Recess Duty

This week during Recess Duty we chat with PYP teacher, Megan Gless! Megan is an enthusiastic and passionate educator and learner who has just started an exciting and exhilarating career as a PYP educator at PREM located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She has recently decided to continue her education through Endicott College‘s International Education Master’s program excited to bring this learning into her classroom to give her students a rich inquiry learning experience. She talks about the different ways to support her EAL students along with her journey as a newer PYP teacher. Check out what tips she has for you!

Don't forget to follow Megan to continue learning!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Louise Heard! We discuss early years teaching and questioning and how even our youngest learners are inquirers! We talk about her latest adventures in the classroom and how she keeps her classroom student-focused with bringing in their wondering and passions. 

Louise is a passionate advocate for child-led, play-based and inquiry-driven education, that inspires and motivates children to develop and sustain their own love of learning. She is an early years specialist having taught children from 2-8 years old in London, Bangkok and now in Luxembourg.  She believes that our youngest learners' fingerprints should be on all aspects of their education - planning, assessment, and their environments. As a forest school educator, Louise is passionate about continuing learning in the outdoor environment and using this to foster and support students to be active global citizens.  She is committed to impacting all members of her school community, students colleagues, and parents. This has led to developing documentation not only to support student learning but to engage parents in an understanding of play and inquiry.   As a strong believer in collaboration, Louise is looking to connect with and learn from other PYP educators as she begins her PYP experience.

Don't forget to follow Lousie to continue learning!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Aga Chojnacka-Al Atat! We discuss student agency and how she builds a stage for students to share their voice with the wider learning community. We also talk about loving our true selfs and how we can all embrace our own truth as we are enough. 

Aga Chojnacka-Al Atat is a leader of learning, maker, play advocate, and SDGs goalkeeper. She holds a B.A in Teaching English to Young Learners and a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics - Teaching and Translation. In her life and work, Aga is driven by values of courage and kindness. Throughout her professional life, she has worked across Europe and Asia as a PYP Teacher (20 years), curriculum director and coordinator (14 years), professional learning coach, maker space facilitator, IB workshop leader, and consultant (9 years). Aga's professional expertise and inquiry focus on building culturally responsive communities, life-long learning, agency by design, play as a way of knowing and the environment as the 3rd teacher. She is a mom to two amazing TCKs (Nina 14, Zoja 10).  Aga and her family are currently based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia where they are a part of the IGB International School community of learners.

Don't forget to follow Aga to continue learning!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Marcelo Staricoff! We discuss his new book "The Joy of Not Knowing" and the culture that this idea can help create. We discuss the origin of his philosophy and how we might help our own students develop their own growth mindset. 

Marcelo Staricoff is the creator of the Joy of Not Knowing (JONK) approach, founder and director of JONK Thinking and Learning Ltd, a School Tutor in Education at the University of Sussex, and an educational consultant, speaker, and trainer working with schools nationally and internationally on applying the principles contained in this book. He is the author of Start Thinking and a former scientist who became a primary school teacher and headteacher. He is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (elected in 2019).

Don't forget to follow Marcelo to continue learning!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Jessica Vance! We discuss her new book "Leading with a Lens of Inquiry" our journey of becoming inquiry-driven educators in the classroom and how we guide students through their own inquiries in all subjects.

With a professional teaching and leadership background in both private and public international schools (IB PYP Educator & PYP Coordinator), Jessica brings a unique perspective to her role as Enrichment & Environment Coordinator. Her passion for student-centered learning, collaboration, and coaching stem from the students themselves, finding inspiration in their natural curiosity as they authentically engage in learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Jessica strongly believes in the power of leading with a lens of inquiry, facilitating innovative professional learning opportunities and coaching sessions that provide the space for educators to collaborate and reflect while supporting their professional growth as inquiry practitioners.

Her journey and experience as an inquiry educator in IB schools and Place-Based Education fuels her passion and global work in coaching both teachers and leaders in their roles, as well as supporting schools in implementing inquiry-based learning. Jessica understands the power of curiosity to guide the next steps, creating the space we all need as learners as we actively engage in reflective practice. In her newest publication, Leading with a Lens of Inquiry, she outlines the ways in which we, as leaders, need to support and facilitate our teachers in the same ways in which we want our teachers to engage with their students.

