Summer Pedagogy Institute Brings Teachers from Wahaha Schools, China to Bryn Mawr College
In mid-July 2018, a group of 15 teachers from the Wahaha International School and Bilingual School in Hangzhou, China took part in a two-week professional development institute on constructivist pedagogy at Bryn Mawr College.
Led by Maggie Powers '10, Director of STEAM at the Agnes Irwin School, and Heather Curl (HC '03), faculty member at Antioch University, School of Education, the institute introduced teachers to tools for embedding student-driven learning in their work, with attention to topics including differentiation, student voice, teaching and planning using design thinking and technology.
Educational leaders in the Philadelphia area were invited to share hands-on insight of their experiences in the classroom, and field trips to area schools, museums, and other youth programs deepened participants’ experience. Two student teaching assistants from Bryn Mawr, Cindy Chen '19 and Fatou Sylla '18, supported the program, helping the instructors acclimate to Bryn Mawr's campus and learning a lot along the way. The program included an opening and closing celebration reception, both held at Wyndham Alumnae House, and on the final day the teachers were given the opportunity to present their plans for bringing what they had learned back to the Wahaha Schools.
This two-week program constitutes Phase I of the Constructivist Pedagogy Workshop. Phase II includes in-classroom monitoring and discussions with the teachers in Hangzhou, China, in the Spring of 2019.
