Secondary PD

“Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn” ——John Cotton Dana

 

This quote reflects the goal of XLIS this year. We are committed to providing time and resources for teachers to engage in collaborative work, which gives them time to reflect on their practice and set personal improvement goals. On Friday, 17th February, our Secondary teachers spent a whole day working together mapping the ATL skills. ATL skills are the umbrella that covers all three programmes, and they enable students to hone skills that will make them more confident and ready to face the world. Teachers develop those skills as we work together; collaboration is vital to improvement.

 

The day started with a warmup activity to get all teachers to work together. After that, Ms Quinlan, the Secondary Principal, briefly introduced the PD and explained the objectives for the day. The PD aligns with the Standard in Programme Standards and Practices, most specifically:

 

STANDARD: Designing a coherent curriculum (0401)

 

PRACTICE 1

Coherent curriculum 1: The school plans and implements a coherent curriculum that organizes learning and teaching within and across the years of its IB programme(s). (0401-01)

 

Coherent curriculum 1.1

The school designs its curriculum in accordance with programme documentation. (0401-01-0100)

 

Coherent curriculum 1.2

The school articulates its curriculum horizontally and vertically. (0401-01-0200)

 

Coherent curriculum 1.4

The school provides collaborative planning time for teachers to incorporate IB philosophy into the curriculum. (0401-01-0400)

 

MYP

Coherent curriculum 1: The school plans and implements a coherent curriculum that organizes learning and teaching within and across the years of its IB programme(s). (0401-01)

 

Our facilitators, Mr. Ghosh, Mr. Welch and Ms. Yang, guided the activities for the day. Ms. Yang shared the work she has been doing with the MYP1 & 2 on ATL skills and stated that the skills had been understood well. Mr. Ghosh, our DP Coordinator, explained the alignment of what we will do with what we have already covered in our previous PD -moving from BICS to CALP, thus creating continuity in our professional development.

 

The first part of the morning was spent in subject groups where teachers worked collaboratively to map the different ATL skills across the years. We then had a session where a department representative shared their chart and explained their findings after doing this activity. This session enabled us, teachers, to see the trend and identify the gaps in teaching the skills.

 

Afternoon Session: In the afternoon, teachers used their charts from the morning session to map the ATLs across the subjects and years. At the end of this exercise, we analyzed the chart and identified trends and gaps. The next step will be continuous development of the implementation of the ATL skills and ensuring that we are teaching all skills by the end of MYP5.

 

The day was very productive; teachers left the room with a clearer understanding of the ATL subskills and their relationship to our teaching and learning.

 

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Effective learning methods are crucial for improving students’ learning ability. Through discussing ATL skills with subject teachers in the training, we will continue to reflect on how to drive students to use these skills and become lifelong learners.

——Eunice Hou （DP and MYP Chinese Language & Literature Teacher, Secondary Chinese  Lead Teacher, TOK Teacher）

 

ATL skills are an important part of the modern student’s toolbox. These transferrable skills will stay with them long after they leave XLIS, enter university and move to the workplace. Teamwork, leadership, problem solving and communication are all among the most desirable skills employers seek in 2023 which align beautifully with the ATL skills. Looking to the future, practicing empathy, building resilience and digital literacy are increasingly important for the workplace of the future. All are being taught and practiced at XLIS.

——Kevin McGarry （MYP Physical and Health Education Teacher, CAS Coordinator, High School Lead Teacher）

 

The most powerful learning for me was by embracing effective learning strategies, student success can involve both the development of individual skills and subject-specific knowledge. Thinking strategies such as visible thinking routines assist students to focus their attention on certain concepts and ultimately develop high order thinking skills. In the classroom, making thinking more explicit would provide students with opportunities to think more clearly.

——Matthew Lu （MYP Chinese Language Acquisition and Language & Literature Teacher）

 

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Author:

Jaimala Quinlan ( Secondary Principal)