Over the past three years, ISB has transformed professional learning from something done at you to something done with you and by you. 

Teachers own their learning by engaging in a PLC. They have complete autonomy to choose who they want to work with and the direction of their personal inquiry. Throughout the school year, we collaborate with other groups, get feedback from leadership, implement strategies in our practice, and collect evidence of the impact our learning has on our school.

At the end of the year, we gather for a PLC Symposium. Each group conducts a 45 minute workshop for their colleagues.  We have several groups presenting at the same time, so participants can choose which sessions they want to attend. It is a full day of full-on professional learning!  In addition to professional growth, this day also helps us to connect with colleagues, develop understanding beyond teams and grade levels, and gain insight into the direction our school is moving.

This year, topics included:

• Transgender Inclusion
• Behavior for Learning: Finding solutions through data analysis
• Unlearning to Learn: How to Transfer Skills Across Disciplines
• Teachers as Learners: Rethinking the Professional Growth and Evaluation Process
• Supporting Well-Being in High School Students
• Social Relationships in PHE Shaped by Core Values
• Celebrations of Learning
• Missing:Curiosity- Reward offered for safe return
• From Left to Write (using mentor text to build units of study)
• Differentiation
• Brain Breaks
• Bridging the Gap (forming connections with local schools)
• Beyond Content- Exploring the role of SEL within all  subject classes
• Improving our inquiry practices beyond our individual subjects
• It’s Time to Discuss Scheduling
• Left brain/Right brain in the everyday classroom
• Why Words Matter (forming philosophy statements and living by them)
• Project and Problem Based Learning (PBL)
• Collaboration – From ideas to execution
• Happy Teachers
• Happy Students
• Food at ISB & Its Impact on Learning
• Learning Spaces and Their Effect on Well-Being
• Maximizing Learning: Practical Strategies from Cognitive Psychology

We are so proud of the learning that our teachers do, and how willingly they share it with our community!