The EARCOS Triannual JOURNAL A Link to Educational Excellence in East Asia
Featured in this Issue EARCOS History Community Service: - Rethinking Scholarships in Cambodia
FALL 2018
The EARCOS JOURNAL The ET Journal is a triannual publication of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools(EARCOS), a nonprofit 501(C)3, incorporated in the state of Delaware, USA, with a regional office in Manila, Philippines. Membership in EARCOS is open to elementary and secondary schools in East Asia which offer an educational program using English as the primary language of instruction, and to other organizations, institutions, and individuals. Objectives and Purposes * To promote intercultural understanding and international friendship through the activities of member schools. * To broaden the dimensions of education of all schools involved in the Council in the interest of a total program of education. * To advance the professional growth and welfare of individuals belonging to the educational staff of member schools. * To facilitate communication and cooperative action between and among all associated schools. * To cooperate with other organizations and individuals pursuing the same objectives as the Council. EARCOS BOARD OF TRUSTEES Margaret Alvarez, President (ISS International School) Stephen Cathers, Vice President (International School Suva) Norma Hudson, Secretary (International School Kuala Lumpur) Andrew Davies, Treasurer (International School Bangkok) David Toze, Past President (International School Manila) Stephen Dare (Hong Kong Academy) Barry Sutherland (International School of Phnom Penh) Saburo Kagei (St. Mary’s International School) Kevin Baker (Busan International School) Laurie McLellan (Nanjing International School) Office of Overseas Schools REO:
Lawrence A. Hobdell (ex officio)
EARCOS STAFF Executive Director: Richard Krajczar Assistant Director: Bill Oldread Consultant: Joe Petrone Elaine Repatacodo Ver Castro Robert Sonny Viray Rod Catubig Jr.
Giselle Sison Edzel Drilo RJ Macalalad
Letter from the Executive Director Dear Colleagues: This year is the 50th anniversary of EARCOS. I’m happy to still be the Director and help celebrate our wonderful history.This ET Journal has a great article about our organization from its roots way back to the 1960’s. I wish everyone the very best for the 2018-19 school year! A special welcome to 30 new heads of school and new principals. See pages 4-6 for all the names and schools. In addition to new leaders, we have 7 new member schools for a total of 165. We now have over 130,000 students, and nearly 16,000 teachers and administrators! As we grow, we maintain our commitment to providing the best quality professional development and support for the educators in our region. The 2018 EARCOS Leadership Conference (ELC) is scheduled for October 25 - 27 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a natural venue and has hosted the ELC for decades. We have an excellent group of presenters, with keynoters the likes of Sir John Jones, Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg, and Kim Phuc who will share her compelling story of tragedy to forgiveness. The ELC has a host of special presenters and EARCOS leaders offering practical, hands-on workshops. It is going to be a great one! Please review the EARCOS-sponsored events on the last page of this magazine. It is a full year of activities, with our Professional Learning Weekends (PLW). Last year, our PLWs were attended by nearly 1,500 teachers. These are truly some of the best and most costeffective professional learning experiences available. Thanks to our small, medium, and large schools who will host these events this year. Thanks to Mr. Bill Oldread, Joe Petrone and Ann Straub who make up our conference planning team along with Elaine Repetacodo the ELC staff coordinator and our wondeful EARCOS staff. (Edzel,Ver, Robert, Giselle, RJ and Rodz.) We hope you enjoy our EARCOS Journal. Please remember that it is our mission to help you in your task of school leadership. Keep in touch with Bill Oldread’s E-Connect and the EARCOS community on Google Plus. I look forward to seeing many of you in Kuala Lumpur for our 50th anniversary bash! Best wishes for a most successful and rewarding school year.
Dick Krajczar Executive Director Check out our updated website at www.earcos.org, our E-Connect blog, and our Google+ Community.
Editor: Bill Oldread Associate Editor: Edzel Drilo
East Asia Regional Council of Schools Brentville Subdivision, Barangay Mamplasan Biñan, Laguna, 4024, Philippines PHONE: 63-02-697-9170 FAX: 63-49-511-4694 WEBSITE: www.earcos.org
(Standing L-R) Rober Viray, Ver Castro, RJ Macalalad, Dick Krajczar, Bill Oldread, Rodz Catubig, and Edzel Drilo (Sitting L-R) Vitz Baltero, Giselle Sison, and Elaine Repatacodo
In this Issue
contents
4
Welcome New EARCOS Members - New Schools - New Heads - New High School Principals - New Middle School Principals - Elementary School Principals - Early Childhood Principals - New Associate Institutions - Individual Members
8
Global Citizenship Awardees
9
Global Citizenship Community Service Grant Recipients
10
EARCOS History
14
Curriculum Initiative - ENCHANTED FARM: A Classroom without Walls - Constructing a Table: The Redesigning of a Spanish Language Acquisition Program - Uniting the Mind: Teaching to the Right Side As Well As the Left Side of Our Brains - Team Teaching and Co-Teaching for Differentiation and Collaboration
24
Green and Sustainable - Making Art Meaningful: YCIS Beijing’s Wearable Arts Project
26
EdThought - Developing Wisdom in Schools - Global Mindedness Begins with Open Mindedness
28
Readers Corner
29
Press Release
30
Community Service - Rethinking Scholarships in Cambodia
32
EARCOS Biosphere Stewardship Camp Scholarship - Birth in Bali
33
Action Research - Understanding the Importance of Academics - Defining the Role of English Support in International Schools
36
Elementary School Art
41
On the Road with Dr. K
Back cover: Approved EARCOS Professional Learning Weekend SY 2018-2019
EARCOS and CIS - Institute On Higher Education Admission and Guidance EARCOS and CIS are pleased to announce the 4th Annual INSTITUTE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADMISSION AND GUIDANCE. Sept. 21-22, 2018 Bangkok, Thailand, Shangri-La Hotel visit www.earcos.org
The EARCOS Action Research Grant
In an ongoing effort to implement the EARCOS Strategic Plan, specifically Strategy E, to conduct, communicate, and archive relevant data and research to identify and enhance exceptional educational practices, grants will be made available to encourage our teachers, administrators, and professional staff to conduct action research to improve educational practices for the purpose of enhancing student learning. Action research is a reflective process, conducted in the school setting, to solve a real problem, or to improve and enhance the instructional process.This research may be undertaken by an individual, or by several people collaboratively. It is our belief that the results of such research will impact not only the researchers’ practices but also those of others with whom they share their findings.To that end, grantees will be expected to publish their findings, which will be made available to all EARCOS members on the website. Some researchers may elect to present their work at a subsequent ETC, ELC, or publish it in the EARCOS Journal. Please visit the EARCOS website for more information. www.earcos.org and see pages 33 and 35 for reports from a recent researchers. Action Research proposals are due to the EARCOS office by February 1, 2019.
Contribute to the ET Journal
If you have something going on at your school in any of the following categories that you would like to see highlighted in the Winter issue please send it along to us: Faces of EARCOS - Promotions, retirements, honors, etc. Service Learning Programs Campus Development - New building plans, under construction, just completed projects. Curriculum - New and exciting curriculum adoptions. Green and Sustainable - Related to campus development or to curriculum efforts. Community Service Projects Student Art - We showcase outstanding student art in each edition. (E.S. Fall Issue, M.S. Winter Issue, and H.S. Spring Issue) Student Writing Book Reviews Press Releases Thank you for your help in allowing us to highlight the great things that are going on in EARCOS schools.
Fall 2018
Fall 2018 Issue 1
EARCOS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2018 OCTOBER 25-27, 2018 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
“EARCOS 50th: Celebrating Our Legacy; Inspiring Our Future” The East Asia Regional Council of Schools is excited to invite you and your administrative staff as delegates at the 50th annual EARCOS Leadership Conference (ELC2018) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia scheduled for October 25-27, 2018. We have a host of excellent keynote speakers and workshop presenters. Our Keynoters are: SIR JOHN JONES, PASI SAHLBERG, and KIM PHUC PHAN THI We think the conference will prove to be professionally stimulating and will provide you with an opportunity for networking and building camaraderie.
OUR SPONSORS:
Supported by
EARCOS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2018
“EARCOS 50th: Celebrating Our Legacy; Inspiring Our Future”
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS SIR JOHN JONES - Sir John is one of a small, select band of educational professionals who have not only had their achievements recognised in the New Year’s Honours List (2003), but have been able to help and inspire others with their knowledge and passion. Sponsored by International School Services PASI SAHLBERG - Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator and author who has worked as schoolteacher, teacher educator, researcher, and policy advisor in Finland and has studied education systems, analysed education policies, and advised education reforms around the world. Sponsored by Taylor’s Schools KIM PHUC PHAN THI - Known as the “napalm girl,” or simply as “the girl in the picture”, PHAN THI KIM PHUC is the 9-year-old Vietnamese girl depicted in photographer Nick Ut’s iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, shot after a U.S. led napalm bombing of Kim’s village during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972.
PRECONFERENCES Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Curriculum Coordinator’s - Rami Madani ACS-WASC Pre-conference - Marilyn George
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
LTP (Leadership Through Partnership) (Wed./Thurs.) - Marc Frankel Business Managers’ Pre-conference - Gerrick Monroe ACS-WASC Visiting Committee Chair Training - Marilyn George Jennifer Abrams Scott McLeod Harvey Alvy Mark Milliron Marc Frankel Jesse Roberts Marilyn George Jennifer Sparrow Tim Gerrish Jeff Utecht Stephen Holmes Kendall Zoller Rami Madani International School Leadership Program - USF/WSU
visit www.earcos.org/elc2018/
SPECIAL PRESENTERS Jennifer Abrams Harvey Alvy Belinda Chiu Marc Frankel Tim Gerrish Mary Ann Haley-Speca Eeqbal Hassim Stephen Holmes Sir John Jones Laura Lipton Chantelle Love
Rami Madani Scott McLeod Mark Milliron Kim Phuc Jesse Roberts Pasi Sahlberg Martin Skelton Jennifer Sparrow Jeff Utecht Deb Welch Kendall Zoller
EARCOS MEMBER PRESENTATIONS Michael Allen Margaret Alvarez Kevin Baker Philip Balinger Joe Barder Justin Bedard Chris Beingessner Christopher Boyle Douglas Bradburn Megan Brazil Darren Brews Richard Bruford Sonia Bustamante Chris Capadona Mihoko Chida Elizabeth Cho David Coleman Jason Cooper Alan Cox Michael Cyrus John D’Arcy Andy Davies Andy Dougharty Damon Ealey Megan Eddington Jeff Farrington Deidre Fischer Elizabeth Gale Brian Garner Richard Gaskell Marcel Gauthier Marilyn George Jim Gerhard Katie Ham
Matt Harris James Hatch Michael Hibbeln Norma Hudson Steve Katzy Aimmie Kellar Helen Kelly Matthew Kelsey Chip Kimball Carol Koran Rebecca Lau Stuart MacAlpine Iain Macfarlane Simon Mann Emily McCarren Jane McGee Alasdair Mclean Michael Nachbar Cheryl Palamarek Zachary Post Ruth Poulsen Chai Reddy Katie Rigney-Zimmermann Jimbo San Juan Ben Shifrin Kristine Stamp-Jerabek Tyler Stinchcomb Barry Sutherland Ian Sutherland Billy Thomas Sarah Verdaguer Min (Caroline) Xu Chris Young Amy Zuber Meehan
Welcome New Schools >> American International School,Vietnam http://www.ais.edu.vn/ Makuhari International School https://www.mis.ed.jp/ Shanghai SMIC Private School https://www.smicschool.com/ Shen Wai International School https://www.swis.cn/ St. Paul American School Hanoi https://stpaulhanoi.net/ Yew Chung International School of Chongqing https://www.ycis-cq.com/en/
Welcome New Heads >> American International School,Vietnam William Johnson Bali Island School Garth Wyncoll Beijing City International School Julie Lawton British School Jakarta David Butcher Canggu Community School Keegan Combs Chadwick International School Ted Hill Chinese International School Sean Lynch Dalian American International School Blair Lee Grace International School Stephen Anderson Intercultural School of Bogor Donna Bloor International Christian School - Pyeongtaek Charlie Mooney International School of Dongguan Kelly Jo Pasch-Kramer Makuhari International School Trent Citrano Mt. Zaagkam School Mark Jenkins Ruamrudee International School Daniel Smith Saigon South International School Catriona Moran
Shanghai SMIC Private School Shen Wai International School Shenzhen College of International Education Shenzhen Shekou International School Singapore International School of Bangkok St. Paul American School Hanoi Stonehill International School Suzhou Singapore International School United Nations International School of Hanoi Vientiane International School Western Academy of Beijing Xiamen International School Yew Chung International School of Beijing Yew Chung International School of Chongqing Yew Chung International School of Qingdao
Kelley Ridings Ally Wu Neil Mobsby Greg Smith Teck Chin Ong David Trajtenberg Simon McCloskey Richard Bruford Jane McGee Elsa Donohue Marta Medved Krajnovic Deron Marvin Timothy Gray Neil McBurney Yvonne Ma
Welcome New High School Principals >> American International School,Vietnam Viki Yang American School in Japan, The Jon Herzenberg American School of Bangkok, The Jen Hartman Aoba-Japan International School Paul Fradale Asia Pacific International School Andy Murphy Beijing City International School Mark Sullivan Cebu International School Dale Wood Chinese International School Christine Doleman Daegu International School Scott McMullan Garden International School Kuala Lumpur Matt Corbett Grace International School Megan Randolph Gyeongnam International Foreign School Peter Lynch Hong Kong Academy Joanna Cummins Hong Kong International School David Lovelin Int’l Community School - Singapore Esther Myong International School of Myanmar Dr. Jeff Hill International School of Ulaanbaatar Cynthia Wissman ISE International School Alexander Bennett Korea International School Aimmie Kellar Korea International School-JeJu Campus Benjamin Wilkins 4 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Kunming International Academy Shamala Boice Nanjing International School Katie Ham NIST International School Angelo Coskinas QSI International School of Shenzhen Jocelyn Aebischer Raffles American School Tyler Bishop Ruamrudee International School Mr. James O’Malley Saigon South International School Jacob Hendrickson Shen Wai International School Daniel Legault St. Paul American School Hanoi Dr. David Trajtenberg Surabaya Intercultural School Sonia Chowdhury The British School New Delhi Mark Taitt The Harbour School Elizabeth Micci Tianjin International School Ryan Witt UIS Guangzhou Robert Service United Nations Int’l School of Hanoi Scott Schaffner Wuhan Yangtze International School Tom Williams Yangon International School David Falconer Yew Chung International School of Beijing Farah Sun Yew Chung Int’l School of Chongqing Victoria Wingate YK Pao School Mark Bishop
Welcome New Middle School Principals >> American International School,Vietnam Ben Martin American School of Bangkok, The Jen Hartman Aoba-Japan International School Paul Fradale Beijing City International School Mark Sullivan Cebu International School Dale Wood Faith Academy, Inc. Leighton Helwig Fukuoka International School Brian Freeman Garden International School Matt Corbett International Community School - Singapore Esther Myong International School of Myanmar Cheryl Huber International School of Ulaanbaatar Cynthia Wissman International School Suva Kristofer Stice ISE International School Holly Reardon
