Newsletter May
2024
Welcome to The Bridge
In this issue The Bridge introduces Dr Karen Taylor, the new website and upcoming events
The Bridge Website
The Bridge website is now live at: https://thebridge.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/
We will keep the site updated with courses, news, resources and opportunities. If you would like to get involved – whether creating, co-developing or leading teachmeets, workshops or courses; developing a research project or simply signing up for communications or benefitting from anything that the Bridge has to offer, please get in touch via thebridge@ wellingtoncollege.org.uk
We hope that you enjoy the site and we welcome all feedback at thebridge@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
Dr Karen Taylor
We are hugely excited to welcome Dr Karen Taylor to The Bridge team in October 2024 as Head of Educational Research. She is well known and highly respected in the field, and brings a wealth of expertise to work with our schools and teachers.
Dr. Karen Taylor is an accomplished educator and Director of Education at the International School of Geneva (Ecolint). She earned her PhD in history from Georgetown University and taught in the Liberal Studies Degree program there until 2008. Dr. Taylor's research focuses on Global Citizenship Education, drawing from her expertise in eighteenth-century women's education and Enlightenment concepts of virtue and citizenship.
At Ecolint, Dr. Taylor leads pedagogical development across eight schools, collaborating with leading universities and schools to innovate teaching practices. She co-founded the Research Informed Practice
in Education (RIPE) network, fostering collaborative research between academics and practitioners to advance teaching methods in diverse cultural contexts. Passionate about inclusive pedagogy, Dr. Taylor contributes to research on coteaching for inclusion with organizations like Next Frontier Inclusion and the United Nations International School in Hanoi. Her work exemplifies a dedication to inclusive education and research-informed teaching, impacting not only Ecolint but also shaping educational practices globally.
The 7 Success Factors for Instructional Coaching: Summarising 25 Years of Research
Dr. Jim Knight
We at The Bridge are excited to be able to bring Dr. Jim Knight for a 1 day Instructional Coaching Summit at St Crispin’s School, Wokingham on 3rd July. Don’t confuse the amazingly low cost with lack of quality: we have a long and fruitful partnership with Jim, so he and we are subsidising this, and we wanted to make it possible for minimal outlay and greatest impact.
There is widespread misinformation and misrepresentation about Coaching in general, and about Instructional Coaching in particular. This summit aims to provide exceptional insight directly from the person who understands it the best.
For more than 25 years, Jim Knight and his colleagues have been developing, refining, and studying instructional coaching. In The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching, Jim has summarised research in seven success factors that need to be a part of any successful coaching programme.
In this interactive presentation, Jim will discuss each factor, explain why it is essential for success, and explain how it can be implemented.
Included in the event price of £30 per person:
Participants will each receive a copy of The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching: Seven factors for success (UK edition) as well as the Participant Guide
Lunch and refreshments.
Minibus shuttle transport service available to and from Wokingham Train Station.
Places are limited so book now to avoid disappointment.
Booking link: https:// www.eventsforce.net/ thebridge
Looking forward to the 2024 Festival of Education
The 14th Festival of Education takes place in the beautiful surroundings of Wellington College on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th July. We look forward to welcoming over 5000 educators from a variety of different backgrounds to celebrate the best and most up-to-date educational thinking, practice and research.
We partner with experts in specific fields to bring such content together; we protect and elevate their autonomy, and we appreciate the clarity and honesty that emerges.
We are incredibly grateful as always to our strand partners this year:
Content strands this year include:
• AI from the classroom to the boardroom
• Great Teaching
• Cognitive Science
• Weaving the golden thread of CPD
• Pride in Education
• Coaching
• Sustainability
• Shaping stronger governance
• Oracy
• Well-being and Retention
• Rebuilding a culture of attendance
• Human Rights across the curriculum
• Race to the top
• SEND
• Engendering equality
• Assessment
In addition there is an incredible variety of keynotes, which are about to be announced in the coming days as this newsletter is written.
You can find more details here: https://educationfest. co.uk For the best and most accurate view of the programme as we approach the Festival, it is best to download the dedicated Festival of Education app from your preferred provider. It has the added benefit of serving all of the Festivals around the world.
The Festival LinkedIn profile is https://www.linkedin.com/ company/the-festival-of-education/ - follow us to get regular updates of content.