Be sure to connect with Jessica here!

This week during Recess Duty, we talk with PYP Educator and Leader, Doreen Garrigan! We talk about leading change and how we can all be the change we want to see as well as her work during COVID-19 in Brazil and the ups and downs that led to her school submitting their PYP application.

Doreen Garrigan is the Lower School Principal at Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro and has been at EARJ since July 2020. Before coming to Rio, Doreen served as Primary Principal at the Western International School of Shanghai (China). Prior to Shanghai, she spent 5 years as the IB Primary Years Programme Coordinator at the American International School of Bucharest (Romania). Doreen spent the majority of her classroom teaching experience back in the U.S. as a gifted education specialist, writing curricula for identified gifted students in the state of Virginia. Originally from the state of California, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies at California State University, Fresno, and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from George Washington University, in Washington D.C.  Doreen has been partnering with teachers, students, and parents for 30+ years and consider it a dream professional to ‘pay it forward’. Doreen is an American citizen and has two grown daughters who she enjoys watching navigate adulthood.  In her spare time, you can find Doreen exploring local highlights and enjoying bright sunny days at the beach. She is an avid dancer and loves a variety of music.

Be sure to connect with Doreen down below!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Kasey Bell. We discuss Google Education in the classroom and how COVID-19 has impacted the world of education and how many of us turned to technology to shake up learning to help support our students from a distance.

Kasey Bell is a former middle school teacher turned award-winning digital learning coach, international speaker, author, blogger, and podcaster with a Texas-sized passion for technology and learning.

She is part sparkling smile, part witty personality and a whole heap of passion as big as a Texas–go big or go home, y’all! She is a disruptor of the boring. An engaging, innovative, from the heart sharer who inspires educators while transforming their teaching with original, timely, and use-tomorrow ideas for student choice, differentiation, and technology integration.

Whether it is learning from home through online courses, professional development, conference workshops, or as a keynote speaker Kasey is a relentless innovator of ideas and a devoted transformer of classrooms and teaching.

Through teacher empowering publications and award-winning educational resources at ShakeUpLearning.com, learner-driven workshops, and presentations, and hosting two weekly podcasts, Kasey proves why we should never settle for the boring when it comes to bringing out the very best in our students, and we should always strive to Shake Up Learning!

Be sure to connect with Kasey Bell here!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Misty Paterson. We discuss her work in Pop-up Studios and how we all can make adjustments in our own classroom to invite more student learning in a variety of ways and look out for those moments when learning just pops up. 

Misty is a seasoned facilitator and certified concept-based teaching consultant with over 20 years of teaching experience. As the founder of Pop-Up Studio and author of the best-selling Pop-Up Studio book, Misty champions a creative approach to education. She empowers teachers of all kinds to integrate concepts, inquiry, and play into multimodal studio spaces at a kitchen table, around a microscope, under a tree, across a classroom desk-- anywhere really! Spanning dozens of countries and thousands of learners, Misty’s research and practice supports a global movement to ‘pop-up’ curriculum with hands-on experiences that inspire meaningful, memorable, and merry learning.

Be sure to connect with Misty Paterson here!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Rachel Poff. We discuss her journey of diversity, equity, and inclusion and how we could help our school and classrooms be more diverse, equitable, and safe for all students. We also discuss the resources that she has come across to help support our own learning of what it means to be anti-racist and what we can all do today for our students of tomorrow and how we fit into a world that may not be as easy for some as it is for others. 

Rachel is an enthusiastic and energetic educator with 20 years of international experience. She has been both a single subject and homeroom teacher, PYP coordinator, and principal. She is also an IBEN and loves connecting with teachers around the world.

Rachel is currently focusing on becoming an indigenous ally and anti-racist educator. She has been reading, listening, and experiencing FNIM culture and history with a lens on truth and reconciliation. This journey has led her back to Canada.

Since this episode was recorded, Rachel has completed a course on Truth and Reconciliation at the First Nations University of Canada and is currently enrolled online at Cornell University in a certificate for  Diversity and Inclusion education. She believes in lifelong learning and encourages everyone to follow their passions.

Be sure to connect with Rachel Poff here!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Michael A Palagi. We discuss his experience and journey of diversity, gender, and play in an early years classroom and how he has those complex discussions with his youngest learners. 