Kunming International Academy Shamala Boice Mt. Zaagkam School James Crawford Nanjing International School Ruth Clarke NIST International School Angelo Coskinas QSI International School of Shenzhen Brian Garner Shanghai American School Alan Phan St. Paul American School Hanoi Dr. David Trajtenberg The Harbour School Christine Greenberg United Nations International School of Hanoi Marc Vermeire United World College of South East Asia Peter Coombs Yangon International School Davis Falconer YK Pao School Lori Marek
Welcome New Elementary School Principals >> American International School Hong Kong Cami Okubo American International School,Vietnam Ross Halliday American Pacific International School Rebecca Caudill American School of Bangkok, The Jen Hartman Aoba-Japan International School Sachiko.Otsuka Asia Pacific International School Judy Park Ayeyarwaddy International School Brock Hughes Beijing City International School Sally Richmond Brent International School Manila Michelle Jingco British School Jakarta Shane Nathan Canggu Community School Andrew Read Cebu International School Glenn Davies Chinese International School Anne Gardon Christian Academy in Japan Jean Hino Faith Academy, Inc. Angela Mendoza International School of Myanmar Mark Baker ISS International School Elizabeth Loadwick
Korea International School Travis Peterson Nanjing International School Adam Dodge Northbridge International School Cambodia Kascha Reed QSI International School of Shenzhen Yaisa Banek Ruamrudee International School Mr. Joshua Fritts Shen Wai International School Anna Lawrenson St. Paul American School Hanoi Myong Eiselstein The British School New Delhi Ms. Melisha Trotman The Harbour School Christine Greenberg The International School Yangon Sandy Sheppard Tianjin International School SuJung Ham Wuhan Yangtze International School Latasha Carter Xiamen International School Angela Speirs Yew Chung International School of Beijing James Sweeney Yew Chung International School of Chongqing Emma Scott YK Pao School Siobhain Allum
Welcome Early Childhood Principals >> Aoba-Japan International School Sachiko.Otsuka Beijing City International School Alan Cox Beijing International Bilingual Academy Cynthia Wrenn Chadwick International School Pamela Castillo Concordia International School Shanghai Drew Gerdes Gyeonggi Suwon International School Mr. Jeff Williams International School Ho Chi Minh City Nancy Snyder International School of Beijing Clarissa Sayson International School Suva Wendy Harris Lanna International School Thailand Ms Kate Fenton Nagoya International School Aubrey Curran NIST International School Jane Cooper Osaka YMCA International School Ms. Judith Masaki
QSI International School of Shenzhen Lisa Sedlacek Ruamrudee International School Madeleine Bystrom Shenzhen Shekou International School Leda Cedo Singapore American School Jo McIlroy St. Paul American School Hanoi Myong Eiselstein Stamford American International School Michael Day Surabaya Intercultural School Bonnie Grizzle Teda International School Yvonne Williamson The British School New Delhi Emma-Jane Ritchie The Harbour School Christine Greenberg UIS Guangzhou Connie Chan United World College of South East Asia Lynda Scott (Dover Infant) Fall 2018 Issue 5
Welcome New Associate Institutions >> Alaress Pty Ltd - School box
Service and/or Specialty: K-12 Virtual Learning Environment & LMS
Biosphere Foundation
Environmental Education and Service Learning Camps for High School
BFX Furniture
Service and/or Specialty: Education Furniture
Callido Learning LLP
Service and/or Specialty: School Solutions Company
Education Horizons Group Pty Ltd
Service and/or Specialty: K - 12 School Software providers - Administration and Teaching and Learning
GROUND Asia
Service and/or Specialty: Educational Travel Specialist with Service Learning and Outdoor Education Expertise
Takumi Associates LLP
Service and/or Specialty: Operational Consulting for International Schools
Sam Labs
Manufacturer of wireless STEM/Coding solutions (Hardware/App/Content)
Sea Change Mentoring
Service and/or Specialty: Professional development, curriculum, and assessments in SEL, transitions support and mentoring for Internaional Schools
The Martec Group
Service and/or Specialty: Insurance/Consulting
THINK STRATEGIC FOR SCHOOLS
Educational Consultancy Services - Leadership, Governance, Strategic Planning, Coaching
Welcome New Individual Members >> Wanda McCullough, APU American International School Tighearnan Mooney, St. Joseph’s Institution International Elementary School Bradley Roberts, St. Joseph’s Institution International (SJI International)
6 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Ennead Architects LLP Full Page Ad
Fall 2018 Issue 7
Global Citizenship Awardees >> List of Global Citizenship Award 2018 Winners
This award is presented to a student who embraces the qualities of a global citizen. This student is a proud representative of his/her nation while respectful of the diversity of other nations, has an open mind, is well informed, aware and empathetic, concerned and caring for others encouraging a sense of community, and strongly committed to engagement and action to make the world a better place. Finally, this student is able to interact and communicate effectively with people from all walks of life while having a sense of collective responsibility for all who inhabit the globe.
Access International Academy Ningbo Alice Smith School American Int’l School Hong Kong American Int’l School of Guangzhou American School in Japan, The American School in Taichung American School of Bangkok, The Ayeyarwaddy International School
Maria Baigorri Teres Muiz Abd Halim Rachael Melissa Chowdhury Seung Won (Vicky) Jung Marina Takehana Lavinia Lin Yahia Helmy Thin Su San
Bandung Alliance Intercultural School Bandung Independent School Bangalore International School Bangkok Patana School Beijing City International School Brent International School Baguio Brent International School Manila Busan International Foreign School
Josiah Kisu Kim Melissa Kho Alexander John Kristine (Jih Lin) Huang Yichu Huang Da Yeon Choi Taekmin Kang Emily England
Canadian Academy Cebu International School Chadwick International School Chatsworth International School Chiang Mai Int’l School Christian Academy in Japan Concordia Int’l School Hanoi Concordia Int’l School Shanghai
Masao Katagiri Timothy Luke Sanders Yoo Bin Cho Sarah Suresh Napachole Sindhuchatra Noah Okada Hoang Anh “Thea” Ngo Patrick Ruan
Daegu International School Dalat International School Dalian American International School Dominican International School Dwight School Seoul
Danny SiYoon Lee Matthew Strong Yinuo Liu Gee Min “Ginny” Hwang Genna Yu
Hangzhou International School Harbour School, The Hong Kong Academy Hong Kong International School Hsinchu International School
Christian Engberg Russell Aylsworth Valeria Riquelme Lara Bianca Garcia Hannah Chow
Int’l Christian School - Hong Kong International School Bangkok International School Ho Chi Minh City International School Manila International School of Beijing
Ching Tung Nikita Chan Luisa Schmitt Nhu Mai Andrea Lee Bo Hyun (Louisa) Song
8 EARCOS Triannual Journal
International School of Kuala Lumpur International School of Phnom Penh International School of Qingdao International School of Tianjin International School of Ulaanbaatar ISE International School ISS International School
India Cooper Daline Ly Che Yeon Park Rina Yuminaga Misheel Enkhbayar Hana Oh Risa Yamazaki
Jakarta Intercultural School Sargun Kaur K. International School Tokyo Yuki Agarwala Kaohsiung American School Eugenia Lin KIS International School Saloni More Korea International School Naryeong Kim Korea International School - JeJu Campus Ewan (Suk Hoon) Chang Korea Kent Foreign School Abdu Hydoub Kunming International Academy Katherine Batista Lanna International School Thailand
Harry Creber
Marist Brothers International School Medan Independent School
Emily Hope Kaji Fauzan Pasaribu
Nagoya International School Nanjing International School Nansha College Preparatory Academy NIST International School
Shin Shyan (Aileen) Chuah Hibah Siddiqui Adam (Zi Xuan)Tu Ankita Brahmachari
Oberoi International School Osaka International School
Malaika Fernandes Xi Ming Pan
Prem Tinsulanonda International School Linnea Schmidt QSI International School of Shenzhen
Hanson Dai
Ruamrudee International School
Voraya Vorapanyasakul
Saigon South International School Celine Pham Saint Maur International School Rika Takahashi Seisen International School Gina Kim Seoul Foreign School Jaehee Cho Seoul International School Kevin Keebum Kim Shanghai American School - Pudong Campus Shi Qi KiKi Huang Shanghai American School - Puxi Campus Donna Jia Jia Qi Shanghai Community Int’l School - Hongqiao Campus Marcus Tan
Continued.. Shanghai Community Int’l School - Pudong Campus Shen Wai International School Shenzhen College of Int’l Education Singapore American School St. Mary’s International School Surabaya Intercultural School
Xiao Jian Zhang
Vientiane International School
Zazie Franck
Sai Yu Richard Leung “Matt” Wang Shu Elysia Chang Taekyun Lee Da Hyun Kim
Wells Int’l School – On Nut Campus Western Academy of Beijing Wuhan Yangtze International School
Jira Trinetkamol Tina Sang Ho Yeon (Heather) Won
Taejon Christian International School Taipei American School Teda International School The British School, New Delhi The International School Yangon Tohoku International School
Eunsoo (Amy) Lee Isabelle Marie Kintzley Jin Ge Cao Aashna Bali Wendy Kyaw Jiwon Lee
Yangon International School Yew Chung Int’l School of Shanghai Yokohama International School
Thet Htar Si Thu Costanza Cavalleri Krysta Nishizawa
Global Citizen nominee names are due to the EARCOS office by April 14, 2019.
United Nations Int’l School of Hanoi Nam Phuong Dang United World College of South East Asia - Ella McAuliffe Dover Campus United World College of South East Asia - Feven Naba East Campus UWC Thailand International School Sanam Tamang
Global Citizenship Community Grant Recipients >> All of us here at EARCOS wish to extend our sincere congratulations to the following Global Citizens who have been chosen to receive an EARCOS Global Citizen Community Service Grant of $500 to further their excellent community work during this upcoming academic year. The recipients are: Naba Feven Moges, UWCSEA - East Campus Project Name: Enastemirat(Let her learn) project
Misheel Enkbayar, International School of Ulaanbaatar Project Name: Verbist Care Center
Andrea Lee, International School Manila Project Name: Project JeepTree
Patrick Ruan, Concordia International School Shanghai Project Name: Xiaohusai
Keebum(Kevin) Kim, Seoul International School Project Name: Artemis. Magazine
Ankita Brahmachari, NIST International School Project Name: Roi Et- pRICEless
Eunsoo (Amy) Lee, Taejon Christian International School Recipient of Biosphere Stewardship Camp Scholarship (see article on page 32)
Fall 2018 Issue 9
East Asia Regional Council of Schools – Fifty Years of Direct Support to International Schools and Students Endeavoring to honor two histories written about EARCOS served as a clear reminder that a team of determined professionals in 1958 knew the importance of a “regular system of exchange between overseas schools”. Of course, their commitment and eagerness to provide an annual opportunity to “refresh knowledge and improve ability” led to what we know as the annual EARCOS Leadership Conference. As EARCOS celebrates its 50th anniversary, it recognizes those dedicated professionals whose insight and understanding helped place EARCOS in the most favorable position it currently enjoys among a worldwide group of international education service organizations.
John Hay), and the American Schools of the Philippines who, we are told in the report on the meeting, “invited the international group to hold its conference before and during the third annual meeting of American teachers and school principals in the Philippines.” The report goes on to say that, “The Conference was further aided by a timely and generous grant from the New World Foundation in Chicago.”
“A Brief History of EARCOS” written by Rev Charles W. Mock of Brent International School, aided this undertaking significantly. Compliments go to Rev Mock. It is suggested that the reader access this entire history in the link found at the end of this document. Below Rev. Mock’s history is excerpted, which begins with the founding background (1958-1968) followed by the three sustaining decades (1968- 1990), and concluding with the services expansion and membership growth years (1990-2018).
Pre-War 1. The American School in Japan, founded in 1902 2. Brent School, Baguio, founded in 1909 3. The American School of Manila (currently The International School of Manila), founded in 1920
Founding Background (1958-1968) Introduction There had been an American presence in Southeast Asia since the latter part of the nineteenth century; however, in the wake of World War II and the subsequent dismantling of the European Empires in the region, that presence became particularly significant. English-medium schools had existed in the region since the coming of the British, but the vastly increased military and commercial American presence in the early postwar era saw the birth of a ‘golden age’ of English-medium education which, with the gradual emergence of English as the language of science, industry and commerce, continues to this day. Background As the number of such schools grew, it was not long before the need was felt for some sort of cooperation between the schools in the region. Communications in the 1950’s were a far cry from what they are today, and, given the distances that separated them from their home countries, and the particular problems they faced functioning in a foreign setting, it is hardly surprising that these schools should feel isolated. The first formal move toward a regional organization began in October, 1958, when “The First Conference of International Schools in Asia” was held in Baguio, Philippines. The Conference was sponsored by the International Schools Foundation and co-hosted by the US Air Force, (which provided delegates with lodging at Camp 10 EARCOS Triannual Journal
The eleven schools that participated included some founded before World War II, and others that were established in its aftermath are listed below.
Post-War 4. Taipei American School, founded 1949 5. The International School of Djakarta, (currently Jakarta Inter cultural School) founded in 1951 6. The International School of Bangkok, founded in 1952 7. The International School of Rangoon (currently The Interna tional School of Yangon) founded in 1955 8. Singapore American School, founded in 1956 9. The Civil Air Transport Colony School, Tainan, Taiwan (no longer in existence) 10. Del Monte School, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. (no longer in existence) 11. The Lincoln Schools of Sumatra (no longer in existence) The Report on this Conference makes for fascinating reading. On the one hand, one is struck by how many of the problems faced by these schools are similar to those that schools of the region face still; on the other, one cannot help but marvel at the changes that have taken place since that time – principally, of course, in the realms of technology and communication but also in the growing internationalization of the English medium education community that has taken place since the late 1950’s. The Conference closed on a high note, resolving, among other things, to move towards closer collaboration in the areas of curriculum, accreditation and inter-school co-operation, as well as to hold a second conference the following year in Bangkok. Whether or not that meeting ever took place cannot be ascertained at this point; if it did, it left no trace either in the files of EARCOS or on the Internet.
(Finley P. Dunne, Jr., Associate Director for The International Schools Foundation, filed this comprehensive report, which is referenced above. He did so following The First Conference of International Schools in Asia, which took place in 1958. The report is an important artifact, as it supplies an understanding of the original mandate, which led to the birth of EARCOS in December 1968 followed by the inaugural conference held 24 – 28 November 1969 at the Hong Kong International School. The reader will find Mr. Dunne’s report at the link found at the end of this document. )
Teachers’ Conference (ETC) umbrella, which is explained in a detailed summary found, on page 6 in the EARCOS History Artifacts link at the end of this document.)
