Looking Ahead: Sharing a Toolbox for Virtual Teaching and Learning

As we settle into the summer with an eye to the upcoming school year, our faculty are participating in a series of professional development workshops, led by Jamie MacNeille and Nora Sundar. Reflecting upon and sharing what worked best in our spring distance learning platform is helping us to evolve the delivery of our curriculum in ways that amplify relationships, increase student engagement, and promote student agency regardless of the platform--virtual or in-person.

During yesterday's "Toolbox Share," faculty shared new tools and techniques they employed to attain several educational outcomes, among these: an app that enables boys to write, illustrate, and narrate - in Spanish - books about animals, which they can then share with each other; iMovie tutorials that boys can rewatch to deepen understanding and practice new art skills; circle talks where boys come together to share their thoughts and feelings; podcasts that engage boys' imaginations and speak to different learning styles and interests; and use of breakout rooms to support small group collaboration.

I've always been impressed by the ingenuity, creativity, and dedication of our faculty, but never more so than during this past spring. Their generous give-and-take sharing of new best practice approaches yesterday underscores their collegiality and deep commitment to our boys' education and well-being.

As I've written previously, this upcoming school year will require us to be nimble and able to pivot quickly from in-person, to hybrid, to virtual learning. In fact, throughout the year we will always deliver a simultaneous live streaming session of in-person classes, forever linking tech and pedagogy. This is a good thing; we know that when done correctly, the marriage of technology and pedagogy can boost learning. In so doing, we are making an investment not only for these unusual times. Moving forward, this approach will augment and enrich our program of studies, increasing the student ownership and intrinsic motivation essential to building lifelong learners.

Resilience in the Teaching of Languages

Above: The Nerf microphone ball enables boys learning remotely to hear their classmates well. The pandemic has challenged educators to reinvent and reimagine units of study to keep learning engaging, regardless of how it is delivered. The following article, written for Saint David’s Magazine by our Modern Languages Chair Dr. Victoria Gilbert and Lower School Spanish teacher Flor Berman, addresses how this was done in the Spanish immersion language program at Saint David's. Ms. Berman and Dr. Gilbert, recipient of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers' Ruth E. Wasley Distinguished Teacher Award, presented on the topic at NYSAIS’s Flexible Classroom Conference last summer. How Spanish Classes Have Bounced Back Resiliency implies an ability to bounce back, but as teachers working with the youngest learners in the school, we would reframe resiliency as the opportunity to reimagine. Whether boys are learning through a face-to-face experience or through the med

The Role of Faith in Social-Emotional Learning and Psychological Well-Being

The following article by our School Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine : During one of my first observations in a Saint David’s classroom 15 years ago, I witnessed two first grade boys in a verbal altercation. Although it was contained just between the two boys, their observant teacher had them talk it through and then shake hands on being in a better place for having done so. I was very impressed, and still am, with this approach that the school takes many times throughout the day. It helps establish a firm idea of how to behave, especially in social situations where emotions can be stirred and run high. Through this experience repeated consistently day in and day out, better, more productive ways of engaging become increasingly integrated by the boys as they develop socially and emotionally in interaction with each other. As the School Psychologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about the touch points for student and t

Storytelling Demonstrates Understanding

Their time had arrived. As the lights dimmed in our Otto-Bernstein Theatre, the astrophysicists, a mix of jitters and excitement, awaited their opportunity to share insights and stories about the workings of the universe. Which planets might support life? Is there water on Mars? What are Dwarf Planets? "Let's take a look at our closest neighbor, Venus," invited one presenter, before revealing that the planet - while ideal in proximity - has surface temperatures of 900 degrees F: "Imagine - standing on the surface would be like being burned alive!" Later that same day, in our Graham lunchroom, early 20th century immigrants of all ages from Italy, China, Ireland, Russia, among other countries, waited, with hope and determination, their turn to be interviewed for admittance to America. It wasn't going to be easy. They would be asked pointed, potentially life-altering questions by various processors. "What's that cough? It doesn't sound good,&qu

David O'Halloran, Headmaster - Saint David's School, New York City

Search This Blog