Michael is a very energetic and goal-oriented teacher who is passionate about growing and teaching in a school that uses inquiry-based learning. He believes it is important for students to learn through real-life situations that are relevant to their lives while expanding on problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and academic skills. Michael is an International Educator at NIST located in Bangkok and teaches PYP Year 1/Kinder. He is into play-based, early years, STEM, inquiry, innovation & word inquiry.

Be sure to connect with Michael A Palagi here!

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Niko Lewman. We discuss how Minecraft allows students to be creative while also teaching essential skills such as planning, designing, and coding. We also share about our we are designers or learning and how now reach our students wherever they might be. 

Niko Lewman, like a true third culture kid, hails from Tucson Arizona, and Helsinki Finland. He is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme workshop leader and a visiting team member. He has taught in Europe, the Americas, and South-East Asia, whilst working at KIS international school in Bangkok he was also the PYP Coordinator’s network chair for the Thailand IB network. He has been at the International School Mainfranken for the past 4 years and is currently the IB PYP Curriculum Coordinator and a Grade 4 teacher. He has been an IB educator for over 15 years. Niko holds a Masters of Education; Pre-Primary and Primary Education.

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Yuni Santosa. We discuss her journey from teaching to administration back to teaching and all the wonderful things she's learned in each role. We discuss agentic learners and how to best empower our learners each and every day so that they may plan their own learning and strategies. 

Yuni is a learner and PYP educator. She has been teaching since 2002 and is passionate about teaching and learning in an inquiry-based environment. As a part of the learning community, she takes time to think and reflect on her thoughts and practice sharing them with others. This is a way to extend and challenge her own thinking and practice in order to grow as an educator. Through this blog, she shares about her teaching and learning journey and relates any relevant links, people, websites, or apps to the content of her articles. Every product/idea that has been shared in this blog is based entirely on my own opinion and for the sake of sharing my learning with others.

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Mihai Catrinar. We discuss his work with Learning that Transfers and how they work with students and educators to find connections outside of the classroom as well as inside that classroom across subjects. We discuss his passion for physical health and how we all can be a little better than we were yesterday. He shares how he defines learning with his students and why we are learning physical education and the importance and history. 

Mihai educates in an IB school as a PHE Coordinator, where he enjoys taking students and teachers on a purposeful journey to self-improvement.

He is the LTT Physical Education specialist where we empower students and teachers to use learning that transfers to construct meaning and agency in pursuit of equity, sustainability, and well-being. You can also find him on the Learning that Transfers platform where he leads a PEH course along with Julie Stern.

At Learning that Transfers they are passionate about quality physical education and think it is a major pillar of understanding the world around us so that our students are able to contribute to innovative development for a safe and healthy world full of possibilities for everyone.

Core values are Passion - Adaptability - Trust

As a leader he believes that we must collaborate to stay on top, we must embrace risk and take ownership of change.

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Lu Gerlach. We discuss designing reading spaces to help promote inquiry and student passions and she took this from a theory to practice in how she redesigned several libraries and continues to help libraries around the US help support their units of inquiry. 

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Sean Walker. We discuss the importance of play for our students and how we can facilitate purposeful play in our students. We share the myths about what is play and the balance needed between uninterrupted play and structured play. He shares with us his strategies in how he teaches concepts such as "Curiosity" through play and how his students interacted and grew from this connection. 

Sean is currently a Kindergarten teacher at the International School of Paris, France, having previously worked in London and Atlanta, Georgia. Sean has held positions of responsibility such as curriculum coordinator and deputy principal alongside being a classroom teacher for the past 25 years. Sean is a workshop leader for the PYP (Primary Years Programme) and is a certified Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Leader (trained by Dr. Lynn Erickson and Dr. Lois Lanning). Sean is passionate about inspiring students to think deeply about ideas and be curious about the world around them. It is Sean's first year in Kindergarten and he is enjoying seeing the connections between play, inquiry, and conceptual learning.

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Lea Pedlow. We talk about being a Global Citizen through DEIJ and what that means for education moving forward. We discuss having difficult conversations that we should be having within ourselves and how we bring about change. 

Lea is a fun, empathetic, focused, positive, open-minded, and driven educator and passionate leader! Mom to both a pre-teen and rescue kitten! She currently is the PYP Coordinator at Vienna International and is continuing to learn how to better support her learner's progress in inquiry teaching in the PYP. 