Sustaining Decades (1968-1990) Few records are available for the first two decades of EARCOS’s existence, and one must be content to rely almost exclusively on the memories of educators who were working in the region almost forty-five years ago and the occasional reference to the past in later documents, so much of what follows in this section is subject to correction and revision. The years following the Baguio conference saw rapid growth in the number of international schools in the region, and the pressure mounted to create a regional organization that would foster and coordinate closer collaboration and cooperation. A key role was played in these efforts by International Schools Services (ISS) and the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas schools (A/ OS), which sponsored conferences in the area. It was in December 1968, at a regional workshop sponsored by A/OS at the American School in Japan, that the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS) was finally born. There, delegates from the nineteen schools participating in the workshop, signed a memorandum in which it was agreed to establish a conference for administrators that would meet the needs of the region’s international schools by developing “supportive, collaborative relationships coupled with the deliverance of professional development activities to member schools.” No time was wasted. The first EARCOS Conference was held from the 24–28 November 1969 at the Hong Kong International School. At this meeting, a constitution was officially adopted that articulated the mission and established the structures of the new organization. EARCOS set up shop in Broomfield, Colorado where it was to remain for the next two decades. A six-member board was elected and an executive secretary (which title would later be changed to executive director) was appointed who would oversee the work of the organization in the region. To meet the needs of teachers, four sub-organizations were set up: The Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS); the Korean Council of Overseas Schools (KORKOS), the Central East Asia Regional Council of Schools (CERCOS), which served schools in China, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and finally the South East Asian Teachers and Counselors Conference (SEATCCO) whose conferences were hosted by the “Big Four” – the International School Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta International School, Singapore American School, and the International School of Bangkok. (Neither CERCOS nor SEATCO exist as discrete entities; however, their interests continue to thrive under the EARCOS
[SCMP Archive] HKIS hosts discussion on American schools in Asia [First published on Nov 26, 1969] The first EARCOS Board president was reportedly Stuart Phillips who served two years from 1970 to 1972; the next of whom we have notice was Robert Gaw who served from 1977 to 1978. The earliest executive secretary on record was Mark Crouch, who worked part-time out of the International School of Manila and who served from 1978 to 1979; his successor, Barbara Liester, served from 1979 to1986. Two names from those times stand out in particular: that of the A/OS Regional Officer (REO) Paul Luebke, who, according to what records we have, served in that office from 1971 to 1984, and his successor in that position, Dr. Vincent McGugan. Both remained active in the region in one capacity or other long after their retirements in 1984 and 1997 respectively. We have no further records until 1987 when, in the earliest EARCOS Quarterly (EQ) we have on file, Guy Lott Jr. (Headmaster at Taipei American School) is listed as Board President; he was in office for at least three years. Serving with him on the board at the time were Milton D. Jones (International School of Bangkok) as Vice President, Don Bergman, (Headmaster of Nagoya International School) as Secretary/Treasurer and Sister Asuncion Lecubarri, (Head of the Seisan International School in Tokyo), John Magagna (Jakarta International School) and Edward D. Adams (Headmaster, Seoul International School) were Members at Large. That same year, Edward C. Killin is listed as serving as executive secretary. The Spring ’88 Issue of the EQ reports that the previous decade had seen a significant increase in membership: from 48 schools serving 19, 257 students in 1981, to 64 schools serving 27,069 students in 1988, which, along with seventeen institutional and two individual members, brought the total membership to 88. This meant a significant increase in dues, though grants from A/OS and OSAC totaling $130,100 formed 75% of the EARCOS budget. The ‘Tentative EARCOS Calendar -1988” is the first such Calendar to appear in the files in the Biñan office. Events organized, facilitated or participated in by EARCOS included, an Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE) meeting in San Diego, the EARCOS Spring Board Meeting in Bangkok, summer staff development projects, clinical supervision programs over the summer, the EARCOS ’88 Sub-Regional Meetings in Bangkok and Taipei and the fall EARCOS board meeting also in Bangkok - a far cry from the 40 odd such events on the current EARCOS calendar! Fall 2018 Issue 11
Growth Years (1990-2018) In 1990, Robert Brewitt (Superintendent, International School of Bangkok) succeeded Guy Lott Jr. as President of the Board of EARCOS; he served until 1993 and was succeeded briefly by Richard T. Krajczar, (International School of Kuala Lumpur) who passed on the position to Monica Greely in 1994. Monica Greely remained in the post until 1998, when Dr. Peter Cooper (American School in Japan) was elected to succeed her. 1990 also saw the appointment of Dr. Fred Brieve as interim Executive Secretary of EARCOS to replace Ed Killin who had passed away in September of 1989; he was confirmed in this position the following year. Also new on the scene early in the decade was Dr. Carlton Bentz, who took over from Vincent McGugan as REO. Dr. Bentz would stay on the job until 1999. By 1991, EARCOS had transferred its office from Broomfield, Colorado to Fall Church Virginia. It did not remain there long. In response to a growing demand that the ‘head office’ should be located in the region, the new Executive Director, Dr. Richard T. Krajczar arranged for the headquarters to move again, and on August 1, 1996. EARCOS set up shop in Kuala Lumpur where Dr. Krajczar had arranged for rent-free office space on the Melawati Campus of the International School of Kuala Lumpur. Dr. Krajczar was charged by the Board with setting up an office and taking on Director responsibilities – hence the change in title. The operation was run on a tight budget - indeed Dr. Krajczar supported his housing and initial transportation in 1996/97. As things turned out, the sojourn in KL was short-lived. Difficulties in obtaining work permits, permission to operate, and other obstacles such as having to wait for two years for the installation of a landline, prompted the search for a new headquarters in the region. Dr. Krajczar explored several possible venues. One major requirement was the need of two telephone lines that insured fax capability. Finally, on the recommendation of Dick Robbins, Headmaster of Brent International School, Manila, and at the invitation of Headmaster, Fr. Gabriel Dimanche, the Board, on Dr. Krajczar’s recommendation, settled on the campus of the Brent International School of Subic as the ideal location. Located in the former US base of Subic Bay, the site provided all the facilities needed to run an office; moreover, the costs were low when compared to other sites in the region, and government regulations did not present a problem. As Dr. Krajczar puts it in the ‘From the Editor’ section of the Spring Issue, 1998 of the EARCOS Quarterly: Subic Bay is wonderful, with clear air, little traffic, friendly people and great communication hook-ups” With the matter of location settled, it was time to hire new staff: the first on the job was Rovita “Vitz” Baltero, who was joined in 1999 by Elaine Repatacodo, both of whom remain with EARCOS today. Also instrumental in facilitating the move and the setting up of the office was Dr. Krajczar’s wife, Sherry who, among other things, served as bookkeeper, office manager and editor of the EARCOS Quarterly. Accounting, during those years, was in the hands of an accountant in the US hired by EARCOS. In 1997 at a sub-regional Conference in Kuala Lumpur, it became clear that a closer relationship between the sub-regional confer12 EARCOS Triannual Journal
ences would cut costs through joint planning and the sharing of speakers and other resources. The discussion that followed led to the formation in 1998 to a joint EARCOS SEATCCO task force to study the future of SEATCO. The hosting of conferences was becoming an increasingly heavy burden on the four schools that alternated as hosts for the event. It was decided that EARCOS would henceforth take over the running of the SEATCCO conferences. At the SEATCCO ’98 Conference, the last managed by that organization, a ‘handing- over’ ceremony took place, and a new entity formed: the SEATCO-EARCOS Conference (SEEC). EARCOS then became, for the first time, responsible for organizing conferences for teachers and administrators - a milestone had been passed. (A detailed explanation of the emergence of ETC is contained in the EARCOS history written by current executive director, Richard Krajczar, Harlan Lyso, long-serving EARCOS board member and head of school, and Joe Petrone, former Jakarta International School principal and curriculum coordinator, who most recently served as EARCOS assistant director. This narrative provides a snippet of EARCOS’s early days. However, it primarily follows the emergence of sub-regional educator conferences: KORCOS (Korean Council of Overseas Schools), CERCOS (comprised of schools in China, Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan), JCIS (Japan Council of International Schools), SEATCO (South East Asia Teachers Conference (comprised of the “big four” schools – at the time – ISKL, JIS, SAS, and ISB). The history discusses the early beginnings of each and explains the evolution of these sub-regionals to what we know today as, EARCOS Teacher Conference (ETC), which was inaugurated in 2003. The reader will find this history in the link at the end of this document.) Growth continued apace throughout the 90’s. By 1998, the number of EARCOS members had risen from 64 schools to 88 schools in one decade. Revenues also had grown considerably, and not only due to increased membership. A/OS had asked EARCOS to be responsible for $210,000 dollars it received from a school in the region that had closed. EARCOS housed this fund and continued to receive interest from it until the entire fund was reduced to zero in 2004/05. The EARCOS 1997/98 budget was $475,126, a significant increase over the approximately $175,000 budget of 1988. In addition, A/ OS grants now amounted to about 6 % of the budget, rather than the 75% of ten years earlier.
2000-2001 SEEC Advisory Committee. standing left to right: Dick Krajczar, Donna Romack, Dave Zakem, Bindu Bammi, Jennifer Sparrow, Brad McClain, Paul Pescatore, Joe Petrone, Ruth Volz; seated left to right: Meagan Enticknap, and Fran Hoffman.
Millennium Decade Plus Four The first decade of the new millennium witnessed several important changes. There was the usual succession of Board Presidents: Mark Ulfers (Taipei American School) followed by Dr. Peter Cooper (American School in Japan followed by Harlan Lyso, (Seoul Foreign School). He in turn was succeeded by Tim Carr in 2008. In 2007, in order to increase diversity, the number of Board members was increased from six to nine. At the EARCOS Annual General Meeting in November of 2001, strong support was evident for a proposal that had been raised at a sub-regional meeting earlier in the year to the effect that EARCOS should henceforth take over the organization and management of one joint educators’ conference for all the East Asian schools. As a result, as Dr. Krajczar wrote in the Fall ’01 Issue of the EQ: “ In March, we will be organizing the final SEEC Educators’ Conference ... in Kuala Lumpur. In 2003 we will organize the first all-EARCOS conference for teachers in Kota Kinabalu. After years of discussing, working with all the EARCOS board and teacher representatives ... and with the support from all the heads of schools and regional organizations it will become a reality.” In 2002, the EARCOS office moved from Subic Bay to office space in Brent International School, Manila, in Barangay Mamplasan, Biñan, Laguna, south of the capital; it has remained there till today. Faithful staffers Vitz Baltero and Elaine Repatacodo moved to Mamplasan with the office. Over the next few years other members were added to the staff: Ver Castro in 2004, Edzel Drilo in 2005, Robert Viray in 2006 and driver Rodz Catubig in 2010. Dr. Carlton Bentz ended his stint as REO in 2000 for Southeast Asia and was replaced in that post by Beatriz Cameron, who continued the long history of close cooperation between EARCOS and the State Department until 2004 when Dr. Connie Buford took over and relations between A/OS and EARCOS remained strong. In the same year, Richard and Sherry Krajczar announced that they would be retiring. That year the EARCOS Board named Robert & Linda Sills to replace them, with Linda to serve as Associate Director. The handover took place in 2005 and it looked like a new era was beginning for EARCOS. However, Robert Sills died unexpectedly at the end of 2006, and the position passed on an interim basis to Linda Sills. She held the fort for a year until Dr. Krajczar returned to take up the job of Executive Director once more. He remains in that position today. Ms. Sills continued as his Assistant until 2009 when Bill Oldread, a former Shanghai American School and Brent School Administrator took over from her. Growth during the first decade of the 21st Century was remarkable: by 2006 EARCOS membership had risen to 105 schools and institutions serving approximately 7,700 faculty and 70,000 students. By 2010 that number was 116 schools, serving 9,800 faculty and 83,000 students. David Toze became President of the EARCOS Board in 2013/14 and would see EARCOS membership reach a total of 138 schools serving 12,000 faculty and over 102,000 students. As noted above, EARCOS began in 1968 serving 19 member schools in nine countries. And, now serves 165 member schools – both regular and affiliate – in 19 countries in the east Asia region to include: Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Ka-
zakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States of America, and Vietnam. EARCOS warmly embraces 160 associate members representing a myriad of publishers, a growing number of universities, youth organizations, and other institutions that support EARCOS’ dynamic mission of service. Also, EARCOS welcomes more than 50 individual members, who share the aims of promoting exceptional educational practices in collaborative learning communities. When one reflects on early beginnings, it is obvious that EARCOS was founded on an enduring platform of collaborative leadership, which is manifest through the robust suite of services and sponsorships offered to today’s member schools. And, over the 50 years of progressive evolution, EARCOS’ openness and cooperative spirit have been certain contributors to the wealth of relevant services its members currently appreciate. Significant among these services and sponsorships are the support programs it offers directly to teacher and student leaders. The rapid growth of EARCOS, especially, in the past two decades has been intentionally planned and governed by a visionary cast of extraordinary trustees, who have selected and empowered talented and committed executives to implement a strategic vision, mission, and guiding policies. There is little surprise that the current executive director, Dr. Richard Krajczar, has faithfully and instrumentally served during the past three decades; and, he has the distinction of being the longest serving EARCOS executive. Dr. K’s leadership acumen, affable style, and deep commitment to service has been significant elements that have led EARCOS to formulate and implement the many programs, services, and sponsorships now available to its membership. We hope you will join a large number of fellow members and celebrate the 50 years of EARCOS service at the upcoming EARCOS Leadership Conference in Kuala Lumpur, October 25 -27, 2018. Come help EARCOS acknowledge all those who have contributed to its enormous success and join former EARCOS trustees, administrators, staff, who will use the occasion to honor members past and present. EARCOS will happily applaud a history of vigilance over and commitment to the professional growth and development of school leaders and the students they serve. Also, EARCOS intends to seize this historic occasion to commend the contributions of Dr. Richard Krajczar, or Dr. K, who will be hosting his final EARCOS Leadership Conference (ELC), as executive director. Dr. K will be embarking on a new journey and we will collectively wish him well in this next life chapter. It is our hope that you will visit the links to the early history of EARCOS and revisit the multiplicity of services offered to member school, which have been collaboratively developed over the past half-century. EARCOS History Artifacts: https://tinyurl.com/y8tvuuwj
Fall 2018 Issue 13
Curriculum Initiative >>
ENCHANTED FARM: A Classroom Without Walls
By Jp Villanueva, Brent International School Baguio
ing experience’’ (Kolb,1984 as cited by Gross & Rutland, 2017).
Much of what I learned from my formal education I learned from within the confines of a classroom. I grew up in one of the major cities in the Philippines and the elementary and high school I went to was located at the city’s center. Most of the campus, from the playground to the classrooms, is concrete.
