CPD@BSB3: Volume 2, Issue 1

CPD@BSB Issue 3 - mini edition Welcome to the new School Year! We hope this helps you find new ideas that you can implement in your classroom!

Journal Content Page 3 Introduction Page 4 Letter from Mr Maguire Page 5 CPD Spotlight Page 7 Staff article of special interest Page 8 Future live CPD Page 9 CPD from SLT Page 11 Enrichment Ideas Page 15 Department Spotlight: Juniors Page 16 A little something for you Page 17 Upcoming CPD Page 24 Support 360 and Wellbeing Page 26 Coming next month Page 27 Eric Page 29 Time to reflect

Introduction It has been an incredible summer of sport! Football, Tennis and of course the Olympics. But what we almost never see are the athletes who don’t make the podium. Those that have spent the last 5 years training for this event but to miss their dive or get the twisties. Are they considered failures?

There are many examples throughout the summer of sport of perseverance in the face of disappointment. We can use these athletes to remind our students that mistakes don’t have to stop them, we can use them to help them focus on growing and learning, not just on the outcome.

Out of 11,656 athletes that competed in Tokyo 339 medals were awarded, this means that 97% of athletes didn’t receive a medal.

Throughout the academic year I am sure both ourselves a teachers and our students will experience setbacks in a variety of contexts be it academically, in sport or not obtaining a student leadership position they have applied for. One of our values at BSB is resilience, the strongest message from this summer of sport is that the setbacks we have, we can use to propel us to higher heights and obtaining a new personal best.

I hope this mini issue of CPD@BSB helps you harness the power of growth mindset within your teaching and your students as we enter the new academic year.

Gillian

A note from Mr Maguire The first edition of the BSB Professional Development Journal for the Academic year 2021-2022 is welcomed, and I hope that you all take time to enjoy its contents. With such varied and interesting articles, I am sure there is something that will engage you.

At the core of BSB are its caring and innovative staff. It is important for all staff to take time to enrich themselves personally and professionally.

Only through this endeavour can we be better educators and support all children. Of course, the most precious of resources for us all is time. I want to thank all those who have contributed to this journal and given up their time for the benefit of their colleagues.

This is another excellent edition, and I hope that you enjoy it.

Mr J Maguire Executive Headmaster

CPD SPOTLIGHT: BOOKS Every issue we highlight books from our CPD collection that either match the theme of the issue or contain information pertinent to current events. All of these are available in the Junior/Senior Library

Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom Amy Burval & Dan Ryder

How might we choreograph a short story, remix a political party, sketchnote an equation, costume a scientific phenomenon, or hashtag a nutrition plan? Veteran classroom educators, Amy Burvall and Dan Ryder, believe intentional acts of creative expression enables deeper learning, turning the creative spirit into a force for authentic understanding.

Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom provides a catalog of field-tested, student-centered activities, lessons and experiences ready for integration into any classroom. Each item in the catalog features a pathway for facilitating the thinking and making, an inventory of critical thinking skills developed during the experience, multiple suggestions for content area integration, and ideas for further enrichment and exploration.

How to Develop Growth Mindsets in the Classroom : The Complete Guide Mike Gershon

In this timely and compelling book, bestselling author Mike Gershon presents you with everything you need to develop growth mindsets in your classroom. Calling on a wealth of teaching and training experience, Mike sets out the different areas of pedagogy you need to focus on, then gives you the practical strategies you can use to make change happen.

With more than 200 exemplar questions and over sixty strategies, activities and techniques, this book is your go to guide for establishing, cultivating and sustaining growth mindsets in the students you teach. It's the starting point for your growth mindsets journey.

CPD SPOTLIGHT: BOOKS Every issue we highlight books from our CPD collection that either match the theme of the issue or contain information pertinent to current events. All of these are available in the Junior/Senior Library

Engaging Learners: 100 ideas for secondary teachers Roy Howarth

Are your students really engaged in your teaching? Teachers everywhere are looking for quick and easy ways to liven up their lessons, try something new and exciting, or just tweak a strategy or practice that they have been doing for years. This is a 'recipe style' book that you can dip in and out of when you are looking for inspiration. It contains techniques and activities to apply to every area of classroom teaching, from livening up displays to using technology effectively, and even includes advice on greeting students and providing motivational feedback.