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Tania Mansfield. We discuss the what, how, and most importantly the why of "Building Capacity" in not only our students but also in each other. We discuss the importance of relationships and how we might build relationships to help build each other's knowledge and how we use our strengths to support our program. 

Tania was raised as an Intercultural Child, calling Hong Kong home for 43 years. Over the past 20 years,  Tania has taught in state schools in NZ, & international schools in Hong Kong, China, the Middle East, Vietnam & Thailand. She is currently the PYP Curriculum Coordinator at KIS International School in Bangkok, Thailand.  Tania has had the privilege of teaching, mentoring, & coaching learners from the ages of 3 through to adult learners, and has been involved in educator training, coaching & mentoring throughout the Asia Pacific region and worked with the IBO for 15 years.  

Tania is a lifelong learner - always looking for ways to develop her craft - be it in leadership, coaching or teaching. Her commitment to education is reflected in her drive to learn and continually strive to be the best educator she can be in order to support all members of her learning community.  As an advocate of lifelong learning,  Tania’s professional passion is in building capacity in others. She has worked over the past three years to establish structures & systems through a model of situational leadership to support individuals and teaching teams so that they too can develop their craft, be the best educator they can be and support the next wave of leaders in education.    

Her professional blog: Learning to wear the big shoes.

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Tom Rehm. We discuss how and what coaching looks like within the classroom. We share our thoughts on getting students to self-adjust in their own learning and how we might not only get their best but also get them to strive for more each and every time. 

Tom is a Fourth Grade New Teacher Intern at Chadwick International. He began his teaching career in an English Academy in Incheon, South Korea. After one year of teaching in South Korea, he and his now fiance moved to Vietnam. Tom spent the next five years teaching ESOL to anyone that would listen. He found his niche using Total Physical Response to teach vocabulary and grammar structures to young learners.  After six years of teaching ESOL, Tom earned his teaching credential and began job searching at international schools. 

He now helps out in Mr. White and Ms. Pia's classrooms by day and hangs out with his dog Mr. Jose, by night. He's becoming more and more comfortable with the PYP and inquiry-based learning every day.

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

This week during Recess Duty we talk with Tania Lattanzio, an educational consultant, author, and co-found of Innovative Global Education. She is here to share her journey in education. We discuss what does challenging means to us and how we can challenge our students that allow them to explore these challenges to grow and problem solve.

Tania Lattanzio is an author and renowned international educator. Previously a teacher, coordinator, and manager with the International Baccalaureate, she is now Director of Innovative Global Education. Innovative Global Education has been established for over 10 years and in this time, Tania has worked as an educational consultant globally, in both local and international educational settings.  

This role involves developing and conducting professional learning for teachers and leadership, modeling pedagogy in classrooms, and working intensively with teaching teams, through mentoring and coaching, to improve planning, teaching, and assessment.  An advocate of inquiry, she works with educators to provide students with an education that is purposeful, meaningful, and relevant to their lives, where students have opportunities to be motivated and have agency and control of their learning.  

A passionate educator Tania works closely with educational institutions through supporting school reform, making significant shifts in pedagogy, and developing conceptual curriculum frameworks in both local and international settings. Tania has worked with schools and teachers from early childhood through to high school. Tania believes in the importance of building relationships. No two schools are the same so tailoring professional learning to meet the specific needs of educators and schools is key to the success of her work. 

Premium Sponsor

Thank you to a premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges.

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth.

Thank you to our premium sponsor, TNG Coaching! TNG Coaching's vision is to teach values through activity and experience. To guide creativity, instill confidence, champion self-worth, and celebrate identity. This journey begins by reflecting on our own performance. By collecting our thoughts and feelings on paper, both positive and negative, we begin to discern ways to respond to challenges. 

Opening a personal dialogue and sharing concerns has been proven to create deeper bonds with peers. Journaling how these relationships evolve can help assign roles and build the support structure every team needs to function effectively. When complete, your journal will stand as a lasting reminder of your commitment to your cause and your ambitions for personal and professional growth. 