You can also get updates on X at https://twitter.com/ EducationFest
If you prefer Instagram we are here: https://www. instagram.com/educationfestuk/ or Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/EducationFest/
Tickets are still available here or at https://educationfest. co.uk/tickets/
Festival of Education China
For the first time, The Bridge and EducationScape worked with Wellington College China to organise the China Festival, which took place on 20th April at Wellington College International School Shanghai with the theme of “Empowering Learners for a Connected World”. Over 750 attendees enjoyed a rich mix of sessions, including content strands on Well-being, Great Teaching, Leadership, Future of Education and many more.
We were delighted to welcome Jassa Ahluwalia for his inspiring keynote on “#Bothnothalf: fostering belonging in a divided world”: a fabulous exploration of identity in a multicultural society, which went viral after his Ted Talk, and which resonated with so many of the audience.
Mr Wan Wei, Chief Executive Master of Shanghai Pinghe School, delivered an equally thought-provoking talk “In the AI era, is it better to be a generalist or a specialist?”
The Festival is partly delivered in Chinese, but mainly in English, so the use of instant translation headsets was both widespread and appreciated! The unmistakeable Festival feel, including street food and live music, helped to complement the quality of the educational thought leadership and CPD on show.
The highlights video is here: https:// vimeo.com/937541255
Upcoming Events
Festivals of Education:
Crowthorne – 4th and 5th July 2024 (speaker application closed: ticket sales live. 2000 free tickets available to state schools) Washington DC – 28th September 2024 (Speaker application and Early Bird tickets open) Bangkok – 9th November 2024 (Speaker application and Early Bird tickets open)
Series: What works well?
Developing positive classroom cultures: What Works Well in Wellington College International School Bangkok – presented by Charlotte Baxendale & Cate Hamilton - 28th May; 15.45-16.45 (CST) Facilitated by: Fiona Carter - Link: Join the meeting now (Meeting ID: 457 923 933 138 Passcode: BwHVwu)
An inquiry journey in Key Stage 1: What Works Well in Wellington College International Tianjin – presented by Joshua Pearce & Jonathan Eloff - Thurs 13th June; 15.45-16.45 (CST) Facilitated by: Kirsty Anderson - Link: Join the meeting now (Meeting ID: 483 916 257 710 Passcode: SdWnMc)
Courses: The Bridge is pleased to promote these Wellington College Teaching Alliance courses, with many thanks to Lindsay Gowland Foundational Coaching – Book now for 3rd and 6th June 2024
Advanced Coaching – Book now for 7th and 13th June 2024
Wellington College Leadership and Coaching Institute is running the following exciting course, which the Bridge is also pleased to promote:
Educational leadership for flourishing founded on character – Book now for 13th–14th June 2024
Day 1: Thursday 13th June 2024: Educational leadership for flourishing founded on character – Wellington College, Berkshire, UK. Day 2: Friday 14th June 2024: Leadership for flourishing founded on character – Worcester College, University of Oxford, UK.
This conference will reimagine leadership as empowering human flourishing. We will build on both the extensive academic research regarding the power of leadership to impact individuals, organizations, societies, and ecosystems; and on the scientific and philosophical work on the nature and drivers of ecosystem-wide flourishing.
We aim to apply recent research to integrate the science and philosophy of flourishing with the art and science of leadership, and take flourishing to scale in organizations globally. Our 2024 conference will focus on the role of and development of character that empowers flourishing at all levels.
We will build upon the work of the Leadership for Flourishing group, which is a part of the Flourishing Network at The Human Flourishing Program, at Harvard University’s Institute of Quantitative Social Sciences, the Wellington Leadership & Coaching Institute at The Bridge, Wellington College, and Global Social Leaders.
Conference principles
• The purpose of leadership is ecosystem-wide flourishing
• Anyone can lead because anyone can improve flourishing
• Love is key in both leadership and flourishing for individuals, organizations and societies globally
• Character is foundational to leadership for flourishing
Dr Jim Knight - The 7 Success Factors for Instructional Coaching: Summarising 25 Years of Research 3rd July 2024, with special thanks to St Crispin's School for hosting.
The Bridge
Wellington College
Dukes Ride
Crowthorne
RG45 7PT
Phone: +44 (0)1344 444 238
Email: thebridge@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
Website: thebridge.wellingtoncollege.org.uk