Lundi 27 Sep 2021
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Education Newsletter September 2021


 

C’est la Rentrée!

Plus que jamais, j'ai l'impression que l'année scolaire a démarré sur les chapeaux de roue. Alors que nous nous habituons de plus en plus à vivre avec les contraintes imposées par la pandémie, c'est un soulagement que leur poids se soit allégé dans notre quotidien. 

Je me réjouis d'assister à vos réunions de staff. D'abord, pour le plaisir d'être en contact avec vous et surtout parce que c’est avec enthousiasme que je partage avec vous les nouvelles opportunités de développement professionnel que nous avons mises en place. Cet automne, nous lançons un programme de formation très attendu par le personnel non enseignant et administratif. 

While the training opportunities in the soft skills may equally appeal to teaching staff, I also invite you to consider the professional learning focussed on pedagogy. These new courses have been developed in alignment with priorities for learning and teaching in all our schools such as Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, the Learning Principles, and Teaching to Multilingual Learners. These Ecolint bespoke courses follow the most recent thinking about effective professional learning. Blending theory with practical application, our focus is on collaboration across the schools and peer support for reflective practitioners. 

New Institute catalogue for 2021-2022

Nous avons la chance de voir s’offrir à nous autant d’occasions de développement professionnel et d’engagement intellectuel. 

→ Nous espérons que vous serez nombreux à vous inscrire! 

Filtrage des cours par domaine: voir le catalogue
Vous pouvez également accéder à une vue calendrier de tous les cours

Additional offerings include 

  • EDgility. Being critical about how we do education - in a positive way (EN) with Paul Magnuson (Leysin American School) and Bill Tihen (Garaio REM, Bern)
  • The continuation of Teaching Multilingual Learners (EN/FR) in collaboration with Eowyn Crisfield (Oxford Brookes University)
  • Learning Principles: A Thinking Toolkit for Teachers (EN) with Patrick Alexander (Oxford Brookes University) focused on the Learning Principles  
  • Diversité, Equité et Inclusion (EN/FR) with Abdeljalil Akkari (Université de Genève) and Karen Taylor (Ecolint) 
  • La classe : lieu de collaboration/ The Classroom: A collaborative endeavor. (EN/FR). This course is a prerequisite for classroom assistants who wish later to pursue teacher certification through Ecolint   
  • Soft-skills (EN/FR) modules for teaching and non-teaching staff 

Coming soon! 

  • A P4C-inspired module, Creating Educational Spaces for Ethical Awareness, with Natalie Fletcher of BRILA in January 2022 (EN/FR) 
  • The MProf Master of Professional Practice through Durham University (EN) 

If you have an article you would like to submit for the next edition of the Research Journal: International Education Theory and Practice, the deadline is 15 December 2021. If you are interested please contact karen.taylor@ecolint.ch. An online RIPE (Research Informed Practice in Education) conference will be held in April 2022 to mark the publication. Details will be forthcoming. 

Les Principes d’apprentissage de l’Ecolint/The Learning Principles

Conformément au premier pilier des ambitions stratégiques, nous continuons à travailler ensemble pour rendre les principes d'apprentissage visibles, intégrés et compris par les enseignants, les élèves et les parents. 

Take a look at the Learning Principles Monograph (version française ICI) that outlines the Ecolint Essentials! Join us in exploring this further through our new Institute course, Learning Principles: A Thinking Toolkit for Teachers! 

Ecolint/Durham University Initial Teacher Training Programme
(PGCE International)

This year, after receiving applications from over 25 candidates, 17 trainees were accepted onto the programme.  The 2021-2022 cohort consists of 5 Primary and 12 Secondary teachers. In addition to Swiss and French residents, we have students who have relocated to Geneva specifically for this programme from Italy and Australia. As in other years, our students come from varied previous professional backgrounds including: finance, law, event management, international relations, politics and strategic planning. 

For the first time this year, the programme has been expanded to include a part-time model. The new model offers candidates the opportunity to complete the PGCE International course in two years,  whilst continuing to work in a classroom. Open to teaching assistants in primary classrooms at Ecolint, 7 candidates have been accepted onto the programme and are in receipt of tuition bursaries to support their training. 

The initial teacher training programme has the great pleasure to introduce a new member to our team, primary specialist Anne de Leon. A Parisian by origin, Anne is multilingual with a wealth of experience in international education. She comes to us from her most recent position in teacher education at Universidad Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. Join us in welcoming Anne to the Ecolint community! 

The Ecolint/Durham University initial teacher training course is successful thanks to the support from many of you in the Foundation and in our area partner schools (La Côte International School, Institut Florimont, International School of Lausanne, Institut International de Lancy and Collège Champittet).  

We would like to thank everyone who has served as a mentor or school link, offered a workshop session, or contributed in any other way to this exceptional programme. Mentoring a trainee is a powerful experience in professional learning for both the novice and the veteran teacher. If you are interested in working with us as we develop the next generation of international educators, please contact Tanya Day Clark (tanya.dayclark@ecolint.ch). 

Préparation de l'évaluation synchronisée CIS/MSA/IB 

2022 will mark the first time that the Foundation will undertake an accreditation cycle involving all curricular programmes in all schools simultaneously (CIS/MSA/IB). 

More than 100 of our colleagues participated in the self-study committees and have gone above and beyond in order to ensure the quality of self-reflection and content that will lay the foundation for a successful and meaningful accreditation visit in February 2022. Many thanks for the commitment and thoughtful reflection that has gone into this important work already. I know we will meet the visiting team in 2022 with pride in all that we have accomplished as a Foundation. The final report will be sent to CIS in early December.

La visite d'évaluation CIS aura lieu du 7 au 11 février 2022. 

Je vous remercie de tout cœur pour l'engagement et la réflexion approfondie que vous avez déjà consacrés à ce travail important. Je sais que nous rencontrerons l'équipe de visiteurs en 2022 avec fierté pour tout ce que nous avons accompli en tant que Fondation et certainement pas toujours dans les conditions les plus faciles. 

Notre travail continu sur l'Inclusion 

Les membres du groupe de travail sur l'inclusion continuent à travailler dans toute une série de domaines qui nous permettront de vivre plus pleinement notre mission telle qu'elle est énoncée dans ce document, L’inclusion à l’Ecolint. This document includes the aligned policies and procedures for learning support and ESP in all schools, primary and secondary and emphasizes our commitment to shared responsibility for the success of all our learners. 

We were fortunate once again to welcome Next Frontier Inclusion (if at a distance) to work with all Learning Support and ESP staff on goal setting at the opening of school. I am grateful to David Hawley and to my school principal colleagues for demonstrating their commitment to this important work by giving us the time to work together. It was an intense but productive afternoon. Teams across the Foundation continue to work with Ochan Kusuma-Powell and Kristen Pelletier in individual sessions. Once more, I think about how very fortunate we are to have the resources and training we need to live our mission. 

Annexe VI Projects 2021-2022

We look forward to seeing the progress of our colleagues Jan Dijkstra (La Châtaigneraie) for Foundation-wide work on sustainability and David Barrett (Nations) for a Year 6 Business Project. 

Links to interesting reading, resources and other opportunities