Teacher Led Workshops

Project Based Learning can engage all students, but might seem a bit overwhelming to implement. Participants will learn how to get started with Project Based Learning ways that are manageable for both students and teachers new to PBL. Participants will examine sample project designs to learning essential components for design and brainstorm possible project ideas for classroom implementation.

“Participants will understand the difference between project based learning and “”doing projects.” Participants will learn tips to start on smaller moderate projects that are not overwhelming to teacher and student.
Participants will the essential design components to make any project engaging.

Participants will brainstorm a possible PBL project idea.” Participants will engage in video analysis of sample projects, evaluate project “cards” using a checklist, and share questions at the beginning through a driving question to solicit participant questions or “need to knows.” While there may be direct instruction, participants will also engage in short pair or team discussions along the way. Participants will also create a project design idea.

Andrew Miller is an Instructional Coach at the Shanghai American School in China, coaching with an emphasis on Assessment, Project Based Learning, and Teacher Leadership. He also serves on the National Faculty for the Buck Institute for Education and ASCD.. He has worked with educators in the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, India, Mexico, Kuwait and the Dominican Republic. Andrew is an avid blogger and writer for a variety of organizations including ASCD and Edutopia.

Participants will learn metacognitive strategies that inspire student confidence and cultivate authentic voice. They will understand how technology can be integrated to make thinking visible. Through a workshop based model, participants will experience sketchnoting, vlogging and gain an understanding of how visible thinking practices empower student voice and achievement. “

Andrea Khambalia has been an International Educator for 14 years, having taught middle school language arts, social studies and humanities in Spain, Brazil and Bulgaria. She has also been involved in the performing arts, directing theatre productions and choreographing high school musicals.

Currently, Andrea is teaching 7th and 8th grade social studies at Saigon South International School. Inspired by students’ creativity, she designs learning experiences that incorporate design thinking, visual literacy and visible thinking routines. Andrea challenges her students to imagine, explore, problem-solve, discern and seek innovative solutions to issues of local and global significance providing an authentic audience.”

“Gain an understanding of a professional development process using Discovery Cards as catalysts for professional conversations
Reflect on opportunities for the use of the Discovery Card Coaching cycle for your organization.
Gain inspiration from the powerful learning experiences at Shanghai American School” “Examine sample Discovery Cards to unpack how to curate and celebrate work.
Participants will unpack a Discovery Card coaching cycle.
Engage in dialogue with like-minded educators on professional development best practices.” Scott Williams is an Instructional Coach at Shanghai American School. He had extensive experience teaching in international schools in Japan, India and China. He is passionate about technology, team building, and curriculum development. He is an expert in the work of Cognitive Coaching and Adaptive schools and how to empower educators to grow professionally.

“Participants will understand how a Squishy Circuit works.
Participants will know how to apply the Harvard thinking routine in future lessons.
Participants will be able to connect Squishy Circuits with Art.
This is a practical workshop. Participants will have a hands on experience and will be able to explore “squishy circuits” in a fun way.
Participants will use a Harvard thinking routine to explore Squishy Circuits.
Participants will be shown some examples of how Squishy Circuits were used in a Year 3/ Grade 2 classroom to enhance scientific thinking.
Participants will be shown the next steps of how Squishy Circuits can be taken further and connect with making.
May Li studied Educational Technology in both Bachelor and Master program, and graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2013 and currently works at Renaissance College Hong Kong. She is excited to see how technology empowers students’ creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking, and devotes herself to helping teachers and students to enhance their teaching and learning with technology.
Leigh Thomas has been a Primary School teacher for 15 years. She is passionate about integrating technology into the classroom. Leigh is also excited about integrating technology with Makers Education and has seen first hand how this creates a community of makers who are problem solvers, critical thinkers, communicators and collaborators.

Devices at home are proliferating. Both those for personal use and those for school use. At CIS we have actively engaged parents in teaching them how to manage device usage of their children in age appropriate ways. We would like to share what we do at CIS to help create a community where parents look to us as partners in helping children learn how to manage device usage. We will share everything we do with our parents, and our staff, in helping students learn how to manage devices to encourage Digitally Enhanced Learning, and not Digitally Hindered Learning. Participants will be given an opportunity to share what they do, what they might want to do, and we will try and advise based on our 7 years of doing this within our community.

