The IPC Coordinator and Upper Primary Teacher, Trish Bogdanchik, attended the 2016 IPC Regional Conference in London on April 20th. This was a wonderful opportunity for Embassy International School to further establish a relationship within the IPC community.
Ms. Bogdanchik focused on learning the basics and implementation of the IPC, as well as advanced planning and assessing tools. What was most memorable for her was the potential that IPC has to transform teaching and learning in a school.
There was a focus on setting goals in academic, international, and personal areas. The foundation of having clear learning goals is essential for students. Children can take control of their learning and become better learners as a result. When students understand the difference between knowledge, skills, and understanding, they will be better equipped to self-assess their learning.
Of the areas that were focused heavily on, the 8 IPC personal goals were: enquiry, resilience, morality, communication, thoughtfulness, cooperation, respect, and adaptability. These qualities have been identified by IPC as the essential qualities for children in a global 21st century world. Academic areas are built into thematic units of work, where Science, History, Geography, ICT, PE, Art, Technology, Music, Society and International are interwoven and taught through an exciting program of work. Embedded within everything in IPC, there are learning activities that help students gain an understanding of self, community, and the world.
After meeting with many schools who currently use IPC, it was encouraging and exciting to hear the success stories. As a new school implementing the IPC in 2016-2017, much of the information was crucial to a successful start. When the teachers were asked how the kids felt about IPC, the overwhelming response was, “They LOVE it!” The knowledge and ideas gained from the conference were well worth it.