Thank you to our sponsor, Toddle, for sponsoring an episode of Recess Duty! TIES is back for its third and largest edition yet. Designed to be a festival of learning like no other, TIES 2022 will feature 100+ phenomenal thinkers and doers across 10+ unique session formats.

Thank you to our sponsor, Toddle, for sponsoring the premiere of Season 2 of Recess Duty! TIES is back for its third and largest edition yet. Designed to be a festival of learning like no other, TIES 2022 will feature 100+ phenomenal thinkers and doers across 10+ unique session formats.

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with the Director of Football at Goyang Citizen FC, Tom Orrock! We discuss his growth over the years in coaching in South Korea and how those skills translate within the classroom. 

Tom has been fortunate to have worked at every tier of sport across Europe and Asia including becoming a UEFA Licensed Coach, Founding Wae In Sports & TNG.coach, author of Coach’s Journal, and mentor and advocate for women in sport. A footballing ambassador with rugby values from a farm in rural Scotland. He continues his education and learning through Concordia University in Irvine, CA receiving a Master of Athletic Administration. But now he is looking forward to his next great pursuit. 

Be sure to connect with Tom here:

Website: https://www.waein.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomorrock/

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with leader and friend, Katie Stone! We discuss agency not only for students but teacher agency as well. What does it mean to you and how can we use it. 

Katie is the Primary School Principal and PYP Coordinator at Bandung Independent School. Originally from California, she had lived in countries across Asia for almost 15 years, and has developed a passion for cultivating a community of agentic learners. Katie spends her time chasing after a curious toddler, diving into the gorgeous Indonesian reefs, and collaborating with her PLN on solutions to the educational issues of today.

Be sure to connect with Katie here: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsKatieTweets

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-stone-878434a/

Don't forget to subscribe and review so you don't miss any future episodes of Recess Duty.

Continue learning everyone!

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with ex-pat educator and world traveler, Kenneth Odoi. We discuss his journey in education and how he got started as an educator overseas.

Kenneth has been an elementary school educator for almost 20 years. He's spent the last 15 years teaching in international schools across Europe and Asia. He's a native of California and enjoys good food, good wine, the beach, and tacos. Kenneth strives to encourage agency and compassion in his students and is enjoying his learning journey.

Don't forget to subscribe and review so you don't miss any future episodes of Recess Duty.

Continue learning everyone!

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with PYP leader and consultant, Michelle Simpson. We discuss shifting a school culture and her journey in building a culture of learning and empowerment. 

Michelle has been involved in education for nearly 30 years, teaching and working in New Zealand, London, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Oman. As an international educator, Michelle has been able to combine raising her two children, teaching, and traveling. Having recently taken time out of school to complete her master's, Michelle currently works for Professional Learning International designing concept-based Math unit plans for international schools. In August Michelle will be joining Khartoum International Community School as the Primary Principal. As a principal, Michelle believes in building strong teams and relationships based on trust. She enjoys the collaborative nature of teamwork where everyone learns from each other and is empowered to be their best. In her spare time, Michelle likes to run trails, read or cook.

Connect with Michelle below:

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with learner and friend, Chandrani Banerjee! We discuss her journey through education and her experience teaching during COVID in her PYP classroom. We share out our student's longing for connection and the importance that taking the time to connect can bring to our students. 

Chandrani Banerjee is a certified PYP facilitator and assistant PYP Coordinator in Mount Litera School International Mumbai India. She started her journey 24 years back and to engage in authentic inquiry where students are supported and challenged to become independent and self-aware learners. During her journey of teaching and learning, she realized that relationship is essential and well-being is just not a vocabulary but a requirement.

Connect with Chandrani below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeTwittey

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandrani-banerjee-b025b916/

Don't forget to subscribe and review so you don't miss any future episodes of Recess Duty.

Continue learning everyone!

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with DesignCast Host and IB Leader, Jason Reagin! We discuss his journey through education and his various roles at home and aboard. We also discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on education and his journey through teaching Design through an inquiry lens.

In 2006, Jason received a graduate certification from the University of Georgia in Educational Leadership.  This is an add-on certification to the E.S.O.L. and Technology Education Teacher certifications that Jason also holds.  Jason has had the privilege to lead many different types of teams in school successfully.  Whether IB steering committees or subject departments, Jason has a successful track record of leadership.  Jason has a ‘people person’ demeanor and believes in building strong teams through collaboration and a positive spirit of mutual respect.

