

L’organisation du IB ainsi que divers éditeurs fournissent en anglais uniquement des documents permettant ce nouvel enseignement. Par contre, il n’existe aucune ressource en français, ni ouvrages, ni exercices, ni sites internet. Cela représente un véritable handicap pour les classes francophones en comparaison des élèves anglophones, mais aussi un vrai chalenge pour les enseignants. Ainsi, chaque 7 ans, l’ensemble des ressources doit être entièrement refait afin que nos élèves puissent bénéficier d’un enseignement digne. Il est donc de la seule responsabilité de l’enseignant de concevoir entièrement un cours adapté à ses élèves. Ce qui peut apparaitre comme un énorme handicap peut aussi se révéler être un avantage puisque les ressources réalisées par l’enseignant sont totalement adaptée aux besoin des élèves et au style d’enseignement du professeur. Cet énorme travail de pédagogue, de traducteur et d’éditeur permet non seulement à l’enseignant de renouveler ses connaissances mais aussi de réfléchir sur ses méthodes pédagogiques. Grace aux TIC, Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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nous sommes dans un monde en constante évolution, il est donc nécessaire que nous puissions évoluer également.

Vu le plus faible effectif des élèves francophones, des classes mixtes sont trop souvent crées. Les niveaux standard et les niveaux forts sont chaque année mélangés. Cela représente également un chalenge pour l’enseignant puisqu’il doit, à la fois prendre le temps de donner des explications simples étayées d’exemples et d’exercices aux moins avancés et, en même temps, il doit maintenir l’intérêt des élèves les plus avancés en fournissant des compléments plus élaborés susceptibles d’éveiller leur curiosité et leur intérêt. L’ouvrage réalisé doit être conçu en prenant en compte cette spécificité.

Je suis seule à enseigner la biologie 12ème en français. Je ne peux donc pas collaborer pour réaliser cet ouvrage.

Ainsi, comme je l’ai déjà fait il y a 7 ans sans aucune période de décharge, je réalise un ouvrage de biologie adapté à mes élèves de 12ème (nouveau programme, francophones, classes mixtes, nécessité de garder l’élève actif). Cette année, je fais un ouvrage pour les 12ème option moyenne. Dans l’avenir, il faudra également un ouvrage pour les 12ème en option forte et les 13ème. Cet ouvrage comprend un cours complet conforme au nouveau programme ainsi que des exercices et des ressources telles que des liens vers des animations. Il est imprimé en recto simple afin que les élèves aient de la place pour prendre des notes et faire les exercices. Si le livre de référence est une absolue nécessité, il est également essentiel que l’élève soit actif afin qu’il s’approprie les connaissances.

La 1ère partie de ce polycopié a été réalisée pendant les vacances d’été afin de pouvoir être donnée aux élèves dès le début d’année scolaire. J’y ai passé 140 heures et ai couvert le programme jusqu’aux vacances de Noël. Il a été très bien accueilli des élèves puisque l’une d’entre elle m’a dit en le recevant : « C’est super que vous ayez fait cela, en plus il est joli, ça donne envie de la lire ! ». Cette parole représente pour moi un véritable encouragement sans lequel je ne me sentirais pas le courage de faire un tel travail.

J’espère pouvoir réaliser la 2ème partie d’ici à la fin des vacances de Noël afin de l’offrir aux élèves dès le mois de janvier 2015. Les commentaires des élèves seront recueilli tout au long de l’année et des modifications mineures seront réalisées pendant les vacances d’été 2015-2016. Une seconde édition pourra alors être proposée aux élèves de l’année prochaine.

The Teaching and Learning Action Research Group at La Châtaigneraie Gemma Elford-Dawson & Rich Robinson (La Châtaigneraie) As teachers, we have a commitment to continually reflect and improve: we can only effectively facilitate the learning of others by remaining learners ourselves. To this end, we would like to develop a platform for teachers at La Châtaigneraie to investigate, implement, and share effective ideas relating to teaching and learning.

Objectives:  To create a culture of shared reflection on effective approaches to learning.  To apply the Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning practically with our students.  To collaborate across departments and sections through shared planning, observation and reflection.  To build a central shared space within the campus to allow ideas, expertise and experience to be collected for all staff to access and use.

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Project Outline At the heart of the project is the bringing together of a volunteer group of teachers from across the school. We would like to form a small but committed cross-curricular group, with the shared aim of simply becoming better classroom teachers.