Maninder Kalsi is the ICT Secondary Facilitator at Chinese International School. He works with parents, students and staff to help integrate technology into the home and classroom so that learning is enhanced and not hindered. He, along with his colleague, work closely with staff to help children use devices smartly and to raise awareness of issues of Netiquette, Mental Health, Cyberbullying, Multi-tasking Issues, Sexting, Online addictions of gaming, explicit material and social media, information literacy, digital compass, digital citizenship and implementation of devices for effective learning.

Participants will…
– understand how ePortfolios are an effective tool for making learning visible.
– see practical examples of how to embed the use of ePortfolios in their curriculum for a variety of learning outcomes, including writing for authentic audiences.
– develop the skills necessary for creation, publication, and reflection via ePortfolios. ” Using the ISM Little Hero Story Project and Poetry Podcast Project as models, participants will create their own ePortfolio via Google Sites using a provided template. They will use a variety of Google Apps and media to learn how to embed work into their site, honing the skills needed to accomplish each learning outcome (creation, publication, reflection) in the session. While the sample projects are ELA-oriented, the skills and concepts in this session can easily be applied to nearly any discipline.

Alexa is a High School IB English teacher at the International School Manila, and before that was a Middle School Humanities teacher in New York. While teaching in NYC, she worked with the Columbia TC Student Press Initiative, an experience that fostered her belief in the power of students of all ages writing for authentic audiences. Technology plays a vital role in her teaching practice because it affords students opportunities to express their learning in a variety of modes and mediums. She has presented at the GAFE Summit in the Philippines and was a featured presenter at the AES Delhi iPad Summit.

“Participants will have increased awareness of the ubiquitous presence and impact of social media – especially for students under legal age for account ownership
Participants will explore a social media learning platform that builds digital citizenship awareness” “* Awareness of social media restrictions for underage users
* Awareness of commonly used social media apps
* Awareness of online options for social media replication e.g. Oxwall

Description:
“Making Fakebook” explores the issues of digital citizenship and social media education and introduces a unique solution for upper elementary and middle school students: a school-managed social media “”sandbox”” that replicates the features of Facebook. Participants will explore the critical issues of social media then login, explore the Fakebook site and learn how they can create a similar, low-cost site for their school. “

David is currently the Middle School ICT Coach at Saigon South International School, HCMC, Vietnam. He is passionate about helping teachers develop the skills, strategies and understandings necessary to use ICTs to create authentic and engaging learning experiences for students. Prior to becoming a technology integration specialist, David was a classroom practitioner with extensive experience in middle school and elementary school.

“This session aims to empower educators to create the future they want to see in schools. Participants will learn about the planning process and the Agile Development approach that drove the curricular transformations in fourth grade at Saigon South International School. They will understand the challenges that we considered as solvable or difficult to overcome, and how we collaboratively strategized and designed an innovative curriculum. Participants will walk away with resources and ideas, inspired to transform curriculum in their own schools.

Using a design thinking approach, this session will provide an opportunity for participants to explore and redefine their units of study in ways that spark innovation, harness internal capacities, and boost community agency. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore how project management methodologies from the world of software startups may provide a good framework for launching your Moonshot in education. Participants will discuss and share their thinking and leave with fresh ideas and methodologies to take back to their schools.

Alfredo: Alfredo is the Elementary School Technology Coach at Saigon South International School. His interests and abilities lie primarily in the area of Physical Computing, multimedia creation and computer languages. He has had the opportunity to teach students of different levels, nationalities and academic backgrounds in the UK, Spain, the Philippines, China and Vietnam.
An Apple Distinguished Educator, part of his work at SSIS focuses on helping teachers authentically embed innovative pedagogies and emerging technologies in the classroom to create a global and collaborative learning environment.

