Can you remember back to when you were in middle school? I seemed to have blocked much of it out of my own memory banks! But during my years as director of the International School of Prague (ISP), I have the opportunity to see life in school through the eyes of our students, especially when I take the day to shadow a student. Recently, members of the Leadership Team spent an entire school day shadowing and learning alongside an ISP student. ThisRead more
Posts filed in: Education
Stretch Day @ the International School of Prague
One way we encourage deeper, experiential and authentic learning at ISP is through Stretch Days, where students have the opportunity focus on a particular area of learning unencumbered by the traditional bell schedule. By eliminating the usual rotation of classes, where students move from one subject to the next, stretch days allow for longer periods of flexible time for teachers to organize learning experiences which support students to go deeper and learn by doing, without the usual interruptions. As IRead more
“EMPOWERED LEARNERS” THE 28TH ANNUAL CEESA CONFERENCE IN PRAGUE MARCH 15-17, 2018
From the Director of the International School of Prague, Dr. Arnie Bieber Dear Friends and Colleagues, On behalf of the International School of Prague community, it is a pleasure to invite you to attend and participate in the 28th annual CEESA Conference this March in the beautiful city of Prague. Described in ancient texts as “The City of 100 spires” and “The Golden City”, Prague is a true jewel in the heart of Europe. Here, in this wondrous city, youRead more
My Visit to China
While headquartered in London, ECIS is a global organization with over 400 member schools in over 90 countries on six continents. Last week in my capacity as Chair of ECIS Board of Trustees, I had the honor to help launch our new ECIS China office, in Beijing. It was an exciting time of visiting schools, meeting with ECIS China colleagues, Chinese educators and international school representatives from throughout the country and making new friends. It was my first visit to BeijingRead more
To Succeed in the 21st Century We Need To Learn, Unlearn and Re-learn
Below is my full interview with Czech Leaders Magazine appearing in the January – March 2017 issue. Imagine the atmosphere of a school where there is a palpable sense of creative thinking, where one can see the arts, choirs, music and film production, and at the same time a clear focus on scientific experimentation. Imagine life as a student being able to experiment, design and then print out your blueprint on a 3D printer or a laser cutter as part of theRead more
A Surprising Tranquility – My Day at PreKindergarten
One of the best ways for adults to really understand how a student experiences life and learning in school is by spending a full day shadowing a student. A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about my experience of shadowing grade 4 student, Maria: A day in the life – Shadow a Student Challenge. This year many of our leaders at ISP are shadowing students, including Tony McLaughlin, ISP Communications Manager. He tells his story called “A Surprising Tranquility” below: This week I took on the InternationalRead more
A day in the life – Shadow a Student Challenge
As part of the international Shadow a Student Challenge, last year I blogged about my experience of shadowing a grade 9 student, Grace, throughout her day at the International School of Prague. In a very positive sense, I got much more than I bargained for. This time it was Maria in grade 4 whom I had the pleasure of shadowing throughout her day of learning at ISP. I can truly say that while I was exhausted at the end of our day, IRead more
The most important message. Dr. Jane Goodall at the International School of Prague
The most important message, is every single one of us makes a difference every single day.Read more
How do you learn to cook?
I recently attended the ECIS (Educational Collaborative for International Schools) Educators Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the theme, Cultivating Curiosity. The theme of cultivating curiosity reminded me of one of ISP‘s (International School of Prague) strategic goals, “Curiosity drives what and how we learn.” It is through curiosity and personal relevance (another ISP strategy!), that all students, young and old, will be deeply engaged in the learning process. For students to take their own personal paths to learning in school, teachers must create rich environments and multiple learningRead more
You can’t teach people everything they need to know.
As the school year begins, it is fitting and timely to call attention to an educational visionary and provocative thinker who recently passed away. For over a half century Seymour Papert led the call for schools to empower students to have greater control over their learning. Seymour Aubrey Papert (February 29, 1928 – July 31, 2016) was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at MIT.[1] He was one of the pioneers of artificialRead more
