2023 Share Fair
Nobles teachers embrace peer-to-peer collaboration to reenergize their practice with connection, a diversity of perspectives, and creativity. They welcome each other into their classrooms to passionately deconstruct what’s working and what’s not. They share constructive, specific feedback, and craft new approaches inspired by each other’s ventures into equitable, innovative teaching. In turn, students experience learning that is relevant and engaging.
On November 3, Nobles faculty and staff dedicated a professional development day to such an exchange. Director of Teaching and Learning Mike Kalin organized a Share Fair, during which 14 representatives of all grade levels and disciplines hosted information sessions on innovative teaching and learning. Employees attended three workshops and came away brimming with ideas for student engagement. Among some of the workshop choices were tailoring teaching for diverse learners; building community and increasing participation through play; annotating via an online social platform; and employing visual thinking strategies.
Computer science teacher Max Montgomery ’14 introduced the basics of Large Language Models, the technology behind generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, and practical strategies for prompt engineering. Montgomery, who, in addition to CS and AI, also teaches about robotics and blockchain, says of these technologies, “They’re going to permeate everything that everybody does—so having some understanding of what these technologies are and how they work will help people to make informed decisions about what they want to do with their lives.”
Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Aneesa Sen invited workshop participants to delve into their identity markers and share how they had impacted their socio-emotional learning and self-expression. Through this exercise, colleagues learned meaningful aspects about each other and empathy for the complexity of students’ experiences.
Math teacher Eddie Harvey demonstrated multidisciplinary methods of bringing statistics to life. From analyzing bias in data, to polling peers, he showed the value of connecting statistics to students’ real-world experiences. For example, he partnered with colleagues in journalism and history to devise data-driven activities to inform learning. His students think about how to collect and interpret data with integrity, knowing its power to drive policy.
Participants expressed excitement about adapting newfound tools for their own teaching and gratitude for their colleagues’ shared expertise. At Nobles, a culture of collaboration leads to intellectual and social growth for the whole learning community.