The challenge in teaching three International Baccalaureate (IB) courses is to find a good combination of maximizing student learning based on an extensive course content, preparing the students toward achieving assessment objectives, and motivating them to maintain their sanity until they finish their senior year. For us to have an out-of-syllabus activity, we may have to forego several hours of class time, without guarantee that the learnings from this activity can suffice what were missed.
I claim to know how to garden, but the knowledge I have are from the books I read as a child, and from teacher demonstrations. I know that the best type of soil is loam. It is darker in color, as seen in a picture from the book I borrowed from the library. Until now, I have yet to be successful in keeping a plant alive. This kind of traditional teaching approach was proven in many studies to be not the most effective. For students to fully understand or demonstrate understanding on a certain topic, concept or subject, students need to be engaged and participate in their own learning (Hackett, 2016, Winsett, et. al., 2016). The concept of experiential learning was first developed by John Dewey, Kurt Lewin and Jean Piaget through their own experiential work, but was later on developed as a unique perspective on learning and development by David Kolb in 1984 (Sternberg & Zhang, 2000). The emphasis is on the word, “experiential” highlighting the significance of experience differentiating it from other learning approaches. Learning through experience is a ‘‘process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transform14 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Since I started teaching IB, I have had plans for educational/exposure trips that may provide my students opportunities for experiential learning that are related to the courses I teach, and to advocacies on agricultural development, poverty & human dignity, and social responsibility. The new syllabus of IB Business Management introduced new concepts like for-profit and not-for-profit social enterprises, and old concepts that has more emphasis such as ethics and social responsibility. I also found support from our IB/CAS coordinator where links to the CAS Program made this trip more concrete. Our students, accompanied by several of us teachers, were able to visit the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm (GKEF) some 200 kilometers away from where our school is, a 6-hour trip from Baguio City last September 2017. GKEF is the main flagship project of Gawad Kalinga (GK).They transformed this wide parcel of idle land in Bulacan, a province north of the capital, where insurgents used to linger, into a thriving self-
sufficient community, initially providing them access to decent housing. After which, social enterprises were established within the Enchanted Farm by residents themselves and GK volunteers, where they utilize the abundant resources available there and create wealth for themselves, for their families and for their community. The end goal of GKEF and GK is to take these families out of poverty, through their own means and become self-sufficient and regain their human dignity. The students were able to meet volunteers of GK who come from various parts of the world, listening to their testimonials on how GK changed their lives, and how they are going to replicate the GK model in their own countries. They met social entrepreneurs in the Enchanted Farm and witnessed first-hand the production process of these social enterprises. They were able to immerse themselves in various farm activities, like waking up early in the morning to plant rice in the fields, make fertilizer from a combination of chicken dung and loam soil, and plant bamboo. Learning from experience requires four capabilities, namely: (1) an openness and willingness to involve oneself in new experiences (concrete experience); (2) observational and reflective skills to view these new experiences from a variety of perspectives (reflective observation); (3) analytical abilities to integrate ideas and concepts created from their observations (abstract conceptualization); and (4) decision-making and problem-solving skills to put these new ideas and concepts in practice (active experimentation) (Kolb, 1984 as cited by Lin, et. al., 2016). Without explicitly discussing these capabilities to the students or trying to pry these capabilities out from deep within each of these students’ characters, they came out freely and naturally. The realiza-
tions and lessons that the students derived from this two-day activity are priceless, and to hear them talk about their experience among themselves and to the other students in school is invaluable. Aside from providing them an avenue for experiential learning, I had other “hidden” agenda when I was planning this trip. First, to convince at least one of them to write their Internal Assessments (IA) about a social enterprise, where they can conduct a research on an existing problem and provide possible solutions for the enterprise to solve this problem. Secondly, to increase awareness of this type of firms, so that more people will be encouraged to establish social enterprises and provide opportunities for the poor and the marginalized in our society; and, lastly, to spark a spirit of volunteerism in them, so they can be able to have that heart of compassion, and be catalysts for change when they become leaders of the future. There were several who did their IA on a social enterprise. The “Happiness Club”, an extracurricular organization was initiated by two students primarily to conduct community service activities locally. These students are now more aware of the poverty and the inequality in our society now. Small, baby steps toward the greater goal of changing humanity. These are truly priceless lessons from the Enchanted Farm, where no walls stand to prevent anyone from being creative, innovative and excellent toward the goal of wealth, success and greatness. I am hopeful for this world’s future because this next generation of leaders who have sharp minds and caring hearts will transform the world, a world where opportunities are provided equally to all, a world where everybody lives with dignity, a world where no one is left out.
earcos.org cois.org EARCOS-CIS Institute on Higher Education Admission & Guidance Date: 21 - 22 September 2018 Location: Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
The two-day event includes general sessions and fairs for both universities and schools. This is the perfect opportunity to connect and build international relationships that will support students’ search for the best-fit university. www.earcos.org | www.cois.org
Fall 2018 Issue 15
Curriculum Initiative >>
Constructing a Table: The Redesigning of a Spanish Language Acquisition Program By Sarah Sánchez Armstrong and Mary Taylor-Boehm Spanish Language Instructional Team at Busan Foreign School Constructing a table out of the disparate remnants of repurposed wood is often more difficult than building a new table from scratch. To pose an even greater challenge is to build a table that others, with their unique plans and perceptions, have already begun to build. Often, we as educators work to extend, mend, deconstruct, and redesign existing programs laid in place by our predecessors. Individual program components may function independently, creating an experience for our students which is fragmented, discontinuous, and at times, repetitive. Thus, in order to be most effective, we must mend the very foundation of our practice. With this metaphor in mind, we aim to redesign, unify, and strengthen the K-AP Spanish language program at Busan Foreign School into one that is holistic, retains a higher percentage of our students, and fosters confident communicators. This article specifically addresses the challenges and successes we have faced in the high school program. This 2017/2018 school year, we aspire to discern the effectiveness of language acquisition as an approach to foster interpersonal communication growth at the individual level, with an emphasis on our learners within their second and third year of high school Spanish, whose skills and needs vary drastically as a result of their foundation. This year, Spanish 2/3 was offered as a combined level course which we are co-teaching. The students in this course began their Spanish education with a foundation in language learning (the study of the Spanish language, much of the time in English), which resulted in low level functioning in terms of interpersonal communication skills (writing, speaking, and listening comprehension). When compared to our first year students who have only experienced language acquisition (exposure to language used in context through comprehensible input2 strategies), the differences in the accuracy and performance levels between these two groups are striking. The Spanish 2/3 group generally struggles with confidence, fluency, and retention, as well as with maneuvering through and manipulating different verb tenses. In stark contrast, after only six months of Spanish immersion, our beginning students are confident, fluent and adaptable when speaking, and have retained enough language (both vocabulary and grammar) to sustain basic conversations, ask questions, and read/comprehend articles in Spanish with ever increasing linguistic complexity. How then were we to repair this section? After identifying the disparities in our learners’ needs, and aligning their needs to our program goals, we designed our Spanish 2/3 course with the purpose of targeting the students at their individual performance levels to foster their interpersonal communication skills and fortify the program as a whole. The process has been bumpy; yet, we learned from our failures, which have ultimately propelled 16 EARCOS Triannual Journal
us toward our current successes. Through continual data collection in the form of student maintained portfolios, periodic portfolio review, the creation of student growth goals, and feedback looping1, coupled with strategies that we have acquired during professional development workshops and independent studies2, we developed a routine which is proving effective in helping us to achieve our current and overarching program goals. The students in the combined Spanish 2/3 course are now divided into two groups. One group contains students who perform (in terms of Kagan Cooperative Learning3) in the mid-high to high range when compared to all the students in the course, despite the number of years that they have been studying Spanish. The second group are those who perform in the mid-low to low range. Due to the complex school-wide scheduling of students and teachers, on Mondays and Fridays all Spanish 2/3 students come together in a single classroom. The learning activities on Mondays focus on listening comprehension and structured speaking, revolving around a central theme that builds off the background knowledge that both groups of students share. Several students, through their aforementioned, self-created goals, recognize their need to develop these two areas and this format is conducive to that growth. On Fridays, all students are engaged in Readers and Writers Workshop. Tuesdays through Thursdays, the groups work apart, with the same designated teacher, in two separate classrooms.Though both groups often study the same theme or cultural topic, the teacher presentations are differentiated: targeted grammar instruction, comprehensible input and language acquisition activities are all based on the group’s ability.This strategy has proven to be advantageous for many reasons. First, it halved the overall size of the larger class, allowing for stronger relationships. Second, it has allowed students within each group to flourish within the ranks of similarly leveled peers. For example, a student in the mid-low range, who initially struggled and was overshadowed when placed amongst others who routinely performed at a significantly higher level, now has the ability to rise up and be a leader amongst peers at or below his/her own proficiency level. Finally, it allows for more level-appropriate instruction and gives both teachers freedom of design. The strategies implemented during our modified Readers and Writers Workshop on Fridays further allow us to target the diverse levels of the group. The writing prompts in the mini-lesson are derived from student-generated goals or areas of need which arise during our weekly formative assessments. The post-writing, regardless of the topic, is then evaluated based on either an all writing rubric or a single point rubric4 which the students know well. Aligning with the current shift in language acquisition classrooms toward Free Voluntary Reading, students choose novels that are individually challenging;
and the freedom of choice expands as students increase in language proficiency level. Students at the lowest spectrum of the class read common texts that can be easily guided and monitored for comprehension. In addition, during the twenty-five minute reading block, students participate in one-on-one conferencing with the teacher, allowing for authentic interpersonal communication in Spanish and for time to check-in and demonstrate progress toward their personal goals. How do we know if our efforts have been effective? Through feedback looping [1], we ask the students to comment on their experience and to periodically revisit their goals, showing proof of personal growth. We often compare work samples and student performance on assessments. Further, as colleagues we check-in with one another daily, and utilize our monthly Professional Learning Community meeting time to adjust our strategies. Redesigning the Spanish language program at Busan Foreign School has been anything but simple. Yet, upon completion of the combined level course, we are confident that one more section of our program “table” will have been rectified, offering our students an enriched base as they continue forth in their Spanish language education. It is our hope that, through our research, strategy development, and proof of success, Busan Foreign School will continue to hire teachers capable of cultivating and further enhancing our vision of a holistic K-AP Spanish language acquisition program. We believe this will result in more rapid and balanced student growth, higher achievement and retention levels, and students who function with increased confidence and success at the highest AP level of Spanish. ¡Olé!
This practice stems from the understanding that, when asked the right questions in the right way, students can articulately communicate their social-emotional and academic needs. It also improves the quality of the work students produce and increases student investment in their learning. If you wish to understand the process of Feedback Looping more fully, please visit the Professional Growth and Development 2016 and Beyondpage on Sarah’s website. 1
Bex, Martina. The Comprehensible Classroom, https://martinabex.com/.Accessed 25 Feb 2018. “The Case for Comprehensible Input,” Language Magazine, 17 July 2017, www. languagemagazine.com/2017/07/17/case-for-comprehension. Limacher, Ute. “ Language Acquisition Versus Lanugage Learning,” Ute’s International Lounge, 2016, www.utesinternationallounge.com/language-acquisition-versus-languagelearning. Saffran, Jenny R., et. all. “The Acquisition of Language by Children,” PNAS, N ov 2001, www.pnas.org/content/98/23/12874.full. 2
“Forming Teams.” K agan Cooperative Learning: It’s All About Engagement, Kagan Publishing & Professional Development, p.24. 3
Gonzalez, Jennifer. “Meet the #Single Point Rubric,” Cult of Pedagogy, 4 Feb 2014, www.cultofpedagogy.com/single-point-rubric/. Hashem, Danah. “6 Reasons to Try a Single-Point Rubric,” E dutopia, 24 Oct 2017, www.edutopia.org/article/6-reasons-try-single-point-rubric. Sánchez Armstrong, Sarah. “Taller de escritores y lectores_Written Assessment Rubric 1,” Google Docs, 15 Jan 2018, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YYLE-tPg4VJltBoqqDsVq4NZqyDO6kpEdUR6LUrgcSg/edit?usp=sharing. Sánchez Armstrong, Sarah. “Taller de escritores y lectores_Written Assessment Rubric 2,” Google Docs, 26 Jan 2018, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ca 6EllIKz4IKliCqBJc0f1-v3cpeBtIa-EtuWegCGtQ/edit?usp=sharing. 4
Submit an Article >> The EARCOS Journal We are currently planning the Winter issue with a submission deadline of December 1, 2018. As you can see from our previous issues, we have moved to more of a magazine format with regular features. We invite you to share the great things going on at your school with the other schools in the EARCOS region.
What can be Contributed?
Welcome New Member Schools, New School Heads, Principals and Associate members. Faces of EARCOS – Promotions, retirements, honors, etc. Campus Development – New building plans, under construction, just completed. Curriculum Initiatives – New and exciting adoption efforts, and creative teacher ideas. Green and Sustainable – Related to campus development and/or curriculum. Service Learning Action Research Reports - Summaries of approved action research projects Student Art – We will highlight ES art in Fall issue, MS art in Winter issue, and HS art in Spring issue. Student Writing – Original short stories, poetry, scholarly writing. Reading Corner - Book reviews
Submit your article to
Bill Oldread at boldread@earcos.org or Edzel Drilo at edrilo@earcos.org
Fall 2018 Issue 17
Curriculum Initiative >>
Uniting the Mind: Teaching to the Right Side As Well As the Left Side of Our Brains
By Memri Tagle Writer, Education Consultant, and Language Acquisition Specialist currently teaching and coaching at the Surabaya Intercultural School, Indonesia
It is 2018, and educators around the world continue to search for best practices to improve instruction, and while there is no magical remedy, or a one size fits all strategy, there is a humane approach worth considering that could enhance the educational experiences of our students. I recently conducted an action research study to look at the importance of “uniting the mind,” or planning instruction that engages students’ strengths as well as develop all parts of their intellect. While high test scores may indicate success in teaching and mastery of a particular subject at that particular time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have fully grasped the content enough to use it or recall any of it six months later. I have found that teaching to the creative side of the mind, the more holistic and imaginative side as well as the preferred linear and logical left brain, we, as educators, can make teaching and learning more enjoyable and go beyond preparing students for formal assessments. These strategies are not new, but quite often diminished in high school classrooms. In balancing instructional programs in secondary schools, educators can serve to further ignite creativity and innovation, for using both sides of our brains broadens our ways of knowing and serve to sculpt and strengthen long term memory rather than the short term memory most often fostered for test taking. Affording students with a range of opportunities to engage in content, concepts and practices using their right as well as their left sides of the brain is perhaps one of the best ways for students to stop regurgitating facts and extend their thinking, their reasoning and encourage creativity with imaginations to make profound meaning of what they learn, and perhaps, use it for the benefit of humanity now and in the future.