Since 2008 Jason has participated in IB Educator Network (IBEN) sponsored events worldwide.  To date, he has attended and conducted IB workshops, consulted for candidate MYP schools, acted as a visiting team leader, and served as a field representative for on-site regional workshops for IB visits that total over 80 IB events (in more than 10 countries).  He is currently working on several ‘advanced development’ projects with the IB which involved planning new workshop iterations and so on. 

Connect with Jason below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/diskon4no

Design Cast Podcast: https://anchor.fm/design-cast-podcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wjreagin/

Don't forget to subscribe and review so you don't miss any future episodes of Recess Duty.

Continue learning everyone!

Welcome to "Recess Duty"! This week we talk with Brian Lettinga, a Senior Search Associate joining after a 24-year career in international education. We talk about trends in overseas job applications and advice for new and veteran international educators and how to stand out amongst a crowd of candidates. We share stories about searching for jobs and looking for that school that we can connect with and what we need to be on the lookout for.

Brian earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and International Relations from Western Michigan University. Following his undergraduate work, he earned his first Master’s Degree in Education from Aquinas College and his teaching license from the state of Michigan. Later he earned his second Master’s Degree from Lehigh University in Educational Leadership as well as his administrative licenses from the state of Michigan. Brian is active in international education, keeping close ties to CEESA, AMLE, ELMLE, and serving on accreditation teams for AdvancED. Brian and his wife, Annalisa, have two children, Miles and Posie. Brian also has a deep understanding of what it is like to raise a family overseas and commit to the upbringing of Third Culture Kids.

After ten years teaching elementary school Brian moved into international school administration. Brian spent the next fourteen years in a wide variety of administrative positions. Brian returned to CIC as the Upper School Principal and IBDP Coordinator in 2006 and continued through 2011 as the Elementary and Middle School principal having opened the two-year-old and three-year-old programs as well as bringing the school closer to PYP authorization.

Please connect with Brian with the following links!

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with Educational Tech Guru, Craig Kemp! We discuss his journey through education and pushing himself to continue growing to support teachers in various ways. We also talk about his exciting adventure with EduSpark, a platform for all learners to continue developing, learning, and growing, and how that came around.

Craig has supported schools and organizations all over the globe to establish practices, protocols, and guidelines to support the sustainable implementation of technology into the curriculum to add value to student learning. In addition, he works as an advisor with technology vendors adding value to their products for use in schools. Craig works with these companies to help them build, develop, grow and connect with schools all over the world and has successfully supported global EdTech companies in developing a presence in APAC.

Please connect with Craig with the following links below!

Welcome to Recess Duty! Today we are talking with Ali Ezzeddine! Ali is an educational consultant and trainer in various educational fields. A certified international trainer from Lynn Erickson institute to do concept-based workshops and international educational consultant for the International Baccalaureate Organization. Ali Ezzeddine is an experienced primary educator. He is trilingual: Arabic, French, and English. Ali loves children’s literature and he is a published author. He visits schools to lead training or consultation visits or just to share his writings with the kids.

We talk about continuing to learn and try new things and about his journey of becoming a children's author. Sharing his journey in how he grows and how he leads in giving learners room to make mistakes and grow. He walks us through his process of writing and where he gets inspiration from and how they became conceptual and transdisciplinary. Please connect with Ali with the following links! 

This week during "Recess Duty" we talk with Environmental Educator, the bug man himself, Kevin O'shea! We discuss his passion for outdoor education and insect exploration and bringing that wonder and excitement to his classroom. We also talk about how we all might start to utilize outdoor learning spaces a little bit more in our own lives. Please connect with Kevin with the following links below! 

Welcome to Recess Duty! Today, we are talking with Tonya Gilchrist!  She is an international learning strategist who specializes in helping schools around the world amplify inquiry and honor agency for deep learning and transfer across languages, literacies, and disciplines in PK-G12. She is also an internationally experienced educator, instructional coach, and curriculum specialist. Tonya earned her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Hong Kong University. She also holds an IB Certificate in Leadership Practice and an IB Advanced Certificate in Leadership Research. We will be talking about collaboration, agency, and meeting in the middle. How can we meet in the middle when collaborating and building new ideas that otherwise wouldn't exist.