Participant-Led Workshops Asia 2023
SATURDAY 4. NOVEMBER, 2023
Conversational Code: Crafting Dynamic Teaching Tools with ChatGPT & Google Apps Script
Avi Megiddo
Kaohsiung American School, Taiwan
Intended Audience :
Educators passionate about introducing dynamic, interactive elements into their classrooms.
Participants will be introduced to the concept of conversational coding in Google Apps Script with AI, and its applications in educational contexts. This workshop is for educators passionate about introducing dynamic, interactive elements into their classrooms. If you’ve ever considered automating group formations, designing word search puzzle makers, setting up birthday reminders, or fostering emotional awareness with tools like virtual ‘thank you’ boxes and mood meters, this workshop is for you. Dive into a world where AI handles over 90% of the intricate coding for such projects. Whether you’re already tech-inclined or just beginning your journey, explore how to craft educational tools through conversational coding! Participants will leave with a curated set of resources to inspire further exploration post-session.
Bio:
Avi teaches MYP Design at Kaohsiung American School, Taiwan, drawing from a diverse international teaching background. Committed to innovation, Avi utilizes the power of AI to co-write code that enhances educational resources. Outside of the classroom, Avi enjoys cycling and cooking.
Weaving Change: Empowering Students Through Upcycling
Elsa Chan
Western Academy of Beijng
Intended Audience :
Whole School, Inexperienced Fashion Educators with Stories
Session Goals:
- Discuss the significant role of incorporating your passions can contribute to your school achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
- Appreciate the collaborative nature of upcycling fashion and student storytelling.
- Explore how upcycling can promote a sense of responsibility amongst students.
- Delve into strategies on how to build an activity like upcycling fashion into participants’ normal academic courses.
Session Outcomes:
- Participants will receive material to manipulate and ‘upcycle’.
- Participants will have dedicated time to brainstorm and engage in discussions on how they can effectively incorporate their deep interests into their academic courses.
Bio:
Elsa is from California and is passionate about upcycling fashion and driving her students to think critically and creatively in and outside of the classroom.
Student Agency, Personalised Learning, and Generative AI in HS English Classrooms
Andrew Cohen & Dave Giles
International School Bangkok
Intended Audience :
HS Teachers, Learning Coaches, and Ed Tech Enthusiasts
Participants will understand how using generative AI in the HS English classroom increases student agency and leads to powerful personalized learning.
Session Goals:
Participants will understand how using generative AI in the HS English classroom increases student agency and leads to powerful personalized learning.
Session Outcomes:
We will share our experiences using ChatGPT with IB English students, showcase student work, and encourage participants to consider how our approach to using generative AI can be modified for other subjects and grade levels.
Bio:
Andrew Cohen and Dave Giles, the IB English Guys, are full time HS English teachers at International School Bangkok. They operate the IB English Guys YouTube channel and website. Always looking to innovate, they have been experimenting with ChatGPT with their IB English students since its release.
AI for Educators
Wesley Przybylski
International School Bangkok
Intended Audience:
Teachers & Admin
Participants will learn ways that AI can be used within their role as an educator and how to show students to use it responsibly.
Teachers will walk away with how AI can be used in a school setting.
Bio:
Wes is from Boston and he loves teaching and learning and kids. He is currently the MS Teach and Innovation, Coding Teacher at ISBangkok.
Fostering Agents of Positive Change in Sciences
Tom Howard
Western Academy of Beijing
Intended Audience:
Whole School, anyone with an interest in developing student agency
Session Goals:
- Discuss how traditional education pathways can limit student growth.
- Explore how to empower students through student agency.
- Reflect on the relationship between providing student agency and their becoming an agent of positive change.
- Share strategies on how to incorporate meaningful student agency in lessons.
Session Outcomes:
- Participants will have engaged in a discussion of how to empower and encourage learners to take action in a meaningful way.
- Participants will leave with a collaboratively developed toolkit of strategies to develop student agency.
Bio:
Tom is the co-learning leader of WAB’s MS Sciences department. He spent the last 10 years teaching in Hong Kong and Beijing. He is passionate about student-centred learning. Outside of teaching, Tom can be found scuba diving, playing football, or on the couch enjoying snacks that his dog would like to eat.
EducateInNature: A Workshop on Building Sequential Experiential Programs with Curriculum Connections
Armand Kruger
Jump! Foundation
Intended Audience:
Whole School
- Educators and teachers who are eager to explore the transformative potential of outdoor experiential education.
- Curriculum developers seeking innovative ways to integrate nature-based learning into their educational programs.
- School administrators who are interested in fostering a holistic educational environment that combines adventure and academics.
Join [Armand], a passionate member from JUMP! Foundation, for an enriching workshop that merges the realms of “Building a Sequential Outdoor Experiential Education Program” and “Experiential Learning and Curriculum Connections.” This session is tailored for educators and enthusiasts eager to explore the synergy between outdoor adventures and academic curricula, with a focus on empowering young learners.
Workshop Highlights:
- Crafting Nature-Inspired Curricula: Dive into the intricacies of weaving the wonders of the great outdoors into your curriculum. Learn how to design a sequential outdoor education program that not only engages young learners but seamlessly aligns with academic objectives.
