ERC News

In-Service, November 21, 2011: A truly differentiated day!

And what a day it was! Let¡¦s explore the day.
On November 21, IC teachers and staff attended various in-service sessions. Multiple sessions were planned by the Educational Resources Center to cater to the various needs of the different school initiatives and to life-long learning for our school community. At the Middle and Secondary schools, the first 3 sessions of the day included curriculum mapping, curriculum writing and sessions for selected teachers who will be reviewing the curriculum units. All other teachers focused on reviewing and perfecting the curriculum guides at all levels. It was evident that a great deal of work had been accomplished by the end of the day. Meanwhile at the Pre and Elementary Schools, teachers embarked on a journey of learning and reflection on conceptual understandings, assessment and differentiation. IC staff members were not left out during this In-Service day. Mahmud Shihab planned and presented IT workshops for staff who had the opportunity to explore Excel and Wikis with him. What a morning! Oof!
Then came the afternoon sessions when teachers and staff ¡¥kicked up their heals¡¦ and participated in an assortment of workshops that included laughter therapy, Latino dancing, basic aqua fitness and recreational swimming, singing for fun, Pop-Art self-portraits, conflict resolution, flamenco dancing, wikis, a treasure hunt and mystery fruit. By the feedback received at the ERC, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fun afternoon. Yes! It was a truly differentiated day for a truly motivated and committed community of teachers and staff!

Nov 29, 2011, 07:42

ECE Workshop Modules for 2011 – 2012: Off to an interesting and stimulating start.

This year’s Early Childhood Education workshop modules offered to Preschool and Lower Elementary teachers throughout Lebanon, coordinated by Preschool Arabic coordinator Fatima Kammoun, have begun well. On Saturday, November 12, two workshops were offered. Mrs. Ghada Maalouf, Ras Beirut Preschool director, presented “Differentiated Instruction” and Mrs. Fatima Kammoun presented a new workshop “Teaching the Net Generation.” On November 19, two additional workshops were offered by Mrs. Doha Berjawi, “Learning through Children’s Literature,” and Mrs. Fatima Kammoun, “Language Teaching Tools.” Participants are enjoying the varied workshop topics and the chance to explore new ideass in Preschool and Lower Elementary education.
Nov 29, 2011, 06:18

September - a SPEC month

September was an active SPEC month, “par excellence”. Up to 40 teachers received training to apply student-centered, problem-based, experiential and collaborative strategies and methods in their classrooms. On September 12- 14 teachers attended the Level 1 session facilitated by Nayla Hamadeh and Nawal Haddad. The newly introduced Arabic institute which ran September 19 and 20 brought Arabic teachers on board! During their Level 1 session facilitated by Nayla Hamadeh and Maha Shukayr, Arabic teachers were excited to learn and discuss new strategies and render learning in their classrooms more active and fun. With the completion of these two sets of workshops, most of our Middle and Secondary teachers have received initial training in SPEC. The effect of this is already visible in classrooms around the school where student work is displayed and the sound of SPEC learning is clearly heard in the hallways. Thinking strategies are evident and collaborative communities are being built!
Oct 17, 2011, 05:21

Reflect, Choose and Plan Conceptually!

From September 12 to 16, Mrs. Ghada Maalouf and Mrs. Nadine Habre presented to all Preschool and Elementary teachers the workshop entitled “Concept-Based Teaching.”
Participants reviewed the purpose of teaching, how to empower learners and push their thinking to higher and higher levels. This way of approaching teaching has repercussions, and excellent ones, on the classroom environment, teaching methodologies, planning and assessment. Mostly, it pushes educators to make learning engaging, challenging and authentic!

Sep 30, 2011, 07:06

IB/IC In-Cooperation Workshops

From July 4 to 6, IC in cooperation with the International Baccalaureate Organization, organized an International Conference on its campus uniting IC educators with others coming from various countries including Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Russia. For three days, the 92 participants (53 of them from IC) explored various concepts of the PYP and elementary education that are important to classroom management and the curriculum.
Three workshops were presented at the conference:
- “Making the PYP Happen” was presented by Lina Mouchantaf and Rola Hajj Ismail;
- “Concept-Based Curriculum” was presented by Ghada Maalouf and Nadine Habre;
- “Assessment” was presented by Sean Walker, PYP coordinator and IB trainer from the International School of Paris.
“It’s so enriching to be amongst such a diverse group and learn about the different perspectives and ways teachers approach the PYP in their schools! Lebanon and IC are beautiful places to be!” commented a participant from UAE.

Sep 30, 2011, 06:15

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