Faculty Devotes In-Service Day to Division-Specific Professional Development
St. Margaret's faculty brought in outside experts, trained in new educational tools and planned curriculum.
Highlighted by a visit from experts at the Stanley H. King Counseling Institute, St. Margaret’s professional community devoted a day to division-specific professional development on Tuesday, bringing in outside experts, training in new educational tools and planning curriculum.
Middle and Upper School
Faculty who work with Upper and Middle School students took part in professional development led by experts from the Stanley H. King Counseling Institute. The workshop was dedicated to better guiding students by developing deep listening skills that serve to strengthen relationships.
As psychologists, they shared the important developmental tasks of adolescence and the importance of emotional and cognitive “wobble” which at times can seem like crisis or despair.
“They guided us to better understand and support this normal adolescent experience and to help us not simply fix the easy problems but to listen deeply to what students are saying, feeling and experiencing,” Upper School Principal Jeneen Graham said. “Through listening we build rapport with our students that allows them to feel safe and supported as they occasionally work through normal development.”
Lower School
Lower School faculty divided up for professional development, further ingraining new programs and curriculum and planning future projects:
- Kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2 teachers and instructional assistants dug deeper into the new Teachers College Phonics Units of Study curriculum.
- Grades 3-5 teachers and instructional assistants took part in math professional development with training in i-Ready and other digital components of the math curriculum.
- Lower School STEAM teachers collaborated and planned project-based, age-appropriate lessons to complement one of the United Nations’ sustainable goals of clean water.
Early Childhood School
The Early Childhood School welcomed back Jacqueline Brooks, a constructivist expert who has previously led workshops at St. Margaret’s, for more work exploring and understand the pedagogical foundations of the school.
Some of the professional development took place in the school’s new demonstration lab, where a baking activity demonstrated potential concepts that could be taught to students.
“Extending on her work from the last two years with us, Dr. Brooks used cross-cutting concepts to create problems for the adults which could later be used in classrooms at an age-appropriate level,” ES Director Cris Lozon said.
St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
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