“According to data from the Academy of International School Heads (AISH), over the past decade, the percentage of women heads at international schools has increased from 27% to 33%. That growth is attributable to the early female pioneers as well as to many male and female champions who encouraged women to seek leadership roles in international schools.” -ISS International School Services

Things are changing, not only in the international schools but in many companies and businesses in most countries. More women are stepping into leadership roles maximizing productivity, efficiency and success of these companies.

It’s time for the world to recognize the benefits of women in leadership, and commit to placing even more women in positions of power. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss how women are able to break barriers and work in a thriving environment.

Session Audience:

Whole School 

Session Goals/Outcomes:

Participants will have the opportunity to:

• Discuss and analyze some evidence that shows how women are a strong asset to a company, and are performing well in multiple aspects of leadership, as well as some of the misconceptions in this same topic.
• Learn and discuss different ideas about how can we collectively—women and all genders—create the conditions for reduced bias and accelerated progress for women.
• Have had meaningful discussions to better understand the role of both men and women leading this change towards a more inclusive leadership, as well as several resources with relevant data to prove why we should continue pushing for this change.

Presenter Bio:

Caty is a curriculum, instruction, and assessment instructional leader passionate about teaching and learning through the lens of inquiry, modeling, reasoning and communicating. Caty is currently a 5th grade teacher at the International School Bangkok. Prior to that, she was the Early Childhood and Elementary School Mathematics Instructional Coach at Shanghai American School for 5 years where she worked in partnership with teachers to facilitate the development, implementation, and transformation of the math curriculum. Caty will start her new role as Director of Teaching & Learning at Magic Years International School this coming July 2022, where she will provide leadership and coordination in the development and implementation of curriculum and professional learning in EY to Grade 6.

She serves as contracted mathematics consultant at several international schools in the South East Asia region. In addition, she has facilitated workshops for international school teachers and leaders at various AASSA, NESA, EARCOS and ACAMIS regional conferences.

@catymath

The needs of our diverse learners has prompted a change from the private practice model to Learning Communities. But are we really a community? Or are we just a group of collaborators who return to our own classroom and do our own thing? Maybe it’s time to get rid of the idea of my classroom and my students and replace it with a genuine community of learners led by a village of educators. 

If you have ever wondered what a Learning Community is and how it could benefit your school, this is a great place to start. In this session, we will discuss the importance of inclusivity amongst all members of your teaching team and some strategies to raise awareness and acceptance with all stakeholders. 

This session is right for you if you want to learn how a team of teachers can meet the learning needs of all the students in a cohort and how you can build a culture of inclusivity. You will leave with a  toolkit of immediate takeaways to assist in bringing aspects of a Learning Community into your setting.

Session Audience:

Learning Communities- ECC and Elementary, Math Learning Community- Upper Elementary or MS/HS

Session Goals/Outcomes:

• Participants will inquire into the value of a Learning Community for their school context and evaluate small steps forward. 
• Learners will leave with strategies to involve all stakeholders in the process (teachers, learning support, EAL,TAs, specialists, etc.)
• Participants will generate reasons why a Learning Community would benefit their school which can be shared with decision makers.

Presenter Bio:

Angela Langlands is an elementary teacher who is passionate about blazing trails in education. She has spent nearly 20 years of her career living and working overseas in Africa, the Middle and Far East asking questions, taking risks, and leading many divergent initiatives. In her current role as Grade 3 Home Base teacher at the Western Academy of Beijing, Angela has been instrumental in helping the school develop its Learning Communities model in an attempt to redefine what a “classroom” should be. 

@AngelaLanglands

Personal-life disruptions, socio-economic disturbances, and a global pandemic. How do we stay adaptable in the mist of changes to our relationships, schools, and world? This workshop will explore the relevance of resilience, give you the chance to measure yours, and challenge you to make a personal plan for growth, so that you can more masterfully thrive in spite of adversity.

Session Audience:

Whole School 

Session Goals/Outcomes:

• Understand resilience in an ever-changing world 
• Brief overview of resilience research and an introduction to the PR6 resilience model. 
• Participants will recognize the role resilience plays in future-proofing their  personal and professional goals.
• Participants will be given an opportunity to assess their own resilience level and formulate a broad resilience enhancement plan.

Presenter Bio:

Alan is a professional counselor who for ten years has worked with students, families and teachers in navigating challenges in life transitions and partnering with them in moving towards greater levels of social and emotional resilience. In addition to a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees, he is currently studying his doctorate looking at how organizational resilience is understood in an educational context. He is a certified PR6 Resilience trainer, and a cultural intelligence (CQ) facilitator. He has worked as an international school counselor for six years and is currently a high school counselor at Shanghai American School, Pudong.

Participants will work in small groups to explore how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be applied to both existing curriculum as well as new curriculum. We will explore the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Student Standards as we create lessons and activities as examples of UDL at work. Participants can expect to engage in collaborative activities with UDL in mind, and will discover the power of ISTE standards and how they can enhance curricular standards and empower learners. By the end of the session participants will begin a lesson or activity of their own where they apply UDL principles to engage with all learners.

Session Audience:

Classroom teachers, Curriculum coordinators, and learning technology coaches.

Session Goals:

• Participants will explore how to apply UDL principles to create innovative and engaging learning experiences in your existing curriculum. 
• Participants will engage with the ISTE student standards as a lens for demonstrating the ease with which you mesh UDL and any curriculum.
• Develop a common language and make connections between the Student ISTE Standards and the curriculum – + Excitement

Session Objectives:

1. Explain the history and purpose of Universal Design, 
2. Recognize the three principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in practice 
3. Identify valuable resources available for UDL implementation in the classroom.
4. Create a lesson or activity applying UDL principles

Presenter Bio:

Christopher Bell has been in education for 20 years in various roles beginning as a Social Studies teacher specializing in Econ and Business. After returning to school, he completed his Library and Information Technology Masters. Since then he has been working in both Technology and Libraries. He is currently the Librarian and Technology Coordinator at International School Bangkok. He also ran his own web design business and is now the CTO for MarioFramework. ADE GCT CSE

https://twitter.com/ChristopherBell

Wes Przybylski is a creator innovator, leader, motivator, and an enthusiastic, passionate educator.  As the middle school technology coordinator at the International School of Bangkok he focuses on finding strengths in individuals and bringing people together to make learning better for students. ADE GCI CSE.

https://twitter.com/wesleypski

As educators, we are always striving to improve our students’ experience and we know we don’t get very far without help from our peers. As more schools recognize this, administrators are increasingly adding instructional coaches and/or adding coaching responsibilities to team leaders. 

Working on a team or with a coach takes on many different forms, from informal conversations to full coaching and observation cycles. In this session we will focus on collaborative structures and practices that give educators agency and responsibility, and can be embedded into current structures.

Session Audience:

Instructional coaches, teachers, team leaders

Session Goals:

• Share and learn what collaborative structures work (and which don’t)
• Gain and apply understanding of how adults learn to own experiences
• Discuss and compare collaborative coaching strategies

Session Outcomes:

Participants will have a selection of strategies to use in formal or informal coaching conversations that allow for all members to have voice and responsibility for the work.

Presenter Bio:

Jessica is a teacher and PLC coach who loves learning from and connecting with people. This passion and curiosity is what brought her overseas, first to South America and now to Singapore. Originally from Canada and  born to parents who immigrated from the West Indies, Jessica recognizes that who she has become is a product of all the people she’s had the opportunity to learn from.