School Unity Session By Dr. Mohamed Montasser

Background Information

I currently serve as the head of the Science Department at Dar El Tarbiah School, overseeing both middle and high school levels. Recently, I joined the Teachers’ Professional Development (TPD) committee, which is responsible for enhancing the professional growth of our educators. I am also enrolled in the Professional Educator Diploma in Educational Leadership program at the American University in Cairo. This program provides me with the opportunity to share the knowledge I gain with our teachers, fostering a culture of Community Learning Practice within our institution.

 

I have been actively applying FIRST-ADLX Framework for more than five years so far, in different settings including face-to-face, online, hybrid, and asynchronous learning environments, whenever and wherever feasible. Currently, I am responsible for teaching chemistry to high school students in grades 11 and 12, in addition to my managerial duties.

I am presenting this case study as a part of the teacher professional development program, which was conducted at the beginning of the current academic year (2023-2024) for approximately 20 learners. My primary goal is to bring together all staff members, including teachers to function as a cohesive unit, aware of our shared vision, mission, and values. Our aim is to provide a consistent Active Deep Learner eXperience for our students.

 

Session Design

Applying what I’ve learned in FIRST-ADLX framework and taking care of the learner’s energy level during the learning session, I have designed different types of activities and organized them to ensure the smooth flow of the session. The table below illustrates the flow of the session.

 

Activity Type Main Task Brief Steps
Opener/Mini Presentation – State the learning outcomes · Show a picture with many arrows

· Ask the learners: “Could you be lost?”

· Introduce the institute’s vision and mission

Learning Activity/Collaborative Learning -Use your mobile phones to do some research: How are the “vision” and “mission” different? · Group work to discuss the difference

· A speaker from each group shares the findings

· Compare between them

Learning Activity/ Mini Presentation -Introduce the School’s Vision and Mission ● Emphasize the school’s vision

● Highlight the school’s mission

● Encourage the learners to concentrate on the keywords of both vision and mission.

● Read aloud and emphasize certain keywords by changing your voice tone

Learning Activity -Read the vision and mission and pull main keywords ● Use menti.com and create a word cloud

● Each learner shares his/her keywords on their mobile phones

● Reflect on the word cloud

Learning Activity – Implementation

 

● Select a keyword and jot down on sticky notes the associated actions and activities to be done with students, both inside and outside the classroom. Then, affix these notes to the wall.
Learning Activity /Mini-Presentation – Highlight the core values: Respect, Integrity, and Responsibility ● Reflect on the behaviors, emphasize the values, and articulate them clearly.

● Affirm that they have derived these values through their reflection of the vision and mission.”

Closure – Let’s Recap ● Recap what we’ve done since the beginning of the session

● Review the session’s design and flow

● Next, inquire about the implementation of ELEOT and its timing.

 

Implementing the Domains of FIRST-ADLX Framework

FIRST-Framework was implemented in both stages: design and facilitation. My primary objective was to provide the teachers with an Active Deep Learnerrr eXperience in which the focus is on the learner behavior (F-domain), and learners are well-equipped to transform learning into performance (T-domain).

 

F – Domain:  Focus on the Learnerrr Behaviors

The design prioritized learner-centricity, offering numerous activities for participants; activities that address different learning styles and types of intelligences. Additionally, plentiful opportunities and time were allocated for learners to express themselves and share their thoughts and experiences. All learners were engaged throughout the whole journey. For instance, when an English teacher volunteered to translate the vision and mission statements into Arabic, other teachers were invited to share their implementations.

I – Domain: Interacting within Positive Group Dynamics

Teachers were divided into groups on two occasions. First, to conduct research on the distinction between vision and mission, and later to discuss and exchange ideas on how to implement various concepts from the vision and mission statements. I motivated them, appreciated their participation, and positively reinforced their interactions through words of encouragement and applause.

 

R – Domain: Reviewing Activities within RAR

Several learning activities were conducted, and the three stages of RAR model (Readiness Increase, Activity Facilitation, and Reviewing Actively) were fully respected.

RAR Activity 1: Vision & Mission:

Readiness Increase: Learners were invited to sit in groups and search for the differences between vision and mission.

Activity Facilitation: Group work involved exploring the differences between vision and mission.

Reviewing Actively: The findings were shared, and a discussion about the differences took place.

RAR Activity 2: Common Concepts:

Readiness Increase: Learners were invited to read the vision and mission statements carefully, and then I recited both statements loudly, emphasizing specific keywords.

Activity Facilitation: I encouraged them to share the keywords that stood out to them, utilizing mentimeter.com for a word cloud activity.

Reviewing Actively: We began reflecting on the word cloud generated by the teachers.

RAR Activity 3: Implementing Behaviors:

Readiness Increase: Clear instructions were provided.