The project is focused on the development of three interlinking strands: 1. Group discussion The most important element of this project is the bringing together of teachers from across our campus, creating regular, dedicated time for collaborative discussion, reflection, and planning. We propose twice-termly morning meetings (periods 1-4) for the group as a whole, during which we would focus on an agreed aspect of the Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning (e.g. self-assessment, creativity, group work) . This essential meeting time would be used to review related research, share ideas relating to our classroom practice, and build the online platform of resources.

2. Collaborative planning and reflection.

Stemming from the group discussions, interested teachers would then split into pairs or small groups based on their specific aims. Over the course of the term, teachers would work together in their pairs to develop an aspect of the teaching and learning focus, trialling different ideas, observing each other, reflecting on what worked and how to improve. Valuable experience and insights gained as a result of this process could then be discussed with the rest of the group, subject departments, and in whole staff meetings and on ped days.

3. Online platform The creation of a dynamic and accessible website would enable participants in the study group to record and share their ideas, including lesson plans, reflections, interesting articles and extracts of filmed lessons. All teachers could then use this as a resource, leaving their own contributions and comments so that the website becomes a way of continuing an open conversation about teaching and learning.

Success criteria:  The regular use of the online space by the teaching body.  Feedback from staff having implemented a new idea or refined an element of their practice.  Long-term support for the project via internal promotion through departments and via peers.

Food Technology in the Curriculum Marcus James (La Grande Boissière) Why this project is needed.

There is a need for a Food Education curriculum to be developed because being able to cook a few key recipes is a vital life skill that is lacking from our curriculum. It will improve knowledge of nutrition, health, diet and the design process. Students gain an understanding and insight into other cultures through food. We cannot truly tackle the issue of food waste in school without providing an education into the subject and gaining a respect for food. If our ultimate aim is to further reduce our carbon footprint, students need to have practical experience regarding the food choices we make and knowledge of the huge impact these can have on the environment. (For example using left over food, packaging etc.). Pupils cannot make informed decisions about the food they choose to eat (both in school and outside) unless they have a practical understanding of nutrition. Cooking is a creative and Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique 30 September / Septembre 2014

kinaesthetic way of learning. Pupils will have the opportunity to learn through the most effective form of ‘doing’. It will also form part of the schools Creative Arts centre movement. It can be linked to other areas of the curriculum. The resources can also be used by STUCO to help project’s within the school and wider local communities. (For example making canapés for school functions, make our own pizzas for discos, and invite people from homes for the elderly, guest chefs from local restaurants).

What are the end goals?

I am using the time to work with our Curriculum Head to develop a series of lessons for each year group (5-8), ensure progression and achieve many of the aims previously mentioned.

The lessons will also help us to achieve some of the goals outlined in the MANECO report.

This project would also serve to address the Foundation strategic educational objectives in our Focus for the Future, namely the following: E1.4, E5.1, E5.2, E5.3, E5.5, E6.1, E7.3, E8.1, E8.4. These lessons can then be stored and shared on Atlas so Food education becomes a more permanent fixture and link to wider parts of the curriculum.

I also aim to us the time to complete a distance learning Health, Hygiene and Safety qualification, collate best practice in teaching and planning, look at kitchen designs and visit local and international schools that are already running a Food Technology programme. For example, I have already visited the Collège de Florence and the International School of Amsterdam and talked to the Discovery Bay International School Hong Kong to discuss and review their Food Technology programmes.

What are my immediate aims?

In the coming months I want to have completed an overview of six lesson for years 5-8 in the middle school at LGB. These lessons will progressively develop both skills and understanding, focusing on Safety, Health, Culture, Environment, Cooking Skills and Design.

In addition I want to have created links to existing curriculum subjects and opened a dialogue with staff to ensure the development of the food curriculum is a shared experience.

I also want to continue researching what other schools are doing and looking at ways we can record, celebrate and share the work students will be doing.

The next step will be to start developing lesson content for the overview and start to look at resourcing.

TESMC- LILAC Teaching English in Mainstream Classrooms – Language in Learning across the Curriculum.

Gayle Courtenay (La Châtaigneraie) & Nayaira Zohny (Campus des Nations): trained tutors WHAT IS TESMC-LILAC? Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms: Language in learning across the curriculum is an innovative professional development program for all teachers working with students who are learning through a language that is not their primary language. The program:   

identifies the language-related needs of ESL students and develops teaching practices that address their needs in a holistic and explicit manner develops teachers' awareness of how to accommodate the cultural and linguistic diversity and experiences of ESL students provides a positive context for teachers to trial suggested strategies and reflect critically and openly on their teaching

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shows how to develop collaborative working relationships between teachers (across subject areas) through a shared understanding of how to support ESL students.