18 EARCOS Triannual Journal
In first grade, kids love to create, use their imagination, color and draw, but when they get older, they begin comparing and measuring their drawing to others; they start judging themselves and begin restricting their own creativity. In secondary school, most students will tell you that they can’t draw, yet when given an artistic or more imaginative task and they use the right side of their brains, the results reveal different ways of knowing and understanding, and move more towards developing their long term memory. In conducting the study, I gathered data from a hemispheric dominance test from students in grades 10-12. The results indicated that the majority of students were left brain dominant, meaning they leaned towards linear, logical learning tasks, which was not surprising since the order in our western modeled society and classrooms is left brain centered in teaching, learning and living. In comparing the grade levels, the hemispheric dominance results showed that tenth and eleventh grade classes were similar with nearly two thirds of the students left brain dominant, one fourth were “both,” neither right and left dominant, and less than one fourth as right brain dominant. The twelfth grade class results, on the other hand, showed nearly half of the students as right brain dominant and only a little over one third as left brain dominant. This could possibly explain why this class continued to be the most behaviorally and academically challenging group of students in the entire high school. After teaching them for one and a half years, they had made incremental gains in writing and discourse, yet they were still a constant group that seemed to be hitting the reset button nearly everyday.
Make this school year
your best ever
Since 1990, Corwin has been providing research-based books on the timeliest topics by the world’s highest-profile experts.
POPULAR TITLES
Corwin resources are: • Authored by experts • Formatted for hands-on, practical guidance • Research-based and peerreviewed for quality • Suitable for professional learning and graduate course settings
Want more info about upcoming webinars and resources? Join our email list for the latest resources and education news sent directly to your inbox! Visit bit.ly/corwinemail or scan the QR code to sign up today
For enquiries on these titles, please email us at sagebooks@sagepub.co.uk OR visit uk.sagepub.com APCN18830
APCN18830_EARCOS Tri-Magazine-Sept_Ad.indd 1
8/15/2018 11:18:12 AM
Most of these right brain dominant students were the ones who had a hard time sitting down, staying on task, bored quickly, were consistently late to class, and for the most part, very sensitive, and tended to be more emotional. This isn’t to say the left brain dominant students were never late to class or could be creative, but the right also had the most outside of the box thinkers who seemed to be more inquisitive. This didn’t mean they were necessarily the most artistic. I also conducted a coloring assessment task where they were given three rules to color shapes drawn around their name, including: 1. use as many of the eight colors as you like, 2. try not put the same colors next to each other, and 3. do not leave anything white.The left brain dominant students pretty much followed the rules and most looked similar, yet there were some that indicated more artistic ability and creativity, indicating there were left brained dominant artists. And, the students designated as “both” or “right” brain dominant students weren’t necessarily the most artistic, but they seemed to have more that didn’t follow the rules and were the most unique. So what does this mean for teaching and learning when the structure of schools from scheduling to classroom lessons tend to favor left brain dominant thinkers? As educators we do not need to invent anything new, we just need to create balance in teaching and learning.
transform and become thoroughly engaged in the activity. This particular student struggles with reading and writing at grade level on left brain tasks, but I know he can understand concepts. In the first semester, I assigned him the role of Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of the infamous Canterbury Tales, during a mock trial where Chaucer was charged with blasphemy. I was quite pleased to see this young man argue in his defense better than his attorneys, but had he only had the chance to write his argument, he may have not been as successful in articulating his ideas.
Uniting the mind, the left and right hemispheres, requires reflection on our own ways of thinking and how we present information. Educators willing to make a conscious effort to provide a balanced learning environment for left brain dominant students to use their right hemisphere and the right side dominant students more opportunities to create with their dominant side perhaps all students will feel embraced and empowered. In high schools, teachers unintentionally tend to neglect the right brained students’ needs. Quite often, right brain students, but not always, tend to be disruptive in restrictive left brain structured classrooms where the focus is on maximizing time with linear instructional lessons.These and even left brain dominant students can become bored and disruptive, and they need a break. When I sense students have hit a wall with left brained discourse, I will stop and allow them a power nap or draw symbols and motifs from the story on the chalkboards, “play” a game, play music or connect what we are learning to something in their lives and just talk with them and not at them.
Another student whose first language is Korean, has been acquiring English within the content of high school level courses in World and American literature over the last two years. She is a hard worker and her writing has improved greatly, yet she rarely speaks in class and her written assessment tasks and verbal presentation demonstrate minimal evidence that she understands major concepts at grade level or in depth. However, when I gave her a drawing assignment to illustrate a character from the novel,The Secret Life of Bees, with the instructions to depict the character from a feminist viewpoint and portray the character’s unique perspective, her drawing was beautifully insightful and right on. I had taught literary criticism with a focus on feminism theory, and I had assumed that those concepts may be too difficult for her to see in the texts as the concepts required one to connect historical, cultural and geographic realities. However, when she finished her illustration, I was pleasantly surprised to see how she really understood the novel, the role of the character, the author’s purpose and the overall themes of the story.
During a multiple choice, matching and short essay response test on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I observed one of my twelfth grade students struggle with his test. He was anxious the entire time, constantly looking around, and bouncing his legs up and down. After he turned in his test I gave him the coloring assignment with the various shapes and crayons and explained the directions on how to color the shapes, but unlike the literature test, it was not a distressing experience. It almost acted as a sedative as I watched him calmly
The lateralization theory, the understanding that each hemisphere of the brain processes information differently and that one side tends to dominate our thinking, should not be forgotten as children move into secondary schools. Much time is spent in scaffolding learning for younger children, and providing a range of artistic, project-based learning, hands-on activities, and experiential learning to imagine, manipulate and actively engage children in learning. However, secondary teachers minimally employ these strategies in the upper grades and
20 EARCOS Triannual Journal
This doesn’t mean I do not teach writing. It tells me that I need to model writing and diversify my instruction between right and left brain activities. Diversification and creating balance in our instructional programs allows for the use of our less dominant side of our brains. The right hemisphere is the analogical, creative and imaginative side, to engage, make connections, ask questions, and manipulate what they learn in a multitude of ways so that what they learn becomes part of their long term memory and who we are. The right benefits from the predictable structure of the left while the left brain dominant students can benefit by extending their understanding in creating and making meaningful connections.
straight forward readings, lecture, linear presentations is the norm. And although hands-on activities such as the science actively engage students in discovery, in the end, what assessment tasks allow them to demonstrate understanding using both hemispheres of the brain. We’ve always lived in a right brained world where creativity led the way, that is, before the Victorian Age ratified rigid rules, enforced with brutal discipline and linear practices, and allowed left brain focused schools to become the norm. A focus on left brain teaching to control students in classrooms is not the most effective way to teach and learn if we are to truly strive to nurture genuine intellectual curiosity and build long term memory for students to use in their future. It is perhaps best to be cognizant of the importance to create balance and unite the mind so our students can use their brains to their fullest potential and in so doing the joy of education can be realized. Notable Quotes to Encourage Right Brain Instruction and Balance in Teaching and Learning: It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Albert Einstein
Creativity takes courage.
Henri Matisse
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. Steve Jobs A true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. Albert Einstein Sources and Resources for Instructional Strategies Left vs. Right Brain Teaching Techniques http://www.funderstanding.com/brain/left-brain-vs-right-brain-teachingtechniques/#more-513 Left Brain Schools in a Right Brain World by Tim Elmore https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-elmore/leftbrain-schools-in-ari_b_3490513.html Hemispheric Dominance Test http://capone.mtsu.edu/studskl/hd/learn.html Left Brain vs. Right Brain https://www.diffen.com/difference/Left_Brain_vs_Right_Brain
E-CONNECT
Join us on Google+ Search: EARCOS Community
Stay in touch with many current ideas and trends in education at EARCOS Connect Blog.
Share great things going on in EARCOS schools. The EARCOS community consists of 158 international schools and over 10,000 educators in the East Asia region.
Welcome to EARCOS E-Connect.Teachers, counselors, and administrators are extremely busy people.You don’t always have time to search for articles, blogs, videos, and books that will educate and enhance your practice.This blog will offer links to relevant educational discussions, articles, book reviews, and videos that you may find informative and useful. http://earcos-connect.tumblr.com/
This community is a place to share ideas and events taking place in EARCOS schools.
Fall 2018 Issue 21
Curriculum Initiative >>
Team Teaching and Co-Teaching for Differentiation and Collaboration
happen collaboratively. We reflect and decide using our collective intelligence.
By Ed Hagen, Linda Eide, and Karlie Barness International School Bangkok edh@isb.ac.th The elementary classroom is something we love for so many reasons and as lifetime elementary educators, we appreciate that teaching is a profession where we can constantly try new things and grow. This year we have combined team teaching and co-teaching with a group of 42 wonderful 2nd graders. Google team teaching or co-teaching and one will be overwhelmed with the definitions. For the purpose of this article, we will define each practice. Team teaching is when two or more teachers share responsibilities for a group of students. In our case, it’s two elementary teachers teaching a group of 42 students in one large space. Co-teaching is when a teacher with an area of expertise or specialty joins a homeroom class to support a specified group of learners. In our case, our coteacher specializes in instructing students who are learning English as an additional language. We use a variety of models to meet our learners’ needs. Our most common model is parallel teaching. During parallel teaching, two or three teachers are teaching the same (but maybe slightly differentiated) lessons simultaneously. The same teaching point is used with each group, but models, mentor texts, or guided practice may be different. Students are strategically grouped prior to the lesson. Our class has many students who are learning English as an additional language, so usually one of the groups may be formed to respond to this need in the given subject. This provides an opportunity to shelter language and language skills for this group. Our model is based on strong mechanisms to form and manage groups in each content area. This is at the core of our collaboration together. The way students are grouped is based on the subject and content or skills we will teach them. We consistently switch between skill, ability, readiness, and interest groups. The main difference between a single teacher classroom is our grouping decisions 22 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Consistently changing the way students are grouped helps to avoid students being “tracked,” which means staying in the same group with similar ability peers for a long period of time. Within a subject, students sometimes excel in a particular skill set. Grouping and teaching them based on skills helps us better differentiate and individualize instruction. Ability grouping allows teachers to differentiate lessons, materials, and expectations so that learning is within learners’ zone of proximal development. Readiness grouping allows the instruction of new skills and concepts based on a collective body of knowledge about each student’s ability to acquire new skills/knowledge. Interest grouping allows students to choose what or how they want to learn. This allows students to take more ownership of their learning and mobilize themselves as greater stakeholders. Sometimes, we implement, “seminars.” This is when students choose the skills they want to be taught as a group. We often vary which teacher teaches which group so that students may benefit from our varied backgrounds, areas of strength, and personal connections. One common struggle that teachers have it trying to meet the needs of all learners. By having a larger pool of students and teachers to work with, and by flexibly grouping, we can better work with students who don’t fall into the middle area of ability. Our students who need challenge, can work with other students with similar abilities. Our students who need support can work in a small group with more scaffolds in place, to help them access content and skills. Changes in grouping happen frequently. By doing this, we feel that no negative student stigmas or mindsets develop around learning because changes in groups and the size of groups happens frequently. A learner may not always be in a group they view as less advanced. We have found that Team teaching can be a flexible approach for teaching elementary school that allows us to better differentiate instruction through embedded collaboration. It also allows us to regularly engage in a multi-tiered problem solving process. No longer are we isolated in rooms throughout the day, with our students exposed to one style of teaching. Is is better than a traditional elementary classroom? It’s not better, it’s different. A team teaching environment provides the context for potentially more differentiated instruction more often. Both students and teachers can benefit from using a team teaching model that best suits a specific group of learners. In our case, we designed a model we thought would be the most responsive and efficient for our group. Each team teaching situation is an opportunity to be flexible and innovate. We have thoroughly enjoyed our experience, working and learning together and hope that this article will support other teachers moving in this direction.
Universirty of Nebraska
Fall 2018 Issue 23
Green and Sustainable >>
Making Art Meaningful:YCIS Beijing’s Wearable Arts Project
By Jessica Franklin, Marketing and Communications Specialist YCIS Beijing, jessica.franklin@bj.ycef.com
Summer term at Yew Chung International School of Beijing was dedicated to the topic of Sustainability and the Environment. Across subjects, in assemblies and in co-curricular activities, our students were immersed in lessons, discussions and workshops relating to the environment and how to make a difference. As part of this,Year 8 were involved in a wearable arts project which culminated in a bold performance of their art pieces. The school’s auditorium was transformed into an eerie dystopian world, where students were entangled in plastic waste, dripping with oil from oil spills, or enacting the destruction of deforestation. We speak to Ms Annette Atkins, Performing Arts Teacher, and Ms Allison Cusato, Art Teacher, about the project. A Cross-Department Collaboration The wearable arts project was a piece of project based learning between the Visual Art and Performing Art departments. Ms. Atkins’s inspiration for a wearable arts project came from the annual international design competition World of Wearable Art, or “WOW”, hosted every year in New Zealand. The very nature of wearable arts incorporates both art and performance, so it was a perfect opportunity to collaborate between departments. The uniqueness of the project at YCIS Beijing came from its connection to the Sustainability and the Environment topic. Students were asked to create their wearable art and base their performance on an area of the topic that particularly interested them. The art pieces were made out of waste materials – plastic bottles, old pieces of card, plastic bags – and the performances were evocative of different environmental issues facing our planet. Acquiring New Skills There are many benefits to cross-department collaboration such as this. Ms Atkins explains how, in school drama productions, performance is usually character-based. So choreographing a wearable art performance exercised very different, more visual skills. In addition, Ms Atkins gave students the responsibility of putting on the whole performance. This entailed not just costume design and choreography, but stage management, lighting, sound, set design – and even publicity. “Being able to stage an entire event requires dedication and collaboration. There were many skills and lessons to be learned in the 24 EARCOS Triannual Journal
process”, explains Ms. Atkins. Ms. Cusato felt that the project was a good opportunity to introduce the idea of making meaning in art. To perform a piece of art, students had to be able to justify the meaning of their work and use it to convey a singular message. Following the performance, Ms. Cusato and Ms. Atkins arranged a review of the pieces where students were asked to rank their peers’ work according to clarity of message and meaning. A Performance to Remember The performance was the first of its kind at YCIS Beijing and students took fantastically well to the task. Both Ms. Atkins and Ms. Cusato were struck by how the art pieces transformed students onstage – helping them find the confidence to get into character and enact very bold pieces of physical performance. “It’s worth saying that performing wearable art is certainly not an easy type of performance”, commented Ms. Atkins. “I was impressed by the bravery of our students onstage, and their ability to convey messages about the environment without resorting to speech.” Valuable Lessons There are several lessons the teachers hope students took away from the project. Of course, one important purpose was to educate on the human impact on the environment, and how we can improve our sustainability. Ms. Cusato commented that just because the topic had come to a close, it didn’t mean that we could leave its lessons behind too: “I ensured that our students dismantled and re-organised every costume so that the materials could be used for future projects. Nothing was thrown away.” Ms. Cusato and Ms. Atkins outlined other valuable lessons from this topic. In particular, how breaking with conventions in art can have powerful results. It doesn’t have to look attractive, use traditional materials or be static to be art. Art can be worn, it can be ugly, it can be performed. Additionally, art and performance can be vehicles to drive social change. Sometimes art surpasses any article, textbook or documentary in its power to make people feel and make a difference.
