Today I was fortunate to participate in the Evaluator Development Program, part of CIS (the Council of International Schools) incredible commitment to the growth and success of education and educators globally. The session today, led by Paul Topping, was a interesting and thought provoking discussing on High Quality Teaching & Learning. The discussion covered some … Continue reading How do we know children are learning?
Tag: learning
Maths, Inquiry, Maths Programs and Finding Your Way Forward
Maths and the IB PYP do not always feel like they are comfortable partners. It’s an uncomfortable truth to read and acknowledge, and yet, speak to any number of PYP teachers across the world and you’ll find that finding a way to be student led, inquiry based, and yet confident you are equipping every child … Continue reading Maths, Inquiry, Maths Programs and Finding Your Way Forward
Lost Learning or Unmeasured Learning?
Is 'lost learning' the right term? As Covid-19 vaccination programs begin, children in many countries have begun to return to school. This has prompted wide discussion of the consequences of the time spent learning online. Much has been documented about the impact of lost school based learning on the world’s more vulnerable children (UNICEF), the … Continue reading Lost Learning or Unmeasured Learning?
Learning Together While We’re Apart
Tackling the isolating feeling of learning online is a huge challenge for so many of us right now. With millions of children not yet back in school full time (or at all) and learning happening through a mixture of on and offline activities how do we help our children connect with each others as well … Continue reading Learning Together While We’re Apart
Teach Happy: Embedding well being during online learning
As the impact of Covid19 on education continues to be felt around the world, a growing number of educators, thinkers and leaders are calling for a long term reconsideration of the purpose of school. The concept of teaching well being, and happiness, in schools has been steadily gaining traction for a few years. With the … Continue reading Teach Happy: Embedding well being during online learning
Remote Learning and Reading
As it becomes clear that school won't 'return to normal' for a while yet and many of us will be remote or hybrid the pressure on the curriculum continues to mount. Whilst student and staff safety and well-being must come first, some estimates place effective curriculum delivery at anywhere from 30-60%. Certainly for our school, … Continue reading Remote Learning and Reading
A Community Approach to Conferences
Ask any teacher their thoughts on conferences and you’ll likely get a mixed response (even from just one individual). Conferences can be exhausting. Aside from the longer days as teachers stay after school to meet family, they can be mentally and emotionally tiring too. However, we learn so much about our students and their families, … Continue reading A Community Approach to Conferences
No more homework? Finding a way to support learning at home that builds skills and understanding without killing creativity and fun
In the face of a growing sense that homework is not effective for improving learning outcomes in primary age students, many teachers are facing the somewhat difficult question of what to do now. We take a look at the evidence, and the way forward from here. Does Homework Work? Evidence on homework is at best, … Continue reading No more homework? Finding a way to support learning at home that builds skills and understanding without killing creativity and fun
Showcasing Learning in the PYP
It’s about 7:30 in the morning on a Wednesday morning in November and parents who usually drop their kids at the gate are slowly but surely filtering into our school auditorium. Myself and our leadership team are busy greeting parents and directing them one way and their very excited, dressed to the nines kids another. … Continue reading Showcasing Learning in the PYP
Community Engagement: Using Seesaw to help families get involved in learning
Community engagement and building the learning community has been the focus of a lot of discussion, debate and development in the past couple of years - especially with the rise of EdTech. There are many reasons for this, but the changing face of engagement is strongly influenced by two things; Social media - we're used … Continue reading Community Engagement: Using Seesaw to help families get involved in learning