CIEC 2025

"Content:

1. Understanding About Mental Health

A. Definition of mental health
B. Overview of social and emotional skills
C. Connection between mental health and skill development
II. Overview of effective programs and initiatives
A. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs
B. Mindfulness and character education programs
III. Strategies for implementation in schools

Workshop Style:
Quote, statistic, and questions

Intended audience:
All grade-level of educators

Learning outcomes
Growth of social awareness, empathy, self-control, and self-awareness
Improved interpersonal connections
Improved critical thinking and problem-solving abilities in social settings
Enhanced Engagement and Motivation: The Effect on Professional and Academic Outcomes
Encourage lifelong learning and continuous personal growth.

This workshop, "Beyond the Textbook: Transforming Learning with Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality and Gamification,"  immerses you in the exciting possibilities of  VR/AR and gamification for creating engaging and effective learning experiences.  We'll go beyond theory, exploring practical applications and real-world examples of how these technologies can be used to achieve specific learning outcomes. Through interactive sessions and hands-on activities, you'll learn how to leverage VR/AR and game mechanics to enhance student motivation, knowledge retention, and critical thinking.  This workshop is designed for educators, curriculum developers, and instructional designers who are eager to integrate cutting-edge technology into their teaching practice and transform the way their students learn.    

Learning outcomes
1. Understand the pedagogical benefits of VR/AR and gamification: Participants will be able to articulate how these technologies can enhance engagement, motivation, and knowledge retention in learners.
2.    Identify practical applications of VR/AR and gamification in education: Participants will gain familiarity with a range of VR/AR tools and gamification strategies applicable to various subjects and learning environments.
3.    Develop critical thinking skills for designing immersive learning experiences: Participants will learn to evaluate the effectiveness of different VR/AR and gamification approaches and consider ethical implications.
4.    Gain hands-on experience with basic VR/AR tools and gamification platforms: Participants will have the opportunity to experiment with readily available tools and resources for creating their own immersive learning activities.
"

"Collaborating as a team and navigating group decisions can present thrilling challenges. Dive into this dynamic workshop designed to empower educational leaders with an arsenal of strategies and protocols that bolster the decision-making journey.

Embark on a journey to expand your toolkit and broaden your team's approach to decision-making. Delve into methods that enhance each team member's acumen, ensuring informed and optimal decisions are made.

Learning outcomes
Discover various strategies and protocols to enhance a team's decision-making process.
- Diversify a team's thinking process and approach to the decision-making process.
- Raise each team member's awareness to make a decision that is best informed."

In this presentation, we will explore our transition from Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) to Student Success Plans (SSPs) by starting to actively involve students in their goal-setting processes. Inspired by Shelley Moore’s concept of learning plans as seed packets, we aim to help both children—and flowers—bloom. We are moving away from deficit models to empower students in shaping their educational journeys.

Engagement is a fundamental component of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and fostering expert learners is essential to this approach. I will share actionable strategies that schools can implement to develop and enhance strength-based success plans. By emphasizing individual strengths rather than deficits, we can create personalized pathways toward goals, promoting a more inclusive educational system that fosters a genuine sense of belonging for all students. Ultimately, we aim to cultivate expert learners who can guide and drive their own learning journeys.

The workshop will be informative and interactive, looking at various ways educators can plan goals and incorporate student voice in these success plans. "

Learning outcomes
1. Shift in perspective: Participants will understand how to transition from a deficit mindset—focusing on ""fixing"" students to meet ""grade level expectations""—to a growth-oriented approach that emphasizes nurturing individual strengths and potential, fostering an environment where every student can thrive.

2. Creating expert learners: Attendees will understand the importance of cultivating expert learners who take ownership of their learning journeys, encouraging self-directed goal setting and personal accountability.

3. Individualized Support: Participants will develop a commitment to meeting students where they are, recognizing unique starting points and crafting personalized pathways that nudge them 1% closer to their goals each day.
"

"- Content Overview: Cover historical views on education, traditional vs. modern teaching, pros and cons of summative assessments, the role of assessments, and the shift to personalised, curiosity-driven learning.

- Timeline & Audience: November to January for drafts, finalisation, and presentation prep; 25 January 2025 at ISPP for expat and local educators"

"1. Increased Awareness of Assessment Methods:

Participants will understand the limitations and potential drawbacks of over-reliance on summative assessments.

Participants will be able to articulate the benefits of integrating more holistic teaching approaches, including formative assessments, project-based learning, and real-world problem-solving.

2. Enhanced Teaching Strategies:

Participants will develop strategies to incorporate project-based learning into their curricula to foster students' curiosity and critical thinking skills.

Participants will be equipped with practical tools and techniques to implement real-world problem-solving activities in the classroom, better preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century."

Explaining additional support services for children (SLT/OT/PT) with examples and experiences. workshop style: combination between presenting, small activities and concept checking by means of a quiz and questions.