17th Annual EARCOS Teachers’ Conference 2019 October 27-29,2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Strands
Physical Education/Wellness/Health Visual Arts Film Design Technology Robotics Performing Arts: - Choral Music - Primary General Music - Dance - Drama - Strings - Band Technology General Education Topics
Place: International School Bangkok Preconference: March 19-20, 2019 Regular: March 21-23, 2019
For more information If you have any questions, please contact the EARCOS office or email Giselle Sison, ETC Coordinator at gsison@earcos.org Phone: +63 (02) 779-5147 | Fax: +63 (49) 511-4694 | Mobile: +63 928-5074876
PRECONFERENCES (March 20) Ted and Carolyn Temertzoglou (P.E.)
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Dr. Greg Dale (Sports psychology/Coaching) Dr. Marilyn Stewart (Art) Dr. Peter Boonshaft (Music)
SPECIAL PRESENTERS Jarrod Robinson (P.E. - Use of 21st Century Tools in Teaching PE) Lynn Kachmarik (P.E. - Coaching/PE) Kofi Gbolonyo (Music and Dance) Jonathan Mann (Music - Strings, Conducting) Sofia Lopez-Ibor (Music, Movement, and Visual Arts) Dinah Helgeson (Music - Choral) Pamela Pietro (Dance) Dr. Jennifer Hartley (Theatre/Drama) Joachim Matschoss (Theatre/Drama) Marvin Bartel (Art - Assessment of Creativity) Kevin Jarrett (Makerspaces) Kim Cofino (Technology) Dr. Tom Nehmy (Counselors - Healthy Minds Program - Wellness) Dr. Phillip Moss (Art) Matt Smith (Film/Visual Arts)
EARCOS PRACTITIONER PRESENTERS Sarah Bailey (Dance) Alex Face (Art) Bob Connor (1 - Wellness, 1 - Fitness) Barbara Sunday (AP Studio Art) Michael Bycraft (Makerspaces) Jaleea Price (Dance) Yek Barlongay (Dance) Breen O’Reilly (Film) Ringo Dingrando (Robotics)
visit www.earcos.org/etc2019/ Fall 2018 Issue 25
EdThought >>
Developing Wisdom in Schools
By George Couros
achieved (no child left behind) by using the same script, thus giving the same education to all students. But this also meant that all teachers, novice or expert, weak or strong, would be required to follow the standardized system.
I have been reading, “The Seven Decisions; Understanding the Keys to Personal Success,” by Andy Andrews, and this quote on “wisdom” stuck with me:
“
Most people mistake wisdom for education, like a high school diploma or college degree. Seeking wisdom is not the same as gaining knowledge: Knowledge is a precursor to wisdom. Wisdom includes an intuitive element, an insight gained from personal experience that serves us as we make choices in our lives. Seeking wisdom should be a continual process.
For me, it is easy to identify between “knowledge” and “wisdom”. I have met many people who have large amounts of knowledge who do not necessarily have wisdom, but I have never met someone who was wise and didn’t have an abundance of knowledge. When I look up the definition, here is what I am referring to:
“
…the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.
But this quote makes the most sense:
“
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” ~ Unknown
This is something that we want from our students but in the past, has the system of “school” taken away the application of wisdom from teachers? In the book, “Practical Wisdom,” Barry Schwartz shares the following observation from the “No Child Left Behind” initiative:
“
Supporters of lockstep curricula and high-stakes standardized tests were not out to undermine the wisdom, creativity, and energy of good teachers.The scripted curricula and tests were aimed at improving the performance of weak teachers in failing schools—or forcing them out. If lesson plans were tied to tests, teachers’ scripts would tell them what to do to get the students ready. If students still failed, the teachers could be “held accountable.” Equality would seemingly be
26 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Teachers on the front lines often point to the considerations left out of the teach-to-test paradigm.Tests are only one indicator of student learning, and poor performance on tests has other causes aside from poor teaching—poorly funded urban schools, students from poor or immigrant backgrounds with few resources at home and sometimes little or no English, overcrowded classrooms with not enough teachers, poor facilities, lack of books and equipment, students with learning problems or other disabilities. But one of the chief criticisms many teachers make is that the system is dumbing down their teaching. It is de-skilling them. It is not allowing them—or teaching them—the judgment they need to do good teaching. They are encouraged, says education scholar professor Linda Darling-Hammond, “to present material that [is] beyond the grasp of some and below the grasp of others, to sacrifice students’ internal motivations and interests in the cause of ‘covering the curriculum,’ and to forgo the teachable moment, when students [are] ready and eager to learn, because it [happens] to fall outside of the prescribed sequence of activities.” Sooner or later, “turning out” kids who can turn out the right answers the way you turn out screws, or hubcaps, comes to seem like normal practice. Worse, it comes to seem like “best practice.” Does what Schwartz describes still happen in classrooms? From my travels, some teachers still discuss how they are bound by things like scripted curricula or a laser-like focus on doing the “test”, has hampered their ability to serve the students in front of them. From what I have read on the “No Child Left Behind” act, my understanding was the intent to ensure every child got the same education. But the problem is that every child did not necessarily receive what they needed. As we look forward to the work we do in education, is “wisdom” something that we see as important in education? My focus on shifting from “engagement” to “empowerment” is not about saying knowledge is not essential, but as I think about it, it is to develop the wisdom in our student and educators to use what they know in a way that gives them the opportunity for ownership over their path, and the ability to lead others. To do this, wisdom is needed, but it is a trait that can be nurtured and developed at all levels in education. Reprinted with permission of the author George Couros. https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/8408
EdThought >>
Global Mindedness Begins with Open Mindedness By Bill Oldread, Assistant Director, EARCOS boldread@earcos.org
of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” How should schools accomplish the mission of developing global mindedness? If you accept the idea that the path to global mindedness and global citizenship begins with exposure, moves to understanding, and culminates in tolerance and respect, then the school must necessarily focus its efforts first on providing exposure to the culture, language, and history of the host country. The following list suggests some, but not necessarily all of the possible elements of an internationally minded (IM) school: • The IM school offers a non-national curriculum such as IB, AP or other similar internationally-recognized curriculum. Global mindedness or international mindedness has in recent years become the mantra of many if not all international schools, to the extent that most schools include these terms in their mission and vision statements. It seems only natural that a Western style, English-speaking school located in China, Russia, India, or any other ‘foreign’ country would have as one of its primary goals to educate its students with respect to the host country culture, as well as the culture of countries in that region and the world. Furthermore, membership in most regional organizations requires a commitment to global mindedness embedded in their curriculum, as expressed in the membership standards of EARCOS, “Member schools shall provide a program of instruction that is internationally minded in style and substance.” Mission statements are historically either so verbose or so general that the actual mission of the school is difficult to pin down. So, what does a school intend to accomplish when it claims to be Internationally or globally minded? The following statement from the Bilkent Erzurum Laboratory School in Turkey seems to capture the essence of the concept; “An internationally minded person is open-minded about the common humanity of all people and accepts and respects other cultures, beliefs and the natural environment. The internationally minded person takes action through discussion and collaboration to help build a better and peaceful world.” A key word in this statement is ‘open minded.’ Without this attribute, attempts to develop globally minded students will not yield the desired results. Not all students come to international schools possessing this quality while those who have spent most of their school years in such an environment tend to be more open to new ideas. Yet, the goal here is not to change beliefs but to enhance and broaden students’ minds and thinking. Aristotle said, “It is the mark
• The IM school includes international authors in its literature curriculum. • The IM school offers a variety of foreign languages including the host country language. • The IM school is involved in international programs such as MUN and GIN that develop students’ understanding of global social, political, and environmental issues. • The IM school offers opportunities for service learning and promotes community service projects both locally and internationally. • The IM school utilizes current technology to enable students to connect with the broader world. • The IM school provides exposure and promotes student application to foreign universities. • The IM school encourages the use of international ‘best practice’ instructional pedagogy. Providing opportunities for inculcating global-mindedness in international school students can be a challenge, but is a goal well worth pursuing. The future success of our students, and the world they inhabit will depend on their understanding of and appreciation for cultures not their own.
Fall 2018 Issue 27
Readers Corner >>
Books by current and past EARCOS presenters CATCH AND RELEASE - Greg Dale. et al A combination of Tuesdays with Morrie and A River Runs Through It, this story is set in South Texas where Nathaniel, a veteran high school teacher, has just been named Texas Teacher of the Year. As he accepts his award, he pledges to mentor brand new first year teacher, Meghan. What follows is an extraordinary journey through his last year of teaching and her first, told through conversations they have during fly-fishing excursions. Beyond the typical talk of lesson planning, grading, and class management, Nathaniel challenges Meghan to question what she sees, what she does, and why she does it. As each chapter unfolds, new insights are gleaned from the journey that teachers take and the seasons that they experience as they strive to become teachers who change lives. This story written for teachers by teachers, is sure to provoke and inspire everyone to reflect on their experiences as both teacher and student. This book is about relationships-relationships between teachers and their students, teachers and each other, and teachers and their families. And it is about the persistence and passion with which teachers teach despite the many challenges they face. Most importantly, this story is about the art of catching and releasing those we are in a position to care for. For teachers, this is our students. If we do this well, we will become teachers who change lives. FROM STRIVING TO THRIVING WRITERS - Sarah Holbrook with Michael Salinger Renowned literacy expert Stephanie Harvey teams up with authors and writing consultants Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger to introduce short writing scaffolds to support student writing and help strivers approach writing with energy and action. Based on Harvey’s bestselling From Striving to Thriving approach, the 27 writing strategies presented in From Striving to Thriving Writers are designed to improve and integrate writing across the curriculum. With lessons targeting reading, writing, and speaking standards, this innovative writing tool encourages students to practice voluminous writing and build a culture of conversation throughout the writing process, which is especially beneficial for emerging bilingual students. TEACHING MUSIC WITH PASSION - Peter Boonshaft Teaching Music with Passion is a one-of-a-kind, collective masterpiece of thoughts, ideas and suggestions about the noble profession of music education. Both inspirational and instructional, it will surely change the way you teach (and think) about music. Filled with personal experiences, anecdotes and wonderful quotations, this book is an easy-to-read, essential treasure! “One of the most ‘real’ writings I have read during my 35 years in music education.” Mel Clayton, President, MENC: The National Association for Music Education.
BLUE IS THE SKY - Sofia Lopez-Ibor This book addresses the practice of arts integration using a basic approach for the music and dance classroom. It features 25 themes with music, poetry, dance and visual art activities for preschool through middle school students. It includes: . Lesson examples applicable to students of all ages.. Pedagogical and methodological ideas for teaching music and visual arts.. Games, songs and poems 28 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Press Release >>
Ukulele gets a new lease of life at The Bangalore International School Bangalore International School always encourages all round development of its students. The music group “Ukefellas”, demonstrates just that.This group which is formed with serious Ukulele enthusiasts was formed about 4 years ago. The core team consist of about 6 to 7 members form Middle and High School. The group is led and nurtured by our talented music teacher Kevin Wilson.
This underdog musical instrument is certainly getting a new lease of life with Bangalore International Schools focus on it. The instrument is also used to encourage students across grades to play different kinds of music - pop, jazz, Latin American and other genres of music.
The group is inspired by the Ukulele orchestra of Great Britain and are probably the only Ukulele orchestra in India! The group is extremely engaging when they perform and the audience is assured of classy entertainment which they are encouraged to join in with, along with in singing and dancing. The group has performed at every music fest at Bangalore International School. They have also performed and opened for the international poetry slam, the leadership meet for TAISI in Goa and other events. The Ukulele group is a part of music school program. The learning curve is fast and the students are always excited to see what they can do with the Ukulele. We have Ukulele enthusiasts across grades 1 to 12.
Bangalore International School music group “Ukefellas”.
Press Release >>
The 18th International School Nurses of Asia Conference 2018
EARCOS sponsored PD. The International School Nurse Conference hosted by International School Bangkok. The conference was an excellent opportunity for school nurses to get together and collaborate thus ensuring the health and well-being of students. There were 93 nurses attended the conference from all over South East Asia and including one nurse from Poland. Fall 2018 Issue 29
Community Service >>
Rethinking Scholarships in Cambodia
By Barry Sutherland, Director International School Phnom Penh, barry sutherland@ispp.edu.kh International School Phnom Penh (ISPP) has a long-established scholarship program with selection intended as a combination of merit and needs-based. Students would be tested on the merit side as early as Gr.2 and parents would complete a declaration regarding the needs side. These scholarships were offered to one lucky elementary child in alternate years anywhere between Gr. 2 and Gr. 5. The day things changed for me was when I was informed that our latest scholarship recipient would be late enrolling for school because their family was currently on a vacation in Europe. We honored our agreement, but decided it was time to review our scholarship program with a view to providing opportunities for very poor students – the ones most international schools choose not to serve. What came next was inspiring, impactful and painful. But first you need to understand how we funded the new scholarship program. Backstory ISPP has suffered a bit of financial trauma over the past 10 years to say the least. In 2007, the Board had signed over $3 million dollars to a local developer who, after the 2008 global financial market crash, could not deliver land for a new school. I arrived in 2009 and was tasked with retrieving the $3 million plus finding new land to buy and build a school upon. In 2011, the school was embroiled in a lawsuit over another failed land deal in which the developer was unwilling to release $2.5 million dollars of the school’s money held in escrow. This little fight was my responsibility for following only the first half of the golden rule: trust, but verify. In spite of these challenges, the school purchased land and began to build its current campus in 2012. The problem was there was no money to build it. Banks, as rule, do not seek to lend to schools because no one wants 30 EARCOS Triannual Journal
to foreclose on a school (even bankers). As such, we had a difficult time getting a loan, but eventually a local bank took a chance on us with a $20 million construction loan at a very high variable rate. We were grateful to get a loan at any rate. The new campus was completed in 2015 and the bank had already tried to raise the interest rate once (bankers; sigh) as was their right. We immediately contacted the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in Washington as we had built a relationship with the OPIC Team since 2011, when I asked them to finance the construction. They said they would like to help but that with congressional approval taking a long time and the fact that our clients were wealthy, they said we had better go for private financing. Flash forward to 2016 and I contacted OPIC again and proposed that they buy out our construction loan as a social development loan. The social development aspect is that I promised to plough all of the savings from a low-interest, long tenure fixed OPIC loan into a new type of scholarship program. The savings to our ISPP will be $2.3 million dollars over 15 years – more than enough to support a long term ISPP scholarship program for children from very impoverished families. While it has taken two years to negotiate and perfect the buyout loan, it has been worth it because in August 2018, six very poor children joined ISPP on 7-year scholarships that start in Gr. 6 and ending with their IB Diploma in 2025. How did we gauge the level of need? When we proposed to serve very poor children, we knew this was always going to be the biggest challenge. Given the nature of the family structure in SE Asia, we knew that if we could provide an ISPP education and eventually an IB Diploma we could not only pull that child out of poverty, but we would potentially pull up the whole
family. As such, we wanted to partner with a local NGO operating in the local education sector which worked with impoverished students AND with their families. We connected with the Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF). You can Google them to learn about their amazing work in Phnom Penh. Knowing we would need to support the family to support these students, we hired a Social Worker (the first at an international school in Cambodia) at the beginning of 2018. This person has become the liaison between the school and our scholarship families and is also available to work with the rest of the ISPP community. Each of the families has both a CCF and an ISPP case worker. Our vetting process was extensive. Our scholarship team, made up of dedicated teachers and administrators, spent six weeks getting to know the 19 Gr. 5 children who had been selected for testing from an original group of 185. We spent weekdays and weekends on rotation observing the students in their CCF classes and working on tests, puzzles and games on Saturdays. The difficult selection of the final six students was made and we created a 9-week transition program on the ISPP campus during our summer break, with the intent of allowing these children a running start in August. Our teachers are 100% on board and know that over a 7-year period they can shepherd any student through to an IB Diploma – if they couldn’t, maybe this line of work is not for them.
