Saturday Onsite Presentation Session 2

International Education Workshop Session

11:25-12:15

69978 | Student-led Professional Development for Teachers – Engaging Student Voice in Professional Learning

Careene McCallum, Hillel Academy (An International School), Jamaica

Lloyd Holmes, Hillel Academy (An International School), Jamaica

An international school is enriched with students from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. This diversity presents opportunities to challenge how we educate, so that learning environments are inclusive and equitable. This can be achieved through a deliberate approach to student agency. Our “Student-led Professional Development (PD) for Teachers” framework challenges schools to reflect and act on this question - is there a willingness to provide a platform for students to engage us about how they learn, their learning activity preferences and what matters most to them?

As Dr. Quaglia notes we have to start ‘viewing students as the potential and not the problem’. If we are to truly empower students we should determine how much prominence we give to students’ voices inside the curriculum. It is important to expand beyond the normative practice of passively and implicitly valuing their voices. This initiative promotes inclusivity as learners are invited to dialogue on what best supports their learning and interests. The workshop will be focused on sharing the framework for student-led PD for teachers and will provide evidence of its impact on our school. We will also share this initiative’s relevance to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 - “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Participants will gain innovative and enlightening perspectives on how deliberate actions can have profound and long-lasting effects on student empowerment, building a learning community, refocusing teacher mindset and rethinking systemic norms.