Learning outcomes
1. The participant is able to explain what additional support services are
2. The participant has a understanding about when extra services are needed
3. The participant understands the importance of inclusion of all children
4. The participant can explain the difference between neurotypical and neurodiverse "

"In this interactive workshop, participants will explore practical strategies and innovative approaches to foster inclusivity in diverse educational settings. Through collaborative activities, discussions, and hands-on experiences, attendees will learn how to create supportive environments that celebrate the unique strengths of all learners, particularly those who are neurodiverse. The workshop will cover topics such as  Introduction (10 minutes), Understanding Neurodiversity(15 min) ,Implications for Teaching (15 minutes), Effective Teaching Strategies (15 minutes), Q&A and Wrap-Up (5 minutes)
Intended Audience: This workshop is designed for educators, administrators, and support staff in K-12 settings, as well as parents and caregivers interested in enhancing their understanding of inclusive practices. Join us to build connections, share insights, and equip yourself with tools to make every learner feel valued and engaged."    "1.Understand the concept of neurodiversity and its significance in education.
2.Recognize the unique strengths and challenges associated with various neurological profiles (autism, ADHD, dyslexia).
3.Explore effective teaching strategies and practices that accommodate neurodiverse learners.
"

"Discover how passion projects can transform the educational experiences of twice exceptional students. In this presentation, we'll share our insights and our experiences from a year-long professional development program focused on supporting high-ability students and implementing passion projects for the first time.
The workshop will be interactive, incorporating discussions and converations.
Audience: parents and any professionals working in an educational setting." "- We will inform what passion projects are including the research behind them.


Learning outcomes
- How they can be used with practical examples.
- How they can be tied in with the IB framework.
- How they can be linked to the ATLs.
- How they are good representations of the learner profile.

We hope by the end of the session, participants have an idea of what passion projects are."

We will host a workshop that explores practical classroom management strategies grounded in the science of behavior. We will examine the ABCs of behavior and how they relate to the classroom environment. We will explore how behavior never happens in a vacuum; it always serves a function and is shaped by its surroundings. By considering the function of behavior, and the environmental contexts in which it occurs, we can uncover insights into why certain problem behaviors arise. With these insights, we can adapt our responses to create more positive outcomes in the classroom. This perspective allows us to develop creative solutions that make positive choices easier for students and negative choices hard. The goal of the workshop will be to support teachers in their efforts to foster classrooms where students feel empowered, valued, and engaged in their learning.    

Learning outcomes
1.) Build a foundational understanding of how behavior functions within its environmental context.

2.) Use this understanding to provide insight into potential causes of challenging behaviors.

3.) Brainstorm effective and practical strategies that set students up for success by making the right choices easy and the wrong choices hard.
"

This session will explore the Benefit Mindset and how it empowers students to turn what they learn into real actions, particularly in math. A Benefit Mindset focuses on recognizing and appreciating the positive outcomes of learning, motivating students to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. We will discuss how helping students see the results of their efforts—such as how math skills can solve everyday problems—encourages active engagement in their education. Participants will learn strategies to inspire students to use their math knowledge in real-world situations, whether at home or within their communities. By connecting classroom learning to practical applications, students can understand the relevance of math and feel more motivated to succeed.

Learning outcomes
1. Understand the concept of benefit mindset.
2. Nurturing benefit mindset.
3. Implement math-driven action strategies.

This workshop is for teachers who would like to see Vedic Math from India and my personal strategies used to help the learners have long retention of the content. This would also showcase the teachers' use of the resources present in their classes to have an engaging lesson. Teachers would be assigned in groups to work on a few tasks and create a simple lesson plan if time permits.

Learning outcomes

Teachers would learn the new Math Words (relatable to the kid’s world)
Teachers would learn the basic introduction of Vedic math from India.
Simple math warm magic to make learning fun.

Picture books are powerful tools for introducing sensitive topics across all grade levels, providing a visual and narrative framework for complex discussions. The intended audience is Early Years through middle school and beyond. Our workshops will be discussion based with time for participants to explore what teaching with picture books looks like in their context.    
Booklists
- Develop comfort and confidence in using pictures to tackle potentially difficult conversation topics.
- Participants be able to create a stack of books
- Enjoy great books

"Using storytelling to enhance movement skills in Early Years:

Why:
1. There is evidence to show that combining movement and academic activities (i.e., storytelling) results in superior motor development and language ability compared with movement or storytelling alone. This is considered an embodied cognitive approach.
2. Storytelling is an innovative and arts-integrated pedagogy to foster knowledge and skills through creativity, engagement, confidence and motivation
3. Storytelling in the early years boosts memory, fosters imaginative, creative thinking and cognitive skills as well as develop cultural and moral understanding

How:
We will discuss different ways of incorporating storytelling in PE, such as story books, inventive stories as well as student generated stories.

What:
We will discuss a list of storybooks that incorporates movement easily in a PE lesson.
" The workshop will generate ideas for incorporating story telling and movement for early years teachers.