Melanie: Melanie Sylvester is a Grade 4 classroom teacher at Saigon South International School. Teaching in Canada, Oman, Jordan and now Vietnam, has fuelled her passion about students as global citizens. Inquiry, integration and the importance of motivating students lie at the heart of her teaching. She has her Math Specialist in International Schools certification, has completed the COETAIL program and has completed the Mindful Schools teacher training. She is a lifelong learner, with a mixed bag of experience. Melanie is passionate about igniting student learning, collaborating with others and innovating in the classroom.
“

The access to poetry online and the rise in performance poetry has not only dramatically changed the landscape of this genre, but has allowed for a broader online audience for student voices and for more robust ways for students to take the mic in their hand. Still, a live audience is often best. Thus, participants will delve into lively, engaging ways to empower student voices and curate creativity in their classrooms, on their school’s stage, and online. They will leave with the ability to lead some fun writing activities, to run a poetry slam, and where they can access online poetry resources. In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to some easy, fun poetry writing activities, write a bit, watch some great performance poetry, and learn about the history of the poetry slam and the rules for running a proper slam. We will also look at a variety of online resources regarding performance poetry, poetry competitions, and publishing online.

Andrea earned a BA in English and Native American Studies and a Masters in Secondary English Education from the University of Minnesota, and is a U.S. National Boards Certified Teacher. Andrea has taught at Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Taipei American School, in Taipei Taiwan, and is currently teaching at the International School Manila, where she teaches High School English and serves as the Extended Essay Coordinator. In all three locations, she has worked with local writers and poets, run poetry slams, and coached forensics. Andrea is a contributing author to Oxford University Press publication of Perspectives on Planning Teacher Companion, English A: Language and Literature. Andrea is also an avid poet and poetry connoisseur.

This session will be a highly energetic and interactive session that begins to push educators to think about new “spaces” or opportunities for empowerment in their home schools. Participants will be facilitated through a Rapid Design Challenge resulting in a tangible prototype, and a ton of exciting ideas on how they can empower students at their home school. JUMP Facilitators will model facilitation that encourages participant-driven experiences.

“Participants will have the opportunity to explore technology to create digital learning environments.

The digital language has the potential to transform teaching-learning contexts, offering children a new way to represent their thoughts and theories about the world.
” “Participants will develop an understanding about:

*How to use Digital Landscapes to enhance students’ learning
*How to engage children in the exploration of technology as a language of expression of their ideas and thoughts
*How to enhance students’ creativity as they construct new connections between thoughts and digital tools.
” Name: Lola Alvarez Hometown/Country: Barranquilla, Colombia Where you live now: Shanghai, China Educational background: I am a Reggio Emilia-Inspired educator with a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the Universidad del Norte in Colombia and a Master’s in Science from Buffalo State University of New York. Previous work experience: I have 33 years of teaching experience, including China, Egypt and Colombia Subject & Campus you teach: Early Childhood Education, Preschool

Participants will learn the 4-step process which clarifies how to take your students from not having a clue what they might be passionate about to igniting their learning! Participants will go through the proces of a PaBL by Producing a Hook, Identifying, Connecting, and Sharing their passions within their core subject curriculum. “Tony Wagner defines Innovation as the process of problem solving and being creative at the same time. One without the other is not innovative.

I love being INNOVATIVE and add another part to Tony’s definition. It is the ability to add the most VALUE to others. Thus, it starts with a PAIN/Problem, then using creativity to remix old ideas in new ways, and then providing a solution that adds the most value to others.

This can take on many forms, from helping teachers enhance student learning with tools (sometimes with technology, sometimes not) to helping students/teachers identify and connect their passions with learning. “

Reflection is an integral part of the learning process that can benefit both teacher and learner by providing opportunities to check understanding and engage and motivate learners. In this session, participants will understand how the use of ‘thinking routines’ can help students develop deeper reflection about their learning. “Participants will…
*explore several “thinking routines” strategies and examples for reflection from Making Thinking Visible and DeBono’s 6 Thinking Hats that are applicable
*discuss and plan for the application of ‘thinking routines’ in their own classrooms.” Diana is an international educator with over 20 years experience as a teacher, mentor and coach in the United States, Japan, China and Qatar. Her participation in the the COETAIL (Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy) program sparked a new, excited interest in the impact of technology on education which led to new opportunities for her in professional sharing and support. Diana facilitates professional learning sessions on a variety of topics including assessment, digital portfolios, digital storytelling, blogs, reflection, and coaching. She has a Masters in Education, is a graduate of and now online instructor for the COETAIL program and also facilitates an online coaching course for Eduro Learning.

