By Jodie Leatherman, Director of Curriculum/International Baccalaureate Curriculum Coordinator
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes to make your child’s learning experience extraordinary? In “Mack Educators as Learners,” I pull back the curtain to share the inspiring professional development journey of our dedicated teachers and staff. From innovative workshops to transformative training sessions, our educators are constantly growing, learning, and refining their craft—all to bring the best to your child’s classroom. Dive in and discover how lifelong learning fuels excellence at Mackintosh Academy!
Toddle Time
This year, we adopted a new teaching-learning platform called Toddle to streamline curriculum planning and assessment. After spending many hours learning from the Toddle experts, our teachers have been utilizing the Toddle platform to plan units of inquiry, create and evaluate assignments, and develop report cards. They have the flexibility to meet with our Toddle liaison weekly to ask questions and deepen their understanding of the technology’s various uses..
Early Childhood Convention
Ocean Sehlmeyer, Uta Letbetter, and Pilar Ricke-Zegers attended the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) convention to strengthen the educational and care practices in our pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. They took professional development courses focused on engaging, supporting, and challenging the gifted young child.
PYP Inquiry
This professional development opportunity was led by Ocean Sehlmeyer and Pilar Ricke-Zegers for our Primary Years Programme (PYP) teachers in December. They outlined the importance of inquiry-based instruction and learning in order for students to take ownership of their learning by asking questions, wondering, researching and sharing ideas. Teachers then took these research-based teaching strategies and implemented the ideas in their classrooms through Wonder Journals, Wonder Walls, and Collaborative Inquiry with online sticky notes!
MYP Inquiry in the Classroom
Roger Chow led the Middle Years Programme (MYP) teachers through a middle school-level inquiry cycle. He explained the differences between the three types of inquiry questions including: factual questions, conceptual questions and debatable questions. The role of inquiry fosters curiosity, deepens critical thinking, and increases student engagement. Inquiry questions help students take agency in their learning and discover connections.
PYP Writing Alignment
The PYP teachers analyzed writing expectations at each grade level. They delved into the elements of writing, as well as comparisons of the writing process and grading rubrics. They continued to review student writing and plan for instruction based on the areas of improvement.
MYP Math Book Dive
Joe Pausback led the MYP teachers into an examination of the book, “Building Thinking Classrooms” by Peter Liljedahl. By developing a thinking classroom during math, students develop collaboration skills, ability to ask questions and discover the answers, and challenge themselves with rigorous tasks daily. MYP teachers were excited to try out the teaching strategies and build student agency in a mathematical learning environment.
PYP Teachers Collaboration
Four PYP teachers visited other IB schools and collaborated with teachers during the school visits. They shared their IB units of inquiry, including summative assessments as well as transdisciplinary teaching and learning strategies in order to deepen students’ conceptual understanding. Teachers also focused on differentiating instruction and learning experiences. These teachers shared their ideas and new knowledge at our division meetings.
IBARMS MYP Round Table – Unit Planning
Maria Cardona, Roger Chow and Jodie Leatherman attended a Rocky Mountain Association of IB World Schools (IBARMS) Round Table with many other single subject MYP teachers and coordinators from around the region. We explored the backward design of unit planning, focusing on key elements such as summative assessments, inquiry-based learning, approaches to learning, engaging learning experiences, formative assessments, differentiation, and service learning. We are grateful for the Toddle platform, which provides a step-by-step guide to help us create meaningful and thoughtfully designed units. Maria and Roger shared their learning with the MYP team at Mack.
PYP Writing Conferences
Brynn Jaouen-Starr led our PYP teachers through the Five Steps and Strategies of Writing Conferences. She explained the who, what, where, when, why, and how of writing conferences between the teacher and individual students. This is such an important component of the writing process, and teachers were excited to refine their writing conferences to make them more meaningful and impactful.
Rejection Sensitivity in Gifted Children Professional Development
Staff attended Dr. Katie Bellon’s presentation on rejection sensitivity in gifted children. We learned about the connections between giftedness and ADHD in conjunction with rejection sensitivity in both children and adults. She provided insight into the research and also strategies for teachers to use in their classrooms. Through this lens, teachers will be able to recognize some students’ reactions, be more empathetic and help with a plan to manage these emotions. Dr. Bellon will be presenting this same topic at our parent education event on March 12th. Hope to see you there!
LOOKING AHEAD → ACIS webinar “Teachers as Brain Changers”
Rachel Kelly, Grace Garrow, Anne Wolf and Jodie Leatherman will be attending a webinar hosted by the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS) and focused on “Teachers as Brain Changers.” We are thrilled to learn more about the gifted brain and share our learning with fellow educators on campus!