Always Learning – Faculty Pro-D

6 April 2019David McCarthy, Director of Learning

As the students left for break and again as they returned, teachers were involved in days of professional development that focussed our minds around the future of education and adapting our curriculum and pedagogy for today’s learners. In our first session, we were joined by Kari Marken who took us through a series of exercises to help us better understand the teenage brain and how to leverage its potential rather than fight its lack of focus. The workshop drew from the insightful work of Dr Siegel whose book Brainstorm: the Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain looks at all aspects of adolescent brain development and applies these to learning. He presents a useful acronym, ESSENCE (Emotional Spark, Social Engagement, Novelty, Creative Exploration) which summarises the strengths of our students and how to build on them. In light of these ideas, we were encouraged to think of the potential of a new building and to imagine the kinds of learning spaces and activities that it could provide. As students returned from break, we used that travel day to focus on the demands and opportunities offered by BC’s new curriculum with its emphasis on skill development and critical and creative thinking. One group of teachers chose to learn more about the idea of using a “Design Thinking” approach to plan their units of study. We were helped here by facilitator Leslie McBeth from the Future Design School based in Toronto. Her intensive workshop was highly appreciated by teachers who were able to apply the principles of design thinking collaboratively to projects and plans that they will deliver later in the term. Other teachers followed up work begun in January on indigenous perspectives with Dr Shauneen Pete from the University of Victoria. In her keynote address, Dr Pete reminded us of the legacy of colonialism and the need to be active in the process of reconciliation as educators and as individuals. A group of teachers is now actively working on how the school should incorporate indigenous perspectives and principles of learning into our curriculum in an intentional and sustainable manner. David McCarthy – Director of Learning

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