Huntingtower Teachers Present at Conferences
Posted July 23 2010At the Alliance of International Educators Conference held in July 2010 Meredith Lawson, Sandra Tiepermann and I presented on how our learning community is engaging Middle Schoolers in experiences that enable them to construct solutions to real world issues in our Integrated Studies Units. Our paper was entitled, Building Powerful, Inclusive Communities. We explored with educators from around the globe how we engender a culture of students saying, “I’m not sure but I want to find out, let’s think about this together.”
We shared examples of student led campaigns, extended role plays such as the Hungry Planet Banquet and a range of different ways that we create a passion for discovering and understanding other cultures. We demonstrated that through an array of structured learning choices, our students emerge with their own positive world view.
During the presentation, we received so many questions about how we empower students to understand that one small action can make a difference on a global scale. The impact of particular pinnacle experience units were explored with our audience on World Religions, Saving Planet Earth and Hungry Planet. We discussed how these units incorporate essential questions based on Harvard’s Teaching for Understanding Framework and offer our students opportunities for creativity, synthesis and the revolutionary use of class time. The educators we spoke with were impressed that each unit seeks to build community and an understanding of diversity as our learners become activists with global responsibilities.
Also during the holiday break, Merril Darling presented on Poetry Knowitry at the National Conference for Teachers of English and Literacy held in Perth. She explored how many children have had access to poetry through rhyme and song from earliest childhood as an enjoyable, shared literacy experience. Her presentation highlighted how children delight in the predictability of rhyme and respond physically to the rhythmic writing found in many picture books.
Her Poetry Knowitry presentation focused on the practical use of poetry as a rich and engaging teaching and learning tool for developing phonemic awareness, analytical skills and deep literacy understanding. She shared theoretical underpinnings for the use of poetry. Her criteria for poem selection was also considered. The links to phonemic and literacy skill development were demonstrated along with a range of teaching, problem solving and thinking strategies Evidence was provided of the development of deep understandings of short poetic texts leading into children’s own poetry writing.
Our teachers benefitted greatly from sharing their experiences with other educators and it was great to receive such positive feedback at both conferences about our programs at Huntingtower.
Fiona Gordon
Head of Teaching and Learning