Outstanding teaching : Engaging Learners Andy Griffith & Mark Burns

In an era when responsibility for exam results lies with teachers and not their students, it's time to redress the balance so that students are more accountable for their own learning. This text is packed with proven advice for teachers on how to engage learners, unpick intrinsic motivation, and develop independent study.

Based on five years of intensive research through Osiris Education's award-winning Outstanding Teaching Intervention program this book is packed with proven advice and innovative tools that were developed in these successful outstanding lessons. Written in the same humorous, thought-provoking style with which they both teach and train, the authors aim to challenge all who teach, from newly qualified teachers to seasoned professionals, to reflect on their day-to-day practice and set an agenda for sustainable improvement.

Staff article of special interest - Gail Knappett - Director of Drama Wow! What an exciting time to be promoted to Director of Whole School Drama.

Just as the world is tentatively returning to some level of normal, we are finally being given the green light to allow our students to get up, out of their seats to be creative and to hopefully, start thinking about school performances. As a new department director in the school restructuring, I am really looking forward to building a whole school curriculum for Drama, to assist all our students to develop into creative and thoughtful students.

However, as our students will still be in still be in classrooms for a few weeks, here are a few exercises that you can get the students stood up at their desks and doing: Actions – students can create an action for each section of a formula or for a key point to remind them of a particular fact.

FACES : Students can explore facial expressions to depict characters/ key figures in certain situations.

STANCE: Students can mime meeting a character, showing how they would stand/ posture etc in certain situations.

Alphabet edit involves reading the letters of the alphabet aloud as a class or small group whilst completing the accompanying action- l left hand raise and r is a right hand raise and t is both arms together. A further variation (and complication) is to accompany the raise with an opposite leg raise!

• Alphabet edit connects left and right brain, helps hand-eye co-ordination and will improve visual, auditory and kinesthetic ability.

• ABCDEFGHIJKL • Ltrrttllrttr • MNOPQRSTUVWX • Llttlrtrrtll • YZ • Lr

Future live/ pre recorded CPD

If you would like to offer a CPD session via zoom or pre recorded please get in touch with us! It could be a simple ‘hack’ to make our day to day admin a bit easier or something you have used in the classroom that you would like to share! Thank you to Toni (Seniors) for sharing these helpful bits of information!

Shortcuts - Windows key and P will let you duplicate / extend your screen on the monitor / projector screens.

windows key and .

Will let you add emoji to your Google Classroom posts.

CPD from SLT - Failure - your route to success from Ken Winstanley Disappointment, sadness, upset, all emotions associated with failure and yet failure is something that when embraced and accepted can make us stronger and help us grow.

Norman Larson back in 1953 was working for the Rocket Chemical Company and working on a formula for a new chemical water dispersant which would protect metal from rust and corrosion. After multiple failures, his 40th attempt proved successful and so was born water dispersant 40 or WD40 as it is now known.

It would have been easy for Norman to quit trying, but each failure allowed him to understand the problem a little better and even though it took nearly two years to succeed, he eventually found the formula that worked. What Norman shows us is that without failure you can’t have success.

How do we know anything without all the wrong possibilities being investigated first.

This positive or growth mind set is a powerful one for the children we teach. Let them embrace being wrong, accept they have failed at a task, a question or even an exam. The important aspect is for them to consider what they have learnt from the experience and use it to be better at their next attempt.

As teachers we are able to control the message of failure and provide the support and scaffolding to the pupils to prop them up. Think about this scenario. You have given a class test and one of your pupils scores the lowest in the class of 32%, how do we handle this? How can we look at the positives, is the only way up from here? What mistakes did they make and how can we highlight them so that on the next test they avoid the mistakes? By supporting the pupils we can show them how we learn by failing and making mistakes. As teachers we would find most pupils need a lot of work in the first instance, but by being consistent, supportive and kind, we will change the pupils mind set.

The idea of developing a positive mind set in pupils became popular after Carol Dweck published her 2006 book, Mindset - The Psychology of Success.

In pupils the idea of a positive mindset allows the pupil to face adversity head on, and to accept that hard work and effort is needed to succeed. In short, don’t give up.

Along the way there will be hurdles and setbacks but by being focused on achievement it doesn’t mean you can’t do something, it means you just can’t do it yet.