Learn what it takes to start a drone club at your school. Learn policies, procedures, and what types of drones may work best for your school. David Navis is an innovation coach at the American International School of Guangzhou. Over the past year, With the help and input of students, they have developed a drone club program at the school. Their focus has been to adopted a Drones for Good program. The club builds and flies drones for arial photography, racing, helping the community, and just for fun. Come learn about drones in this session.

Participants will learn various ways they can reach out to teachers/staff to share information. This is intended for learning/tech coaches who find it difficult to share new resources, ideas, news, tips. Getting teachers’ attention is hard when they are so busy and receive so much e-mail so I would like to share some of the ways they can do that digitally. Participants will learn the first steps of how to make attractive digital emails and newsletters using MailChimp and Office 365 SWAY. They will also learn about the benefit of a school Twitter hashtag and how social media is an awesome tool for sharing. I will also share how we use Office 365 Yammer at AISG to communicate with one another. My name is Tanya LeClair and I am originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, but have been teaching overseas for the last 7 years. Currently, I am the Elementary Innovation Coach at the American International School of Guangzhou. I spend my days working with teachers on preparing and facilitating awesome lessons. Some of my favorite topics are MakerEd, early years coding, and graphic design. When i’m not at work I enjoy travel, spending time with friends and family, and anything outdoors!

Participants will be able to develop a basic understanding of coding through mathematics. This will enable teachers to create tasks that will allow their students to explore mathematics through coding. Considering no software or hardware installation is required and that they are able to see their product instantly, participants will appreciate the ease and convenience of programming using nothing but their internet browsers. Through completing tasks that are originally designed for students, participants will have the ability to create lines of codes used to program a computer. Participants will also be able to develop short programming tasks which will provide students a different way to learn mathematics.

Aaron was originally from Vancouver and is currently teaching IB MYP and DP Mathematics at Renaissance College Hong Kong. He holds a Bachelor in Commerce and M.Ed in Mathematics Education. While it’s easy to ask students to flip to a page in their textbooks to complete X number of questions, Aaron is always finding ways to make his math lessons more engaging and interactive. He has tested, evaluated and provided training for various learning platforms to his department. Aaron is passionate and enthusiastic about integrating and critiquing new technology. When he’s not teaching, Aaron enjoys travelling, trying different cuisines, and interior designing.

“Participants will learn how teaching of mathematical strategies, can be enhanced and furthered with SeeSaw & Padlet.
Participants will understand how the integration of SeeSaw & Padlet in their classroom can lead to valuable formative assessment data collection.” “Participants will create engaging mathematical lessons using a Seesaw or Padlet.
AND/OR
Participants will develop ICT integrated formative assessments tasks.” Sarah, Kathryn and Tom are Elementary School teachers at the International School of Beijing. They are all passionate about teaching Math (having completed a range of MSIS courses) and love integrating technology into their lessons.

Sarah, Kathryn and Tom are Elementary School teachers at the International School of Beijing. They are all passionate about teaching Math (having completed a range of MSIS courses) and love integrating technology into their lessons.

Participants will explore how they currently interact with students: – Do I allow students to plan, problem solve, reflect, and make decisions OR do I just jump in to correct, fix, consult, and give directions I hope they will follow? – Do I focus on strategies they can take with them to future work OR do I talk about things that only pertain to this one product? – Do I ask open-ended questions and listen OR do I do all the talking and telling? – Am I asking kids to be metacognitive about their thinking and learning OR do I skip that part? Participants will learn ways to structure their conferences to promote a focus on metacognition, strategies they can transfer beyond this one product, student interest, decision making, and reflection. Participants will learn strategies around paraphrasing and posing questions to promote students exploring their thinking.