Poly faculty across divisions revitalize academic programs through self study and exploration.

Education and a love of learning is not exclusive to students at Poly. Faculty demonstrate that in order to offer a world-class education, they themselves must strive to be students of the world and seek out opportunities for professional growth and ingenuity around the nation and globally.

Part of the recipe for Poly’s successful academic environment includes its faculty being deeply invested in adapting new strategies for learning and seeking innovative curricular offerings. They possess a commitment to their disciplines that drives continued study and inspiration as they cultivate new experiences that translate to a vibrant classroom environment. 

This summer, over 35 faculty members attended leading conferences, subject-specific workshops, and other preparatory sessions thanks to the financial contributions to Annual Giving, Poly’s main fundraising campaign. Opportunities that our teachers explored covered topics as wide-ranging as language immersion, environmental chemistry, arts integration, social-emotional learning and test preparation, interschool leadership, and more. Their travel, participation in innovative and generative programs, and dedication of time to expanding their skills and knowledge, creates classes that are robust reflections of their learning.

At Poly, no classroom looks the same from year to year: learning materials are updated, activities are refined, and lessons are topical. Students receive an evolving education that is responsive, researched, and modern. Below are a few examples of summer professional development that engaged faculty. 

Lower School: Mathematics Specialist Marissa Pennington, Singapore Math Summer Institute

Marissa Pennington spent time this summer getting a head start on learning and adapting the latest developments in the math curriculum used by the Lower School. “This summer I was fortunate enough to participate in the Singapore Math Institute. Since Poly’s Lower School math program, Math in Focus, is based on the concepts of Singapore math, it is imperative that I know the ins and outs of the newest edition. One of the key components to define Singapore Math is focused on the learning process itself. The Singapore approach identifies three stages that students move through, from concrete to pictorial to abstract, in order to conceptually understand what they are doing mathematically and why. I chose this summer institute because Susan Resnick was leading it.” Susan is one of the editors of the Math in Focus curriculum and she will be providing professional development for the Lower School teachers at Poly this fall. 

Middle School: Classical and Modern Philosophy Faculty Terra Windham, Self Study 

Terra Windham’s summer experience took her to northeastern New England for an independent study project relating to creating a new philosophy class. “This summer the grant enabled me to go away for a week to the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont to devote myself to developing the course.” Windham shared. “I started by doing a large amount of reading, both out in nature and in various small town libraries when the weather drove me indoors. The grant gave me the opportunity to spend time refreshing and updating my own knowledge. I thought a lot about materials and techniques I could use to make philosophy accessible and engaging for Grade 8 students, while still incorporating the ideas of philosophers in their own words as much as possible. We have just begun our philosophical explorations together this year, but I am delighted to report that my current class has approached the topic with wonder, curiosity, and an abundance of ideas and questions.”

As part of Windham’s professional development work, she created a philosophy course specifically designed for Middle School students which debuted this semester for Grade 8 students. The class considers questions such as “Who am I?,” “What is the nature of reality?,” “How do we know that we know?,” “What is truth?,” among others.

In describing the class, Windham shared that the course covers what philosophy is and how its themes may be woven into our individual lives as one discovers who one is and one’s place in the world. “Philosophy, from the Greek for ‘love of wisdom,’ explores the biggest questions humans ask as we seek to understand and live well in the strange and wonderful world in which we find ourselves. In this course, we’ll be joining a conversation that has spanned thousands of years. To confidently participate in this millennia and globe ranging discussion, students will learn about influential philosophers and concepts in the history of thought. They will sharpen their skills of reasoning and argumentation so we can continue these conversations together, in an effort to collaboratively seek truth and meaning.” 

Upper School: History Faculty Max Shmookler, Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking

In July, Max Shmookler, Ph.D. spent time honing his skills at workshops held at Bard College. To highlight the importance of Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking’s weeklong workshops, Shmookler wrote: “[The workshops] help teachers deepen their understanding of writing-based teaching, its theory and practices, and its application in the classroom.

Each workshop focuses on a particular form of writing—the essay, academic paper, creative nonfiction—or on writing-based teaching in a particular subject area, such as history, science and math, or grammar. The workshops offer a retreat in which participants learn new writing practices, read diverse texts, and collaborate with teachers from around the world. The luxury of time helps us envision how we might make these new practices our own by adapting writing prompts, accommodating collaborative learning in larger classes, and incorporating new readings. We also explore how different forms, such as poetry, might inspire students from diverse backgrounds. The Bard SummerScape festival which operates concurrently with the weeklong program showcases an extraordinary program of performing arts and an international roster of acclaimed artists.”