In the next full edition I will include some strategies to implement this along with some practical tips.

Enrichment Ideas

Enrichment just for enjoyment?

Are you enriched enough yet? Have you fulfilled every notion that you are a well-rounded individual having experienced every opportunity available to you? In the continuous assessment of self, we find ourselves pitching back and forth in search of new encounters and ways to make ourselves feel sated.

Of course, as teachers, we are never happy. Not in the sense of emotional wealth but in the sense that we are always looking for a different solution or ways to advance our practice. Some vocations are reliant on seeking new opportunities for one self but teaching is a vocation that insists on the duty of care (both in learning and safeguarding, personal responsibility and dare it to be said, the baggage of the students which we teach, encounter, problem-solve with and look to help improve. Added to this merry band of conundrums, is of course to assist with the satisfaction of our department members, colleague community and family here in Bahrain or further afield. It’s a wonder we have any time to think about how we enrich our lives with the various items which we carry let alone a learning experience for students.

To avoid it becoming another buzzword or worse still; something that can feel like a bolt-on creating additional workload for the purposes of an end product or outcome, we need to consider what Enrichment means.

I’ve worked in schools where “Enrichment time “ was given as a section of the timetable at the end of the week. An extension of the class ‘Golden time”, students were able to go swimming, participate in board games, art/craft, football or even gaming on a Friday afternoon. All sounds great and three-quarters of the student body would strive to be included in this but measuring its effectiveness in reflection would always be the same. Some teachers would lead with gusto whereas similarly to how the students felt, some teachers would see it as an opportunity for the students to be distracted with something and allowed them marking time. Hardly enriching.

Looking at the register lists for these activities though would often be a bigger telltale than observing the class in action. The students would often opt for the same type of activity every half term whereas the teachers would be rotated (ensuring it wasn’t a popularity contest). Using this as an indicator of learning preference, the problem solving, strategy, teamwork and collaboration aspects could be used within a lesson and therefore embed enrichment opportunities.

Enrichment in this sense can determine that instead of the class task being taught linear where a number of students will understand and learn by the predicted outcome, the activities of the task (same outcome) can be differentiated to enable students to take the opportunity of a learning activity which challenges and motivates their interest. For example; learning by doing, a Geography lesson that is data focused can be particularly tricky for someone who is not ‘numbers’ driven’.

However, with the creation of a map and flags displaying the density of population in places and seeing the relief of the map (for those more adventurous- feeling the relief if it is a map created from papier-mache) then not only can a student visually display population but they can also use the map and its aspects to explain why the data may reflect population etc.

Creating a papier-mache map for one lesson sounds extreme however when creating resources such as these, it is important to think of how that resource could be used/adapted to fulfil other learning outcomes in the year better still could it be used by your whole school department in some way?

Enrichment goes beyond the classroom as we know, opportunities for it are all around us. Interactive display boards act as billboards for learning and with careful consideration to the traffic which goes past them can offer learning points to all; how many people remember the slogan, “Always Coca-Cola” or even recently “Fiber for 5bd” (STC) just from regularly passing?

Opportunities for Enrichment can be found with a little exploration. In her book “The Hungry Mind” (3.9.2015) Susan Engel states that “We see curiosity as exploration when actually curiosity happens as a result of expectations being violated”. A student expecting to learn in a certain way becomes comfortable and in a sense, they stop being curious whereas a student who finds surprises within their learning or makes discoveries through exploration is much more likely to achieve higher or at their pace because they have invested in the journey for beyond the outcome.

Beyond BSB lectures break the BSB bubble and act as a link to the outside world and where the possibilities of learning can lead you, Extra-Curricular activities , whole school project focuses, celebrations of learning and opportunities to enhance and make day to day learning journeys memorable all lead to Enrichment.

A recent bookshop find for me was Roald Dahl’s “Never Grow up” - there’s a copy in my office for anyone that wants a read. It’s a reminder of all the enrichment opportunities we experience as children and how as adults we can sometimes forget how we created our own happy childhood memories. In a similar fashion to enriching the curriculum, it reminds the reader of the touch, taste, sound, sight and smell experiences we have and for me the sobering thought of the power we have as teachers to give or take this away.

