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How 173 Teachers Spent Their Spring Break Learning, Sharing, and Honing Their Craft. W hile students and families were on spring break, the SCIS-HIS faculty were invited to take part in the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) Annual Teachers’ Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. The SCIS-HIS Board of Directors generously invited all returning teachers to travel to Thailand for the weekend. Teachers attended professional development sessions provided by quality trainers and teachers from around the East Asia region, focused on making connections between pedagogy and the classroom. In all, 173 SCIS-HIS Faculty members took advantage of this professional development opportunity and traveled to Bangkok to take part in the learning and interaction.
The 12th EARCOS Teachers’ Conference featured three keynote speakers with Mark Polansky, Yong Zhao, and Catherine Steiner-Adair. The overarching theme for the conference was “The Science of Learning – Service of Learning.” With 110 different sessions for the faculty members to join, as well as job-a-like sessions and information coffee break meetings with staff members from other schools, it was a great opportunity to establish collaboration, communication, and connections across not only the three SCIS-HIS schools, but also with schools from around the EARCOS region. Opportunities abounded for faculty members to attend sessions based on the concepts of Service Learning, Science, Technology, Math, Social Studies, Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Counseling, and General Education Strands…just to name a few. SCIS-HIS faculty members enjoyed the distinction of belonging to the largest group from one school at EARCOS, and often commented on the positives of walking into a particular session and meeting several colleagues from the three SCIS-HIS campuses. The conversations that developed out of the excitement from learning and applying new knowledge will be invaluable in the coming months. When faculty members share ideas, connections, and plans, the students and the community in general, benefits. The conclusion of the EARCOS Teachers’ Conference was not the end of learning for the SCIS-HIS staff. The following day, they took part in the SCIS-HIS EARCOS Learn and Share session that allowed faculty to continue to build connections and transfer their learning with their colleagues. At the Grand Postal Building, small groups of
SCIS-HIS teachers presented highlights from one pre-selected session they had attended at the EARCOS conference. The opportunity to discuss with small groups of teachers from other campuses was beneficial to encourage interaction and immediate application to each teacher’s own classroom. They were able to highlight the relevance of the sessions they attended and how it might apply to their own settings. In keeping with our environmental ethic, staff were encouraged to share their information on the Microsoft OneDrive so that all staff members could access this information when they returned to Shanghai. Following an afternoon social, many teachers left Bangkok to go explore a variety of locations around Asia and the world during their Spring Break. However, the opportunity to learn and share with colleagues was invaluable, and provided a quality opportunity for faculty, administrators, and others to develop important connections for future sharing. All who attended enjoyed the opportunity that SCIS-HIS provided for them. When teachers were asked to share “takeaway” ideas they could implement in their own classrooms, the ideas and topics were full of promise for the SCIS-HIS classroom: “I can encourage creativity in my classroom by using things I’m already passionate about.” “How to better use data on a daily basis rather than by unit or quarter.” “Expert teachers purposefully link learning and teaching through developing and working with a framework that informs and directs their practice.” “Third Culture Kids experience some of the same challenges as teachers who live abroad and move from country to country.” “I’ve taken away a renewed sense of enthusiasm!” “I learned a lot about how I will better differentiate tiered teaching in the Math classroom.” “I love the learning spaces workshop and I think I will try to rearrange my classroom space to make it more fun and accessible to all students.” By JESSAMINE KOENIG Hongqiao Campus High School Vice Principal By LYNN PENDLETON Hongqiao Campus Lower School Vice Principal 31