PURPOSE OF THIS ANNEXE Vl PROJECT: The main purpose for offering this course to all teachers in the International School of Geneva is to:     

promote an growing depth of understanding amongst all practitioners in our bilingual settings of how best to understand and cater effectively for the needs of students who do not have English and or French as their Mother Tongue. equip teachers to help students with English or French as Second Language to access the curriculum and make progress within it through understanding the meaning of the explicit teaching of language in context.

Create a common understanding across the foundation so that practitioners are able to share their ideas and experiences. impact teaching and learning in our bilingual context as teachers become so much more aware of teaching language explicitly and take a greater ownership of language learning within each subject. develop the idea that all teachers are language teachers both within and between schools so that they understand that language development is a fundamental aspect to learning.

WHAT IT INVOLVES: It involves the preparation, set up and delivery of nine, three hour Professional Development training sessions, plus tutoring and marking Between Module Activities and Reflections (BMAs and BMRs) for a maximum of 14 students on the course. The Course will be delivered bilingually.

The course incorporates group workshops, classroom-based activities and highly practical readings. It provides teachers, working across the curriculum, with successful classroom strategies for improving the learning achievements of all their students—with a focus on their EAL/FAL students.

Trained Tutors deliver 25 hours of face-to-face learning in nine modules which, when combined with between module readings and activities, is equivalent to more than 50 hours of professional development for teachers.

COURSE CONTENT: Module 1: ESL students and learning in a second language Module 2: Language and learning and the role of scaffolding Module 3: Oral language: How the task shapes the talk Module 4: Using oral language: Interpreting and producing oral texts Module 5: Working with written and visual texts Module 6: Working with written and visual texts at the text level Module 7: Developing knowledge of language Module 8: Assessing written texts Module 9: Programming and whole-school models of support for ESL students RECOGNISED CERTIFICATION Education Newsletter / Bulletin pédagogique September / Septembre 2014

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Each practitioner who completes the minimum requirements of the course will receive and official certificate to show that they have completed the course.

We aim to train all teachers in the foundation as this is a fundamental course that needs to be completed by all teachers working in international bilingual schools.

Creating Tomorrow's learning tools, an educative symbiosis between ISG and Lanterna Education Stéphane Bocken (Campus des Nations) The partnership between the International School of Geneva (ISG) and Lanterna Education is unique and ambitious. Lanterna Education has been producing online textbooks for the IB Diploma Programme for the past year and a half. These textbooks, called Lanterna Online, are designed for any IB student that wants a more interactive and engaging way of learning.

What separates them from many other e-learning products is that they are not merely PDF textbooks; but studying tools that contain all texts that a textbook does, and beyond it; videos, practice questions, checkpoints, and more.

These online textbooks - now used by IB students in over 20 countries - have been created by a group of IB examiners, IB teachers, and former IB students. In a survey done last year with ISG students, 9 out of 10 students that used the tool found that it helped them perform better at tests.

Bien que les autres écoles et étudiants payent pour utiliser ce produit, ce n’est pas le cas d’ISG dans ce partenariat. Il s’agit d’une sorte de symbiose éducative ou chaque partenaire y trouve son intérêt. Les étudiants bénéficient de cet outil interactif gratuitement pour apprendre et en échange leurs professeurs envoient des suggestions et corrections à Lanterna Online pour améliorer tant le contenu que les fonctionnalités.

Mes collègues et moi, espérons que lors de cette année scolaire nous verrons déjà un effet positif sur la motivation et l’apprentissage des étudiants. Ils sont à l’aise avec la technologie et demandeurs de ce type de plateforme éducative. Nous croyons fermement dans le potentiel de Lanterna Online et moyennant encore quelques améliorations, ce nouvel outil d’enseignement donnera à nos étudiants un moyen supplémentaire d’exceller au Bac International.

Economics for the IB Diploma Programme with Lanterna Jonathan Halden (La Châtaigneraie) I am very excited at the prospect of working with Lanterna to moderate and create content for their online economics course.

Lanterna are constantly looking to upgrade their economics course to provide the best possible support for students. In the short term I will work with the Lanterna team to help them decide which of the following three options they intend to pursue:1) - To upgrade and revamp the existing online course.