So back to our question. Are we enriched enough yet? Use your passion, weave your interest, discover and explore learning and develop your curiosity into how you enrich your curriculum and you will find that enrichment does not just end with your students but helps achieve it for you too.

Nick Belcher

Department Spotlight: Reception Emma Hall ‘Play and Learning are like the two wings of a butterfly - one cannot exist without the other’. Carla Rinaldi - President of Reggio Children.

Play is a powerful thing in children’s learning, in fact it is the main way that children learn and develop.

At BSB, we make sure that our learning activities are play based, making them joyful, meaningful and interactive, to not only provide learning opportunities but to actively enhance children’s development. By learning through play, children are engaged with a sense of awe and wonder in their learning journey.

Our play provision also develops a wide range of skills such as language, motor, creativity, social understanding and emotional intelligence. This allows children to embrace their natural sense of curiosity to create little adventures in their minds.

Children from all ages can benefit from ‘learning through play’, not just the younger classes. If play opportunities are limited in your classroom, taking children outside and embracing the outdoors can be enormously beneficial. Children can explore the world around them and will always find something new and exciting!

A little something for you

Roots which is based in Hamala, near the shops by school, has kindly offered us a 10% discount if we show our staff badges.

I can highly recommend their granola, rainbow wraps and their coffee. Actually most things on their menu so please do pay them a visit! https://www.rootscafe.co/

Upcoming CPD available Month by month- Calendar Please see below some Professional Development and separate Networking opportunities

Group

Title

Dept

Description

Date

Link

BSME Network

Arabic for Native Speakers

Arabic

Developing Creativity and Innovation in the Arabic Classroom

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Arabic for non-Native Speakers

Arabic

Assessment in Arabic for Non-Native Speakers

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

English Primary

English Primary

Intervention Strategies | Supporting the Reading of Students in KS1 and 2 Below Age Related Expectations

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

English Secondary

English Secondary

Exam Boards Feedback | Implications for KS3 and 4

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Geography

Geograp hy

Geography | How to Get Top Results in A Level Examinations

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Leadership Matters

Middle and Senior Leaders

Always Coaching: How to Create a Coaching Culture in your School

22nd Sept

Register here

Upcoming CPD available Month by month- Calendar Please see below some Professional Development and separate Networking opportunities

Group

Title

Dept

Description

Date

Link

BSME Network

Maths Primary

Maths Primary

Dancing Maths!

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Maths Secondary

Maths Secondar y

Visual Maths | Using Tech to Support Learning with Manipulatives

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

MFL

MFL

Making Language Lessons More Enjoyable Whilst Improving Student Performance

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

PE

PE

In Conversation with.. Will Swaithes | Curriculum Design in Physical Education

22nd Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Performing Arts

Performing Arts

Accelerated Learning Techniques and Assessment for Learning in the Music Classroom

22nd Sept

Register here

Upcoming CPD available Month by month- Calendar Please see below some Professional Development and separate Networking opportunities

Group

Title

Dept

Description

Date

Link

BSME Network

EYFS

EYFS

Building Learning From Within: Competency-Based Learning and Personal Skills Development in the Early Years

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

More Able Students

Gifted and Talented

The Key Ingredients for Launching a More Able Programme in a School

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Safeguarding & Safer Recruitment

Managemetn

The Role of Referencing in Safer Recruitment

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

SEND

SEND

Inclusion Leadership | Research Evidence

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Sixth Form & Higher Education Pathways

6th Form Teachers

Preparing Students for Life Beyond School

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

EAL

All

Ensuring the Achievement of Newly Arrived EAL Students

27th Sept

Register here

Upcoming CPD available Month by month- Calendar Please see below some Professional Development and separate Networking opportunities

Group

Title

Dept

Description

Date

Link

BSME Network

STEAM

STEAM

Promoting Inquiry, EDI, Student Wellbeing and Success through STEM Simulations in the Hybrid Environment

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Teaching and Learning

All

Computational Thinking | An Approach to Curriculum Design

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

All

The Non-Negotiables | Why DEI Should be Front and Centre in Every British International School

27th Sept

Register here

BSME Network

Data & Assessment

All

How Teachers and Leaders use Live Formative Assessment Data in Order to Inform Interventions and Map Progress in Learning

27th Sept

Register here

Upcoming CPD available Month by month- Calendar Please see below some Professional Development and separate Networking opportunities

Group

Title

Dept

Description

Date

Link

BSME Network

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

All

The Non-Negotiables | Why DEI Should be Front and Centre in Every British International School

27th Sept

Register here

Upcoming CPD available Month by month- Calendar Please see below some Professional Development and separate Networking opportunities

Group

Title

Dept

Description

Date

Link

Internationa l School Services

Best practice for online PE

PE

Due to the rapid change of modality and varied experiences, this process has provided many challenges and barriers.

