AROUND CAMPUS
Strategic Priorities : Our Teachers And Our Boys
The school ’ s new strategic initiatives center on ensuring that Saint David ’ s remains at the forefront in boys ’ education . These priorities include the renovation of 15 East 88th Street to create optimal learning environments to meet ongoing 21st century programmatic needs as they unfold , and supporting our faculty and staff through enhanced professional development and compensation . On the professional development end , we continue to pilot the buildout of a mission-driven framework for best practices in teaching and learning for boys . The work concentrates on embedding and integrating this framework within existing professional development programs ( our onboarding mentor / mentee and summer grant / workshop programs and our supervision and evaluation program ). It also adds a research dimension to practice , which we have been piloting . On the following two pages are examples of our faculty ’ s pilot research and their contribution to the field of science-backed pedagogy .
Science Teacher Sam Woolford ’ s Action Research Published in Educational Journal
Upper School Science Teacher Sam Woolford ’ s article “ Impact of a Free-Choice (‘ Genius Time ’) Inquiry Project on Student Skill- Building , Agency , and Motivation ” appears in the fall 2022 issue of the peer-reviewed research journal i . e .: inquiry in education , published by the Center for Inquiry in Education of the National College of Education at National Louis University . The article is based on action research Mr . Woolford conducted last year that explored how he might harness personal motivation in passion projects that the boys in his science classes could design , execute and work on , creating space for individualized investigations .
Victoria Gilbert ’ s Sana , Sana Spanish Unit Featured in Book on Exemplar Curricula for Intercultural Competence
Modern Language Chair Dr . Victoria Gilbert was published in Designing World Language Curriculum for International Communicative Competence ( Dr . Jennifer Eddy , Bloomsbury Academic , Great Britain , 2022 ). The book explores performancebased pedagogical approaches “ focused around the design and use of authentic communication tasks that call for learners to transfer their emerging language skills in varied cultural contexts .” The author requested Dr . Gilbert share her unit of study with Grade Three . Sana , Sana learners share ways to demonstrate care and concern between cultures in matters related to health and wellness . “ In designing this exemplar ,” she writes , “ I thought of what type of experience a child might have while visiting a native Spanish speaker ’ s home if they lost a tooth , became ill , or had a fall in a play area . Stories help us to make meaning from unknowns and I find that children can relate to characters in a story setting .” The tasks each learner undertakes are tailored to his proficiency level , yet all are under the same health and wellness theme , and are done collaboratively as a cohort team .
30 • Saint David ’ s Magazine