program currently directed by Jamie MacNeille . These programs have matured substantially and have become embedded in the overall Saint David ’ s professional experience . The school is now ready to add a new suite of research-based programming coordinated by Tori Gilbert . Strategically , TBI will combine and enhance these three professional development arms — two existing and one new — into one comprehensive , focused program :
→ The Onboarding of Teachers New to Saint David ’ s and Ongoing Teacher Professional Development Programs . This arm includes our existing Mentor / Mentee , Summer Grant , and Year Round Conference and Workshop Programs . As part of the initiative , new Pathways and associated coursework ( outlined later in this article ) will be added . It also includes the addition of Instructional or Learning Coaches , Graduate Program and Graduate Teaching opportunities , and more compensated opportunities for professional growth .
→ The Supervision and Evaluation Programs . This includes our existing Milestone Review , Legacy , and annual SMART Goals programs . Under the initiative , these programs remain largely intact with the major impact being the realignment of professional expectations with the new Framework for Best Practices .
→ The new Research Programs . This will be the new arm of professional development at Saint David ’ s . It will include new internal and external Action-Research opportunities , the creation of a Professional Wiki ( a curated collection of internal and external research studies into best practices in teaching and learning for boys ), and an Expert Speaker / Visiting Scholar Series for parents and teachers that will focus on raising and educating boys . There will also be publication opportunities for teachers , and further opportunities for our faculty to contribute to the broader professional learning community on a national and global scale .
Before the pandemic , Saint David ’ s began this new strategic initiative by partnering with CIRCLE ( the Center for Innovation , Research , Creativity , and Leadership in Education ), specifically Dr . Brad Adams and Dr . Phil Cummins . With CIRCLE ’ s expert guidance , Saint David ’ s faculty — through focus groups , surveys , and direct editing — collectively created a set of three documents inspired by the school ’ s mission and informed by high quality research in the field . These documents now serve to guide our professional growth and development work and include : a Framework of Best Practices in Teaching and Learning for Boys , a Profile of a Graduate , and a Profile of a Teacher . Of the three , the Framework is the core . Divided into three domains — the Relational , Instructional , and Professional — it outlines the ideas and ideals ( see next page ), the essential characteristics of the great teaching at Saint David ’ s .
In its work with CIRCLE , Saint David ’ s also designed and created a Professional Wiki . This virtual database provides a curated clearinghouse of synthesized research ( by our own teachers and by researchers worldwide ) on how best to teach boys and how boys best learn across all disciplines and subject areas ( reading , math , writing , thinking , acquiring foreign language , etc .) in one easily accessible location . Our teachers will contribute to and use the Wiki in planning their lessons and units of study , and they ’ ll access it as part of their Onboarding and Ongoing Professional Development , Supervision and Evaluation , Curriculum Planning , and Research . In fact , it is already being used .
In a pilot TBI program launched the school year before last , six of our teachers engaged in Action Research
The Action-Research program will apply innovative pedagogy to the academic challenges uniquely facing boys .
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