This session will allow participants to provide their experienced barriers and challenges of online instruction.

register 27th September here

Support 360 and student wellbeing

The start of a new school year is always a time of heightened emotions; for students and teachers alike. For students, it might be the anticipation of different teachers, academic expectations, changes in social groups plus the impact of the natural development they experience as children and young people. For teachers,this might include settling into a new classroom, building relationships with a new group of students and changes in colleague groups.

This year, it’s fair to say that the impact of covid over the last 18 months has amplified this. We know that uncertainty and unpredictability add stress to what may otherwise be a manageable emotional challenge.

We also know that resilience skills can be taught and practiced on a daily basis. In fact, we can look at adversity as an opportunity for growth. This article will present a couple of examples of practical activities that we can use for our own relaxation and also as classroom activities. These are obviously useful for when students have become overwhelmed and are dysregulated but they are also useful for ALL students in developing an effective toolkit of healthy wellbeing practices.

Just as we have a “fight, flight, freeze” response hardwired in our neurological system when we are under threat; we also have a relaxation response which can be developed and strengthened with practice. One of the foundation practices for strengthening this is through breathing practices. Sounds simple… we all know how to breathe!! But actually paying deliberate attention to our breathing is more complex than we might imagine and involves our vagus nerve.

Support 360 and student wellbeing

Approaches to stress management which include breathing exercises have a substantial body of evidence to suggest this can have multiple positive benefits for our physical and mental health (Williams & Penman). Breathing is the essence of life - watch this video representation of planet Earth breathing Watch as these children explain how heightened emotion makes them feel and how they use focused breathing to regulate themselves. Just Breathe.

Try it for yourself - take 4 deep, belly breaths and ensure your exhalation is longer than your inhalation. How does that make you feel?

Another technique we can use to activate a relaxation response is “grounding”.This technique uses all our senses to “ground” us in the present moment and reduce stressful thoughts and feelings. In terms of optimal human functioning, our brains like to be still and our bodies like to be active. Here is a simple graphic that describes this practice.

Coming next issue

If you are interested in writing a short article for our journal please do get in touch via CPD@thebsbh.com The topic can be entirely of your choosing! A strategy that you have implemented, a review of some CPD you have been on, something that is happening in your classroom, teaching and learning, differentiation. The topics are endless!

Perhaps you’ve attended one of the courses on offer and would like to review it? Or you as a department are running some sort of project or trialling new strategies you’d like to share.

We’d just like you to share your experiences with us!

Welcome to Eric - (Education Resources Information Center) provided by the Institute of Education Sciences

Find ERIC by going to eric.ed.gov or thebsbh.follettdestiny.com to search for articles using the library’s search interface (details further down).

How to access Destiny Discover: With Destiny Discover, it’s easier than ever to search various databases from within our library catalogue search, making it easier for you to find education journal articles that are relevant and trustworthy.

ERIC offers journal articles, meeting papers, opinion papers, guides, books and many more types of sources and has a robust advanced search, so you can find what you need easily. With both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles, the database is free to use although some articles might be behind a paywall, however, you can narrow your search to only full-text articles that are available to all.

1.

All staff have logins for the new system and it’s only a matter of signing in using your school email account.

2.

Begin

by

going

to

thebsbh.follettdestiny.com and clicking on “BSB Junior & Senior Library” and then “log-in” in the top-right corner after the page has reloaded*.

3.

Select “Sign in using Google” and use your school email account.

4.

You can perform a search by either clicking on the ERIC bubble or by using the search bar at the top of the page and selecting the Databases tab in the results.

Time to reflect

What are three things from this issue I can implement immediately?

What are three things I can implement in the long-term?

Notable quotes from articles

Is there anything I want to know more about?

Where can I go/Who can I contact for more information on it?