Join me in celebrating the enduring power of storytelling in education. This professional development workshop is designed to provide educators with a comprehensive understanding of fairy tales, from their historical roots to modern retellings.
Over the course of 2 hours, participants will explore the form and structure of fairy tales, explore gender stereotypes and examine why this is important, and discuss the portrayal of iconic characters such as Cinderella, Beasts, and Water Women. The workshop will also highlight the link between feminist interpretations and contemporary retellings, offering a different perspective on these timeless stories. Participants will engage in interactive activities, including re-writing fairy tales and reimagining character archetypes, fostering creativity and critical thinking.
Finally, the workshop will encourage colleagues to share their favourite Fairy Tale, provide some ideas for reference texts and sources, and suggest ways in which fairy tales could be incorporated into various subject areas, demonstrating their cross-curricular relevance and versatility in pedagogy. The aim of this workshop is to foreground the importance of Traditional Tales and to encourage educators to use the magic of fairy tales to inspire students and promote inclusivity.
Two educators trained in Systems Thinking tools and by the Institute for Humane Education, will turn up the volume on how you think about real-world problem solving in your scope as an educator.
All students need to have experiences with systems, critical, creative, and strategic thinking. By providing tools for teaching this thinking skills, as well as student example from around the globe, we hope to empower a wider range of teachers to incorporate real-world problem solving.
This workshop will lead participants through one intentionally small campuses journey of reimagine the way the Learning Response Team (learning support teachers, counsellors/ pastoral leaders) with teachers to support student learning and wellbeing. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about their own context via this case study and be provided with an action plan that utilises a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) approach to tailoring learning and behaviour support within a school that is transferrable into any school system. Additionally, we will explore change management connected to teacher and administration’s mindsets of the learning response team and how to measure the impact of interventions.
The Humanizing Pedagogy Committee from the International School Anti-Discrimination Task Force (ISADTF) published sets of commitments for schools and educators to guide development of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy. Learn about these guidelines and how to use them to enhance your approach to teaching in culturally responsive and sustaining ways. This research-informed guidance was co-constructed by international school educators across the globe. This session is for all educators and pedagogical leaders interested in putting into practice inclusive practices that value fairness, access, inclusion, and representation. Join this interactive session for an opportunity to enhance your approaches to teaching.
Session Description: Creating a structured, engaging classroom environment is essential for student success. In this interactive session, teachers will explore and practice high-impact teaching strategies that can be seamlessly integrated into their daily lessons. Participants will engage in hands-on activities and collaborative discussions to practice the following strategies: - Classroom Structure and Beginning Class: Using seating charts for classroom management, posting clear objectives, and implementing bell-ringer activities to activate prior knowledge (e.g., KWL charts). - Middle of Class: Utilizing graphic organizers to structure learning, explicitly teaching key vocabulary for improved comprehension, and applying Rosenshine’s “Checking for Understanding” techniques. - End of Class: Reinforcing learning by reviewing homework, ensuring students record assignments, and using exit tickets to assess understanding. Additionally, the session will emphasize the importance of classroom routines in fostering a positive learning environment. Teachers will leave with practical strategies that can be implemented immediately to enhance student engagement and achievement.
In this presentation, I will be sharing and demonstrating some of the methods I use in my Grades 6 -10 Design classes to meaningfully integrate AI image generator tools in my units. During the course of the presentation, I will share some of the instruction sheets I have prepared, some of the templates I have created and the outcomes of the processes in the form of anonymized student examples.
This will be useful for teachers from a wide range of backgrounds and grade levels, be it in the primary or in secondary school.
A document with links to all the tools discussed will be provided and I will be demonstrating the use of most of these tools discussed. This is a hands-on session and participants are encouraged to bring their Devices.
Some of the tools that will be discussed are:
Fobizz Image generation using DALLE -2 Image generation using DALLE -3 Image generation using Stable Diffusion
16:00-17:00 Session 1: Focus on: Several exercises that support loosening up, get to know each other, and voice training exercises.
17:00-17:15: Coffee Break
17:15-18:15 Session 2: Focus on: Exercises for speaking in public and for bigger crowds. Practicing several techniques in the group, using real life cases to practice. Evaluation.
In this interactive workshop, educators will explore Dean Qigong techniques to help students manage anxiety. From exam stress to social pressures, anxiety can deeply affect a student’s well-being and academic performance. By integrating Qigong practices into the classroom, teachers can provide a holistic method to support students in overcoming these challenges. Participants will learn specific Qigong exercises designed to regulate energy, calm the mind, and restore balance. The focus will be on meditative movements, breathing techniques, and energy cultivation to promote a grounded and peaceful state. These practices can be adapted for students of all ages and backgrounds, offering simple yet effective tools to reduce anxiety and build resilience. By the end of the workshop, educators will have practical experience guiding students through Qigong exercises to manage stress, improve focus, and foster emotional well-being—tools that can be easily integrated into the school day.
The ISA collaborative and co-teaching journey will be used as a case study to discuss the opportunities and challenges we have experienced over the past ten years. Topics addressed will include: approaches to collaboration, communicating to stakeholders, establishing shared resources, classroom setup. Additionally, we will share how collaborative practice has informed our plans for a new campus.
In many language acquisition classes, students often revert to using a common language, such as English, when interacting with peers. This workshop addresses the challenge of increasing the use of the target language in student-student interactions. In this workshop, attendees will gain insights from research and strategies implemented mainly in German language acquisition classes (with some Spanish/English examples). The goal is to share effective materials and techniques to encourage consistent use of the target language, such as such as chat mats, self-assessment rubrics, surveys, contracts, sentence builders, and rejoinders to foster a more immersive language environment.
