Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in the many professional development activities sponsored by your colleagues on our recent In-Service Day. From new Professional Learning Communities in the Middle School to Ed Camp workshops in Lower School to a student/teacher engagement presentation in the Upper School all GA teachers embraced the day and the opportunities for growth.
For many of us, our
introduction to the brand spanking new Beard Center for Innovation, already lovingly called the BCI, served as the
highlight of the day. Gaby Russomagno,
Director of Innovation and Special Programs, greeted each small group at the
entrance to the new space, and eloquently provided the history of the project,
its inspiration drawn from the Renaissance artists’ large collaborative
studios, the original “ilabs!”
Members of the ED21 team
walked us through each section of the Innovation Lab, explaining the purposes
of sliding walls; movable, modular furniture; and the computer carts and video
displays. Teachers, like the students
they teach, explored the room energetically, responding to the writing prompts
displayed on the walls. My favorite: “What
do you notice, wonder, imagine?”
In the Maker Space, the
second workspace that makes up the Beard Center, we learned about the potential
of this collaborative environment with its Maker Bots 3-D printer, laser printer, Lil' Bits, BeeBot, Dash and Dot, and 3Doodler and its numerous opportunities to get charged up
about engineering projects for students from PreK through 12th
grade.
AS the BCI educators receive
more training during the fall on the potential for 21st C. teaching
and learning in the BCI, upcoming In-Service Days on November 30, 2015 and
February 12, 2016 will provide the time for all GA teachers to learn first hand
how to maximize this signature teaching environment: a new space enhancing the
age-old GA tradition of close student and faculty relationships leading to
life-long learning.
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