2) - To create a new course using the material from the ‘Brice’ textbook as a base.

3) - To create a new course from scratch using another author.

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In order to do this I intend to moderate a sample of units, spanning the entire syllabus, from the online economics course and give the course creators feedback. This feedback will cover the accuracy of the content (including diagrams), the suitability of the real world examples and the appropriateness of the depth of coverage. Lanterna’s aim is that their courses are not merely used as a revision tool and a complement to existing textbooks, but as a substitute to existing textbook. In essence they wish to create an ‘intelligent’ digital textbook that fulfills all of the needs of students taking I.B. Economics.

In the short to medium term, I will continue to moderate the online assessment of Lanterna online and try to remove the errors that still persist. This may also include writing some additional multiple choice questions to add to the existing bank.

In the long-term, I would like to help Lanterna introduce a wider variety of assessment activities into their online content in the form of practice essays and data response activities. There may also be scope to introduce more sophisticated multiple choice activities that can still be automatically graded by the computer.

The Annexe Six project allows colleagues and students to have an active input into this online resource and to see their feedback being implemented straight away. It would also be satisfying to help Lanterna transform what is now essentially a revision tool into a fully digital course companion for I.B. Economics.

Lanterna Course Moderation for Physics Mike Winter (La Châtaigneraie) This year sees the launch of a new syllabus for IB sciences. The launch of a new syllabus in any IB subject always brings a mixture of excitement and fear amongst teachers but often the most hotly discussed topic is which text book shall we buy? In an age of digital technology it seems as though the answer to that question doesn’t need to be an energy and resource intensive, static physical textbook but could be a more environmentally friendly option which changes as we understand more and more about the new syllabus. Lanterna Online are offering that option. Many IB teachers will be aware of the Lanterna platform which is an online textbook that can work on any web enabled device (available for physics, chemistry, biology, economics at HL and SL and maths at SL). Accompanying the textbook are multiple choice question that can be assigned to students.

At La Chataigneraie we were introduced to Lanterna around two years ago and the overall response was quite underwhelming. The content of the online textbook was not particularly good, the questions were not of an IB standard and there were mistakes in the material.

There was however a great deal of potential in the idea. They needed educators to improve what they are offering and we have a lot of educators in the foundation! A partnership between Lanterna and Ecolint has been established by Conrad and we now have a number of colleagues working with them to improve their materials as part of an Annexe VI project.

What we gain from it is free access for all of our students to their online resources. My part of the project is to be work with them to improve their physics material during this year. If you find something that you don’t like in the physics online book then please let me know at michael.winter@ecolint.ch and I’ll work on improving it.

To answer the question, I didn’t buy a textbook for my classes this year, We’re going to give Lanterna a go.

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Site internet : LGB-allemand et LGB-italien Hernán Hoyos La Grande Boissière) Apres avoir créé la page internet LGB-español l’année passée (http://lgbspanish.wix.com/mundohispano), nous allons compléter la page du département de Langues en créant une page pour l’allemand et une pour l’italien.

Toute l’information pourra être partagée par les enseignants et les élèves du département de Langues. Les élèves pourront interagir avec les activités proposées dans chaque langue, communiquer leurs idées, obtenir des informations sur des activités déjà réalisées comme les voyages, les festivals, ou des projets.

L’objectif étant, tout comme pour la page en espagnol, de montrer un large éventail d’activités qui vont aider à motiver les élèves des cours d'allemand et d'italien à s'investir davantage par le biais de ce média.

Par ailleurs, un autre but du site sera d’offrir des ressources aux élèves qui feront des recherches, leur permettant de trouver là les informations dont ils pourraient avoir besoin (Histoire, Littérature mais aussi recettes de cuisine, chansons...)

La possibilité d’inclure du matériel audiovisuel montrant les différents projets rend plus dynamique l’information et contribue à une plus grande implication des élèves.

Les projets et les activités qui font partie du quotidien du département (sorties, concours, aides pédagogiques, travaux), et qui sont toujours encadrés et coordonnés par les professeurs dans le processus d'apprentissage des élèves seront intégrés au site qui centralisera ainsi ces informations.

En conclusion, les sites LGB-allemand et LGB-italien vont devenir un outil au sein du département de Langues. Ils vont présenter les projets spécifiques à ces deux langues et devraient être le reflet linguistique et culturel de l’enseignement et apprentissage de ces langues tout comme le site espagnol créé l'année passée.

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