We have met the scholars’ parents who live in a part of Phnom Penh called Steung Meanchey, a former city dump site that still has a disused dump smoldering away in the middle of the community. It is a dangerous place where drug use, gambling and violence, domestic and otherwise, are rife. These parents work as garment factory workers and scavengers – people who drag handcarts through the streets of Phnom Penh at night and separate garbage by headlamp on the streets outside of fine restaurants (frequented mainly by parents and children like ISPP’s). When their cart is full they walk it back to warehouses in Steung Meanchey and receive a few dollars for the plastic, metal and cardboard they have scavenged – enough to buy some food. Next day: Repeat. To really make a social impact, their children were the ones we wanted to enroll at our school.
students are in school, CCF provides the families with support – food program, housing, medical and dental, social and emotional counseling through a network of trained social workers. To access the ISPP IB curriculum, it was critical for us to ensure these students would join us early (Gr. 6) and would be supported in their community after they leave ISPP at the end of the school day. Too hard? I want to conclude by telling you that any EARCOS school can set up a program like this if they really want to. All you need to do is to start and to not listen to the many people who will tell you it can never work. This included ISPP community members and colleagues from other regional international schools. Every criticism and warning was fear-based, which seems to be going around these days. Comments ranged from:You cannot partner with an NGO because of the reputational risk to your school,’ ’ to “How will you deal with child protection issue with ‘’these’’ children,’ ’ to ‘’Their English is too poor and your teachers will not be able to make them learn;’’ to a very helpful suggestion that we give the money to pay for scholarships to a local school and send these kids there (as if poverty is something other children might catch, like a cold). Our team found these comments both painful and inspirational. Remember, the money is a not the issue. We can all afford to take in students from impoverished families; not just the local middle class kids who already have family support and a future. Is it harder to do what we have done?; sure, but most things that are innovative and have wide reaching social impact are. Sadly, I think the fact that I could say to a very small group of parents that this program will literally cost you nothing was more powerful than the impact the program is sure to have on their own children, allowed us to move forward – it is hard to argue against free. But in reality, it does not cost much to do the right thing. If any schools would like to learn more about our program, including how we tested students and how we intend to get them all full ride university scholarships in 2025, please reach out. We are beginning our search for our 2nd cohort of six Gr. 6 students this semester to join us in 2019.
The main reason we worked with CCF is because they have a reputable network of schools which teach all subjects in English for half a day and the Khmer curriculum for the other half. As long as these Fall 2018 Issue 31
EARCOS Biosphere Stewardship Camp Scholarship >>
Birth in Bali
By Amy Lee Taejeon Christian International School, leees2019@tciscommunity.com down language barriers, we all bonded with strangers on a humane level, stripped of all nationalities and races. Another way I regained awareness of my human self was through the unavoidable exposure to nature that came with being in the middle of a national park. Our work through the week ranged from simple acts like cleaning up litter washed up on the shores to more rigorous labor like removing the invasive plant species Lantana from the forests. Later, we had the time to enjoy Bali’s ocean as we snorkeled along the coastline of Menjangan Island and witnessed diverse marine life permeating in the breathing coral reefs.
The Biosphere Stewardship Program group, 2018 For 11 years, I had never once been to summer camp. I used to ask my mother if I could attend one, but the answer was always no, and the reasons were always the same: “How are you going to do well at school having played at camp all summer? Can you guarantee it’ll be worth the time, money, and energy it’ll take?” But this summer was different. I received the long-awaited permission of my mother and attended my first summer camp from July 1st to July 10th. This time, not even she could deny that this was a rare opportunity. Through EARCOS, I was connected with an organization called the Biosphere Foundation, which has held an annual stewardship program in Bali for high schoolers since 2012. The program seemed to be quite unlike any other summer program, because the focus was entirely different from academic summer camps that are all the rage for high schoolers today. Its goal is to educate youth about implementing environmental conservation programs, restoring important ecosystems, and raising awareness about the world around us in need. After coming back from this trip, I can safely say that I learned everything that the program promised to teach and beyond: for the first time in my sheltered life, I learned to be properly human. The first way I became a human in the original sense was through the raw and authentic relationships that I formed. There were 10 international students, 11 local Balinese students, and 3 very capable and inspiring instructors. Together, we stayed in the West Bali National Park for 10 days. In the program’s entire history, this year’s crop of students was the most diverse. There were students from Brazil, Wales, Italy, the US, Egypt, Indonesia, and South Korea, my home country. Naturally, with the addition of the Balinese local students, we experienced an immense exchange of cultures across many different continents. We all spoke varying levels of English, so it was difficult for us to even greet each other properly in the beginning. Eventually though, after sweating under the Bali sun together and connecting with the rainforest’s natural beauty, we could tell jokes and teach each other our own country customs. By breaking 32 EARCOS Triannual Journal
On a more serious note, we also discussed environmental concerns such as the detriments of plastic-fueled consumerism, the endangerment of native species, and the difficulties of wildlife preservation due to tourism through structured roleplay. In addition, the fact that we could obtain these learning experiences within the shelter of the lively, lush, and untouched rainforest made the lessons learned all the more heartfelt and important to us personally. We were human again, in the most primal sense, because for once we were living the simple life, without the technological shortcuts that made our daily lives back home grey and mechanical. In the end, the Biosphere camp experience was exceptional because it allowed us to learn about nature within the distinct cultural setting of Bali and simultaneously be more in touch with our human side. We could use all our senses to feel and understand nature around us, and thus recognize the rigorous manual work that’s needed to undo the automated mistakes we commit against our environment. In 10 days, I was reintroduced to my identity as a human being, a friend of all cultures, and a lover of the earth. Truly, I hope that others can share the same experience and exhibit the same sort of humanity wherever they may be, in whatever they choose to do, when serving our beloved biosphere.
Removing Lantana from the forest.
Action Research >>
Understanding the Importance of Academics By Daniel Moore, Yangon International School dmoore@yismyanmar.com
Introduction “What are you learning? Why are you learning this?” These are two key questions that can tell a lot about the engagement of students’ learning in a classroom. If a student can answer the question, “What are you learning?” correctly, it shows that they are engaged and understand the objective of the lesson. If they can answer the question, “Why are you learning this?” correctly it shows the student can go a step further and see the practical application of the lesson and how the knowledge acquired in the lesson can be useful to have in the real-world, which may also influence how much the student values the content they are learning. The goal of this action research was to see if students could be trained to make more real-world connections on their own through practice and how that could benefit them. Method In order to conduct this research, students from three second grade classrooms were surveyed at three points during the school year. The survey was used to measure how well students value different mathematical skills, their ability to connect those skills to real-world applications, how well they were able to elaborate on their thoughts, if they could respond using an appropriate sentence stem, and what percentage of grammatical mistakes they made. In each classroom, teachers spent varying amounts of time discussing the importance and reasons for different mathematical skills learned. In Class A, the teacher spent about five minutes approximately every fourth lesson, especially when a new concept was introduced, discussing real-world applications. Sometimes students would brainstorm together to think of ideas for how the skill could be applied in the real-world but if they couldn’t, the teacher would share an example. In Class B, the teacher would share examples of real- world applications of the math skills when they were learning a new skill about a third of the time. In Class C, approximately five minutes was spent each lesson, where a new concept was introduced, discussing the importance of the lesson and how it could be applied to the real world. These students received practice on how to have one-on-one conversations with their peers about the lesson objective using sentence stems and relevant vocabulary to respond to one another. Students practiced this as a class for the first half of the school year, until the students took the second round of surveys. Changes in student answers were analyzed. When growth was observed in different areas, Class C stopped making real-world connections completely to see if any of their measured growth was retained by the third survey. Results and Reflection After the second round of surveys the answers of students changed and were analyzed. Class C showed a more significant growth than the other classes in making real-world connections, valuing different
math concepts, writing with the use of a sentence stem, and elaborating on their thoughts. No class showed more growth than the others in regards to making less grammatical errors. Due to these results Class C stopped making real-world connections completely to see if any of their growth would be retained for the third round of surveys. Upon completion of the third round of surveys, all classes answers were analyzed to see how they changed. Class C retained the ability to make specific real-world connections to the appropriate math skills while their ability to elaborate and write using sentence stems decreased slightly, though they still scored higher than the other classes. How they valued the different math skills however, decreased to less than that of the other classes, especially in areas in which students had no practice with relating those skills to realworld applications. Conclusion Connecting lessons taught in class to the real-world is a beneficial practice for students. If students can make connections to the realworld they will have a better understanding of the importance of what they are learning and can answer the question, “Why are you learning this?” on their own.Through guided discussion of the importance of different math skills with their peers, students can improve upon creating unique responses to the importance of math which can be applied to different subject areas, speaking and writing using sentence stems, and describing the importance of different skills with more elaborative conversation. However if the practice is not used consistently students may value some skills less than others based on which ones were discussed. By having students practice effective communication about real-world applications for lessons, teachers can observe students grow in several ways.
Fall 2018 Issue 33
Action Research >>
Defining the Role of English Support in International Schools cy for language arts classes. English support teachers were pushedin to the mainstream classroom to provide support for any student who needed it.
By Rob Stitt Lanna International School Thailand The Changing Demographics of International Schools The population of international school students has changed significantly over the past 25 years. Whereas the schools once primarily served expatriate students, they now cater to larger proportions of local students. The International School Consultancy Group estimated that in 2014 approximately 70% of international school students were local children and that in the future 80% of the demand for international school places would come from wealthy local parents who wanted to provide their children with a quality English-speaking education. Since most international schools are located in nonEnglish speaking countries, this implies that the number of English language learners (ELLs) has correspondingly increased considerably. Thus the number of ELLs in many international schools may now constitute the majority of learners in school, rather than the minority, which had been the case in the past. This increase in the proportion of ELLs demands that schools critically examine the support they offer these students. Schools need to investigate whether minority language learner models of English support, such as intensive English programmes or pull-out ESL classes, are the most effective and efficient ways of ensuring that all students are able to not only gain language proficiency, but also access the curriculum and master content knowledge and skills simultaneously. Action Research Plan In 2016, our primary school changed from a separate pull-out English support provision to a collaborative inclusion model of English support. No longer were students segregated by language proficien34 EARCOS Triannual Journal
This action research project sought to evaluate our new model of English support and make recommendations to improve its efficacy. Over the course of one and a half years our school examined the needs of ELLs by eliciting teachers’ thoughts and opinions about the collaborative inclusion model of English support. Data was collected using anonymous surveys from primary classroom teachers and English support teachers. The first survey was conducted in January 2017. From this data we were able to identify problem areas that were preventing effective implementation of collaborative inclusion English support in the mainstream classroom. An English support teacher job description and departmental vision and mission statement were then developed to try to address these issues. A followup survey was administered in February of 2018 to see what, if any, effect these changes had on the way ELLs were perceived to be supported in the primary school. From the results of this second survey, a number of further issues were identified to consider when implementing a collaborative inclusion English support model. Finally, recommendations were made that may well be applicable to other international schools, which transition from a separate pull-out English support provision to a collaborative immersion English support model. It was also the intention of this project to propose a form of programme development, which takes into consideration the opinions, preferences, needs, and strengths of the very teachers who will be asked to implement such programmes. Ideally, this model of collaborative programme development will result in better teacher buy-in, thus resulting in better student achievement. Findings An analysis of the responses to the two teacher surveys revealed a number of impediments to implementing a collaborative inclusion model of English support. First of all, teachers’ comments provided evidence of diverse, and at times inconsistent and erroneous, views of English support both in terms of theory and practice. There was a lot of confusion about what exactly English support teachers were supposed to do both inside and outside the classroom to support ELLs and the classroom teachers with whom they worked. In addition, there also appeared to be a reluctance to embrace a collaborative teaching model of English support across the curriculum. English support teachers were almost exclusively used during language arts blocks, despite the fact that they are also needed in other content areas, such as science or social studies, which are linguistically demanding. There was also evidence that some teachers viewed ELLs through the lens of the deficit model. ELLs were seen to be deficient in language ability and needed to be ‘fixed’ by English support teachers. This is at odds with the more recent understanding
of English support, whereby the environment is modified to support ELL’s acquisition of academic language. It also became apparent that English support teachers were being used in roles for which they weren’t necessarily qualified, trained, or experienced. For example, during the course of this research, English support teachers were used as substitute classroom teachers depriving some classes of needed English support. They also provided enrichment activities to students with higher levels of language proficiency, as well as teaching students who primarily had learning or behavioural support needs. In addition, there was a feeling among English support teachers that their role was diminished and that they felt more like native English speaking teaching assistants, rather than as experts in teaching ELLs which resulted in priority being given to assisting the classroom teacher, rather than supporting ELLs explicitly. Finally, this research revealed a number of factors, which affected the efficacy of collaborative inclusion English support. The first issue was a lack of co-planning time. Often times, English support teachers felt that they were not given sufficient notice of classroom activities and lesson plans to effectively and deliberately support ELLs. This resulted in English support teachers being reactive. Rather than carefully and thoughtfully designing lesson plans and learning materials which take into account the needs and difficulties that ELLs may have and encounter in accessing the curriculum and mastering content learning objectives and skills, they dealt with ELL’s needs as singular events. There was also a lack of English support consistency between and within year-levels. English support teachers were used very differently in various classes and year-levels. This led to inconsistent progress of ELLs depending on their classroom and English support teachers. Another factor affecting the quality of English support was personality conflicts between classroom and English support teachers. While this is inevitable when two people work in close proximity, it may perhaps have been exacerbated, or even caused, by a lack of understanding of the roles each teacher plays in collaborative co-teaching and a lack of awareness of best practices in supporting ELLs in the mainstream classroom. Finally, there was a lack of adequate support, guidance, professional development, and oversight of English support teachers which resulted in uneven progress of ELLs in different classes and year-levels. Recommendations The following recommendations are based on a survey of current literature on supporting ELLs, as well as the results and analysis of the research that was conducted. The recommendations have been grouped into 3 tiers. Short-term recommendations are those which can be more easily implemented without significant obstacles. Medium-term recommendations require more time and are more challenging to implement. These objectives need to be thoughtfully implemented since there may be obstacles and resistance. Finally, long-term recommendations are the most difficult to implement, and require the greatest amount of commitment in terms of time, resources, and expertise. These should be considered objectives to improve the support offered to all students and require more nuanced analysis and action planning to implement.
