Chapters International

Overview:

How do we assess our learners while maintaining student agency and a mindset centered around the heart of inquiry? How do we strengthen critical thinking while slowing down for more mindful moments for ourselves and for our students? In this workshop we’ll reflect on our personal beliefs about assessment using these as a provocation to guide your next steps in making and keeping the learning visible in your classroom. We’ll uncover how reflection, evidencing learning and questioning create practical opportunities to bring inquiry to life in a way that’s meaningful and connected to your curriculum while giving you the language you need to create the culture of curiosity you strive for in your classroom and your teaching practice.

Agenda:

Session 1: Reflection as a Form of Assessment

How do we build our reflective capacities while modeling and scaffolding reflection for our learners?
How do cooperative learning strategies support both students and inquiry teachers?
What common misconceptions are around assessment in an inquiry classroom?

Session 2 & 3: Evidencing & Artifacting Learning

What data do we collect to authentically document and support learning?
How do we use evidence of learning to co construct meaning throughout our inquiry journey?
In what ways do we balance both formative and summative assessment in our practice?
How can we harness the purpose and role of the “third teacher”?

Session 4: The Power of Questioning and Listening in our Inquiry Spaces

How do we shift the culture of questioning and the role of questions in our classroom?
What language and mindset is critical in responding and providing feedback to our learners?
How might we further harness curiosity to empower and leverage learning?
How do questioning protocols and frameworks engage students in more authentic assessment experiences?

Teachers will leave this session with:

A toolkit of resources and routines to implement into their classroom and other professional roles
Actionable next steps to support an assessment practiced rooted in inquiry
Clearer understanding of the role of assessment in the inquiry classroom

Potential Audience:

This workshop is best suited for teachers and school leaders looking to deepen their practice as inquiry educators looking more closely at the ways that an inquiry mindset impacts and supports all learners.

Notes

Participants will be asked to implement suggested strategies in between sessions, bringing their evidence to enhance and enrich the learning workshop series.

Jessica Vance

With a professional teaching and leadership background in both the private and public international schools (IB PYP Educator & PYP Coordinator), Jessica brings a unique perspective to her role as Enrichment & Environment Coordinator at the school in Austin, Texas.

Her passion for student-centered learning, collaboration, and coaching stems from the students themselves, finding inspiration in their natural curiosity as they authentically engage in learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Jessica strongly believes in the power of leading with a lens of inquiry, facilitating innovative professional learning opportunities and coaching sessions that provide the space for educators to collaborate and reflect, while supporting their professional growth as inquiry practitioners.

Leading with a Lens of Inquiry is Vance's first publication. To find out more about Jessica or to connect with Jessica to learn about the supportive role she plays in school's across the globe, please visit www.leadingwithinquiry.com