Inspired Teaching goes to Thailand - Center for Inspired Teaching

Dave Yarmchuk, Inspired Teaching’s Deputy Director, shares about his upcoming trip to Thailand to work with teachers in Chiang Mai.

How did Inspired Teaching connect with the Chiang Mai International School?

We have a partnership with the Literacy Design Collaborative, and the Chiang Mai International School found us through their website. Once the School Superintendent and Director of Curriculum & Instruction at the school learned about us, they did some digging on our website to see what we offer. Teachers had indicated on a school survey that their number one interest was learning about authentic engagement, and they decided our workshops were exactly what they were looking for. After all, authentic engagement is what we do best.

The school leaders posted a workshop description at the school and on the EARCOS (East Asia Regional Council of Schools) website and interest from teachers has been through the roof. We planned to offer a training to 30 teachers but they had 80 teachers sign up relatively quickly. The school leaders cut off enrollment and put about 40 of the teachers on a waitlist for the next workshop. We’re hopeful we’ll be able to return for a second training in the Spring.

What are the main goals of the workshop?

The school leaders were originally particularly interested in combining the elements of our introductory workshop: Becoming an Instigator of Thought, and our workshop The Relationship-Based Classroom.

The main focus of the workshop will be planning and facilitating inquiry-based education using the Inspired Teaching Model of Instruction. This includes the 4 “I”s (Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, Integrity), as well as our core elements. Teachers are excited about using an engagement-based approach, – but they also have some trepidation. Student-centered instruction is new for many of the teachers, who are more comfortable with traditional teaching practices.

We had originally planned to focus a lot on restorative justice as well, but after talking with the school leaders, we learned that they don’t really have much difficulty with misbehavior or classroom management. So instead of focusing on relationship-based discipline, we’ll discuss the role of relationships in creating an authentically engaging environment.

What is the furthest you’ve traveled for Inspired Teaching before?

While Inspired Teaching has presented around the world, the furthest I’ve traveled for Inspired Teaching was to a conference in California, and the furthest I’ve gone to host a training at a school is College Park, Maryland, so this is definitely something new and exciting for me.

What are you most looking forward to about the workshop?

I’m excited to work with a school that is so far away, and in such a different setting than Washington DC. I am looking forward to seeing the Inspired Teaching model in action with a totally different set of teachers and students. I will get to spend time observing in the school, which I think will be both fascinating and informative. They’ve also made very clear that they want us to get connected with the larger Thai / Southeast Asian education community, so I am excited about the potential for future work as well.

What is something you are curious about (related to the trip)?

I am most curious about how the school integrates students with the local culture and community. Engagement-based teaching and learning has elements of place-based learning; it’s essential that the students’ learning is situated in and relevant to their real lives. While I have seen what real-world connections look like in DC (in our Real World History course and in many of the schools we work with), I am curious what that looks like in Chiang Mai. Because most of the students are not from Thailand originally, it raises a particularly interesting question – what does place-based education mean for an American in Thailand going to school with students from all over the world?

Follow us on Twitter at @InspireTeach for updates from Dave’s trip and keep an eye out for another blog post when he returns!

Dr. Michelle Edwards

Director; Founder & CEO, The Idari Collective

Dr. Edwards is the Founder and CEO of the Idari Collective. Idari means leadership in the Yoruba language. The Idari Collective is a coaching, mentoring, and consulting firm whose mission is to come alongside leaders, especially Black women leaders, so that they will thrive in leading their personal and professional lives.

She is a native Chicagoan and a career educator who found her way to the East Coast as a resident principal in New Leaders, Inc. during its inaugural year in Washington DC. She also served as a principal in Anacostia at Orr Elementary for almost a decade. Michelle returned to New Leaders in 2013 as the Director of the Emerging Leaders Program. Dr. Edwards served for nearly seven years as the Executive Director at Live It Learn It, an experiential learning nonprofit located in Washington, DC that partners with schools and cultural institutions to create and deliver experiential learning opportunities for Black and Brown elementary-aged students.

She earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Certificate in Executive Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. Michelle is a graduate of Creative Results Management, where she was trained to coach. Dr. Edwards also advocates for social justice and racial reconciliation as a leader of the DC Unity and Justice Fellowship, a new 501c3 in Washington, DC where she serves as the inaugural Board Chair. She is a trained Urban Missionary, a proud, 25+ year-member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the mother of two adult sons, Darren and Dante.

Meag Campos

Project Manager

With over ten years of experience in education, Meag Campos is dedicated to making learning accessible for all students and to supporting their social-emotional growth. Her career spans working with elementary through high school students, during which she has served as a Teacher, Learning Specialist, and Instructional Coach.

She holds a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on literacy leadership from the University of New Orleans. Her passion for education is matched by her love for reading and exploring the world with her husband and two sons.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Speak Truth Faculty

As Speak Truth Faculty, Brady helps to lead one of our model youth programs. She provides training and support to high school students as they lead and engage in Speak Truth discussions on issues important in their lives. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.