Professional Growth Opportunities: A Year in Review
Middle Schoolers dropping tennis balls off the balcony is not a part of physical education, but rather they are calculating math problems, the vertical motion model to be exact. After attending the youcubed conference at Stanford University last year, the Middle School math department was so inspired that they immediately made shifts to the math curriculum when they returned to school. Then in the 2017–2018 academic year, they implemented a full course change.
The conference featured Jo Boaler, professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and the faculty director of youcubed, an online resource for teachers, parents and students to inspire all students with open, creative mindset mathematics. Amy Rohrbach, Middle School math department chair and Grades 7–8 math teacher, Pam Madigan, Grade 8 math teacher and Andy D’Avanzo, Grades 6–7 math teacher redesigned the curriculum to make math more accessible and approachable to all students. Instead of teaching math in the traditional way of question and answer, they are viewing it as an open-ended task that allows students more flexibility in how they reach an answer.
Students are getting out of their seats more and learning math with hands-on activities. The teachers encourage students to look at the pattern of numbers, to see how they are growing and changing, and how to predict future cases in the pattern—even write a rule to predict future numbers or patterns in the sequence.
“This was a total mindshift in how we work with the students and how they interact with math,” says Ms. Rohrbach. “They have now gained that confidence and joy of learning math and realized that math can be fun.”
Numerous faculty and staff members participated in professional growth opportunities throughout the 2017–2018 academic year. From conferences to global excursions, these experiences allow faculty and staff to keep up with current trends, and bring new ideas and innovations back to our students. See a sampling below.
| Name | Conference | Learned | ||
| Gary Krahn, Ph.D. | Professor Brian Winkel presentation at LJCDS | Shared his ideas on mathematics, education and problem solving and reminded us that teaching mathematics is more about humanity than numbers. | ||
| Ryan Song and three Middle School faculty members | People of Color Conference | How to better value, support and develop the diverse perspectives and experiences within a school community. | ||
| Robert Grasso | Finding the Heart of Leadership | How to lead through positivity and love as a coach, and how to help student-athletes become great leaders. | ||
| Jane Healey, Ph.D. | University of Maine Institute on Quebec Studies | The study of history, geography and culture of New France from a different perspective. How to bring the subjects alive in the classroom. | ||
| Terri Zimmerman | Orton-Gillingham Training | New teaching methods to help struggling readers | ||
| Cindy Bravo | Oxbow School of Art | Interdisciplinary pedagogy, art process and art fundraising for Grades 9–12 | ||
| Colleen O'Boyle | National Association of Independent Schools | Curriculum, how to give feedback and stewardship workshops | ||
| Maya Torres | Project-Based Learning | Learning outcomes and targets, checkpoints and instructional strategies for all learners. | ||
| Susan Nordenger and Katie Sigeti | CASE NAIS (Council for Advancement and Support of Education, National Association of Independent Schools) | Workshops and speakers on the topics of alumni engagement, planned giving, annual fund. | ||
| Tyler Hales | Glazier Football Clinic | Character development, ideas for structuring practices and coach meetings | ||
| Meghan Edwards | World Leadership School Experience | Guided students in Peru on their experiential learning as a program leader | ||
| Melanie Baier | National Association of Independent Schools | How to create meaningful opportunities for professional development for faculty and staff and ways to help others talk through difficult conversations | ||
| Jessica Abbondanzio | National Art Education Association National Convention | How to incorporate art into STEM education | ||
| Kristy Johnson and Ashley Marlow | Wildwood School Advisory Conference | Strategies and ideas to strengthen and improve the advisory program | ||
| Lisa Bennet | Learning and the Brain | How to reduce anxiety among students and raise achievement | ||
| Mike Peveich | World Stage Design Conference | Projection technology, augmented reality in performance, historical stage technology and eco-friendly lighting technology | ||
| Corinne Brunn | National Fastpitch Coaches Association Convention | New drills and strategies for coaching softball | ||
| Sally Krause | CUE Conference | Effective and impactful technology use in the classroom | ||
| Dan Lenzen, Darren Cameron, Tomas Robinson and Cindy Bravo | Creative Coding Conference at UCLA | How to use p5.js, a programming library that makes it easy to create interactive visual art |
