Sarah Bishop

The Emanuel School Teacher Scholarship is an initiative of the School which allows recipient teachers the chance to further their professional development in a particular area. As this year’s lucky recipient, I took the opportunity to attend the Nueva School Design Thinking Institute in San Mateo and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Chicago. Both conferences were a whirlwind of learning and incredibly insightful.

The Nueva School prides itself on being student-centred with a focus on Design and Engineering. I had the pleasure of working with a range of staff and students from the High School at Nueva throughout the Design Thinking Institute. At the end of an intensive 4-day program, teachers were asked to use a word to explain how they felt. An expected response post-conference might be “exhausted,” or “overwhelmed” but the words exclaimed by the teachers included: “invigorated, excited, curious, questioning, driven, engaged, motivated, empowered”. This really was an amazing program to be a part of.

As we progress into a VUCA world (Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex, Ambiguous), providing students with the opportunity to practise the skills required of them in their future careers is key. As a teacher, it can be a daunting process. How do I teach what I don’t even know they will need? How will I ensure that my students are creative, curious, innovative and entrepreneurial? We started with thinking about what we really wanted from our students when they graduate. What would be the ideal scenario and how do I as a teacher help students to not only develop a love of learning, but an understanding of their importance in the world and the significance of what they learn at school? In a lot of ways, Emanuel is doing the right things: fostering a sense of belonging, providing opportunities for students, and developing meaningful relationships with the community.  And while this was very reassuring for me, there was also a lot that I took away. I look forward to sharing many of these ideas with my colleagues and hope that this will have a positive influence on the students over the coming weeks, months and potentially years.

Next up was ISTE, and after being in a close community of 70 teachers for 4 days, the jump to 24,000 educators from across the globe was quite an interesting experience. It was definitely a ‘small fish-big pond’ moment. As I walked through the corridors of the Expo Hall, I empathised with what it must be for a comic book fan to attend Comic-con! The room was abuzz with lights, robots, AR, VR and every type of technology that you can imagine. I was enriched by the experience and excited by the possibilities. The seminars were run by American educators from all walks of life and gave some insightful advice. A core theme throughout the conference was to implement the use of technology to add value to what we as educators do and considering how these can be used to enhance the student experience rather than just be a replacement tool or fancy engagement activity.

I look forward to applying many of these ideas within my classroom and sharing my learning with my peers. It is my hope that this 2-week trip of a lifetime will have an ongoing, positive impact on the student experience at Emanuel School.