My work throughout the course of the program has been to encourage teachers and students to pursue their creativity through a sense of agency. It has also given us a lens for looking at our practices and our goals through the lens of educational equity. Our mission as an IB school is similar to Touro University’s when it comes to the purpose of our learning which is to make the world a better, more peaceful place. As the students began to recognize their own capabilities, they almost immediately began to connect their actions to ways that they could help. The teachers planned units that would give students the opportunity to feel empathy and ask questions about what their responsibility is to others and to their community. Ultimately, as the students see themselves as capable, they can take on the challenges that face them in the future.
For myself personally, it has been a great experience to push myself in new ways particularly in the area of technology tools for learning. I have appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with teachers from different schools and at different levels. It has given me insights into what the possibilities can be for my school but also for the network of schools and leaders that I work with. As I work with schools around the country, I have so much to share in terms of brain research, culturally responsive teaching, transliteracy, digital tools, design and creative representations of learning, and more.