Learning From Each Other

by Susie Clifford, Director of Learning

With over 90 staff from 25 different countries, we have a wealth of experience and expertise to draw upon as we learn from each other every day to impact learning for all students at YIS. We learn from each other through informal and formal ways, explicitly and implicitly, structured and unstructured. We collaborate in scheduled meetings and as we are making coffee in the Staff Lounge. For two days last week, we focused our energy and time in teams and as a whole faculty to learn from each other and with each other, which is one of five key impact statements in our Impact Strategy.

Professional Growth Plan 
The Professional Growth Plan (PGP) at YIS enables teachers to identify areas of growth they would like to explore as educators with a focus on the impact it will have on students in their area of learning. We work in small teams across the school creating action plans that will drive our learning and track our impact. Through our monthly Full Faculty meeting times and our Professional Learning days, we dedicate time to learning through our PGP, meeting with our teams and to share our learning with each other. It is an excellent way to make connections across the school and support our growth as educators.

YIS teachers gather in the auditorium to discuss our Impact Strategy as part of their Professional Learning in early February.

Curriculum
Our Professional Learning Days provided time, space and focus to reflect on our written, taught and assessed curriculum. With collaboration in every grade level and subject area, regular meetings and a focus on planning together, extended time enabled us to reflect on learning, assessments, teaching and alignment. Teaching is a continuously reflective profession as we are always evaluating our impact and ensuring students are making appropriate gains in learning each day. Regularly having time to zoom out and look holistically as a team is essential in ensuring gains in learning for our students.

Teachers collaborate and reflect on teaching ideas with colleagues from different departments.

ELC - Grade 12 Programs
Our ELC - Grade 12 programs, such as Service Learning, Expeditions and our Japanese Cultural Programs, are instrumental in learning for all students across the school. Our leaders of these programs used time over our Professional Learning days to meet in teams or with colleagues to reflect, refine and focus on the learning experiences for students, educators and our community. Our ELC-Grade 12 vertical articulation of programs shape learning experiences for students and enables connections across a wide range of learning opportunities in the school. Student voice and input help us shape these programs and responsive learning experiences as students navigate different contexts and experiences and explore possibilities.

Teachers in our Performing Arts Department discuss program-specific topics.

Time for Us
We benefited from opportunities created by our colleagues in our breaks for our own self-care and play. As we believe in the benefits of learning through play across the school, we also took time to apply our beliefs in our own learning. We had the opportunity to write poetry, play sports in the gym, immerse ourselves in creative options in the Design / Art space, take mindful minutes in Chowa-an and take time in immersive play exploration in the ELC. We like to live as we speak and these times in our days enable us to get into our own ‘flow’, to express who we are and to find the freedom in joy in play and learning.

Teachers make time to learn through play for their own wellbeing and professional growth.
 

We have robust Professional Learning systems and processes that truly facilitate learning from each other as a whole staff. As we engage in external professional learning on a regular basis, research, read, learn through webinars and podcasts and blogs, learn through job-alikes, workshops and connect with colleagues across Japan, Asia and beyond, our aim is always to bring it home to YIS - to our colleagues, our programs, our classrooms, and our students.