Short-term goals for international schools should include establishing and effectively communicating an English support department vision and mission statement that embraces content and language integrated learning as the basis for English support. This vision and mission statement should clearly define the philosophy and pedagogy utilized in the support of ELLs. In addition, it is imperative that schools provide their English support teachers with pre-service training in teaching cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). Very often, English support teachers have a background in ESL with CELTA or TEFL qualifications. While these teachers can be highly proficient, their training is in teaching and supporting basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS), which is very different from the role of an English support teacher at an international school. It is important that international schools recognize that the teaching of CALP and BICS are different, should not be conflated, and thus prepare their English support teachers accordingly. It is also essential that schools identify students in need of English support, as well a their relative strengths in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, in order to properly support them. Finally, there needs to be a precise job description for English support teachers, which identifies concrete duties and responsibilities for English support teachers within the context of content and language integrated learning, as well as establishing sanctioned co-teaching models for use by classroom and English support teachers. Medium-term goals for schools should include establishing co-planning blocks into teachers’ timetables to provide time for classroom and English support teachers to sit down together and plan to support ELLs deliberately rather than reacting to their needs in the moment. This will require classroom teachers to share medium-term planning with English support teachers prior to teaching a unit, so that English support teachers can effectively plan language objectives, scaffolding, and differentiated activities and assessments for ELLs. English support also needs to be explicitly embedded within the school curriculum, so that all teachers recognize its importance. Finally, schools need to invest in teachers by providing both English support teachers and classroom teachers with professional development opportunities on scaffolding, differentiation, language acquisition, assessment, co-teaching, and content and language integrated learning. In the long-term, schools need to investigate the possibility of establishing differentiated English language development instructional blocks into the timetable for all students based on their academic language proficiency. This would be a separate block of time from language arts classes in which students can improve their language development in smaller homogenous groups. Schools also should examine their provisions for learning support, behavioural support, and gifted and talented students, to ensure that English support teachers are being used efficiently and effectively to support the needs of ELLs, rather than supporting the needs of students outside their purview. Finally, schools need to ensure that there is adequate administrative oversight and guidance for English support teachers, with proper evaluation and continued professional development, in order to nurture the skill set of what has become a very important segment of the faculty of international schools.
Fall 2018 Issue 35
Elementary School Gallery
Brent International School Baguio Traditional Japanese Printing Technique Gyotaku Print Rae Antoinet Padilla, Grade 5
Brent International School Baguio Animals & Insects Sid Luna, Grade 5
“
Bandung Independent School Emma, Grade 6
United World College of South East Asia East Campus Grade 2 and 3 Students 2017/18 Projects
We will highlight Middle School Art in Winter Issue 2018 Deadline for submission is on December 1, 2018. Send to Bill Oldread boldread@earcos.org or Edzel Drilo edrilo@earcos.org
36 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Bandung Independent School Keanu, Grade 4
Thai-Chinese International School Shakreya Chen (Nene), Grade 2
Thai-Chinese International School Nathaya Phosuthanon(Jeda), KG
Concordia International School Hanoi (L) Black Ink painting Quang Minh Pham, Grade 5 (R) Cityscape Polina, Grade 3
Busan Foreign School (L) Rousso Tiger, Lyn Lee, Grade 4 (R) Irene Park, Grade 1
Grace International School (L) Watercolor one point perspective Caleb, Grade 5 (R) Pencil Drawing - stacked cups Yedam, Grade 6
Yokohama International School (L) Elisa, Grade 2 (R) Hannah, Grade 5
Elementary School Gallery
American International School, Hong Kong Hong Kong Skyline Collaborative Painting Grade 2 Medium: Acrylic paint on board
Dominican International School “Fiona” Huang, Hsin-Jui, Grade 1 Medium: Colored Paper, Mosaic
Dominican International School Joseph Huang, Grade 5 Medium: Linocut Print on Paper
International Christian School Hong Kong (L) Watercolor painting Michael Cheung, Grade 3 (R) Still Life in soft pastels Kyra Lam
American International School, Hong Kong Skyline of Hong Kong Bowen, Grade 2 Medium: Pen 38 EARCOS Triannual Journal
International School of Ulaanbaatar “My Pet” Mackenzie Thomas, 2B This painting was inspired by Native American artist Norval Morrisseau.
International School of Ulaanbaatar “My Winter Holidays” Tsugumichi Inoue, 2S This drawing was inspired by African artist Tunde Jegede.
The International School of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, Japan (L) Koru Drawing Kayla Lee, Grade 4 (R) Koru Drawing Finya Lang, Grade 4
Faith Academy Painting like Matisse Rachel Albus, Grade 1
Faith Academy The Leaf Printing and Salt on Watercolor Lucy Owens, Grade 1
International School of Kuala Lumpur (Above) Jun Hao Xu, Grade 2 (R) Ayman, Grade 5 Correction from Previous Issue of the ET Journal Spring Issue 2018 The following art pieces belong to High School Grade 10 students from Brent International School Baguio not from Brent International School Manila as published in our Spring 2018 Issue page 43. (Left) JeonSeo Lee, Grade 10 (Right) Jeremy Yang, Grade 10 Fall 2018 Issue 39
Elementary School Gallery
Korea Kent Foreign School Cartouche in papyrus Grade 3, 2017
Korea Kent Foreign School The Dots from Grade 1, 2018
Tianjin International School (Left) Seo Jun Yu, 2nd Grade (Right) Olivia Kim 3rd Grade Bangalore International School Surrealistic Portrait Grade 4 (Top to Bottom) Advik. K, Nainka, Sanah, and Nidhi.
International School Myanmar Watercolor Kyal Zin Than Tun, 5th Grade
International School Myanmar Aboriginal Dot Theme Painting Su Yati Eain “Isabella“, 4th Grade
Spring Heads’ Institute/Retreat 2018 The EARCOS Board of Trustees (Top L-R) Saburo Kagei (St. Mary’s International School), Dr. Lawrence A. Hobdell (U.S. Department of State Regional Education Officer, East Asia Pacific), Barry Sutherland (International School of Phnom Penh), Kevin Baker (Busan International Foreign School), David Toze (Past President, International School Manila), Norma Hudson (Secretary, International School Kuala Lumpur), Stephen Cathers (Vice-President, International School Suva), Laurie McLellan (Nanjing International School), Andrew Davies (Treasurer International School Bangkok). (Seating L-R) Dick Krajczar (EARCOS Executive Director) and Margaret Alvarez (President, ISS International School)
On the Road with Dr. K... EARCOS recognizes the following head of schools who will leave the region. We wish them good health and lasting prosperity. (First row L-R) Dr. Charles P. Barder (Head of School, United Nations International School of Hanoi), Shelly Luke Wille (Chadwick International School) (Second row L-R) Dr. Shalee Cunningham (Head of School, Ruamrudee International School), Ms. Donna Lee Bloor (Principal, The Intercultural School of Bogor)
Visit to New School Yew Chung International School of ChongQing (Standing L-R) Janelle Chen (Business Manager), Yuan Li (Head of Marketing and Admissions), Neil McBurney (Principal), Emma Scott (Head of Primary), Echo Cao (Head of School Office). (Sitting L-R) Chris VanVolkom (Vice Principal/ Head of Secondary), Adam Caruana (Head of Student Support Department), Tim Noblett (Deputy Head of Secondary).
Visit to Alice Smith School Primary Campus Alice Smith Primary Principal Tom Verity and Dr. K EARCOS Executive Director
Partial List of Approved EARCOS Professional Learning Weekend for SY 2018-2019 One of the services EARCOS provides to its member schools throughout the year is the sponsorship of two-day workshops and institutes for faculty and administration. The topics for these workshops are determined according to the needs of members. Workshops are hosted by EARCOS schools. DATE NAME OF SCHOOL CONSULTANT TITLE SEPTEMBER Sept 1-2 Hong Kong International School Wendy Smith Reimagining Science and Engineering with NGSS & Three Dimensional Learning Sept 1-2 Wells International School - On Nut Campus Compass Education Compass Education Level 1: Compass Practitioner Workshop Sept 7-8 Nanjing International School Junko Cancemi Pedagogical Documentation: Discussing Learning through a Collaborative Process Sept 7-8 Chiang Mai International School David Yarmchuk Inspired Teaching & Learning: Creating a Classroom that Engages Students’ Curiosity and Builds Respectful Relationships Sept. 8-9 ISE International School Nicky Bourgeois Support EAL students in the mainstream classroom Sept 8-9 Shanghai American School Paul Sandrock Guiding Language Learners to Grow and Show their Proficiency Sept 8-9 Stamford American International School Carol Brooks Simoneau Adaptive Schools Foundational Seminar Part 1 (Part 2, March 8-9) Sept 8-9 Tokyo International School Kath Murdoch Nurturing Agency in the Inquiry Classroom Sept 15-16 Concordia International School Hanoi Suanne Forrester & MaryAnn Sayaz Upgrade Your Reader’s Workshop: Deepening Thinking around Planning, Assessment, Responsive Teaching, and Inquiry Sept 15-16 International Christian School - Hong Kong Kirk Robbins Next Generation Science Standards Implementation Sept 15-16 Brent International School Subic Ken O’Connor Developing Effective Grading and Reporting Practices Sept 22-23 International School of Beijing Debi Keyte-Hartland & Louise Lowings The Languages of Drawing in a Context of Creative Inquiry: Understanding Mark Making and Drawings of Early Years Learners Sept 22-23 Jakarta Intercultural School Mark Church Making Thinking Visible Sept 23-24 International School Manila Kathy Collins Projecting Reading Units and Developing The Workshop Model Sept 28-29 Dominican International School Ms. Alisa Simeral The Culture of Reflective Practice Sept 29-30 American School in Taichung Rami Madani Integrating your mission and core values into the curriculum Sept 29-30 Ruamrudee International School Scott Riley and Anne Marie Chow Reader’s Workshop: “From Basics to Blastoff ” Sept 29-30 Ruamrudee International School Amy Lauren Smith Elevating Student Health and Wellness: An Integrated Approach Sept. Western Academy of Beijing Allison Zmuda Personalized Learning OCTOBER Oct 6-7 Busan Foreign School Oct 6-7 The International School Yangon Oct 6-7 Saigon South International School Oct 12-13 Hangzhou International School Oct 13-14 Ruamrudee International School Oct 13-14 Shanghai American School Oct 13-14 International School of Beijing Oct 20-21 United Nations International School of Hanoi Oct 20-21 International School of Kuala Lumpur Oct 27-28 Cebu International School
TJ Kim Gilbert Halcrow Jacob Humes Lee Ann Jung Madeleine Bystrom Caty Romero Allen Kevin Hawkins and Amy Burke Dr. Yuehua (Susan) Zhang Kendall Zoller Dr. Gini Rojas
Design Action: Design by Making. Working with Purdue Universities Wonder Design Lab Visible Learning: Developing Assessment Capable Learners and Mindframes for Impact Feelings first: Accelerating the Emotional Development of Students to Maximize Success Strengthening An Inclusive School 6+1 Traits of Writing; Introduction to a Writing Model of Instruction and Assessment Learning Math with Understanding An Introduction to Mindfulness in Education: Be Mindful, Teach Mindfully, Teach Mindfulness Performance towards Proficiency – Assessing Authenticity of Oral Communication The Choreography of Presenting Collaborating for Integrated Content and Language Learning for English Learners
NOVEMBER Nov 2-3 Morrison Academy Dr. Douglas Reeves Nov 3-4 International School Bangkok Dr. Keith Collins Nov 3-4 Korea International School Ron Lancaster Nov 10-11 Busan International Foreign School Ann Helmus Nov 10-11 Saint Maur International School Margaret Maclean Nov 10-11 Taipei American School Doug Ota Nov 10-11 United World College of South East Asia John Zola Nov 10-11 Yangon International School Ms. Annie Keep-Barnes Nov 17-18 Surabaya Intercultural School Dr. Virginia Rojas Nov 17-18 Vientiane International School Margaret McLean Nov 17 Gyeonggi Suwon International School Nov 23-24 Fukuoka International School Dr. Andrew Watson
Leading the Way to Standards Based Grading and Assessment in Your Classroom and School Understanding Diverse Learning Needs Connecting Mathematics to the World Around Us Understanding and supporting learning differences in your classroom Collaborative Skills and Practices to Enhance Student Learning with focus on Peer Observation Safe Passage Across Networks: Supporting Transitions at International Schools Socratic Seminars Data-Driven Personalized Learning Responsive Instruction in CLIL Classrooms: Content & Language Integrated Learning for English Learners Collaborative Skills and Practices to Enhance Student Learning KORCOS18 International Educators’ Conference 2018 Learning and the Brian
DECEMBER Dec 1-2 Chadwick International School
Writing Workshop with Matt Glover
JANUARY 2019 Jan 12-13 Osaka International School Jan 19-20 Suzhou Singapore International School FEBRUARY 2019 Feb 9-10 NIST International School Feb 22-23 Jakarta Intercultural School Feb 23-24 Shanghai American School
Matthew Glover
Dr. Christopher Liang The Role of the teacher in a Comprehensive Counseling/Pastoral Care/Student Well-being Program Greg O’Connor, Lucy Burden, Unpacking Inclusion - If inclusion is the goal…how do we get there? Katie Wellbrook, and Annalise Stephens Compass Education TBA Jill Stansbury
Compass Education Level 1: Compass Practitioners Middle School Leadership Conference 2019 Positive Discipline in the Classroom
MARCH 2019 Mar 1-2 Gyeonggi Suwon International School Kristin Ziemke Mar 1-3 Saigon South International School TBA Mar 23-24 Northbridge International School Cambodia Kate Dore Mar 29-30 Taipei American School Pernille Ripp
Connecting Comprehension and Technology SEAPAC (South East Asia Primary Administrators Conference) Compass Education Level 2 Practitioner Certification Workshop - Applying Systems Thinking for Sustainability School Transformation Reading and Research Across Language and Culture
APRIL 2019 April 12-14 International School Manila
TBA
Middle School GIN 2019
MAY 2019 May 18-19 Nishimachi International School
Erin Kent
Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools
