Professional development at BASIS International & Bilingual Schools is an opportunity for faculty at all levels to collaborate, reflect, and share their expertise and learning experiences. Whether led by administrators or teachers, our professional learning sessions inspire meaningful change in classrooms and strengthen our shared commitment to excellence. We heard from James Folsom, Vice Head of Lower Primary at BASIS Bilingual School Shenzhen, and Jessica Lovick-Earle, ECE Teacher at BASIS Bilingual Kindergarten Nanshan, about the workshops they led at their schools during a network-wide professional development day.
Honoring the Agency of Students
What does meaningful professional development look like to you?
I find professional development inspiring when it aligns with my pedagogical philosophy. We are a new campus, and our Head of School, Tara McKenna, is working hard with us all to create our school culture. It is exciting to be given the chance to share my philosophy in the hopes that it also aligns with my colleagues and helps them to feel empowered in their classrooms.
How did your session address priorities or challenges at your school?
I know we have a large workload, and with this age group, it is difficult to provide great lesson content for both teacher-led and child-led content that is deep and meaningful. I aim to empower teachers to shift the focus onto their child-led provocations and hope that teachers can understand they can use academic materials for numeracy/literacy learning within their provocations/centers and their teacher-led time.
What strategies or approaches did you use to engage teachers during your workshop?
I did a presentation to outline my planning methods, setting up, and storing. Then, I asked the teachers to work in groups to create a provocation, after which we went around the room and reflected on how they felt they could adapt them for their classrooms and how they thought a child would interact with them.
What was the most surprising or rewarding feedback you received from colleagues?
I feel like I could talk about this for hours, and there would be moments during my presentation where I thought, “Oh no! I have been going on about this for too long!” Or “I need to move on because I am just going off on a tangent!” But, I received the feedback that listeners were very interested and wished I had longer to go into further detail on what I had to say. That was reassuring!
How has presenting professional development helped you grow as an educator?
It was a great opportunity to reflect on my own knowledge and practice, and it helped solidify my key beliefs in ECE pedagogy. I was able to revisit key influencers and practitioners that shaped my professional development over the past few years, and it reiterated the fact that PD can be extremely beneficial. I attend PD courses once or twice a year to stay up to date on my practice and to be inspired, and it helps me have confidence in my approach and remain a lifelong learner!
How do you hope your colleagues will apply the ideas from your workshop?
I hope that my colleagues can feel confident in the knowledge that whatever ideas they have for a learning outcome or a planned provocation, the children will also have their own ideas on what to do and that it is okay for those things to be different, to evolve from each other or to adapt. By honoring the children’s knowledge, we empower them to be agents of their learning.
Jessica Lovick-Earle
ECE Teacher
BASIS Bilingual Kindergarten Nanshan
Practical Tools for Immediate Impact
I presented several professional development sessions focused on equipping teachers with practical, effective strategies to enhance student learning and engagement. My goal was to create sessions that inspire and empower educators to feel confident implementing new ideas in their classrooms.
What does meaningful professional development look like to you?
Meaningful professional development is relevant, practical, and rooted in the real challenges and needs teachers face. It allows for hands-on practice, fosters collaborative discussions, and provides tools educators can immediately apply in their classrooms. It also encourages reflection and a growth mindset.
How did your session address priorities or challenges at your school?
The sessions addressed critical areas such as improving literacy outcomes, engaging students more effectively, and leveraging assessment to drive learning. These are ongoing priorities for our school as we strive to close achievement gaps and support diverse learners.
What strategies or approaches did you use to engage teachers during your PD session?
I incorporated hands-on activities, modeled strategies, and created opportunities for collaboration and discussion. Teachers engaged in small group work, practiced applying the techniques, and shared their insights and experiences, which made the sessions dynamic and interactive.
What was the most surprising or rewarding feedback you received from colleagues?
One of the most rewarding pieces of feedback was hearing that teachers felt reinvigorated and excited to try new strategies. Some shared specific ways they planned to implement the ideas in their classrooms, which showed me that the sessions had a meaningful impact.
What has shaped how you deliver professional learning sessions?
My experiences as a teacher, along with feedback from colleagues over the years, and my time as a Quality Assurance Manager have been instrumental in shaping how I deliver professional development. I focus on creating sessions that are interactive, reflective, and tailored to the needs of the participants. My goal is always to make the learning experience as relevant and engaging as possible.
How do you hope your colleagues will apply the ideas from your workshop?
I hope my colleagues will feel confident in implementing the strategies we explored, whether designing effective guided reading groups, setting up purposeful learning stations, or using formative assessment to adjust their teaching in real time. Ultimately, I hope these ideas will lead to increased student engagement, better differentiation, and improved student learning experiences across all subjects.
James Folsom
Vice Head of Lower Primary
BASIS Bilingual School Shenzhen
Conclusion
The professional development workshops led by Jessica Lovick-Earle and James Folsom highlight the collaborative spirit of BASIS International & Bilingual Schools. By sharing their expertise and learning experiences, they empowered colleagues and reinforced a culture of continuous learning.
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