Activity Facilitation: Learners were encouraged to engage in group discussions and decide on how to implement different concepts from the vision and mission statements, followed by writing them on sticky notes. During this stage, I moved around and monitored the discussions, ensuring that the learners understood the instructions.

Reviewing Actively: Learners reflected, shared, and discussed the implementations written on the sticky notes.

 

The S – Domain: Sequencing activities within Session Flow

The main learning outcomes were on the first slide and in my mind throughout the session, and they were as follows:

Attitude Learning Outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate positive attitude towards the school’s vision and its impact on shaping the school’s future direction.

Skills Learning Outcomes:

  1. Analyze the role of the mission statement in guiding daily operations and decision-making processes within the school.

Knowledge Learning Outcomes:

  1. Express the school’s vision statement clearly.
  2. Identify the core values of the school, such as responsibility, integrity, and respect.

Performance Learning Outcomes:

  1. Assess how the mission statement guides daily operations and informs decision-making processes within the school

As an opener, I presented an image with multiple arrows and posed questions to the teachers, such as “Would you be lost? Do you know your goals? How do you feel? What happens if we all choose different directions?” This discussion proved productive. Subsequently, I emphasized that to work cohesively, we need to have a shared vision and mission, illustrated using a slide displaying both concepts visually.

The second activity involved group work. I divided the teachers into random groups and tasked them with researching online to distinguish between vision and mission statements. Afterward, I led a discussion to clarify the differences while having a representative from each group share their findings. A summarizing slide was used to underscore the difference between vision and mission.

Once the participants grasped the distinctions and the significance of both vision and mission, I presented the school owners’ vision and mission statements, stressing that these statements encompass significance common concepts. I asked the teachers to take a moment to read both statements with utmost concentration, focusing on the key terms. Subsequently, I recited both statements audibly, emphasizing specific keywords. To ensure comprehension for non-English speakers, I invited a volunteer from the English department to translate the statements into Arabic.

To encourage active participation and gauge their attention, I prompted them to share the keywords that stood out to them, employing mentimeter.com with a word cloud activity. Notably, words repeated by multiple participants appeared larger in the word cloud. For instance, “Life Long Learner” was repeated and, therefore, appeared larger. My aim was to unify the teachers’ goals, drawing inspiration from the school’s vision and mission while teaching our students.

Afterward, we began reflecting on the word cloud created by the teachers. This marked the reviewing actively part. I posed several questions to the teachers, such as: What were the most frequently recurring concepts, and why? What did we learn from this activity? I was preparing them for the next task as well. The subsequent activity involved teamwork. In groups, we discussed how to implement these concepts inside and outside the classroom. We wrote each behavior on a sticky note and placed it on the wall. The aim of this activity was to translate the concepts into practical behaviors in our daily interactions with the students. A volunteer read the notes on the sticky notes, and we all began to reflect. For instance, one teacher shared that she already encourages the students to be the best versions of themselves. Another teacher stated her intention to treat them with utmost respect, as teachers are role models and should exemplify respect.

Most of the teachers emphasized common values, which are the core values of the school derived from both the vision and mission statements. I pointed out that the core values were nearly identical among all the teachers: respect, integrity, and responsibility.

For the closure, I asked them to recap the overall session design and then reflect on how much progress I made in terms of ELEOT. ELEOT stands for Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool, which is an evaluation tool for classroom environments. It is student-centered and developed by Cognia, the organization that accredits schools to teach the American diploma. We engaged in a brief discussion about how the session’s design and facilitation met the ELEOT requirements and at what points. For instance, I asked if I had used technology and when, when differentiation occurred, and whether teamwork played a role.

 

T-domain: Transforming Learning into Performance

This domain, mainly “Reflection on Reality” principle, was incorporated when I invited the learners to discuss methods of translating the concepts into behaviors.

Conclusion

One significant drawback in teacher professional development programs (PD) is that many facilitators advise against lecturing to teachers while, ironically, they employ lecture-style facilitation when designing and conducting active learning environments. These facilitators unintentionally or carelessly demonstrate the very attitude they aim to change in teachers. Consequently, many teachers, as learners, either become perplexed or persist in resisting active learning, failing to fully embrace it. To effectively persuade teachers, they must eXperience firsthand what is expected of them. Teacher trainers should focus on influencing attitudes, including mindset, emotions, and, most importantly, intellect, in order to successfully achieve their learning outcomes.

Consequently, one of my primary objectives was to help the teachers live and engage in an Active Deep Learner eXperience, allowing them to differentiate and compare it with traditional learning methods, and to assess which approach is more effective and engaging for learners.

As a result, towards the end of the session, I facilitated a reflection on the design of the session. I asked them to reflect on what we had accomplished that day and simultaneously created a timeline for the session’s activities.

Testimony

Ms Naima says: “The session was incredibly beneficial and successful. We grasped the content fully as we smoothly progressed from one step to the next. The mentor effectively aroused our interest by employing various strategies, and I gained a lot from the experience.”

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