- Hands-On Experiential Learning: Immerse yourself in the experiential learning pedagogy as we navigate through activities designed to captivate young learners. Discover the transformative power of nature-based experiences that foster resilience, teamwork, and a profound connection to the environment.
- Case Studies from the Field: Dive into real-world case studies that bring concepts to life. Walk away with tangible ideas and actionable strategies that you can implement in your own educational initiatives.
Bio:
Meet Armand, an experienced and passionate South African educator who has been living and working in Southeast Asia for over 8 years. Armand’s expertise lies in transformative learning, and he believes in the power of resilience to overcome life’s challenges. In his role as the Assistant Program Director at JUMP! Foundation, Armand designs captivating learning experiences that encourage personal growth and self-discovery.
Join Armand’s workshop and unlock your full potential by creating dynamic sequential outdoor experiential education programs with a curriculum focus. Get ready to be inspired, engaged, and empowered, and discover how to create the most effective learning experiences.
Collaborative Classrooms: Unlocking the Power of Co-Teaching
Laura Faulk
The American School in Japan
Mike Jessee
International School Bangkok
Intended Audience:
Anyone who wants to give co-teaching a try!
Participants will see how a co-teaching classroom creates a supportive learning environment and allows for flexibility and adaptability to meet student needs.
Participants will walk away with a toolkit of practical strategies and tools that we have found to be successful in a co-teaching environment.
Bio:
Laura – Over the past three years, Laura has embraced the innovative approach of co-teaching, collaborating with fellow fifth grade teachers and our in-class support team to enhance the learning experience for her students. Laura is currently in her twentieth year of teaching, fourteen of them abroad. Laura loves to travel, bake, craft, and pet puppies.
Mike – Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Mike has been teaching overseas now for 20+ years. For the last 10 years, Mike has been empowered by the co-planning and co-teaching model, which has transformed the way he works with kids and offers a learning environment which is differentiated and equitable for everyone. In his spare time, Mike enjoys spending time with his family, a good book, and long runs.
Teaching Robotics without Robots
Simon Furmston
Western Academy of Beijing
Simon will share experiences of using the Gears Bot Robotics Simulator
(https://gears.aposteriori.com.sg/) to teach robotics and how it has become an invaluable tool for more effectively teaching students robotics and getting them more adept at coding and ready
to build and code the physical robots.
This workshop is suitable for anyone with any interest in teaching robotics and coding. It does not require previous experience with Robotics.
Session Goals:
- How using a robotics simulator allows each student to understand how to code robots before
they get to use robots. - How to code in the robotics simulator
- How to design and build a robot in the simulator
- How to test your robots design and code
- How to create multiple robot arenas including Robot Sumo, Robot Football and Robot Paintball.
Session Outcomes:
- Learn how to Code Robots in Gearsbot
- Learn how to Design the Physical Robots in Gears Bot
- Learn how to test Robots in the Simulator
- Learn approaches to teaching using the simulator
- Possible Robot Units that can be run with the simulator
- How to integrate using the Simulator to teaching students
Bio:
Simon teaches Design at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) and is also the Learning Leader for MS Design at WAB. Simon has been teaching for 20 years and has taught in the UK, Korea and
China.
He loves teaching Design and helping students to develop their creative and critical thinking skills in a range of different learning environments whether that is the Workshop doing Product Design, creating graphics in 2D 3D and VR environments or Robotics.
Inclusion on purpose: Engage your support staff to build an inclusive and inspiring learning environment
Chen You
Western Academy of Beijing
Intended Audience:
Whole school
When we think of school as a community, the members we think of immediately are students, teachers and parents. What about support staff who work long hours behind the scenes to make sure school operate functionally on a daily basis; TAs that comes in your class to provide support and admin staff to sort out day to day logistics? Often times these jobs are held by local nationals who might not come from a diverse culture background. Lack of culture understanding might cause small miscommunication that builds up to conflict. In this session, the presenter will share her experience as a support staff of collaboration with teaching faculty to create a better learning experience for students and a sense of belonging for all members. The main goal is to recognize the value of support staff and make use of their potential to better serve the needs of students.
Session Outcomes:
Participants will walk away with a better awareness and understanding of the host country culture in order to work more closely and effectively together with local staff.
Participants will learn ways to purposefully engage with support staff (TAs, tech supports, etc.) in order to create an inclusive work environment.
Bio:
You Chen is a highly personable and cheerful individual whose positive attitude has a profound impact on those around her.
Recently, You Chen has taken on a new role as the IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism, Social Justice) Whole School Staff Lead, where she is working to promote a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of the school community.
You Chen spends most of her spare time reading philosophy. She is inspired by Stoic philosophy to see challenges as opportunities to grow. Her most recent hobby is doing standup comedy, performing in Beijing and Paris.
The Secret to a Happier Classroom: Steelcase's Six Pillars of Wellbeing
Elizabeth Chan
Steelcase – Learning Space Partner- S.E.A
Intended Audience:
Whole school
Join us for an enlightening talk on “The Secret to a Happier Classroom: Steelcase’s Six Pillars of Wellbeing”. As an educator, you know that the right environment can make all the difference in student engagement and learning outcomes. Our research into the education sector has led us to identify six key pillars of wellbeing that can transform your learning spaces. Discover how space design and furniture selection can positively impact student wellbeing and improve learning outcomes. In our engaging workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to co-design learning spaces using the latest 3D models of our award-winning furniture.