Check out what we’ve been up to

With Kimberly Mitchell and Paola Gagliardo
January 25-26, 2025

This workshop explored practical strategies for implementing inquiry in the classroom, making it accessible for both novice and experienced educators. Using five key inquiry strategies from Experience Inquiry by Kimberly Mitchell, translated into Spanish by Paola Gagliardo, participants engaged in hands-on routines designed for learners of all ages. The workshop emphasized fostering curiosity, refining questioning techniques, and encouraging evidence-based discussions to deepen thinking. Offered in both English and Spanish, this interactive experience helped educators develop a clearer understanding of how to make inquiry a natural and effective part of their teaching practice.

With Dr. Lucy Wong
January 11, 2025

Dr. Lucy Wong led us in two FREE webinars around the ideas of language and inquiry. She focused on transforming inquiry from a mindset into a fluent practice, emphasizing its role in both classroom and whole-school development. She highlighted the importance of teacher inquiry fluency in driving educational change and explored adaptive, literacy-based approaches for additional language learning. Addressing challenges like differentiation and student engagement, she shared research-based strategies to create dynamic, inquiry-driven environments.

With Jo Boaler and Cathy Williams
October 18, 2024

We were honored to have Dr. Jo Boaler and Cathy Williams join us as our presenters. Jo and Cathy are cofounders of youcubed.org and are champions for a conceptual and equitable approach to teaching mathematics. Their work provides research-backed strategies and resources for teachers to promote a shift in the world of mathematics education.

During this inspiring day, Jo and Cathy spoke of the need for a conceptual and connected approach to teaching math, and led us through engaging and challenging activities, sharing research and stories to inspire a shift in how we approach math education. Teachers walked away with new ideas, and many have already begun to implement these in their classrooms. As one participant shared: “This is PD Disneyland!”

With Dr. Emily Jaskowiak
August 2024

Emily Jaskowiak has worked in the field of education for over 15 years. During that time she has worked as a speech and language pathologist, educational consultant and coach, and coordinator of social/emotional learning for students with special education services. She led the ISP faculty in an engaging and informative workshop about how to embrace all students, increase motiviation, and create a sense of belonging in our classrooms.

August 2024

We partnered with Responsive Classroom to host three incredible workshops! First, we held a one-day Leadership Symposium, and then two intensive four-day workshops: Elementary Core Course and Elementary Advanced Course. It was a week of laughter, learning, and forward thinking about how we can best support, encourage, and embrace all of our students. Thanks, Responsive Classroom!

March 2024

This workshop was an intensive 2-day workshop for Teachers and School Leaders committed to implementing a Concept-Based approach, offering practical strategies that invited participants to rethink the unit design process. We discovered the Concept-Based Inquiry model developed by French and Marschall, and unlocked a framework for intentional teaching and learning. Participants left with various teaching strategies carefully crafted to cultivate students’ conceptual thinking.

March 2024

In today’s dynamic educational landscape, the significance of teacher leadership in our schools cannot be overstated. This interactive workshop delves into the pivotal role that teacher leaders play in shaping and enhancing the quality of education.

Participants explored the essential qualities and skills that define effective teacher leadership, including collaboration, communication, and effective team management. Through thought-provoking discussions and hands-on activities, attendees gained practical strategies to build their leadership capacity.

October 2023

What does your classroom say about children’s ideas, inquiries, play, and learning? How do we nurture children’s curiosity while also keeping it alive for ourselves as educators? How do we support playful pedagogy in schools? Inquiry-based learning sounds great, but how do we actually make it work when we have content to teach and limited time to do it?

Lynn Cuccaro, Yvonne Liu-Constant, and John Spencer explored these questions and more in a unique, interactive, and hands-on two-day conference!

In August 2023 the Spear Center and the International School of Portland hosted three official IB workshops on the ISP campus:

• Making the PYP Happen: Implementing Agency (category 1)
• Evidencing Learning (category 2)
• Bilingual and Multilingual Teaching and Learning (category 3)

May 2023

Research continues to point out that young children learn best through meaningful play experiences. As educators, we know that play is the primary way children learn. In this workshop, we uncovered the early years skills developed through play while discovering how movement supports neural pathways in the brain to connect “learning dots” and builds the brain’s architecture. We also unpacked the crucial sensory-motor skills that build the foundation to early literacy, both in reading and handwriting regardless of the language of instruction.